Messages

1

Software & Accessories / Re: Pixma Pro 9000 II prints are dark

« on: April 08, 2013, 04:54:25 PM »

I haven't used my Canon printer (it was a pretty cheap one)for a while, so I can't speak directly to Canons, but I know with Epson, when you go to print there are options about color management.  You have to make sure the printer is set not to do any color management, so that LR can manage everything.  I always print with perceptual intent, an appropriate ICC profile loaded, and color management on the printer turned off.  If you don't turn the color management on the printer off, it doesn't come out right. You may already know that, so hopefully i'm not wasting your time.  I thought it might be a good thing to check, though,  if you hadn't thought to yet.

2

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Quality Manual Lenses

« on: March 28, 2013, 05:26:11 PM »

Canon cameras have a relatively short sensor to flange distance, so there are tons of old lenses that can be adapted.  There is a whole section on FredMiranda.com on alt lenses.  There are also flickr groups as well as forums dedicated to manual focus.  You should be able to find lots of opinions and sample pictures out there.  Contax/Zeiss lenses are popular as well as Leica R.  These aren't really budget though (generally speaking).  I really  like the Olympus OM series lenses.  They are tiny, light and have pretty decent quality.  A lot of them can be found under $100.  The ones with better reputations can be a little more expensive.  I've been able to get ahold of a lot of the Olympus OM f/2 lenses for around $200, and they make pretty nice pictures.  Also, it's my understanding that with video, since you're recording at a resolution of 1920x1080, sharpness isn't such a big deal.  The samyangs are pretty nice too.  I have the 35, and it takes great pictures. It's huge though.

3

Lenses / Re: I'd love a little adivce...

« on: March 11, 2013, 04:53:47 PM »

I really enjoy the olympus lenses adapted to canon EOS.  They have no issues with mirror clearance on the 5D line.  The 35mm focal length is kind of a week one for the system though.  If money's not an issue though, and you want something nice, I would buy something new and modern.   I play with the olympus lenses because they are pretty good and relatively affordable.  If I sold all of my olympus primes I might be able to afford an L prime.  Nothing's nicer than the new 35mm primes, if you're willing to pay for it.

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Canon General / Re: tips for Barcelona?

« on: March 10, 2013, 05:52:19 PM »

The Gaudi stuff is pretty touristy, but makes for some good photo ops. Also, If you happen to be there for a riot, that helps too.

5

Lens Gallery / Re: Pictures taken with the humble 35 f2

« on: December 04, 2012, 10:33:45 PM »

Ok. I couldn't help myself.  A couple more.

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Lens Gallery / Re: Pictures taken with the humble 35 f2

« on: December 04, 2012, 10:11:46 PM »

I love this little lens. Not the sharpest tool in the shed.  But nice and small and light.  Perfect on a crop.

7

Canon General / Re: Selling question...

« on: November 29, 2012, 04:38:02 PM »

Going rate seems to be about $1300 on the ebays.  If you ebay, I would start the bidding at $1300 minus the cost of a shutter replacement and then let the market do its thing.  Things often sell for more than they're worth on the ebays(lots of impulsive and uninformed buyers, plus there's a gambling and winning aspect to it), so it would probably work out pretty well for you.  I think it's your best bet for maximum return. Otherwise, I still think you could pick up at least a grand, probably a little more selling in craigslist or in forums somewhere.

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: a used Canon 5D, a budget way to go full frame?

« on: November 20, 2012, 05:25:09 PM »

Ooooh, Ooooh! I want to get in the fight!

From my personal experience, the 5D has better image quality than my T2i(which has the same sensor as a 7D), especially at higher ISOs.  Also, I don't think anyone should be shooting either sensor at higher than 1600, because they both look like uber crap beyond that.

The 5D and 7D have similar noise levels, but the 5D is ever so slightly better, and for some reason seems to retain more detail.  The noise has a different character.

As far as it being quantifiable, when I look at comparisons online, they all seem to agree with the above, so I'm not sure where dtaylor is getting his info.

Check out DxO marks comparison.  I know their overall ratings are meaningless, because no one can figure how on God's green earth they justify the weighting, but I think their testing is consistent for the individual tests and therefore, acceptable for comparison. 

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cameras/Compare-Camera-Sensors/Compare-cameras-side-by-side/(appareil1)/645%7C0/(brand)/Canon/(appareil2)/619%7C0/(brand2)/Canon/(appareil3)/176%7C0/(brand3)/Canon

The 5D only loses in the dynamic range department at low ISO.  And it's better than the 7D at ISO 800 and up.

Have a nice day everyone.

9

Lenses / Re: Budget wide-angle for FF

« on: November 09, 2012, 10:01:19 AM »

Isn't there a difference in which way the focus ring rotates on the samyang and the rokinon, or something like that? The rokinon turn direction matches canon and the samyang matches nikon? 

If you're looking for good lenses on a budget, and you're willing to do manual focus, I would highly recommend looking at used Olympus OM-system lenses.  Since they're legacy, sometimes they need a little work, but they have outstanding optics, build and functionality. All it takes is a simple metal adapter that will cost you around $10. 

I would suggest the Olympus OM H.Zuiko Auto-W 24mm f/2.8. You can find a copy on ebay for around $125.  If you're lucky, significantly less. 

Half the beauty of canon cameras is that they have a short flange distance that makes it possible to adapt a wide variety of lenses. Once you start looking beyond the canon lineup there's a world of possibilities.

10

Lenses / Re: EF 24-70 f/4L IS & EF 35 f/2 IS

« on: November 05, 2012, 05:05:48 PM »

Why are people dissing on the 35 f/2 IS USM? This is the lens I have wished for the most.  An updated 35 f/2. I really like my 35 f/2 and it is my most used lens on APS-C.  The focal length is great and the image quality is stellar for the price.  It's only real downsides were the noise and the poor full frame corner performance. I use mine on my 5d by the way, and i don't hate it, but it could definately use some improvement.  Hopefully these are the things that are fixed. 

As far as it being only a stop faster than the 17-55, f2.8 doesn't cut it for low light, no flash on APS-C when people are involved.  That extra stop makes a world of difference.

It will probably rival the L in everything but the extra stop.  The L will probably retain only slightly higher center sharpness.   

It was kind of ridiculous for canon not to have a good modern consumer prime in the 35mm focal length.  I'm glad they finally got around to upgrading. Hope the prices aren't too ridiculous. Hopefully that new sigma will give it a run and bring the prices down. I was really excited about it until this announcement.

I'll wait for the data though, and then probably until canon knocks $150 off the price like they did on the 24 and 28, before I buy it.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that the consumer 35 is a hell of a lot more discreet than the L.

11

Software & Accessories / Re: Video card advice, please!

« on: October 04, 2012, 04:57:29 PM »

The U2711 is a wide gamut monitor, right? That means you need a video card that is capable of doing 10 bit color if you want to get the most out of it.  You'll have to get a professional card (like the ones made for CAD), either an Nvidia quadro or ATI Firepro.  I've also read that the consumer Nvidia  cards will do it, but I don't have any personal experience with them and I've only seen it a couple places.   I know the comercial ATI cards won't do 10 bit color.  It's stupid because they are more than capable, they're just crippled so that they can't.

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Canon 5Dc as an entry for FF? yay or nay?

« on: October 03, 2012, 11:29:28 PM »

5Dc is what i did to upgrade from a T2i.  I use it much more than the T2i now.  It performs better in low light and has a better noise characteristic at iso 1600. It takes less kindly to underexposure than the T2i.  Got a pretty beat up copy for about $650.  It has worked just fine (knocking on wood).  Image quality is great. I recommend it.  Keep the other one though, if you can afford to.  It's comparatively light and small and is easier to throw in a bag and carry along when you don't feel like lugging around the clunker.

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: DSLR and zoom lens for ~$1,000.00 USD?

« on: August 29, 2012, 03:52:29 PM »

I think there are some misunderstandings about image quality floating around here.  A current 18MP rebel is going to make a "better" large print than a 12 MP 5Dc because it has a higher resolution.  The difference is in the better low light ability of a larger sensor, the larger pixels, and the greater depth of field.  I have both and use both.  The 5Dc has a better noise characteristic at ISO 1600 than the rebel and it's fabulous for blowing out backgrounds.  It doesn't take kindly to underexposure though. It also has a nicer Viewfinder (No one mentioned that).

That being said, the 5Dc feels like a clunky old camera and the T2i feels much more solid and is much more responsive.

Also, you don't need L lenses. That's some crapus.  If it's your first dSLR the picture quality improvement with just about any lens is going to be amazing.  The consumer primes do just fine on a full frame too, by the way. They're not as good as the L's but they're pretty close and if you don't know L, then you won't miss it.  The Canon 50/1.4 and 85/1.8 both beat the corresponding L's in certain aspects, and beat them by a mile in terms of value.

I would recommend the rebel as a starter with a kit lens(there's a reason it comes that way), and then a fast 50 for low light and shallow depth of field.  The 40/2.8 is pretty nice too. Oh and the 35/2.0 is great on a crop camera.  $100, $200, $300 respecitively. All cheap(for a lens) and make nice photos.

Also, invest in Lightroom if you can.  Post processing can make a big difference in final picture quality.

14

EOS Bodies / Re: Starter Gear (newbie here)

« on: June 11, 2012, 11:12:14 PM »

Ebay is great, just make sure you do your research.  It's easy to end up paying almost as much for something used as it would cost new, and that's no bueno.  Make sure you know the value of what you are bidding on, so you can get a good deal. Don't forget the canon refurbished store either.

I'm with unfocused.  Build your kit slowly and with thought.  You can't really know what you need/want until you know what you need/want, and that will come with discovering the things that you actually want to do with your camera. Otherwise, you might end up spending money on things you may never use.

I would recommend getting the 50 1.8 upfront, unless you want to spring for something better like the 1.4 or a 35 of some sort (f/2?).  I can pretty much guarantee you'll want the wide aperture and shallow depth of field.  It's like crack.

15

Technical Support / Re: functional ISO

« on: June 08, 2012, 03:09:47 PM »

Zuma!

Go full frame, because you'll love it.  My 5D classic is better at ISO 1600 than my T2i, and it's much older technology.  T2i is about on par with the 7D noise wise. I wouldn't suggest a 5D classic if you can afford a Mark II or Mark III, I just wanted to illustrate the point.  If you want great ISO noise performance, go with a full frame sensor.