Gear I Regret Buying and Things I Really Love
Posted on: November 30, 2008 (84) CommentsThis is the don’t-make-the-same-mistakes-I-did post. Enjoy.
Things I Recommend you Don’t Buy
1. Don’t buy at Canon 1Ds Mark lll
Don’t buy a Canon 1Ds Mark lll. Buy the new 5D instead and wait for whatever is around the corner coming from Nikon. It just so happens that I have bought my staff three of these cameras, so, um, I guess I kind of regret that…Doh! Canon is for sure going to launch a bigger sensor camera that will top the Mark III and my guess is that they will do so within the next six months. It will probably also have a slightly bigger sensor than the full-frame.
2. Don’t buy at a PC for Image or Film processing.
Don’t buy a PC! Any PC! They are just not meant for working with images. I really regret starting out as a PC guy and investing in PCs for my first employees. I forked out for expensive, good quality PCs with 4GB of super fast memory, raptor hard drives and great monitors. I now use only Macs and my expensive PCs stand in my storage area like bad decorations. Drat.
3. Don’t buy at a Mighty Mouse or a Mac wireless keyboard.
Don’t buy a Mighty Mouse, the new thin Apple keyboard or any wireless input device. When using Photoshop all day you need precise input devices. The Apple mighty mouse and their new ultra thin keyboard are meant to be pretty before practical. This one aspect irritated me so much when I was going from PC to Mac that I was close to giving up the transition. To this day I am still irritated that Apple has not given us better ways for adjusting the mouse speed and acceleration and still doesn’t have a “high performance” mouse available. Get a hold of an old Mac keyboard, the bigger ones, and get a hold of a Logitech G5 mouse. You’ll be much better off with them than with what Apple offers today. The Logitech G5 runs well even without a driver, but make sure you use a good surface for the sensor to pick up the movement. A good surface has texture
and acceleration and still doesn’t have a
“high performance” mouse available. Get a hold on the old mac keyboards, the bigger ones, and get a hold of the Logitech G5 mouse. You’ll be much better off with them than what Apple offers today. The Logitech G5 runs well even without a driver, but make sure you use a good surface for the sensor to pick up the movement. A good surface has texture.
4. Don’t buy Battery Packs
Don’t buy large battery packs and lights. Here’s a better and cheaper alternative: buy a couple of compact heads that run on normal electricity and a generator for when you want to be mobile. Put the generator far away from the shoot and bring a long extension cord. The thing they don’t tell you anywhere is that the batteries for the power packs are so heavy that you could just as well have brought along a compact generator, which will run for way longer than the batteries and will generate much more power. Battery packs sometimes take more than two seconds to charge between flashes, which is quite irritating. Compacts flashes charge quickly, so for a superior and more cost efficient setup, buy compact heads instead. My favorite is the Profoto Compact 600R (radio). We have 12 of those in my studio.
5. Don’t buy a fancy car.
Don’t buy a fancy car. Your models and assistants will just want more pay and you’ll spend more money on gas.
6. Don’t buy cheap basic equipment
Don’t buy cheap basic equipment. It’s a waste of money because you will replace it with better equipment along the way.
7. Don’t buy the Manfrotto Neotech Monopod….unless…
You see my video on how to prepare this device for professional use. If you don’t make these small adjustments you end up with a useless product that will last three to five shoots and then be so worn down that it’s useless. That is why the “Manfrotto Neotech” is under things you should not buy, because straight from the factory, it’s useless.
8. Don’t buy any off these lenses. They are too unsharp.
Don’t buy: the canon 35mm 1.4L, the canon 50mm 1.2L or the canon 24-105mm 4L. They under-perform in sharpness so much that they are not usable for fashion or stock. (The canon 24-105mm is ok above f9). The 35mm 1.4L can be very sharp, but two out of three are lemons and you need to return them. Therefore, don’t buy the lens unless you don’t mind returning it several times if you are unsatisfied.
Things I am really glad I bought.
1. Get an Apple X-serve and X-raid
My Apple X-serve and X-raid with 7 Terabytes of storage. Once we resolved the write permission issues we had starting out (and still have a little today) this machine just worked and never failed. It just runs and runs. Simply a fantastic piece of hardware with read and write speeds of up to 250mb per second. The Mac Server hardware FTP solution is fantastic, yet very simple, and again, it just works!
2. Get a Wacom Pen
A Wacom pen. Even though it took me a full week of hand cramps to get this input device under control, I have NOT regretted learning to use this wonderful tool. Today the Wacom is a part of my workday and basically anything I do in Photoshop. I use the Wacom Intuos4 medium and think this is a perfect match between size and precision.
3. Get Google Documents.
Goggle Docs, Calendar and Gmail. My whole department runs Gmail, a shared G-calender and have tons of shared docs. No one in my department saves any documents or spreadcheets on any computers or hard drive. It’s all Google Docs. This way we can edit, share and discuss real-time the things we are working on. Perfect for any department. My arcurs.com email is forwarded to my gmail account and my gmail account is set up so that my reply address is also from my arcurs.com address. Sending huge files among two gmail accounts takes only seconds – perfect for the creative person. Gmail accounts don’t get spam – fantastic!
4. Get a workstation with Raid.
My maxed out Mac workstation. 32GB of RAM in my workstation. A true time/life saver. My primary workstation is a Mac Quad Core with 4TB in raid and reads with speeds of 200mb sec. A pure pleasure to work with and I have never regret a single penny I spent on this machine.
5. Get an apple 30 Inch Cinema display.
A 30 inch cinema. A perfect monitor. Yes…there are monitors out there that have better colors and better contrast such as the DELL 24″. Unfortunately such monitors display your images too good and you end up, under-saturating, under contrasting and sometimes under exposing as well. The 30″ apple cinema is perfectly “shitty” in an ironic way, which makes it “not shitty” but pretty darn good!
6. Get 1Password for mac.
1Password for mac. Could not live without it for one day. Remembers your passwords and log-ins and works perfectly. This comes in a version for PC called Roboform and works just as well.
7. Lenses I love and that are sharp. (added)
The canon 135mm, 2.0L, the canon 85mm, 1.2L, the canon 200mm, 2.0L and the canon 70-200mm 4.0L. I Prefer the new Canon 70-200mm USM IS, 4.0L over the old Canon 70-200mm, 2.8L USM IS. The new one fringe less and is sharper or as sharp as the older.
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which generator is as small and lightweight as one batterypack?
The Honda EU100iA is a fairly compact and weighs just 30 lbs.
http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/products/modeldetail.aspx?page=modeldetail§ion=P2GG&modelname=EU1000I&modelid=EU1000IAN
Lenses – do you mean the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L (as shown in the pic above)?
It’d be great if you could do a post similar to this, but make it the “things I’m glad I bought” stuff (though you already get into that a bit here with the RAID/screen/1password/etc.). What lenses do you like and use most? Etc., etc.,
Thanks! Great site and great information.
I actually love the RoboForm software myself. I use it all of the time and it takes all of the menial everyday tasks that I have to perform on my computer daily and shortens them extremely! What once took me fifteen minutes to complete now takes me only one second because RoboForm does the same task with just one click. In fact I wrote a Report about a lot of RoboForm’s capabilities for use that aren’t even touched on in the User’s Manual for RoboForm. You can get that Report here:
http://www.theroboformreport.com
There is also a FREE version of RoboForm that you can download on this web page, just to test the RoboForm software out for yourself! I highly recommend it!
To mark: The items listed under what I like are all things that I have bought and that I am very satisfied about. You where right about the lens. Thanks! Fixed now.
The problems with the battery packs is the recycling time and that you do not need just one battery pack, put often need three or four extra batteries to complete a shoot. Therefor…you could really just as well get a generator.
Great Idea with the lenses. I will try to put that into the post. Might do that tomorrow.
Why do people working with images always use mac? what’s the advantage of them? don’t they have the same qualities?
Yuri, don’t buy a pc, buy a mac. I hear this all the time. I have a pc notebook and I have done some bench marking on it and it will go toe to toe with a macbook pro that’s 2x the price. I’m not saying that mac’s aren’t better I’m just saying that I haven’t seen tangible proof, the minute I do I’ll go buy the latest and greatest mac. Any ideas?
Mac works and do not require maintenance. They are just must faster dealing whit graphics. I have been a PC person all my life up to about a year ago. The best thing I have done in my “computer carrier” was to turn mac. Honestly. Mac has a lot of flaws and if far from perfect. But it is better then any windows alternative
Charp? I guess that means cheap+sharp?
How about the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II ?
(I’m just starting out… No way near professional yet)
josh:
I know what you’re saying. On paper Macs are a tad bit more expensive than comparable PCs (besides ridiculously priced Sony Vaio’s).
However for me, the switch was easy due to the VAST differeces in the operating systems. OS X is light years ahead of WinXP and Vista — especially Vista. Operating systems also dictate the overall user experience, which again is a lot better on OS X for me.
So to me, when paying more for a comparable Mac, I am putting price on the software that is available, not the hardware.
Hope that helps.
Forgot to add one thing for Yuri:
I somewhat agree with you on the 50/1.2L and the 24-105L, but having a hard time understanding why you’re not satisfied with the 35L.
In MTF charts and lens diagnostics, it has always come up above the “excellent” mark even wide open at 1.4, all across the board.
I own one myself and it is one of my favorite lenses on my 5D. Sure its no Carl Zeiss, but for what its worth, its pretty darn close.
This is really a useful post Yuri. Thank you so much!
But I would also like to know which Canon lenses that you do make use of!
You’re so wrong on the 35 L. It’s one of the sharpest L lens i own. You might want to try another copy.
I added a few remarks regarding the 35mm 1.4L. The problem with this lens is not that it can’t be sharp because it can. The problem is that it is fragile and that 2/3 of the lenses you get from the factory are lemons. Being the production company I am, I need reliable lenses that I can order two or three off and expect to perform from day one. We have only had problems with our 35mms. We will try again however, because we can see from reviews that I should be able to perform. Be careful however.
Please be respectful in your replies. I had to remove a post because of this.
Ditto on the 35mm 1.4L, I’ve had the same experience with that lens.. Although, I would definitely like to see results from a better working copy.
RE: 1ds MK III, this camera is a beast. I love this camera. I’ve used the new 5d MK II a couple of times now, and in terms of build quality and overall feel in your hand the MK III is still king. Unfortunately, the new 5d has a lightweight, plasticky feel not disimilar to the much cheaper 40d. Another thing that worries me about the 5d is it has about 9 AF points to the MK III’s 45 AF points.. Kind of limits your focussing options considerably. Technical quality of images on the 5d looks great, with ISO noise reduction at high ISO levels, probably incomparably good.
Though, the video on the new 5d is amazing! For the price, anybody interested in video can justify buying one of these..
Yuri,
Great website. I read through all the equipment and it is pretty much in line with the direction i was heading on most. I would be interested to know what your views on studio lights are? I need to upgrade and am looking at lights. Could you let me know your views on the best lights to get for micostock?
Thanks,
Sean
This is great info for the newbie and I thank you!
Debbi
TO SEAN PRIOR. Watch my videos and you can clearly see what I use in lighting. I would recommend Profoto because they really never stops working. Great product.
Yuri, what would you recommend for a wide angle lens? How about the 24mm, or maybe the 14mm? Do you use wide angle at all?
Thx for a great blog
Debbi
Thanks Yuri – since posting i actually bought two profoto soft boxes to add to to the ones i had for my stock video work (before reading your post so luckily i was on the right track !) I just blew a fortune on lighting so i just hope it works well!!
No matter how i try on the stock video side i just cant get the lighting soft and even enough ! if anything maybe i am trying that bit too hard? if you could do a tutorial on lighting it would be great !!!
Its a great ‘bar’ you are setting for others. Can only be good for people to try to work to this level.
Sean
Debbi_in_California. Get a Gravatar.
I would ironically suggest the 35mm 1.4L, BUT only if you have arrengements that allow you to test it and make sure you don’t get a lemon. The non-lemon are fantastic.
If you feel the 35mm is too risky, try to get a hold of the old Canon 28-70mm, 2.8L. This lens is much sharper then the new 24-70mm.
Sean. I will for sure do a tutorial on light.
Great post. I’m currently a PC user, but I’ve used macs full time at my past graphic design jobs. If you have the extra money to shell out, they are real workhorses. They handle memory and multi task better than any PC, but you pay for this. You can do anything a mac can do on a PC, but with the newer intel based macs a mac is both a PC and a Mac with abilities to run OSX and Windows XP/Vista.
Yuri, you might as well save a few PC’s as space computers, and then just ebay the rest. Have one of your part timers employees do it if you don’t have the time. The longer you wait, the more their value will continue to depreciate.
One regret I’ve had is purchasing the Quantarray (Tamron) 70-300 It’s got so much CA it makes me sick, the kind that isn’t easy to fix. CA halos like crazy. So much that you have to use reduce the saturation of all blues and magentas just to kill it, and that doesnt help much if your model wearing blue jeans, or you have a blue sky in the frame. I’m currently shopping for a 70-200 f4 L – I should have gone this route in the first place. They are going used for $400 USD on the forums, the cheapest I’ve seen.
One suggestion I can offer – ebay.com and live.com are GREAT together! You get 30% cashback rebate on live.com with your cashback account. That means if you buy a camera body for $2000 on ebay, you get $500 back! I just bought a few 2.5″ hard drive enclosures for $14, and I got an email 5 minutes later telling me that I had $4.20 in my paypal account from live.com You really can make your own sales. MAKE SURE you only buy items with BUYITNOW.
Why 32GB of RAM Yuri? Photoshop can handle maximum 2 GB ram. If you take into account the OS and other apps running – I would imagine that you would never need more than 12 GB or so? I have 16GB and have maxed it out once. That was running the entire Adobe Suite and a Windows VM on 3 GB of ram.
I need all the RAM i can get. If I could load 64 or 128GB into a mac I would do so right away. Bridge takes so much memory and with all the other stuff I have running it just flows much better with more RAM.
I love my 35 1.4L. It’s absolutely gorgeous! It is my favorite lens next to my 70 – 200 2.8L. The images just pop off these lenses. I do believe that my 35 1.4L is soft at wide apertures, but what should I expect in the way of sharpness from this lens? This is a very subjective matter.
Yuri, could you be more specific on what you consider to be “sharp” and what you consider to be “not sharp?” Maybe supply some sharpness target shots of a 35 1.4L that is bad and a shot of a target from a lens that you consider good. Point out where you expect sharpness and at what apertures.
Thanks!
Darron.
http://www.one-500th.com
Thank you!
Debbi
Yuri…did you mean to say Nikon at the end of your sentence? “Don’t buy a Canon 1Ds Mark lll. Buy the new 5D instead and wait for whatever is around the corner coming from Nikon.”
Changing bodies means new lenses, etc.
Mr. Arcurs, do you regret getting the Hassy H3 or do you love it? I’ve used it several times for commercial jobs and wouldn’t think it suitable to shoot stock, especially since DSLRs are so great. Do your higher res images sell enough to justify the cost? Do you find the Hassy software slows down your workflow?
This helps more than you believe. Trashing my mouse and keeping a list of those lenses.
Derek: Yes. I am getting the new Nikon 24Mp. Great that Nikon will get back in the game.
Darron: For the lenses I want to use, I stick to a handfull that are simply “super sharp” Nothing less really.
Michael: The Hassy is great and I do get better files from it for sure. It is hard to use and requires much more in basic photography skills, but the quality of the files is fantastic. The skin tones are much better and the files have just endless resolution. Wonderful.
Hi Yuri,
I really admire your work and have been following your work since 2006. I am amazed how you shoot stock and the way you organized the workflow and the business concept. I watched all your videos and read all I could find that you wrote. However my biggest problem is finding models and models fee. In my country (Croatia) models are pricey; like 100/200$ per day, day=6-8 hours shoot. We know that is not all, we have to pay MUA, stylist + space to shoot. What would you advise, if you were me, what should I do to get around tricky and expensive models and modeling agency? To make clear I consider expensive only that when I pay and woman or man doesn’t know how to work lifestyle. I would pay any money if I could get skilled lifestyle models. Or it is me? Thanx man..
What do you mean by a sensor that is larger than full frame? Is the image circle of standard canon ef lenses actually larger than 35mm?
i dont want to know what you paid for you 32gb apple workstation. http://www.mac-sucks.com/
I dont want to know what you paid for your 32gb workstation. read this. http://www.mac-sucks.com/
disagree about PCs. Anyone can put together a bad computer. even for half billion. It’s about knowing technologies. Macs know them for you and take money for that.
I will bet I see you “mac-haters” write in the forums in a couple of years: “I was so wrong about mac, I just had no Idea of the difference before I tried it”. Love.
I’m looking forward to your tutorial on light! I’d also be interested in seeing a couple of post-processing techniques and/or before/after comparisons. Best of luck and Happy Holidays
well, i tried a mac. trust me. i will bet i can build a PC with the same power as you 32GB workstation. It´s only all about the money, not more.
Glad I found this website. Thanks.
Hi Yuri.You almost convinced me. I think I will buy a mac when I have to replace my old and worn out pc.
…what do you think?
I understand why you love your 70-200 IS USM 4,0L. I bought it early 2008 and it is absolutely great.
Right now I´m shooting with the old 5d, but I´m considering to buy the new one…but maybe I should wait and see what Canon comes up with in the next year, but I can´t live without a full frame sensor
Thankyou for a great site.
hi, yuri. your opinions do matter a lot because you have become an icon of success. fortunately, you are generous enough to share your knowledge based on solid experience. by the way, i hope to read your opinions about nikon DSLRs – including the non-24mp – if you have used them at all. thank you. i wish you more success.
just wondering how your psychology mix with your photography.
just wondering how your psychology mixes with your photography.
oh, i read your “eight secrets” and found the answer to my previous post. cheers.
“nikon-d3x-oficjalna-premiera” can anyone translate this in English, please? :[...] już aby nie kupować Canon 1Ds Mark III, a Nikon D3x, kupować, nie kupować ?! Nie wiadomo, chyba nie, bo nie kręci filmów jak EOS 5D [...]
is that Danish?
thank you.
[...] już aby nie kupować Canon 1Ds Mark III, a Nikon D3x, kupować, nie kupować ?! Nie wiadomo, chyba nie, bo nie kręci filmów jak EOS 5D [...]
googled that phrase and clicked “translate this page.” it’s Polish.
…but the Google automatic translation is confusing.
FOR YURI: can you share some thoughts about nikon? will appreciate your views.
thank you and happy new year to all the “lucky ones” who learn from Mr. Arcurs.
Yuri,
The thing with Canon is that they seem to have terrible quality control. So while their products should be theoritically excellent, you do end up with a lot of bad performing products often. There is an issue with the 50mm f/1.2 lens which Canon up to this day can’t fix, though they are aware of this:
http://www.kareldonk.com/karel/2008/07/16/canon-ef-50mm-f12-l-defective-by-design/
I am personally tired of this and have been writing a lot about it in order to get them to improve. Even the latest 5D Mark II has issues. Just check my site here:
http://www.kareldonk.com/karel/2008/12/22/canon-eos-5d-mark-ii-barely-worth-it/
Hello Yuri, a friend recommended me your page and here I am. Great tips !!
I recently bought a Canon 5D Mark II and have a 30D as well. The 30D comes with a EFS 18-55mm that is not compatible with the 5D. So that reduces me to my other 2 lenses, a 50mm and a 75-300mm. I shoot mostly portraits as you can see on my page, but my practice is not longer than 2 years or so.
What lens you think I’m lacking for my 5D?
Thank you in advance…. Great work you do !!!
Moisés
hi! great infos here. thx!
what do you think about the canon 17-55 f2.8 IS USM lens?
i got one of those for my 450d and wonder if it was the right thing to do …
cheers
oz
Would you guys recommend the 50mm f1.4 over the 1.2? I have the 1.8 -and it’s tack sharp – but the AF on it is utter crap.
Forget what I posted about the live.com rebates. It looks like that program has been done away with. I bought my 70-200 with it just in time. It may come back, but check this site here for updates. http://www.abevoelker.com/livesearch/
Hi Yuri,
you recommend the new 5D Mark II over the 1D Mark IIIs. However I have the new 5D and one thing that you strongly recommend in one of your videos is the silent shutter mode. As far as I know beyond the silent mode in the LiveView there is only the Cn Function to make the cam bring up the mirror when u press first time and shoot when u press second time. The silent mode however that u described shoots when u release. Would you say that it brings sharper images to use the lock mirror function on the 5D mark II or would u say it doesn’t adequately replace the silent mode of the hassel or the 1D.
And as for the lenses. I believe it really comes to a bit of luck that u have with your piece in terms of sharpness. I own a few L Lenses which you would consider having better quality but my absolute sharpest lens is the Canon 50mm f1.4 Lens. Saying this I bet there will be many other photographers saying exactly the opposite because they maybe got a bad piece of the 50mm. It wouldn’t be bad to have a easy to do but precise setting description e.g.a certain picture on white paper that you would be able to photograph under defined conditions (light, distance etc.) and then the raw file could be analysed within a piece of software that could tell u if its sharp or not. Everything else is difficult to judge because eveyone has a different setting, lighting etc.
Martin
I just want to thank Yuri personally for giving me some tips on how to improve my stock photography. He was very helpful. I went ahead and sold my 70-200L 2.8 lens and purchased two Prime Canon L lens 35 1.4F and the 135 2.0F. I know he said I should go with the 85L 1.2F. But I decided I needed something in the wider end to complement the longer end. So I went with the those two to start off with. I just received them yesteday and after a few test shots I am so impressed with the sharpness, color and contrast of these lenses. I am going to start incorporating DOF control more in my photos…..I was always using around F8 with my 24-105L (that seemed to be the sweet spot for sharpness)…..I am going to start shooting in the 2.0F range…I know it will take a little practice but I already like the results I am getting….thanks again Yuri for taking the time to help me out.
Reuben
come on man … the Canon 50L is sharp!!!! you might have a bad copy…
Thanks for the tips Yuri!
truth,
Mac are very good for regular user, so let the regular user get the thing he is able to manage. Sure Apple is overpriced in the matter of hardware and “all in one” software for home use that is included, but bear in mind you do not have to spent time and money on IT consultant to get it started unless You are IT consultant yourself. Its much easier to bring system to work with Mac Pro for regular user as any normal photographer used to be
Hi Yuri, Im only starting to get into the SLR range of cameras again after a long break since college. I bought myself an Olympus e410 last summer and its doing what it needs to do for my skill level, but what would you suggest I move on to for the next level of experience?
cheers
Lee
Oh man! I am depressed / confused! So many opinions and options — I’ve just convinced myself that dropping $1500 on a pro monitor (eizo or LaCie, still deciding) is well worth it.
I have a 24″ Apple Cinema display and the contrast is just too good! I move the image over to my Apple PowerBook G4 monitor and the photo looks flat and dull
Obviously you don’t have this problem your images are amazing. Hmmm… confused again!
GREAT Information
Hi,
I love your two lists of recommended an not recommended things. I would like to know if you would recommend the 70-200mm f4 (non IS version) L for my 1,6crop 40d? Is 70mm on the 40d (112mm) wide enought for portraits? What do you think of the Canon 50mm F1.4?
Thanks
Wigand
I wanted to note that if you buy the 5D mark II over the 1DS Mark III you won’t get the “automatic silent shooting mode” the mk3 has.
I really doubt Canon will release a larger than full frame camera. Even if they do, that would require a news lens mount and new lenses, as the current EF image circle would be too small. So that would require getting a whole new system of lenses.
They’ll probably release a 35 – 38MP full frame or something like that – as you’d get that with the same pixel pitch as the current 50D.
Good guide.
I’m wondering about color rendition and accuracy from different camera makes, I have a nikon D300 and the skin tones are always red and seem to lack much tonal range, do you find that the cannon cameras have better color for skin tones and is there much difference between models such as a 5D and 1ds mk3?
to Kate, if you profile your monitor with a spider or similar device you shouldnt have that problem. It will also help to learn about color profiles, without that knowledge everything is guess work. I bought an Eizo and before it was calibrated it was like any other monitor, once calibrated its the bomb…
Dear Yuri…
If your PCs are “just standing there in your storage area unused” you are very welcome to clear your storage and donate them for my personal use – I’ll cover the shipping…
Two happy guys, clean storage and wanted PC’s (everybody needs love) – a perfect world…
Regards
Hi there…
…I was in the market for a battery pack but now considering the compact generator thingy. I have no electrical background but would 1000W max be enough to drive 3 compact flash heads with 600Ws? That would be quite interesting…and also could be used in a studio environment
MAC vs PC
I like people with strong points of view, but the MAC/PC argument its really dumb. I’m all mac at home and PC at work and there’s not difference when working on PS or Lightroom or any other program available for both operating systems. It sounds like you might have gotten taken and “forced” to buy some expensive PC…
Most people don’t need a computer with 32GB of RAM and a PC running XP with the same specs will perform in much the same way an Apple.
A simple Dell with 4GB of RAM and RAID drives costs about $1500 if you skip RAID you can be close $1100…. what can you buy with that on Apple territory? a MacBook?
Peace!
Thanks for the info, Yuri. You’re definately recommended a lot of gear that is massively expensive! But if that’s what it takes to produce the shots you’re getting – then so be it. You know, I think a write up on your most valued experiences as a photographer vs the things that were a waste of time, would be just as valuable if not much more valuable than this write up on gear.
I think the whole Mac vs PC thing really starts a lot of arguments doesn’t it? That’s dangerous territory. What you’re using in your Mac is more like server technology – hence the dual cpu sockets and 8 RAM slots. That’s some serious horsepower – so much in fact that it’s meant to serve data to thousands of Apache/SQL/Mail/FTP users at the same time. You’re just one person and you have all that horsepower on tap, just for you. A bit greedy eh? That’s why you’re cooking along with tremendous speed
Thanks for confirming the 85mm and 70-200 F4 for me. I had read all the reviews and some real world experience in your field has given me the confidence that those two lenses are going to work for me and what I’m doing. Cheers!
Mike
The most precious asset in Yuri’s career cannot be bought. It’s called talent. And this my friends, cannot be bought not acquired after birth. Good material only helps, doesn’t make a good photographer. I wish I was talented!
MAC
You would need 2000w wouldn’t you?
Hi Yuri,
I read this post few months ago and I could swear you said some good things about the canon 28-300 f3.5 – 5.6 L IS USM. Now I’m on the verge of buying this lens based on your recommendation (ok, I read a lots of other reviews but your opinion weighted a lot in my decision). Now I checked again and this lens is not any more in the “lenses you’re happy with” section. Have you re-edited the post, or is it just my imagination? If it’s the second, can you please advice me regarding this matter? I want to replace my 24-105 f4 L IS with 28-300 f3.5 – 5.6 L IS.
Thank you very much for sharing with us a bit from your expertise. For me it is invaluable.
Petre.
A 4GB memory module sold by Apple, and the apple care protection plan. You’ll need it:)
What you think about new canon 500D, i’m beginer and I would like to shoot and make videos too, and whitch lens you recommand?is there some better cam for those money?
Greatings from Serbia
At the moment I am taking in as much as I can…….I enjoy your site Yuri…….I’ll be checking in for quite awhile…….Have a great day….Winter in Sydney Australia, but not as cold as where your studio is
Doug Jansen
I’m surprised when people are interested in a very successful photographer’s opinions, and then they argue with them. These people are successful for a reason, so perhaps you should try to learn from them and see why their suggestions work for them.
I used to shoot live theatrical events with the old style Canon 50mm f 1.0 EF and the 85mm f 1.2 ef. The 85 was very sharp for my purposes, and the 50mm really was not usable wide open.
Yuri you must try the new wacom palet intuos 3 it is fantastic i used my intuos 1 sinc 1999 kai now i have the 3 Large model.
Mario from Greece.
correction intuos 4
PC has one great advantage over Mac OS X at present. You can use more than 2Gb of RAM for your images. Windows has been a true 64bit OS for about 6 years and OS X is still not a full 64Bit OS. This means in a workstation with more than 4Gb of RAM you can access all of it in Photoshop x64 for your images. This is important when you’re working with large images of 12Mp or more. OS X has to wait until Photoshop CS 5 to gain the same advantages.
On my workstation I had 16Gb of RAM of which 8Gb was dedicated to the OS and 4Gb was a RAM drive. For Photoshop this machine was fast, even with Opteron processors 3 years old and can still keep up with the i7 series in many tasks (other than computationally intensive). Plus you can use SSDs natively as Windows 7 has TRIM support, again something that Snow Leopard neglected to implement.
Microsoft have finally released a good OS in Windows 7, it’s fast, stable and reliable. It’s also sets the stage for future technologies such as touch screens, OpenCL and more. Like Vista before it the system has now got better support for new screen technologies and are resolution independent which XP struggled with above 24in (icons and text got too small).
OS X is no panacea, most Mac owners will blithely ignore the major issues that’s plagued the OS in recent months the most obvious is the data loss issue as a guest user. Security is also pretty lax in OS X something that may come back and haunt Apple if they market share continues to grow.
At the end of the day the arguments for OS X Vs Windows 7 are moot, both are strong and capable systems. Choose the poison that does the job for your ideology and methodology. There is no quality difference upon input/output, there is no advantage in colour management or even font management (an old Mac strong point). The hardware is essentially the same (apart from Apples own quirks) and reliability is about the same. Although Apple’s quality control is going downhill these days (Time Capsules, faulty Imac screens and so on).
Just got mine two weeks ago. It is great!
This is true and it would be great to see Mac move to 64Bit
hi Yuri.
what do you think about ef 24mm f/1.4l ii usm?.
Funny, I’ve been craving the 35mm 1.4. Damn you for putting more doubts in my head! I wouldn’t expect it to be razor sharp wide open, but I’m surprised it’s being called soft here. Hmmm, will rent before buying.