Messages

1

Sports / Re: Airtricty League

« on: June 14, 2013, 05:56:39 PM »

As a soccer referee, I feel the urge to pull a yellow card from my pocket...

2

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Is it time to consider Sigma lenses seriously?? competitive to Canon?

« on: June 14, 2013, 02:59:26 AM »

In a word, yes.  At least the primes.  I have shot with the 50mm for a couple years with my 5D Classic, love it wide open in low light, or stopped down with full light.  Bokeh is fantastic, often resort to manual focus because I like to use it in such low light. Color, contrast and sharpness are excellent, out of focus areas are beautiful, construction great. Got the 35mm f/1.4 recently, even better construction, and image quality is fantastic. It feels like a million dollar piece of equipment.  Still getting a feel for the output, but so far, it's excellent.  It will allow me to create images that my 24-105L never will. I sincerely doubt that the most discerning photographer would be disappointed.

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Reviews / Re: Horrible experience with Adorama camera

« on: June 04, 2013, 06:09:25 PM »

Not to devalue your frustration at all, but wire transfers are very finicky things. The slightest irregularity perceived on the receiving end by the receiving bank and the transfer is refused. The fault was probably not Adorama's, I doubt they have a wire house on site.  It was likely the sending bank didn't coordinate properly with the receiving bank, or they would have known that an address was required.

I hope you get your gear soon. Tell us, what did you get? That is the fun stuff!

4

Lenses / Re: Tele for backpacking

« on: June 03, 2013, 02:05:37 PM »

For those with experience, how are the non-L 70-300 IS or the 70-300 DO?

Please don't get the non-L 70-300 IS.  I have it, use it often, and every time I look at the images at 1:1, I am more and more disappointed with them.  Looking to upgrade my telephoto zoom ASAP.

Don't know about the DO.

5

Lenses / Re: Tele for backpacking

« on: June 03, 2013, 02:00:56 PM »

Why not rent the 200MM F2.8L, a non-white lens that weighs in at less than 800g?  Excellent sharpness, color rendering and portability.  It's so good you can freely crop with little sacrifice.  I think that with the 6D, 17-40L, 100L macro should about cover most situations.

http://usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/ef_lens_lineup/ef_200mm_f_2_8l_ii_usm#Specifications

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-200mm-f-2.8-L-II-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

6

Pricewatch Deals / Re: Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 DG OS HSM Now in Stock

« on: May 31, 2013, 01:22:36 AM »

OMG, want.   As a side note, my personal transformation into a raging Sigma fanboy appears now to be complete

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Software & Accessories / Re: Adobe to Stop Making Packaged Software

« on: May 10, 2013, 01:31:30 AM »

As the OP, I feel like this whole thread has gotten a bit crazy, to say the least. I have learned a great deal from you all, but if you won't want to read 17 pages of forum insanity, I believe Scott Kelby has very nicely summarized where we are on this topic, and the punchline is, let us all stop worrying, at least for now.   Thanks, everyone, for an interesting read.

http://scottkelby.com/2013/my-take-on-adobes-announcements-yesterday-at-the-max-conference/

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Reviews / Re: Review - Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM

« on: May 07, 2013, 01:17:33 AM »

And last (but not least) new Sigma just doesn't feel right. It's like Batman first batch of helmets - looks kewl, black and shiny, but when you smack it, it cracks open. By which I mean the plastic feels cheap to touch

IMHO, because Sigma has been at the lens game for a while, the proto-Batman analogy is clever but not really appropriate in this case.  I left the 35mm out on my desk for a week, just to stare at it.  I believe it is a thing a beauty.

9

Software & Accessories / Re: Adobe to Stop Making Packaged Software

« on: May 07, 2013, 12:56:05 AM »

The software that you currently own WILL work forever on your machine.  No one is forcing you to upgrade to CC.

Yes, as long as you don't add lenses or bodies.  Competition is nipping around the edges here, with Nik/Google and others creating innovative stuff, and with Apple users having an alternative with Aperture.

I hope that pricing and usability don't take a turn for the worse.  I will allow for the possibility that innovation will benefit.

My biggest concern is Lightroom.  The whole pricing scheme seems to be tuned against frequent LR users that can get by with a slightly used version of Photoshop. 

10

Software & Accessories / Re: Adobe to Stop Making Packaged Software

« on: May 06, 2013, 04:43:01 PM »

Forgetting the cost for a moment, how would Lightroom service even work? Half the time I use it, I am on my laptop away from the grid.  Are we going to have to load our photos upstream to the cloud in order to work on them?  That doesn't seem practical to me when you are dealing with a couple hundred images in LR.

11

Software & Accessories / Re: Adobe to Stop Making Packaged Software

« on: May 06, 2013, 04:16:55 PM »

Here is CNET's take on the matter:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57582735-92/adobe-kills-creative-suite-goes-subscription-only/

12

Software & Accessories / Adobe to Stop Making Packaged Software

« on: May 06, 2013, 04:14:26 PM »

The Wall Street Journal is stating that Adobe is abandoning the packaged software model in favor of Creative Cloud, and plans no further release of Creative Suit after the current 6.0. I think this goes beyond just getting rid of the shrink wrap, the article says that subscription will be the only model.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323826804578466830054806110.html?mod=djemTECH_h

Shantanu Narayen, Adobe's chief executive, said creative professionals prefer features of the online service, he said, including the fact that it is constantly updated with new features. The company's subscription pricing also "scales the offering" from individual freelancers to the biggest enterprises.

"We wanted to align the company with the future of the creative process," Mr. Narayen said.

The article goes on to say the following:

Adobe is offering existing Creative Suite customers discounts of about 40% on the first year of service. After that an annual contract costs $50 a month for individuals. Corporate subscriptions include cloud storage and administrative tools and cost $70 a month per user.

This seems like terrible news, I certainly don't need another cable bill just for my regular use of Lightroom and only occasional use of Photoshop.  There is no mention of what Lightroom or Photoshop alone will cost, but I don't like the idea of subscription.  Maybe competition in the workflow space will solve the problem. 

13

Lenses / Re: Do you still love 24-105L?

« on: April 25, 2013, 10:03:20 PM »

I do like mine, it is versatile and utilitarian, and I think I would really miss the extra range if I went with one of the 24-70 models.  I was very disappointed that Canon came out with the 24-70mm f/4 IS L.  Maybe the smaller range makes for better IQ (and cheaper price), but I would have rather seen an update to the current length, even if it picked up a bit of weight and cost.

I do find myself reaching for the Sigma 50mm & 35mm and Canon 85mm f/1.8 more often these days, though.  The new Sigma 35mm is freakin' awesome, feels like a Zeiss with autofocus as a bonus.

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EOS Bodies / Re: A Bit of EOS 70D Info [CR1-CR2]

« on: April 16, 2013, 02:19:36 AM »

It sucks having too much Canon glass to affordably switch camps. #firstworldproblems

Funny!  Recently upgraded the hard disc on my main computer, and when I got the "critically low" message today, i am feeling pretty good about 18 megapickles.  Heading to the local computer establishment tomorrow to purchase a second hard disc.

The 60D is looking spiffy at current prices, the 70D seems to represent a significant refinement to an extremely fine family of cameras.

We must remember that the equipment isn't supposed to create art for us, it is here to enable us and take away as many distractions and tedious tasks as possible.  It feels like the majors, Canon included, are ever converging on taking hardware-related tasks out of the creative process.  Bully for Canon.

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Software & Accessories / Re: Wrist or Neck strap

« on: April 15, 2013, 03:09:00 PM »

Shoulder strap from Lens Loop