Messages

1

Software & Accessories / FocusTune for LensAlign

« on: October 25, 2012, 02:12:13 AM »

As a LensAlign customer, I've just received an e-mail from Michael Tapes Design announcing a new calibration software for use with LensAlign.
They offer a demo version that I'll try as soon I'll have a little free time.

The link is the following:
http://mtd.forumatic.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=21&p=27#p27

Any of you already try it? Any comments?

2

EOS Bodies / Re: Is a 46mp Canon EOS-1 on the Way? [CR1]

« on: September 12, 2012, 01:32:57 PM »

I agree 100%!! For me, a grippless camera and a prime lens makes more sense for what I do.

Gripped cameras are the Red Porsches of the camera world I don't need to impress people with either the size of my lens or my camera body  

The point, as always, is in those 'for me'...'for what I do'. For many other people gripped cameras are absolutely  'for me' and 'for what I do'. Very often people are focused on 'what they do' without considering 'what other people do'. We live in a very complex world and there are so many different 'what I do'. But the problem is that too often people seem annoyed to allow other people to have what they need for what they do, if that is different from 'what I do'. The same attitude against high megapixels... I can understand that in many fields, different from mine, high megapixels can be useless or disturbing, but 'for what I do', the amount of information in a picture is capital. I remember the recent time when 12 Mpx seemed simply an exaggeration. I'm very happy that the market offers a large range of different options different from my needs...

About red Porsches. As a serious Porsche driver, I find the example out of the target. You could better refer to the large tail on the turbos. For many people it can be just a bragging feature, but when you drive really fast the 400-500 pounds of downforce are exactly what you need purposefully...

3

EOS Bodies / Re: Is a 46mp Canon EOS-1 on the Way? [CR1]

« on: September 10, 2012, 10:33:06 AM »

An EOS-1?  When are they going to stop building these bodies with the grip permanently built-in?

Never, I hope. 

Put a removable grip on a body. Hold the body in one hand, the grip in the other. Move your hands. Feel the flex?  Now...put an AS-type plate or L-bracket  on the bottom of the grip, mount it on a solid tripod. That flex translates to vibration, and vibration costs sharpness.  Oh, just remove the grip? Very inconvenient, for me.

Love the integrated grip of the digital 1-series bodies!

I fully agree. When you need a main battle tank you don't want a truck with the addition of some armoured plates. An integrated full body is something very different from a battery grip. I have a 1Ds MkIII and a 5D MkII. When I need something totally reliable and balanced without compromise I haven't any doubt and go for the 1Ds.

4

Lenses / Re: How do you update Canon lens firmware?

« on: August 11, 2012, 10:38:01 AM »

He's asking for LENS firmware update...

5

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Had my picture taken with the President today...

« on: August 01, 2012, 01:13:28 AM »

First of all, congratulations for the award...
Some time ago, History or Discovery channel, I don't remember precisely, presented a long and detailed program about The House photographers. It was a very nice program, showing a very nice and old fashioned people, able to interact continuously with POTUS, but in a delicate and elegant way. President's life is covered by his photographer minute by minute, and relationships between the two are friendly and familiar. The amount of the daily shots  is really impressive, both color and b&w. They use both Canon and Nikon gear, preferring not intrusive bodies as 5D. As every real pro, familiarity and perfect integration with the equipment is definitely more important than showing up with the newest toys...

6

Lenses / Re: Canon EF 100-400 f/4-5.6L IS [CR2]

« on: June 26, 2012, 01:23:00 AM »

The 100-400 is, in a way, my standard lens, always on a 1Ds MkIII. It is something very different from what a 200-400 could be. Backed up by a 16-35 on a 5D MkII, it covers the 99% of situations, with great results in terms of IQ and image composition. I used my 24-105 may be three times in two years. Obviously is quite heavy, but going around with the above kit let me free of a backpack and I'm always ready to shoot.
Push-pull is ok for me, IS is not stellar, but good enough since 100-400 natural environment is usually well enlightened. Weather sealing should be welcome, but with very little attention you can survive without it. Last month I went for an hiking in a very rainy day. I found water right behind the 1Ds eyepiece cup, but keeping the resting lens inside my water proof jacket, was enough to protect the lens.
The only issue, for the kind of use I make of it, is weight. A 1D type body+ the present 100-400 is the maximum weight that I can afford at my neck for six-seven hours. By the way, I think that something can be done for that, also in case of improving optical quality by more glass. My 100 macro L plastic body is more solid than a metallic one and very light. I don't think that modern materials can't stand the heavier glass assembly of a tele zoom. A modern high quality plastic big white could be very fancy...

7

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Canon EOS-1D X Availability [CR3]

« on: June 10, 2012, 12:29:08 PM »

I'm just coming back from Japan. At Yodobashi Camera there were many 5D MkIII in live exposition and an empty space with a hand written note with 1Dx specs stating that it is expected for 2012_06. We are on June 10th, so they have just twenty days left... :-)
By the way, I was amazed to see that Canon prices in Japan are so expensive, also compared  to my awareness of it. They still had many 1Ds MkIII on exhibit at around 700,000 yen...
With my 1Ds MkIII + 100+400 hanging on my neck, I realized I was going around sporting a lot of money! Yodobashi was letting me not to feel too Jurassic... :-)

8

Technical Support / Re: What impacts does a metal L lens take without any iq degradation?

« on: April 16, 2012, 08:38:40 AM »

As I previously posted, I had my 100-400L (a very heavy piece of artillery...) rocketed from my Lowepro backpack and landed on a solid pavement after a 4 meters forward flight. The effect to see such a expensive barrel landing in front of me was quite  dreadful. By the way, the filter that I had on the lens disintegrated and the front zooming ring was deformed, needed replacement. But this was the only damage. The rest of the lens didn't get any dent, scratch or delamination and Canon official service gave me back the lens in a better shape and tuning  than before the crash...

9

Black & White / Re: So..what sucks about this shot?

« on: April 07, 2012, 02:36:43 PM »

My 5 cents advice...
Never ask for a judgement in this way, even less in an Internet forum. And don't be bothered if a picture (text, architecture, painting etc...) submitted to a magazine or a competition will be not appreciated. In my work (architect) I always have to submit my projects to competition jury. They will judge tens of projects in few days, Opinions are conditionated by a lot of personal factors and, specially today, the general quality is quite high, since the circulation of ideas is very large. Everybody, today, has great access to a lot of good examples and it is very difficult to break the mold with something really original and outstanding. Furthermore we are witnessing the largest complexity of points of view, trends, schools etc ever. What can seem a technical mistake for one, is regarded as a great technique by another.
I would like to quote the great physicist and philosopher Ernest Rutherford: "There is only one person who can take away one's good name, and that is oneself"... With a small grain of salt, humbleness, objectivity, and looking around for the huge selection of good examples at our disposal, we are the best judge of ourselves...

10

Lenses / Re: !00mm macro L or non L

« on: April 04, 2012, 07:22:37 AM »

I have the L versio but I can't compare it with the non-L version.
As many stated before me, the L is a very good lens, that I use very often as standard lens, since I like go around catching details of the world around me (a beautiful dish or drink, a flower, the texture of a stone wall etc.), obviously without a tripod.
By the way, prices never follow the same curve of performances, in photography as in every technology. To get ten percent more power in a car you will spend well more then ten percent...

11

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Canon Announces EOS 60Da for Astrophotography

« on: April 03, 2012, 03:39:46 PM »

Too sad that I just sold my Meade LX200, due to light pollution from my point of obdservation... :-(

12

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Backup body for dangerous areas

« on: April 02, 2012, 02:11:25 PM »

A gun in unskilled hands is a further target for robbery. Bad people know very well how difficult is pulling the trigger for regular people. In the best case you can find yourself robbed of your camera AND of your gun, by a bad guy who, a that point could be really enraged by your naive menace. But this is just academic, since, if you are passinf a border, in every part of the world, nobody will allow you to pass carrying a weapon.

Camera conditions, make or model don't represent a deterrent. Any camera (or watch, cell etc) is a target, in some areas.

I don't know, as other before me stated, what you intend for dangerous areas, so it is difficult to say if is a good idea to travel there or not. Very very dangerous places apart (let me say, where kidnapping or slaughtering are common practices), I never restrain myself to go everywhere. I travelled in many very dangerous area, I twice I stopped people trying to bag or pocket snatching me (Once in Sao Paulo, once in Hong Kong). The only advice that I can give is acting grayer you can. Low profile, no flashy clothes, avoid both the macho than the fearful attitude. Don't forget that, as many others said before me, people in poor areas usually don't like being photographed, even less if they have bad intentions, but a kind and respectful approach, asking for permission, is an effective strategy, not only correct but also getting you a good cooperation , pass by the subject. If they say no, skip over...

13

Software & Accessories / Re: Chromatic aberration and LR4

« on: March 21, 2012, 11:28:35 AM »

Thank you, I found it. By the way, LR4 seems to allow less manual corrections to the image. After updating a previously LR3 processed image, the menu is shortened removing some traditional tools like 'recovery', 'fill light' or, as I stetd in mey question, 'chromatic aberration' (in manual format). Although LR4 algorythms seem to work very well, I miss the old chance to process manually some image parameters...

14

Software & Accessories / Chromatic aberration and LR4

« on: March 21, 2012, 03:17:04 AM »

I can't find in LR4 the good old chromatic aberration tool. Is there any new tool under different name or what? I found it very helpful and efficient, so I'm missing it, but I can't beleive they just cancelled it.
TIA

15

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 1D cameras for walk-around and traveling

« on: March 14, 2012, 03:01:39 AM »

I travel with my 1Ds MkIII, most of the time with the 100-400, suspended to my neck and the 5D MkII on the shoulder, without any trouble. When I hike and climb I have the 1Ds ready and the 5D in the backpack. The trick is to lock the 100-400 by the waist strap of the back pack, since the problem is not the static weight, but having it jumping around. The big problem with a big and heavy kit as a 1Ds+100-400 is that its inertia is considerable a nd you have to worry also about small impacts against hard object like walls, rocks or poles. Although the body is sturdy, its inertia can be very effective to produce small damages, fortunately usually just aesthetic. Before becoming aware about that, walking in town I let the 1Ds to get in touch with a car rear mirror that produced a small dent in the bottom of the body. No nasty scratches, but it was quite disappointing...