Again my decision was based on recommendations and personal experience. Both were awesome and met my needs. I also have a client who needs certain prints and comps almost on the fly. So in this case outsourcing is not possible.

I did ask around and look at the 1400. It also produced great images. During the demonstration, the 1400 had some printing issues mainly with color clogging. He took it away explaining that it was old, and then went to show me the other 1400 which he assured was new and never had an issue. Within three prints there were noticeable consistency issues.
He assured me that it was a freak incident and I do know that things happen. But the final nail came as he did admit to a larger than usual ink consumption. That's why I was considering the 3000. I was VERY close having used Epson printers in the past, but as a whole the Canon simply made more sence for my purposes.

Oh! It was the Epson 3000. Sorry! And final cost on the Canon with ink came to 504.00 U.S. I found a sale and the Canon Rebate.

Hey guys!
I was finally able to get my hands on both printers and give them a good run. After testing I decided to go with the Canon 9000mkII. It was VERY close. The deciding factor came down to overall cost over time for me. I printed the same files in both and had results that were VERY similar to each other. The cost for the Canon printer itself is significantly lower and the ink was about the same.
My main deciding factor after both printed awesome shots was a simple unscientific $400.00 cheaper cost. The Epson was more and they both seemed to run thru the same amount of ink (Canon had slightly less usage, but not a significant amount).

The closest thing to scientific method was to send two identical unaltered images to print and look for differences. I found that without proper finishing, the Epson produced a slightly better "out of the box" product both times. When I had recalibrated my monitors, and sent a matching set of three to each printer that had been properly finished and adjusted. There was no noticeable differences. Both handled the jobs without fault. And for my needs specifically, ill keep the extra and throw it into my piggy bank fund for a new piece of glass!
I would highly recommend either one!
And I wanted to say thank you for all the suggestions!

Hahahahaha!!! Completely agree! Most of my work will go out. But there is a need unfortunately to own something for emergencies. Ink empties as fast as my hard drives fill up! So the pain is nothing new! Lol!

Awesome! The limited use I've had turned out really well. I do love the idea of separate beds. But with left over money, I would rather find a cheap weekend vaca and go shoot! Lol! It seems everyone I know has this or the 9500.thanks for the reply!

Hey Cheryl,
I do a decent amount of printing, and while I have no problem sending my work out, I would prefer to handle the smaller jobs along with my personal projects internally. I completely agree with you in knowing/ seeing before you buy. I was just curious as to wether I was starting my search in the right direction. I do all my color work and set preferences before I send out, so I'm hoping to have something that can print the best quality within my budget. It doesn't have to be the full 1000, I have no problem spending less! Lol! I am more concerned with the ability to render a solid print. So mainly I'm looking for what any of you use when you want to do something on the fly. I recently had an issue where I was unable to send something out and have it back in time. So this would be a bit of a safety net for me also. Instead of calling friends and begging.

My vote goes to either PPSOP (Bryan Peterson is awesome). And if you like to get up and go then I would recommend MatadorU's Travel Photography program.

As a side note, it may help to try a few free courses first to get the hang of learning online. And free courses such as those offered at Adorama.com help you grasp the basics so you can concentrate on technique when you decide to pay and not button pushing.

I have taken Matador's course and loved it. I've also taken some of the PPSOP courses and loved those!

Good luck and have fun!

Hey guys!

I've finally decided to break down and buy a printer instead of sending out. I really don't need an extremely large bed. Most of my prints are 11x14, so this size is required. I would like a little flexibility but anything larger than 12x18 would still go out. This will be use to produce some client deliverables, so it would have to be "pro" quality as in capable of handling varies stocks, awesome color, etc...

I'm considering the Canon PIXMA PRO9000 Mark II, only because I know a few people that absolutely love it. My personal experience is limited due to my laziness. I'm most concerned with the best quality I can afford. So my budget is $1000 at the absolute high end (yes that includes tax. Lol!).
So...

1. What do ya'll swear by and trust for home use?

and

2. For my budget, is this a feasible reality, or should I hold off for something that is a bit outside of my comfort zone.

Thanks!

Hello,

I started off using various screens, and anything else I could get my hands on for little or no budget. These days most of my keying comes from chroma paint or various rigs and just the fabric. I will agree that the "Westcott Greenscreen and Background Kit" is a pretty good starter kit.

I'm a working compositor, and I also teach sfx/pfx/ and compositing. Not that it means much, but I actually do this for a living. So for what it's worth, my belief is lighting and placement is the main key to having a believable key (aside from not wearing matching chroma color i.e. floating news heads). If you can light correctly, what you use is slightly less of a concern. Same theory applies to auto replacement or hung backgrounds. If it's a precomposed background match the lighting of the subject to the light within the background and you should be close to golden.

As for keying stuff here's what I use most often:

Stills: Photoshop. I've never really thought to use anything else, but I'm sure there are plug-ins for it.

Film/Video: Keylight (After Effects), Primatte (Nuke), Master Keyer (Flame)

Live Keying: Ultimatte

Hope that helps a bit!

Alaskan, your work is incredible! Especially the Humpback shot. Wow!

I have known awesome photographers to lose clients because of idiotic things like that. I will say that I also know a shooter who had a client bulk at his leika with a cheap (lol) nautilux 50 f.95.

Client eyed his rig and said: "So why don't you use a one of the new cameras? That thing isin't even an automatic!"

Hahahaha!!!!!!

While I agree with both sides of the line, there is another element that as far as I could see has not been accounted for. I haven't read anything mentioning client perception yet! I spend my time (too much time) mainly as an sfx compositor, but I make a very nice living as a fashion and photocompositor.

While I'll come right out and say no from an artist standpoint, DSLR's are unfortunately the "mark" of professionalism. I can even take it a step further with personal experience...

(And bear in mind this is a stereotype)

Clients do not want to pay freelance/ house wages for someone walking on set with a p&s or an iPhone. And this is regardless of how well you shoot. It is strictly an uneducated blind appearance of "Pro" status.

I have sold photos taken with my iphone4 and Olympus XZ-1, for the same amounts as my 5Dmarkii, and Red One. But it has been my experience (and pro friends alike) that I make more money, and have less client concerns if they see the big guns. I still bring my P&S and no one's the wiser.

I realize that this may or may not be part of the "is it necessary" argument for most people, but it has proven a huge difference for me.

My personal opinion is based on the photographers eye, and skill set. Not the tools that aid in his creation. I believe the P&S examples above are awesome examples of a great photographer with a good tool!

I normally don't post, but I did feel that the point of outside perception should be taken into account!

Thanks!

For my 60D, I fell in love with my Tokina 11-16 f2.8, and for wide on my 5D, I have the Canon 8-16, the 20mm, and the Tokina 16-28. All shoot amazing pictures.

I also have the 35mm f1.4L, and the 50 f1.2L. Both are awesome, but personally I use the 50 f1.2 more than any other lens (that goes for both (1.6 crop and full frame).

Just my two cents!

Most apps allow you to set the image size under their respective settings menu. Your friend must have a low quality or small setting enabled. This will normally have to be done for each camera app he buys.