Messages

1

Lenses / Re: Poll: Most Wanted New Lenses of 2013.

« on: May 07, 2013, 04:07:56 PM »

I want a lens that does not yet exist. I would like a 24-135 f1.4-f2.8 L with IS. Preferably less than 800 grams; black, not white; and using a 77mm filter.

That would be my perfect walkabout lens (the the perfect kit lens).  The 24-105L is really nice, but I wish it were faster.  I've finally come to appreciate the advantage of the faster lens with the 5D3 AF system.

I also like the idea of a modest-range walkaround lens. Longer reach than 70mm, but not going crazy like the 28-300mm to reduce distortion and keep size/weight reasonable. However, I think this one sabotages its chances in two key areas:

1) I'd be shocked to see a zoom with that kind of range open up to f1.4. Even f2.0 would probably be fantasy. Consider the 28-300mm which has f3.5-5.6, or the 28-135mm which also has f3.5-5.6. I think we'd be lucky to get f2.8-3.5 over a 24-135mm range. Throw in IS and there goes your weight criteria.

2) If they sold a great-quality lens in that range, we'd have no need to buy any other bright primes or even the 24-70mm f2.8 ii! The kings of marketing and product-differentiation would never allow it. That reasoning explains the good-but-not-great IQ of the 24-105mm.

But as long as we're dreaming... count me in for one also! 

2

Lenses / Re: 35 & 85 or 50 & 100 for photographing kids

« on: May 05, 2013, 12:33:46 PM »

You mentioned the 135L in your original post. To me, that is a great compliment to your 50L.

With children of a similar age range, I find the 135L to be the perfect lens to capture their more active moments (soccer, walks in the park, festivals, etc.) when you want to focus primarily on them in action. The colors and detail this combo produces are often fantastic straight out of the camera. (With a young two year old and a young four year old, I have little time for twiddling around in LR, DPP, etc.)

When I can find some free time (ha!) I'll try and post a couple of examples.

3

Canon General / Re: No Announcement Today

« on: April 23, 2013, 05:51:57 PM »

Beside the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II & 24-70mm f/2.8 II, I can't think of any [non-niche] noteworthy lenses Canon has announced in the last three years.

70-300L

I've seen a lot of people around here (and elsewhere) praise the 40mm f/2.8 STM as a great general-purpose lens.  And it certainly has a noteworthy form-factor! 

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Canon General / Re: No Announcement Today

« on: April 23, 2013, 09:22:40 AM »

No problemo ... Canon can take as long as they want, as long as they release the best 7D II to knock the socks off the competition.

+1

And if they are truly delaying the 70D announcement to incorporate a new & improved sensor, I'm all for it. I'm looking for a new crop backup and don't need a APS-C mini-1DX (the rumored 7DII).

5

Lenses / Re: Canon 100-400mm L EF mount alignment question

« on: April 22, 2013, 05:02:48 PM »

.

Perhaps it is just the size of the lens that is a little awkward at first.

At 3 lbs plus, it's a heavyweight, and if your hands aren't used to it, it may take you a couple tries.

I'd considered that at first - but my 70-200 f2.8 ii is heavier and longer when mounting. And I've never had any issues mounting it on several different bodies. I think this 100-400mm mount was a little bit off-spec when manufactured.

Thanks again for the feedback!

6

Lenses / Re: Canon 100-400mm L EF mount alignment question

« on: April 22, 2013, 04:05:44 PM »

Thanks for the quick replies. Having searched the forum and google, I didn't see any other reports of this being a known issue. But it's nice to have actual confirmation from other users that this is not a consistent issue.

I already ordered a replacement from B&H... I'd gotten the first from Amazon when it was the lowest price, but they were out of stock now. Now B&H is in stock at the same price as I paid through Amazon PLUS they have the 2% credit going. Fair tradeoff, I suppose.

Now let's hope the second one is just as good as the first copy from a performance standpoint!

7

Lenses / Canon 100-400mm L EF mount alignment question

« on: April 22, 2013, 03:18:47 PM »

Good afternoon, I have a question for the group regarding the EF mount on the 100-400mm L. I just received the lens on Saturday and tested it out this weekend. I am very impressed with the optical performance of the copy I received. Will enjoy having the extra reach on my 5D3.

However, one issue that I noticed immediately is the difficulty in getting the proper alignment when mounting this lens to the camera. For a pretty simple system (align the red dots, insert lens to mount, rotate clockwise) this lens required 5 or 6 attempts to get aligned and mounted each time I put it on the camera. The lens hardware seemed to want to go in the mount in a non-normal orientation. I've never experienced this with any other lens on this or previous cameras I've owned.

Looking at the bayonet mount, I could not detect anything different than my other lenses which would cause these alignment issues - but I'll look closer again today after work.

My question to the brain trust is this: Has anyone else had issues with the EF mount on this specific lens (or specifically with a 5D Mark iii)? I hate to send back a lens which is optically good if this is a universal attribute of this specific lens. However, I don't want to keep it if this is not a common issue and risk damaging the mount on my 5D3.

Thanks in advance for any experience you all can share.

8

Lenses / Re: Best tele prime for full frame?

« on: March 25, 2013, 05:18:49 PM »

I'll second (or third, or fourth...) a vote for the 135L. I also have the 70-200 IS ii which has great sharpness, but have come to appreciate the much lighter weight, lower "profile", and excellent image quality of the 135L. I can't imagine anyone would regret adding it to their kit.

9

Lenses / Re: Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG Sets New Benchmark for Excellence

« on: March 25, 2013, 01:40:26 AM »

Canon going to leapfrog the sigma in IQ... how much wishful thinking is this, how much "better" do you think Canon's will be?.... oh, right... the "colors" and "bokeh" will all be $1000 better like all the other L lenses compared to the competition.  And will probably be sharper at F/1.4 than the siggy is at F/2.8 right?

My guess is that it would be marginally better than the Sigma, but certainly not worse. Heck, if it could merely match the Sigma IQ and not have the onion bokeh I'd say that would be a pretty swell lens!

As for the recent trend of L lenses... what, more like the 24-70 F4L or F2.8LII? Because the F4L is trash and costs a fortune.

I hope that's a rhetorical question! But it's a fair one, and to be perfectly honest since picking up the 24-70mm ii I forget that "other" new 24-70 L even exists. With that one exception, I have to go back to the 16-35 ii to find a top-level EF lens that has been even modestly disappointing on my radar in the past half-decade or so. Of course, I can't speak for those renting/buying super-teles, but I read mostly good things about those recent releases too.

10

Lenses / Re: Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG Sets New Benchmark for Excellence

« on: March 25, 2013, 01:13:29 AM »

Without a doubt!  Especially if it was outdoors, in the rain.

Seriously, I wonder if anyone has taken anything other than a 1 series to the rainforest, places like the amazon, or Borneo...or even just central america.

Rainforest... Check. Central America... Check.

11

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Which camera brand you actively use, other than Canon?

« on: March 20, 2013, 11:40:16 AM »

I'm a chemical engineer, and I use my iPhone multiple times a week to take pictures out in the field for documentation. 

I didn't know the iPhone is intrinsically safe.   

12

Lenses / Re: Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG Sets New Benchmark for Excellence

« on: March 18, 2013, 03:39:40 PM »

For me, the lack of weather sealing by Sigma is the lost opportunity here.

Yes, I know the Canon 35mm f/1.4 L is not weather-sealed. But the lens is old enough where it makes sense to me to wait and see if they release a weather-sealed update any time soon. If the Sigma had been, I'd not hesitate for a second to pick up a lens with better IQ at a significantly lower cost regardless of what Canon has up its sleeve.

13

Lenses / Re: your goto everyday lens and why?

« on: March 10, 2013, 10:56:11 AM »

Without a specific or specialized need in mind, my go-to lenses are either:

[Zoom] 24-70 2.8 ii - Nothing bad to say about it. Covers a very useful range of FLs. Great IQ. Weather-sealed.

[Prime] 50 1.4 - I like having the low-light shooting capability of this prime and the FL & MFD are versatile. Although I'd love to have the weather sealing of the 1.2, I've yet to pull the trigger on it due to the mixed reviews. If I could find it as cheap as I got my 85 1.2 I'd buy it in a heartbeat!

14

Lenses / Re: DPReview: Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L II Review

« on: March 07, 2013, 03:25:44 PM »

More high praise for the 24-70 II, with the usual caveat of price.

Question for people who've bought the 24-70 II and had/have the 24-105mm f/4L IS 'kit lens'.  Did you keep the 24-105L, and if so, now that you have the 24-70/2.8 II, do you use the 24-105L any more?

I already had the 24-105L, but purchased the 24-70 II back in December. I was thinking I'd keep it and find good use for the IS and extra reach. ... Long story short, the one time I pulled out the 24-105L since then was enough to convince me I really just need to sell it.

No comparison. The 24-70 II is so darn sharp and has great color, I don't miss the extra zoom or IS. I've just been throwing the 135 L in the bag for when I want to get a little closer.

Hope it helps.

15

Contests / Re: Gura Gear Giveaway!

« on: December 08, 2012, 01:34:06 PM »

I think it would be a fantastic idea for me to win. Seriously. Think about it.