The last day in August at 11.00 my Canon 24 105 L F4 is due. I wont be eating for a few months but who cares? Once it's bolted on to the 5D I wont have time to eat.

Nice one Alan, you have been uber busy this month and it shows in your work...keep it up! You will love the new lens! Who needs food when you have great kit? The 5D and 24-105 will work well together...you'll see.

ATP Stubbs...like it!

Excellent! Have fun and let us know what you think when you have fully tried it out!

Back to square one. A whole new ball game...........I was thinking (bad for me) I will need to use different techniques for each camera (5D AWB?). Double trouble ahead but I have no excuse but that of a novice. Few experiences can equal the learning process.

A daunting task to fully try out I have no doubt. My 1st impressions are that it feels like a smaller camera with less detail than my 7D. It had to be less complicated, similar but simpler in menu options, RAW to shoot would sound right. The shutter sound is dynamic, I can see why when I look inside, the sensor is huge. The view finder is panoramic. I don't know whether I will be able to compare shots for a while as I will be using the 5D for wider angle, shorter range, lower light shots. My 7D which is lensed up for distance, action plus general work and of course HD video, (I use a Lumix FZ8 for quick video).

I have taken a few shots to familiarise myself with it. I am very happy with it's condition. I'm looking forward to another Plathora of Photographic Practice with more Air Show spectacular this weekend in Guildford (Top Gear Dunsfold) with "Wings & Wheels". If the rain hold off should be a action packed day of track & airborne speed. I can't wait and if my 24 105 turns up today I will be like a Pig in dung and a dog with 2 appendages.

Congrats...it is a cracking shot. Let us know when you make a sale!

Lol...frugal is the word! Have fun at the show and we look forward to seeing some shots!

I join Alan in this request.... I am clueless regarding light meters and boggled  by the options oiut there. I would love to get one but so far have resisted the urge, mainly because I dont know what to look for and also not sure if its really going to make all that difference as finance is a big factor here too.

Hmmm. I think the use of flash/light meters these days is a purely personal thing. When we used to use film in the studio with studio lights, a flash meter was essential because you had no idea of your results until the film was developed.

Since going digital, I have probably taken well over 100,000 photos and none of them were taken using an external light meter.

When shooting outdoors, the modern DSLRs' lightmeter is more than capable of giving good results and any minor fluctuations are easily rectified if shooting RAW.

When shooting in the studio using flash heads, I have instant feedback and have learned to use this quicker than if I was using a light meter.

For example, for static objects, I set the ISO and aperture that I need for that subject and then adjust the shutter speed and light output until I reach the correct exposure bearing in mind that the faster the shutter speed, the darker the background will be depending on the ambient light.

Now, I pretty much know what settings to use without too much tweaking...it's all about practise. For fast moving subjects, such as the drink pouring shots you have been experimenting with, you have learned that you need to play around but even so, a fast shutter speed is not always so important.

E.g. This image of a water filled balloon bursting was taken in the dark with a 20 second exposure whilst allowing the flash to freeze the action, no light meter was necessary...

I personally like to play and tweak with camera and flash output settings as well as adjusting the lights' physical positioning without the use of a light meter. For me it is how I like to learn about why certain settings work or don't and I can see the immediate effects of incorrect settings. This may be why I sometimes just "know" what works and what doesn't.

A lightmeter can almost take this learning curve away.

Now, if you feel you want or need a light meter, they can be very useful for getting the exact exposure you need if you are in a hurry or doing a particularly important job that has multiple lights and/or a complicated set up.

Money no object, I would look at (and often have) the Sekonic L758D. A multi use light meter that even has a spot meter that you look through much like a camera. You can see a short video on the DR model, on YouTube.

As to whether you need one, ask yourself if you have needed one up to now or are you making do by experimenting and learning. If you want one to add another string or facet to your photographic skills, by all means get one, learn to use it and then come back and write a tutorial/review for us ; )

Lorna, if money is an issue, I would say you are getting by pretty well without one for now as are you Alan although like I said, I have often toyed with getting one myself but I have always come to the conclusion that I can get by without one...

Thank you Nick, thats more than enough information to cogitate..............

Now then where can I find dark room and a water filled balloon

Lol...when I found this image, I thought about doing it again and improving it for stock. Again, it is all good fun whilst learning. I am about to do some funky moving time lapse shots with some modified kitchen timers...(mad professor)

I have a light meter but only use it for location lighting, i find it very useful for multi-light setups. The one I have is fairly complicated to use but once mastered is spot on.  I also found it cuts down on post processing time too as it is very accurate.

In camera meters are more than adequate for day to day use, if this is what you are doing you do not have much use for one, however, if you are using complex light setups and need to be spot on and your time is limited then they are a must.  I use a Sekonic, the model has a built in Pocketwizard trigger so thus negates having to buy an extra unit.

As Nick says, light meters are a personal thing, I prefer to use one. 

Thank you Mr Stubbs! I've got to get some white & black sheets now. Although I did get a free 5 use reflector with the kit, I did have one already so I have 2 now

Not bad at all Alan...and nice one re the lighting! If possible, could you resize your images before uploading? Maybe to around 1000pixels longest edge? That full size pic took a long time to load : )

Resize ?? Another new task to investigate ? I will have a go..............

I recently got some kit I got Photo Studio Background Support + 1.6x2m Backdrop in either black, white or green for £52.99 and Flash Kit 540w Photography Lighting Studio Strobe Light for £199 and is only £179.90 now 

This set includes
3 x GY-180 Lamps total 540w
3 x 190cm Light Stands (these have sprung dampeners)
2 x 50 x 70 Softbox.
1 x White shoot through Umbrellas
1 x Silver Umbrella
1 x Barn doors set with Gels and honeycomb
1 x 4Ch Trigger set
1 x carry case

they were all from Ebay and I have just got a new backdrop in green 3m x 6m £40 hope this may be of some help if you need the sellers id I can get them as I use them reguler

I've taken some other shots with the studio lighting using the Soft box as a backdrop & brolly flash through..............low ISO 800 shutter, f8 aperture. I'm amazed how sharp & clear they are. I'm experimenting lighting angles and density but it's a new facet to my understand of light.

And I've discovered the rear AF button function Errrrrr Ummmm

I'm on a roll. I've acquired a backdrop kit, 2m high 2+ wide, Black & White drop sheets. It was cheaper to buy the kit than decorate my front room. All I want now is some time & models.

You are on fire!

I'm Alight     OCD!

Looking at full size that is a great shot Alan, a well captured moment.

It's just a shame the background is a little distracting but I understand that to catch these fleeting moments it's not always possible to think about such things...

Thank you. It was a massive crop of a photo. Distracting backgrounds is a big problem for me because I'm really into randomness over posed shots. Is there a technique where by you can blow the background into blur's-ville.... Also can I increase the size of it for printing now it has been cropped?

Yes, you can either select the background and blur it out or replace it with a white background. You can use a program call Genuine Fractals Print Pro to increase the resolution for printing but this comes at a cost...

Here is what I could manage with the eraser tool...

You make it look easy..................there is so much to think about and learn. Thank you I will go a practice with the background.  I do have a demo copy of the program you mention, it is a cost I will have to look into if I crop so much. Thank you once again.

Help!!

I have worked out how to use the background erasure tool but I can't figure out how to make the background white without loosing the whole picture.

Quick video for you...

http://www.atpmembers.com/members/atp/videos/VIEW/00000019/Making-Background-White.html

At f11 at 20.20pm 1280mm ISO 800 25th/sec Mono pod & IS with manual focus..............forget it. I think I need more light, more ISO and a tripod. It's as difficult as macro.

It's a very grey and wet day today, no light, oh joy!

Its the same here...f2.8 comes in handy on days like this ; )

Even with F2.8 it's difficult to miss the rain drops outside. At £5300 Canon 400mm & £6700 Nikon, one has to offset the availability of light against the cost of a lens, opportunity with correct settings, unless one has 6 numbers up. My reasoning was going for a sharp focus sweet spot lens around F5.6 or F11 with the converter. What a learning curve, so challenging and frustrating

Find a spot where the sky is blue and there are a bunch of white clouds, spin the filter until the clouds are even whiter or the sky is a deeper blue.

Try a seascape shot too or any body of water, you can cut down the flare on the water.  Take shots with a window between you and the subject.

I very often leave mine on just to saturate the colours dismissing the 90 Degree to the sun rule.  It will cut out a couple of stops of light too so take this into consideration before composing your shot  

It's an excellent filter and one that cannot be replicated in Photoshop, a must for all photographers.

Thanks for the tips. Now I've got it, it seems a whole new ball game in experimentation to use it. Leaving it on the lens trial and error the tips you have suggested will be an exercise on my photographic todo list. Not today here, it's raining  

Thank you

A Light lunch in Kyoto, with warm Saki, Yummy. I'll eat anything but the sea slugs took some swallowing!

I like the subject matter.  It's well exposed, but I found the background and the corner of the adjoining box a bit distracting.  A little cropping would make it a stronger image.

By the way, thanks for your comments on my recent galley posting.

TDMuldoon

Your right of course, I have played with and it did look better but there will always be something fishy about the focus & angle of shot. If only I could go back

Your album captured the ambience of the situations very well for me, stock or not, I like them.

Nice piece of kit, especially for 15 quid!

No probs, glad it helps Alan...

Nice one Alan, great piece of kit and I recon you will notice a huge difference! Look forward to seeing some pics...

Great....it's huge, it's like a lighthouse because it dome's up convex not concave (best according to Gary)

Hi Alan. Where did you get that code from? If you use the "Check your ATP Members Affiliate Commissions" link on the top left of the page, you should see a code that looks like:

http://www.atpmembers.com/?Plattsnaps

That is the correct affiliate code so your HTML should look like:

<a href="http://www.atpmembers.com/?Plattsnaps">Private Members Photography Club</a>

Can you please check for me?

Thanks...

Done.

Actually Alan, the code you originally gave from the "invite others to join" link is also ok...sorry about that, I was having " a moment"

It's all gets a little complicated & confusing for my little brain but I am keen the get you some new members and some commission for me

Great stuff Alan and much appreciated. If you need any help just let me know!

You have been a busy man and clearly deserve those vouchers Alan, well done.

Today I went for a walk to my lake :) snapped at a previous shot with revised settings, did some photoshop, uploaded it to Fotolia.......voila!! What a good start to the month. Also now I'm looking at the Lastolite reflectors on Amazon. I've also been very naughty and ordered a Gary Fong Lightsphere collapsable because we have a family Christening next week (that's my excuse) and I feel I need to up my game.