Messages

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: First big job using FF - for all the FF nay-sayers

« on: February 04, 2013, 02:41:45 PM »

I run a 5DII and a 7D, which works really well. Get different properties out of the same lenses based on the body used. For example, the 85L is a great portrait lens on the 5DII but the focus speed is horrendous. With it paired to the 7D it nails focus quickly at F1.2. I was shooting snowboarding all day yesterday with both bodies and got great shots with both.

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EOS Bodies / Re: 85mm 1.2 version I or II

« on: November 21, 2012, 09:23:39 PM »

I can't imagine the focus on the MKI as it's absolutely hideous on the MKII.

They say slightly better CA and flare control, but the MKII is still bad for both. Purple fringing is just a fact of the matter at F1.2 with the MKII (in high contrast) so you have to shoot to control it.

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Lenses / Re: Renting a Wedding Lens

« on: September 03, 2012, 03:29:55 PM »

25+ weddings/year here. I'm definitely not a proponent of the 70-200L for weddings. It looks fine, but it's slow (f2.8 ) and garish when you're trying to sneak around. 85L is great. It's perfectly sharp at f1.2 if you're prepared to remove some purple fringing at times. On a crop body it's ~135 mm, so you get some good distance on a lens with f1.2. Plus at f1.2, you have the ability to remove EVERYTHING from focus behind the couple. Very handy in ugly locations. Very slow focus though. Be prepared to fall back on the centre focus point especially into the sun or when people are coming towards you.

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Lenses / Re: Canon EF 50mm f1.4

« on: April 21, 2012, 04:04:30 PM »

I wouldn't look too much into the price of lenses as an indication of new ones coming. The price of a lens is pretty variable over time. http://www.photoprice.ca/product/00008/Canon-EF-85mm-f1.2L-II-USM-price.html

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Lighting / Re: 430ex II assist beam - is this normal??

« on: April 20, 2012, 10:42:39 PM »

The AF assist beam won't work in AI Servo. Only Focus or One Shot.

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Lenses / Re: Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL-II

« on: April 13, 2012, 11:29:48 AM »

Don't waste your time on the 28mm 1.8. I've got it, and can't stand it on either a crop or full-frame camera. It's never sharp.

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Lenses / Re: Your Most Used Lens!

« on: April 05, 2012, 02:12:06 PM »

50mm 1.4 and 85L. 24-70L gets quite a bit of use as well.

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Third Party Manufacturers / Re: New FF from Sony - A99 - 102 x-type AF

« on: March 29, 2012, 11:46:13 PM »

When we decided to make the push into professional photography, and bought up a whole bunch more gear for the company, I really wanted to go with Sony. But because the video in their SLRs was so bad I had to go with Canon (I'd used Canon and Olympus before that). I like Sony because I think they really have to work hard to impress consumers a lot more than Nikon and Canon do, and they've been impressing me.

I'd take Zeiss lenses with autofocus...

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Lenses / Re: 85mm or 135mm?

« on: March 24, 2012, 10:44:30 AM »

I was debating this for a long time as well. We ended up going with the 85L, and it was a great choice. The autofocus sucks and it's absolutely massive (heavier than a 24-70L despite being a lot smaller. I guess dense is a better description...), but it is so useful it rarely comes off of the camera. We took last minute wedding photos in a couple's front yard, but you couldn't tell because NOTHING behind them is in focus at f1.2.

That said, although I'm very fond of photos taken with the 135L, I've never used it. No one here rents it either, which is bizarre. Honestly I find 135 mm to be an awkward focal length for weddings. It's rather tight and limits itself to fewer situations that way. An 85 mm lens on a crop sensor is more or less equivalent to 135 mm on a full frame sensor.

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Lenses / Re: New prime lenses for wedding/events

« on: March 17, 2012, 01:50:17 PM »

For weddings, there's either an 85L or a 50 mm 1.4 on a camera at all times when we shoot weddings. The 85L is a lens that is absolutely invaluable for weddings. Basically it allows you to shoot photos with absolutely no location because you have the ability to turn the entire background to mushy bokeh goodness. The 135L is nice, but I find it a little too long for weddings.

We use the 24-70L for the wide end of the spectrum. It's fairly rare that we need 24 mm in low light without a flash, and there's no depth of field at that focal length anyway (unless you want photos of giant noses).

Honestly, I don't see the difference between the 50L and the 50mm 1.4. The L isn't super duper sharp wide open (testing says the 1.4 does a better job at the lower apertures) and 1.2 to 1.4 is only a half stop, not really worth the price. You can argue the same about the 85L, but the full stop difference between 1.2 and 1.8 is nice. Its autofocus makes me want to throw it in the garbage though.

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Lenses / Re: fd to ef lens adaptor/converter

« on: March 13, 2012, 12:11:11 PM »

The EdMika FD to EF isn't an adaptor, it's an actual process to put a new mount on an existing FD lens. It, however, only gives infinity focus with a select few super telephotos. It definitely wouldn't work with a fisheye.

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: D4 vs 5D mk III: Raw file comparison at iso 25600......... Amazing!

« on: March 08, 2012, 11:04:03 AM »

Even though those are fairly small resolution images, I can't believe the acceptability of 25 600 ISO! To me, those are printable images (at smaller sizes, but still).

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Why 5DmkII file size varies so much....?

« on: March 08, 2012, 11:01:02 AM »

All of this is true. It became especially apparent when I was exporting all the image samples for my website and had to keep them very small (<200 kb for fast load times) and you'd really have to work with your compression settings for certain images. A b+w image with a lot of white or black space is going to be considerably smaller than a colour image with loads of fine detail. You'll see this variance in RAW files as well, although it's often not as drastic.

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Anyone bought a 5DMkII in the last 6 months and now regretting it?

« on: March 08, 2012, 10:56:51 AM »

Not at all. Fits my needs as a professional, especially in concert with the 7D. It'd be nice to have the mk III, but not for $1500 more than I spent on the mk II.

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Landscape / Re: Where Do You Print Your Pics?

« on: March 05, 2012, 11:44:17 PM »

We use McBain Camera in Edmonton. Good, cheap large printing. There's a similar type of place in every city, this is just another Foto Depot.