Egypt ruins lens
- Thread starter lionfish
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- Andy
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Haha! So how many of us read that the other way around. I thought you'd dropped your lens of a pyramid or got caught in a sandstorm.
28-75 should be just fine. Possibly something a tad wider for big sights when you are close in.
Dont worry about how bright it is, just do your photography at sunrise and sunset and it'll look so much nicer anyway.
28-75 should be just fine. Possibly something a tad wider for big sights when you are close in.
Dont worry about how bright it is, just do your photography at sunrise and sunset and it'll look so much nicer anyway.
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i'd advise a polariser and make sure you have a lens hood and that might help 
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- Tim
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I've been to Egypt many times, as a diver, but only once with any real photographic purpose in mind. That was back in summer 2006 and a took my week old 30D and 17-85 lens. Both the camera and lens worked really well for me, with a great focal length range. I do think you'll find a 28mm starting point a bit lacking at the wide end on a crop body.
I would advise use of a lens hood for physical protection and protection against flare. While I personally do not use UV/protection filters, you might want to consider using one if the wind is up and dust/sand is flying around. It's abrasive stuff!.
The bright conditions can lead to strong contrast but there isn't really much you can do about that other than shoot early or late in the day when things have calmed down a bit. Personally I would not worry much about the brightness. Your camera will be more than capable of handling any exposure demands.
In terms of setting exposure, I'd be looking to use a manual exposure based on the "Sunny 16 Rule", perhaps knocked down 1/3 or 2/3 stop due to the strong sun and reflective environment. A typical, standard "Sunny 16" exposure might be f/8, 100 ISO, 1/400 so maybe try f/8, 100 ISO, 1/500 or 1/640. Your problem there will be if you have to use fill flash and do not have an external flash as you will be limited to the sync speed of 1/250 if you use flash. That would require an exposure of around f/11, 100 ISO, 1/250 in order to use flash outdoors during the day.
Here is a shot taken using autoexposure but it ended up with f/10, 100 ISO, 1/250, which is an exact "Sunny 16" exposure. It was shot raw and could be enhanced by editing but this is without edits other than a WB adjustment. The exposure looks pretty good to me. You will note in this example that the shadows are very light, because the environment is bouncing light around and filling in the shadows without the need for flash. A boost to contrast should help add some punch. This was at 85mm. EXIF is intact.
Here's another example, again shot with autoexposure, this time yielding f/8, 100 ISO, 1/160. That's 1/3 stop brighter than "Sunny 16" and it is a little overexposed, with clipping on my girlfriend's top and a few other areas. This is far more contrasty because the environment is not bouncing the light around so easily. This has had no edits at all. This was at 17mm. EXIF is intact.
As you may note, there is a lot of haze in the sky, which does slightly weaken the power of the sun a bit, and may ease the contrast a bit. Shooting away from the smog laden cities, nearer the coast, you may find the sun to be stronger and the shadows deeper.
Here's one last example, shot in the valley of the kings. Once more using autoexposure, this is underexposed due to the expanse of bright sand. Also, due to complete newbieness I had the ISO at 250. I have no idea why. As a result I ended up with f/20 and 1/500, which is nuts, and also 1 2/3 stops dimmer than "Sunny 16", supporting the assertion that the shot is underexposed (just look how dark the sky is). Also, small apertures do not mix well with crop bodies for sharpness. f/11 is really the smallest aperture I'd care to use with a cropper and really I'd prefer no smaller than f/8. This was shot at 20mm and has had no edits.
Anyway, the bottom line is that shooting manual with a "Sunny 16" exposure, or perhaps 1/3 (or maybe 2/3) stops less should serve you very well throughout daylight hours. I'd also suggect shooting raw so that you can more easily get the most from your photos in terms of levels/curves, WB etc..
Watch out for dust/sand, and think very carefully when cleaning your gear (lens!) about whether your cleaning cloth is dust/sand/grit free before you go rubbing away. A blower may be useful. A sealed plastic bag will help prevent condensation on your gear when you step outdoors from an air conditioned environment.
If you have more questions feel free to ask
p.s. the pictures above are not my best work from the trip, but used as illustrations regarding exposure settings.
I would advise use of a lens hood for physical protection and protection against flare. While I personally do not use UV/protection filters, you might want to consider using one if the wind is up and dust/sand is flying around. It's abrasive stuff!.
The bright conditions can lead to strong contrast but there isn't really much you can do about that other than shoot early or late in the day when things have calmed down a bit. Personally I would not worry much about the brightness. Your camera will be more than capable of handling any exposure demands.
In terms of setting exposure, I'd be looking to use a manual exposure based on the "Sunny 16 Rule", perhaps knocked down 1/3 or 2/3 stop due to the strong sun and reflective environment. A typical, standard "Sunny 16" exposure might be f/8, 100 ISO, 1/400 so maybe try f/8, 100 ISO, 1/500 or 1/640. Your problem there will be if you have to use fill flash and do not have an external flash as you will be limited to the sync speed of 1/250 if you use flash. That would require an exposure of around f/11, 100 ISO, 1/250 in order to use flash outdoors during the day.
Here is a shot taken using autoexposure but it ended up with f/10, 100 ISO, 1/250, which is an exact "Sunny 16" exposure. It was shot raw and could be enhanced by editing but this is without edits other than a WB adjustment. The exposure looks pretty good to me. You will note in this example that the shadows are very light, because the environment is bouncing light around and filling in the shadows without the need for flash. A boost to contrast should help add some punch. This was at 85mm. EXIF is intact.
Here's another example, again shot with autoexposure, this time yielding f/8, 100 ISO, 1/160. That's 1/3 stop brighter than "Sunny 16" and it is a little overexposed, with clipping on my girlfriend's top and a few other areas. This is far more contrasty because the environment is not bouncing the light around so easily. This has had no edits at all. This was at 17mm. EXIF is intact.
As you may note, there is a lot of haze in the sky, which does slightly weaken the power of the sun a bit, and may ease the contrast a bit. Shooting away from the smog laden cities, nearer the coast, you may find the sun to be stronger and the shadows deeper.
Here's one last example, shot in the valley of the kings. Once more using autoexposure, this is underexposed due to the expanse of bright sand. Also, due to complete newbieness I had the ISO at 250. I have no idea why. As a result I ended up with f/20 and 1/500, which is nuts, and also 1 2/3 stops dimmer than "Sunny 16", supporting the assertion that the shot is underexposed (just look how dark the sky is). Also, small apertures do not mix well with crop bodies for sharpness. f/11 is really the smallest aperture I'd care to use with a cropper and really I'd prefer no smaller than f/8. This was shot at 20mm and has had no edits.
Anyway, the bottom line is that shooting manual with a "Sunny 16" exposure, or perhaps 1/3 (or maybe 2/3) stops less should serve you very well throughout daylight hours. I'd also suggect shooting raw so that you can more easily get the most from your photos in terms of levels/curves, WB etc..
Watch out for dust/sand, and think very carefully when cleaning your gear (lens!) about whether your cleaning cloth is dust/sand/grit free before you go rubbing away. A blower may be useful. A sealed plastic bag will help prevent condensation on your gear when you step outdoors from an air conditioned environment.
If you have more questions feel free to ask
p.s. the pictures above are not my best work from the trip, but used as illustrations regarding exposure settings.
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- Richard
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Another vote for a wider lens. 18-55 IS kit would be preferable to the one you have, at very low cost. It is often paired with the 55-250 IS which is also excellent value - good for pulling in distant shots and candids maybe. I would also look at an ultra-wide like EF-S 10-22. That would make a very nice outfit, but there are lots of options around the basic standard-zoom, tele-zoom, wide-zoom idea, depending on budget. Get lens hoods!
It will be bright during the day and although your camera should have no problem with that at lowest ISO, a polarizing filter would be a good addition and will give dramatic skies over there. Also, a flash gun perhaps, rather than the camera's built-in flash. This is because the sun will be directly overhead much of the time, which casts harsh shadows down faces, with very dark eyes. If people are wearing hats, their faces will go black. Fill-flash will lift that and really make a big difference, but you need a gun with high-speed sync due to the very bright sun and correspondingly high shutter speeds. 430EX and 580EX have this feature, and it works well
It will be bright during the day and although your camera should have no problem with that at lowest ISO, a polarizing filter would be a good addition and will give dramatic skies over there. Also, a flash gun perhaps, rather than the camera's built-in flash. This is because the sun will be directly overhead much of the time, which casts harsh shadows down faces, with very dark eyes. If people are wearing hats, their faces will go black. Fill-flash will lift that and really make a big difference, but you need a gun with high-speed sync due to the very bright sun and correspondingly high shutter speeds. 430EX and 580EX have this feature, and it works well