Messages

1

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: a digital photography noob has a question about image quality

« on: January 30, 2013, 07:51:36 AM »

Not sure about the 650d but the 5D will let you shoot both RAW and JPG. That might come in handy later if you get into editing.

Both do

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: a digital photography noob has a question about image quality

« on: January 30, 2013, 07:35:40 AM »

yes i know that lenses are important, that has not changed.

the test photos i have taken are done under good light conditions.  well daylight so to speak.
and i was pretty conservative with the ISO and i did not go over ISO 800.

Yeah - try at ISO 1600, 3200 and 6400 near sunset, with shade - when you're out and about touring, you don't get to pick what time of day you take a photo.  Look at the highlights and the shadows.

Try taking some shots inside the house without flash - you may not be allowed to use flash in some locations.  It's good to know in advance what you can expect from your camera.

im not so much a image editing guy.
i know RAW is the way to go but i have so much new stuff to learn with digital, that i will start with JPG.

Maybe not now, but you will be when you get back.  Even if it's just tweaking the exposure and cropping the image, you'll soon get the bug.  With my 30d images in LR4 there are rarely less than five substantial tweaks to get the image looking right - but with the 5d it's pretty 'right' out of the camera.  As soon as I zoom in to look at something in the background of an image from each camera, the difference is amazing.  On the 30d, a background object that takes 3% of the frame is a blur, pretty much all the time.  That same object with the 5d might or might not be - but it will be recognisable if it was in the focus plane

You shot film, so you should be comfortable using Av/Tv/M or at least P mode.  Set the camera to record Large/Fine + RAW.  Save both files for later.  If you do 'goof' the exposure, it's much easier to rescue a RAW image than a JPEG.   Also, some years from now there may be an amazing new noise filter you can apply to your RAW image, with all its 14 bits per colour -- instead of the 8 bits per colour in JPEG.

but you say im doing nothing wrong, when i see no image quality difference in prints?
i thought i may missed something or doing something wrong.

Not when using the 'sweet spot', no.  It's just a question of how big the sweet spot is

Edit: Since you seem to be interested in WA and UWA lenses, you might try some other tests with high spatial frequencies, emulating a panoramic view at 'infinity.'  In principle, you should get more from a FF than a crop.  The 24-70 f2.8L II is a very capable lens in this regard.  On a 650D, it would be more like a 38mm-110 and you'd need to consider the 10-22 (but will the distortion bother you?)

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: a digital photography noob has a question about image quality

« on: January 30, 2013, 06:06:50 AM »

In "film" parlance, the 5d3 will give you a finer, better quality "grain" as if from a top-quality negative film versus a cheap off-brand.  It will hold up better in more challenging circumstances too.  Less noise, more light collected.  You are correct in that at 8x10 type print size, there won't be much difference in a well-exposed shot.

I have a 16x10 print from my old 30d that looks great, with less than half the resolution of a 650d.

However, take that shot wrong (over/underexposed in particular) and it'll be harder to fix.  Crop into it and print or view that portion, and you'll start to see the difference.  In theory at least, the FF sensor collects a stop and a half more light, so it's like using film at twice the ISO rating for the same 'grain' -- or that you can get away with half the light at the same ISO.

The quality of the lens in front of the camera is at least as important as the sensor behind that lens.  It also matters whether you have the right lens(es) for the subject matter you are shooting.  You may or may not have EF mount lenses (or L series within that) for your film bodies - but it sounds like you may get more 'mileage' from spending your money on suitable glass for the trip. 

There is nothing wrong with a 650D as a travel camera.  I'd rather have one of those and the 'right' lenses than a more expensive body and only one lens of the 'wrong' focal length or a cheap zoom because that's all I could afford.

You are probably aware that the 650D has a different FoV due to the crop sensor, which changes the 'apparent' focal length.

If you can afford the 5D and have the glass already, go for it.  When you sit down to post-process the images afterwards, you won't be sorry.  I just bought a 5d Mark III myself, with a small collection of L lenses which are *specifically* what I need for my subject matter (24-105, 70-300L, 100L).  They are a compromise, but cover my needs for much less than I would have paid (24-70 II, 70-200 II, 1.4x, 2.0x, 100L.)

For me, it was Hobson's Choice: I wanted a FF camera, didn't like the Nikons, and couldn't afford the 1DX by a long stretch.  As soon as the 6D turned out to have an AF system that is useless for my needs, I jumped on the first decent offer for a 5d Mark III, and I'm delighted with the results.

Both cameras will provide "OK" results from basic EF lenses, and better results from better EF lenses.   A dodgy lens will produce images that look blurry and smeared on both cameras when you zoom in to 1:1.  I can even see that on the 8.5MP 30d.   To really see the difference, try shooting in challenging light or with a really good quality lens.  At least you don't have to deal with EF-S lenses coming from film!  Your 70-200 f4 IS is a pretty good start.

Good luck and happy shooting.  I dare say the 6d with 24-105L was MADE for you.

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Software & Accessories / Re: FoCal Pro Beta for 5D MK III AFMA

« on: January 19, 2013, 11:06:54 PM »

use this link for a discount  http://www.reikan.co.uk/focal/mbp45/

Thanks, I did    

Only just received the lenses, a couple of weeks after the body.  Lots to learn yet!

I spent an hour or so in semi-manual mode playing with it on the 100 2.8L before the battery died; by my eye and the Q results, it seemed best at +5.  While the battery recharged, I re-read the manual now that I had some concrete concepts to attach to the text of the manual.  It made a lot more sense after!

I went back and did the 100 L, the 24-105L and the 70-300L in about half an hour in Full Auto/MSC mode (it's a 5D Mark III).  All seemed to work fine, but FoCal ended up with a different result on the 100.  "10" instead of "5"... however the data points were pretty much flat at Q1500 from 4 to 15 on the "auto" calibration.  I'll go back later and really "dial" it in, manually, before doing a "sharpest aperture" run.

MANY thanks for making this offer available.  It's a good program.  Takes a bit of getting used to, but in reality it isn't nearly as "finicky" as the manual suggests.  I didn't have to adjust the target once - just point the camera correctly at it

FoCal has "dialed in" some pretty damned sharp AF for me in less time than it took to erect the testing equipment (and gazebo for the sun!) and break it down again.  I'm impressed, and I think the discounted price makes it even better value.

Apologies for Thread Necromancy, but this one (if any) deserves to live!

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Q: 5d3 Autofocus squares in viewfinder - tracking

« on: January 19, 2013, 10:47:01 PM »

Most people don't understand what's going on in the background when they select one case or another and then blaim the camera is not working right. 

I haven't been working with it long enough to blame the camera for anything yet

The gist of my initial inquiry is: why doesn't the camera SHOW you what it is tracking because it evidently IS doing it anyway?  The shots and metadata show it.

The answer seems to be: it will, but only in selected modes... opening a different can of worms: why?

Case #1 didn't handle the same scenario very well (though I've since learned quite a bit).  Case #6 is the next I tried because it "fit" the description of the shooting scenario the best.  The results confirm that.  A very high in-focus hit rate.  It remains to be seen if zone-expansion was a factor in that success.

Since then, I've tweaked the Case#6 settings a little AND set the camera to FOCUS priority.  Next shoot, I'll try those settings an then various combinations and permutations on them.  Considering how little time I've spent behind the viewfinder, it's taken remarkably little time to start producing decent shots.  Mostly because I'm still at the steep end of the learning curve, NOT because of any inherent limitation in the camera.  In fact, unless I see something impossible in an image, my natural assumption is "I'm doing it wrong."

I'm trying to learn it step by step, section by section.  The lenses are all AFMA'd now (FoCal).  Now my head is starting to wrap itself around the AF.  I don't think I'll be moving from Av/Tv/AutoISO to M any time soon though

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Q: 5d3 Autofocus squares in viewfinder - tracking

« on: January 19, 2013, 08:07:51 AM »

Hi bjd,
   Yes, you are describing exactly what I expect to see - the AF "HUD" showing in real-time what it has locked on to, even though it has shifted.

    I tried a few variations on the interpretation of "61-point" before changing the AF display to "constant 61 point" (changing the available points through the reticle/M.Fn didn't help).

    Then I tried turning off point expansion (above/below/left/right and the 8 points around) and voila!

    When I do this, it DOES indeed track!  AF5 Mode 1,2 and 4 don't but mode 3 does

     There must be a reason why it only works in this one combination of modes (but still tracks invisibly).  Given enough time, that reason may become apparent.

Summary:   
     it seems that in order for this to work, the AF mode needs to be All 61 points (ie, all the points in the VF and the curved brackets as well) AND set to single point (no expansion) AND the AF5 display mode set to ALL (Constant) or SELECTED (Constant)

Thanks, bjd and J.R. -- mission accomplished

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Q: 5d3 Autofocus squares in viewfinder - tracking

« on: January 19, 2013, 03:27:37 AM »

Situation: AF Case #6, erratic movement.  AI Servo.  4- or 8-point expansion enabled.
AF/Meter start on the subject with centre AF point.

Subject (dogs at play, at great speed!) moves all over the field, I keep it within the 61 AF points and eventually I see a shot and press the shutter all the way.   Despite the fact that the reticle display never moved from the original "lock on," the shot is properly focussed, though the subject is no longer "under" the original 5 points.  The AF system seems to be "invisibly" tracking the subject and maintaining focus while confusing me (the operator) by displaying the point originally locked on rather than the current locked point.


Q:  Is there a way to have the viewfinder AF display track and continuously display the active AF point in real-time, rather than "going out" soon after it locks on?  I've tried the 4-point (preferred) and 8-point expansion modes.  Zone AF is too much of a blunderbuss for my purposes.

 I haven't spelunked all the Custom Functions yet, but my reading of the manual suggests that my expectations and intuition are wrong - that is, the viewfinder AF squares do NOT track the active AF point after locking on and until the shutter fires.  I have it set in AF5 to display in modes 1,2,4.  That is, everything but "always on 61point."  It does indeed display, but doesn't move with the subject.  YES, I am using Ai Servo and it seems to do more than the manual suggests (p103/104).

Is there any way to get the VF reticle to track this way?  I'm just getting to know the camera (frame #241 today!) but my hit-rate today for focus was nearly 95% - way up on the 40-60% for my 30d under the same circumstances.

For the moment, I'm just using the centre AF point in 4-way expansion mode for focus acquisition, and the camera seems to track correctly over the other AF points despite still showing the "active" AF point as the centre.  In playback, on the LCD, the red square is where it should be, and rarely the centre point

This is more of a confidence thing than anything else - I'm conditioned to expect poor tracking performance, so I want the 'crutch' of knowing where the camera is aiming for.  Am I making sense?  Thanks for any insights.

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Site Information / Re: Comment SEO Spam

« on: January 05, 2013, 02:02:50 AM »

But note: collect all of the offending threads for one report.  You aren't allowed to send more than one

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Anyone still using a 20D?

« on: January 05, 2013, 01:10:18 AM »

Not a 20D, but a 30D - and I can't see it being completely retired any time soon.  The 5d3 just arrived, but I am loathe to take it anywhere it might get damaged yet   Still takes good images.  Even better with proper lenses.

It's worth 2-3x as much to me as a 'backup' or "if it gets damaged, so what?" camera than anyone would pay me for it.

Meanwhile I have an awful lot to learn about the new beast!

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Canon General / Re: How many clicks in 2012?

« on: January 02, 2013, 06:33:16 PM »

3523 - easy enough to work out, as I only had one CF card on the 30d, all in the same sequence.  Would have taken many more but I was focal-length limited and not committed to Canon, so unwilling to spend up on glass.

The 5d Mark III arrived late last week, but the only 'click' last year was an accidental shot of the inside of the body cap while checking out the menus.  The first lens didn't arrive until late yesterday (Jan 2)

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Natural Progression of Camera Bodies. Type Your story below.

« on: January 02, 2013, 08:56:13 AM »

(Updated)

<mumble!> My mother's Leica Rangefinder
<mumble> Bought my first SLR - just-released Minolta AF 7000 (aka Maxxum), 24mm f2.8, 35-70mm f4, 70-210mm f4 "beercan."  After a few too many snap-happy weekends (20+ 36-exp films) it was mothballed, to save my aching hip-pocket nerve!  The 'keeper' rate on this camera was astonishing.

1999 (Sony DCR-TRV900E - video)

2003 Canon IXUS 400 - great little camera; still have it, still use it occasionally (keep it in the car)

2008 Canon 30d / 17-85 IS USM because I needed a half-decent camera now and the 5D2 was too late; compromise camera ought 2nd-hand with the intent of replacing it with a 5d2 - which quickly turned out to be a white elephant due to AF issues and the price.

2011/2 (Sony HDR CX130E - video) To simplify my workflow - mini-DV is a hassle, SD cards mount right up   With no '5d mark 3' available at the time - again - Canon left me high and dry.  Again.

2012
Canon 5d Mark III  (arrived last week)
70-300 f4-5.6L  (arrived Wednesday, my only non -S EF lens)
100 f2.8L Macro (arrived Friday, with...)
24-105 f4L   (the dealer shipped a 16-35L II instead!)

That's about all I can afford right now.  Arguably more.

I see what all the fuss has been about now - the big, bright viewfinder, the heft of the beast... and images that make you scratch your head when they hit LR4.  I'm used to seeing something obvious to fix from the 30d, but the images SOOC are way better.  Sharp as a tack, too.  Gotta watch that DoF now

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Canon General / Re: Canon's MAP Pricing Goes Into Full Effect Today

« on: December 19, 2012, 02:36:06 AM »

What happened to the enforcement of MAP?  Seems like there have been Canon lens sales everywhere you look the past few days.  Our retailers allowed to skirt the rules by forcing you to add it to your cart before showing you the price.  NOT that I'm complaining.

Leading to an e-cological disaster, as cookie directories, web caches and servers are littered with millions of abandoned shopping carts!  Shame, Canon, Shame!



(This message posted using 100% recycled electrons)

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Software & Accessories / Re: Stop Using Instagram

« on: December 19, 2012, 01:15:39 AM »

just as the Chef makes the meal not the oven, the photographer makes the photograph not the camera

...so, I guess Instagram is the Swanson TV Dinner in this analogy?   

<Snigger> With all due respect, it's more like the rusty electric kettle with dodgy wiring used to prepare instant noodles.

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Software & Accessories / Re: Help! I need to immediately find a Lightroom solution that supports a 1DX AND Wi

« on: December 16, 2012, 06:17:03 AM »

What to do now, I I'm flying out of the country in little more than 12 hours?

Easy: download the "trial" version of Lightroom and install it, giving you 30 days or so to find a copy (and a PC to use it on.)

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EOS Bodies / Re: 6D Coming Nov. 30th?

« on: November 21, 2012, 12:58:01 AM »

A dealership here in Oz claims (on FB) that the 6D has hit Canon HQ and is already on a truck to them.  No indication though on when they are likely to be available for delivery to customers though.