New toy...

Daniel Koster

Daniel Koster

www.kosterknives.com
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 18, 2001
Messages
20,978
Finally jumped in with both feet into the world of pro digital photography. Still somewhat "entry level"...but that's mostly me. :eek:


Long story short, I've been very interested in photography in general for a long time. Have always wanted a nice setup. Got the $$$...so I got the setup.


Here are some pics for your perusal.


First the camera:

Canon EOS 20D
shown with Sigma 30 f/1.4 lens and Sigma EF-500 flash

not cheap. :(

...but lots of fun. :D


newtoy.jpg






I found some software that will let me control the camera through the computer (yes...fancy!...maybe too fancy for me...) I can control every setting and take a pic with a click of the mouse. Epitomy of laziness.....

Anyway, in this pic...I have just taken a picture of the Benchmade Rukus - just laid it on the desk, picked up the camera, rotated the flash and "click" the photo pops right up on my screen. I can tell immediately if it's clear or out-of-focus....if the color is right....lighting, etc.



newtoy2.jpg









Looks pretty good....automatically saved to my computer.

And here it is...just resized (unretouched):




newtoy3.jpg






Well, this is a great photo already...much better than my standard fare (which isn't all the bad....but still....gotta justify my new toy.... )

Anyway, I took the knife out to my regular ole lightbox, sat it down and took a few pics.

Got this one:


Rukus1.jpg


(again, straight from the camera...unretouched. on this one I just cropped and resized)


A few minutes with Photoshop CS2 and I get this:

Rukus2.jpg



Ok, so I did more than sharpen the image...:p





Like I said....new toys all around...can hardly control myself and my wife thinks I'm nuts....thank goodness she's been a patient and willing test-model. :eek:
 
Thats pretty cool man. Both the knife and the pictures.

If I didnt have the poo hitting the prop right now as far as cash goes I'd have to invest in one (the Rukus). Who knows, maybe I will decide to spend some more money that I dont have. :eek:
 
That's quite a rig Dan. Congrats. Thanks for the pics.:thumbup:
 
FANBLOODYTASTIC :eek: :thumbup:

Congrats on your new toy Dan. Not "toy" really, as you need it to present your work ;)
 
Outstanding Dan! Looks like there is some hope for me with the right equipment. BTW, it wasn't until the last, sharpest pic that I could make the color out on the micarta. It is the green, right? Looks grey/black in the first two pics. I like the green micarta on the Rukus lots more than the black, which seems more prevalent. That's on my wish list, along with your Skirmish of course. ;))

Norm
 
That is neat.
Say, can we run a porno ring now?


>>>>>>>>

Concerned minds want to know what Norm was doing up at 4:03 AM.

>>>>>>>>>>


I've got all this Nikon stuff I don't know what to do with anymore. Damn shame digital had to come by and turn my camera gear into dinosaur bones.

>>>>>>>

I still say Dan's avatar photo of himself looks like he's forging a blade at the begining of Time. You see that sky in the background?


munk
 
Dan, that is a business expense... you must have that photo quality to sell knives.

They pay me to carry a EOS D60, and I love shooting it. Don't listen to the Nikon guys... Cannon's on top for consumers (right now)...


Mike
 
dan, super nice "tax write off" :) that 1.4 probably cost a bit, but i'd imagine you saved some since it's a sigma vs exotic glass... that comes later. man, a good fast wide angle lens, a superb telephoto, and an adapter for my telescope (arrr, it's a good'un)... that's why i want an SLR :) take pictures of the mites on eagles from a mile away :> wait, that's what the CIA does. i meant astronomy.

munk: well, nothing wrong with film - look at the nikon lineup, do any of the squiditals use your lense collection? yes? i'd be surprised if they didn't at some level... sell the body, buy a digital body. or keep the old one at least, film isn't quite dead (IR photography perhaps, or super saturated color stock, or ...) but otherwise, grr, it's kinda dead. all i have are P&S film cams - haven't used them in a bit - am thinking of leaving one in a car as a backup. have a canon s50 and it's wonderful for 95% of what you'd want to use a camera for. that 5% is mentioned above. tear making wide angle mountain shots, super telephoto shots, and sky (though telescope.com has a simple in line "eye adapter" that works for pedestrian stuff). mmm!

bladite
 
That thing is cool Dan. Takes good pics too. What lights do you have?
 
munk said:
>>>>>>>>

Concerned minds want to know what Norm was doing up at 4:03 AM.

>>>>>>>>>>
Click to expand...

My son worked his first official shift as a new police officer and didn't get home until late, and there was lots to talk about. He started on 3/16 but this is the first time he was out on patrol with his FTO. It was fun to see him so excited about it and hear all the gory details. I bought him a present of some new hi-cap mags for his off-duty Glock and gave him those last night. After that I went online to look at a couple of fixed blades I have had my eye on, and pretty soon...!

Got to hit the hay now though, as tomorrows another long week.

Norm
 
Dayum, Dan!

Just as I am getting comfortable with my Panasonic DMC FV20 you have to show me a cooler camera! The pictures are very good, especially with an on-camera-flash.

If you want to go to studio strobe lights I recomend "Alien Bees" or "White Lightning." Comparitively inexpensive and do as good a job as you will find. Period.

http://www.alienbees.com/b400.html For digital studio work, you don't need any higher power than these. My Panasonic will not stop down less than f:8, so I am having to use these lights at a very small fraction of their power or they wash out the subject. Fortunately the lights are infinetely adjustable for output.

http://www.white-lightning.com/ are slightly more professional, but unless you are trying to light a large area or have to do fill in work in bright sunlight, you don't need them.

Their stands, softboxes and accessories are too high priced. You can get them just as good and MUCH cheaper on eBay.

Also would get a radio frequency trigger from eBay. Really helps free you from wires.
 
Thanks, Bill.

I don't have much in the way of lighting right now. Just some floodlights on a bar...but I do plan on getting some studio lights.


Bladite - all-in-all, the setup above is valued at around $2400. I didn't pay that though....:foot: :eek: :p


And that doesn't include this lil' guy (forgot to post the pics):


Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3

at the short end...
attachment.php



...and at the long end.
attachment.php



Yes...I do plan on taking pictures of the moon....:rolleyes:



My wallet hates me now...:(....and I was real sick to my stomach for a few days after getting it...but hopefully it will pay off in the end.
 
just make more knives! there's the beauty eh? you have the shop, you have interested clients already, that's a lot of the battel. plus those handy tax write offs :) *cough* :> why yes, my garage IS my office :)

looks like a fine setup.

bladite
 
Dan,

Good deal! The 20D is an excellent camera. I love Canon gear. I have been grinding my teeth with the Nikon stuff my paper uses ever since I got here. My D2Hs and I have finally come to an agreement of sorts. It'll *usually* do what I ask of it... when it wants to.

I can make a couple of suggestions for lighting gear for you when you are ready. I LOVE to help people spend money... especially when I know something about what we're buying :)

Also, a cheap suggestion for your flash unit... get a Sto-Fen Omni Bounce. They are about $18 and the BEST flash accessory going... especially if you ever shoot people (opps.. I mean PHOTOGRAPH people).

Good luck. Holler when you want to look at lighting stuff. Let's see... a shooting table, tent, 2 monoblocks, grids, soft boxes, booms, gels :D

Alan
 
A new bayonet for the robot killin' business would have been cheaper. :)

I like the toy car on the floor. It's a nice touch (intentional or not). :p ;)
 
AC Studios - I may need that lighting stuff sooner than later...



I'm also thinking about selling the Bigma.....! :(
 
Yep - already got one of those. Works great!

Just want some better lights. I need adjustable studio strobes...but I'm a poor knifemakin' foo'....!!!
 
bring this one back to the top... :)

i just got a 40D - now to the shopping :>

bladite
 
No kiddin!!!!


I just found out a week or two ago about the 40D - really got me jonesin!!!! :eek:
 
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