pdn photographers virtual trade show

Well.. i'm currently on my old laptop, trying to access the chatrooms of this virtual trade show.

Presented by: PDN
Live show date: May 21, 2009
Live show hours: 10 A.M. EDT - 6:00 P.M. EDT

the sales reps are pretty informative, i can tell you!

for example:

Q: " am thinking about switching to Canon from Nikon. It just seems as though there is a bigger variety of lenses available at a better cost for Canons. Is there a place where I can find some sort of chart that gives me camera equivalencys? I shoot now with a Nikon D700 and I'm not sure what the nearest Canon "equivalent" would be

A: I'm sure various third-party sources have created "equivalency" charts, but Canon (to date) has chosen not to openly name competitive models in our marketing materials. Anyhow, the nearest equivalent to the Nikon D700 would be the EOS 5D Mark II -- both are full-frame cameras, smaller in size and lighter than the full-fledged professional models like our EOS-1D Mark III or Nikon D3 series. The 5D Mark II is higher resolution, at 21.1 million pixels (vs. about 12 million for the D700), and also offers the option of HD video shooting at 1920x1080, something a lot of still shooters have begun to find has opened doors in making their work more valuable to their clients."

Q: My 40D pop up flash wont pop all I see is a error 05 I think that keeps telling me to turn it on and off, but that dont help, any solution?

A: Sounds like something is wrong with the latch mechanism that holds/releases the built-in flash. I can't speculate on what or why, but if you get that error message, the camera has detected a problem. You can try putting the camera in an exposure mode like P or Av, and pressing the Flash button on the side of the lens mount (with lightning bolt icon). It should pop up without hesitation. If it does not, it should be examined by a qualified service technician.

Q: am a semi-professional photographer and am using a 40D camera with the 28-135 lense that came with it. I find it doesn't let enough light in and would like a suggestion for a good all purpose lense that will work for my situation that is very affordable. I primarily am taking photographs of small children in outdoor situations (chasing them) but also a lot of indoor newborn sessions.

A: depending on price there are a couple of ways you can go. The 24-70L is a great choice but on the expensive side. If you can deal without the flexibility of zoom, some of our fixed lenses may work great for you such as the 85 1.8. you could als try the 17-55 2.8 - it does not zoom as far as your current one but is a lot brighter

Q: Hi my name is O*****, I want to ask if somebody can help me, I have a 580 flash, and the 580II, and both gets to hot so soon. You know when they got so hot you can shoot with flash until it cool down, I'm using a canon 5d, I really love Canon, but may be I doing something wrong and I always scared of my flash.

A: With any portable speedlite, if you fire repeatedly and quickly (even if the ready-light has no trouble keeping up), you run the risk of building up internal heat both at the capacitors (and their supporting electronics), and at the flash tube/flash head. With the 580EX II, there are a network of heat sensors that monitor this, and will shut the flash down if internal heat gets too high. This is by design, and there's no work-around. Using high-voltage, third-party battery packs WILL speed up recycle time, but there's always a risk of building-up internal heat if you shoot lots of frames this way. Our advice: simply take it easy, even in fast-paced situations, and give the unit a few moments to cool off after a quick burst of pictures. That's about the only thing the user can really do to change the potential build-up of heat in a speedlite.

Join this event while you can.. its pretty cool!