Dante74

Congrats on your 10th anniversary Macross World. And thank you Shawn & Graham (and the moderating team) for making it such a nice place!

I used to be a surveyor and although nothing beats a surveyors tripod for stability I don't see myself dragging something that heavy around all day when I'm climbing and crawling into old buildings.

As to the tripod if totally recomend a monopod as while it may not be as stable as a complete tripod it should still give a few stops better performance to hand held. If that's not enough I have used a gorilla pod allot at work mainly because it's so damn portable. Both options are nice because you can fit them in a bag....usually with your camera.

The ultimate is still a tripod though if you don't mind lugging it around. So when it comes to this I can't recommend enough using surveyor tripods designed for Theodolites, Levels, and Total stations. Rugged and reliable, if you can find one on ebay or at an auction somewhere pick it up. You will have to modify it to fit the screw mount of your camera. These are larger and heavier screw heads designed to hold 5-30 lbs. pieces of survey equipment afterall. Again though you could probably pick a used one up cheap at a government auction or something and would make a good project to convert, if you are looking for such a thing. They are way better than some lightweight aluminum ones from most stores. There are some decent camera tripods that are pretty good but they get pretty expensive fast. It all depends on how much you want to spend.

No need for a remote switch with one of the survey ones though. ....ah I miss surveying some days. Note that they are heavy but the feet are heavily spiked so you can get a firm purchase in most surfaces except concrete and tile. I converted an old survey tripod from work for this use at a previous job and it worked great.

I ordered a Gitzo GT2940 (EDIT it's a GT2941) which should arive by tuesday.

I still haven't decided which ballhead to get. Gitzo's new line of series 2 ballheads seem to be cheaper than the old one. I'll try to find out why and decide which one to get later this week. The Kirk ballhead looks good too, I might have to go to a brick and mortar store to compare it to the others. Thanks for the advice guys! I'll post pics of, and taken with, the new set up when it's complete.

hey, what's an extra $100 when you're already spending $700 on a tripod set up.

like I said though, I'm looking at a kirk ballhead http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=KIBH1*&N=0

it's only $15 more than the Gizo, and it'll hold 20 more pounds and I just like the construction and finish better. (i.e. more like the Arca-Swiss ballheads. )

The Really Right Stuff and Arca Swiss ballheads are so friggin' expensive it's beyond ridiculous! I'll have to try to convince my boss that I need it for work and let him sponsor me.

I've got a Canon 40D, an EF-s 17-85 mm (which will someday be replaced by a 24-70 mm f2. and a 70-200 mm f2.8 IS lens weighing in at 1.5 kg. I might get a 1.4x extender some day, but that's about as heavy as it's gonna get. The series 2 Gitzo ballhead should do fine for at least a couple of years.

I've looked into getting a monopod for when I'm taking pics at the race track but it won't do when I'm in a dark abandoned building with hardly any light.

tripods are crazy expensive arn't they? what you need to look at with a tripod is how heavy it is and how much your camera weighs. if you have a big full frame body and a huge super telephoto, you'll need a heavy duty tripod and ball head, if you've got a small camera and lens you should be fine with a lighter set up.

you're looking at a 22lb tripod and a 30lb ball head, is the weight of the camera (with lens), ball head and ballast (i.e. full backpack/camera bag) going to be less than 22lbs?

anyways, Gizo is a very good brand for tripods, so is Manfrotto/bogen,

As for ball heads, that's a good one but if you're going the route of "spurge now and be set for decades" look at arca-swiss it's probably way more than you need now but you'll never need another ball head ever. you'll also need a quick release plate

Lets talk tripods!

Up until a few weeks ago, when I needed a tripod, I would just borrow my dad's 35 year old aluminium tripod. I've been getting into urbex photography lately and the thing is just way too heavy to walk and crawl around with all day. It also creeps off the subject when I tighten it into position.

So I've been looking into getting a decent lightweight tripod and I've been having a hard time deciding what to get (meaning what ridiculous amount of money to spend on some sticks and a balljoint )

After reading this article I've come to the conclusion that getting it right the first time (meaning spendig a ridiculous amount of money on some sticks and a balljoint ) will actually save me some cash. However, that doesn't mean I have an unlimited budget.

This Gitzo GT2932 Basalt tripod combined with this Gitzo GH2780QR ballhead should suffice for a couple of years (hopefully decades!)

Anyone have any experience with a 'real' tripod and would like to share their thoughts?

Sorry to hijack this thread with the amazing CG work, but speaking of mr. March, anyone seen him around lately?

You mean this baby?

The Cheyenne II

Compliments of Mr.March's Macross Mecha Manual

The Cheyenne II is an updated version of the original Cheyenne from Macross Zero.

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...amp;hl=cheyenne

My thoughts exactly! If $2300 is too much for you to spend on a toy, go look for something you can afford and leave it for the richer people to buy. (BTW: I'm not one of the richer people that can actually afford it) It's a luxury product for those with money to spare.

I'd like to get next years Ferrari 458 Italia but would never be able to afford a car in that price range. You won't however see me at Ferrarichat.com whining about how ridiculous it is for Ferrari to charge $240.000 for a car even though its basically made of the same materials as a Dacia Sandero.

...As for me, I have no problem turning down something that isn't priced right. SDF-1 for $2300 is a definite out for me with no remorse or withdrawl.

For you Dante:

Excuse the pics.. still learning..

*wakes up, wipes drool off beer belly, pees, gets out of chair and makes mental note to use bathroom for that next time, puts on a new pair of shorts, gets back behind computer and realizes he's just sat down in his own pee, puts on another pair of fresh shorts and cleans chair, presses F5 for the fifteenthousandth time*

*Likes what he sees and wants more*

Did you get a flash yet? If you haven't gotten a flash yet, go get one and play with it. Use it to light your subject from the side. It'll do wonders and it's loads of fun.

phack.. so the picture is there then when i load it to the comp.. I love you guys!! Big help man.. hehehe i'm such a newbie...

Unless your manual settings are something like f22, 1/4000th, iso 100. Then you'd actually get a black pic.

Canon lens collection FTW!!!1

There's a lens available for every budget and every need and the 70-200 range is a fine example.

wife wanted me to get the nikon something which was a point and shoot.. then she went and told me to get the d60, but that ain't going to happen. It took a while and some major saving here and there and not look or buy more mac toys for a bit. I know some of you know how i dragged in getting one (vegas and maverick), so now that i have one...believe me its worth the investment (in my case wait). =)

*sits in front of computer looking at screen and waits*

Be patient and save up enough money to get the f2.8 IS. I did and I never regretted it.

If you get the f4 you might one day need an extra stop and not have it. You'll regret not getting the f2.8 then. On the other hand, you might one day take a shot with the f2.8 non-IS which is just out of focus and wonder if that would've happened if you'd gotten the f4 IS.

The f2.8 IS is a heavy lens to walk around with all day, but once I import my pics into lightroom I forget all about the weight.

BTW: There are rumors going around the net about a new Canon f2.8 70-200 mm coming next year.

Awesome pic Vegas!

shot this one last march

Trade what? I'd be willing to sell some of my stuff if you're interested.

Im looking for dutch memeber to trade with or anywhere else in europe.

Tell that to my friends. They think its 'old people' music. And that's coming from a bunch of thirty somethings.

... and why is Dire Straits a guilty pleasure? Mark Knopfler is an exceptional musician.

BOOBIES!!!!!111ONEONEone

...and Dire Straits. Must be because my dad used to listen to it a lot when I was still a wee little lad.

...and I love 16 Horsepower and Woven Hand, even though I'm a total atheist and I'm probably not supposed to like 'em.

Forget about making toast and coffee! For 500 bucks it'd better be able to spread its legs!

::EDIT::Disclaimer: Don't try to visualize what I just described, you might be scarred for life.

IMO, 500 is WAY too much for this. For that amount, I expect the damn thing to cook toast and make coffee for me in the mornings.

30 minutes is a lot better than

The specs say it holds 5 gallons, with a 10 gallon/hour consumption rate, so about 30 minutes. But that's give or take on usage, probably.

Also, the specs do state that the 5 gallons is the FAA maximum to fall into the unlicensed ultralight category. So, once again, if they decided to have a beefier version, it might come with a bigger gas tank.

I wonder how long it'll fly on one tank of fuel?

That is really good modeling and especially great compositing.

Thanks!

f1.8 Nice!

Beautiful bokeh too!

mmm... my new toy arrived today.

Holy Megapixels Batman!

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canoneos7d/

Wow, I thought it would be full frame. I'd get one if it was.

Fantastic work! Im planing to make a short film. Im doing some tests. You could find videos at www.youtube.com/jideto

Are you interested in be part of the project?

Thanks, but I don't know anything about animated CG (yet). Maybe in a couple of years.

Yeah, but mine was more obscure. 3 seconds from... Well, at an average of 22 minutes an episode and 36 episodes, I'd say about 13 hours of animation...

Versus a line from a 4-episode OVA...

Hey, I won't try to shoot you because some holographic psycho-bitch tries to make me. That makes me cooler.

Yeah, yours was more obscure, you win.

Its still a bad ass picture though. How long did it take to render? If I get a video of some city scenery in HD, can you do a machmove? If you can machmove, I can composite. Would be a riot to mess with the guys in the Robotech.com forum

I did one render per mech with render times ranging from 10 seconds for the hand to about 4 minutes for the VF-1J. Anti-aliasing was set at maximum, final gather precision at high with 4 bounces and everything else set to high quality.

I've only been doing CG since last october so I can't matchmove. Heck, I'm still struggling with applying textures! When I feel more comfortable using 3ds Max I'd love to have a go at it though.

See, that's the wrong way to look at it. His VF-1S was getting ready to pounce!

Meh, to me it looked like he was hiding so the other guys wouldn't see he was smoking a doobie.

I'm currently working on getting the Destroids textured. When I finish I might re-visit this photograph and do something with a little more action to it. I might even add some firing gunpods if I can get it to look half decent.

Aaaaah! I'm blind!

The Regult stands 15 m tall, the VF-1J nearly 13 m.

I used some 'artisitic freedom' to fit the Regult in between the building and still have the VF-1J's head in frame.

Oh, that reminds me, I guess the live action Robotech movie is farther along than they have said. Found this leaked screencap from one of the scenes. Looks like Michel Bay's work!

Seriously though, fantastic work! My only issue with it is the scale dosn't look correct. I was under the impression the Regult was many times larger than the Valkyries.