Messages

1

Lens Gallery / Re: Canon EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM

« on: June 14, 2013, 08:57:59 PM »

I love my 24-105 too.
It's on the camera (5D3) 90% of the time and probably the most versatile lens I own.
I've done entire weddings using just this lens both for stills and movies and I'm still inlove with the colour and contrast it gives.

Here's some shots of the Sydney Harbour Bridge during Sydney's Vivid Festival to show how good it is even at night.

2

Technical Support / Re: Going medium format for studio work?

« on: May 28, 2013, 08:10:28 PM »

It may be easy to clean the sensor in a MF digital camera, but it's also very easy to scratch them.
Check out the sensors on rented MF cameras to see what I mean.

Just one little slip when puting the back on the body can mean a very expensive deep scratch on the sensor.

One other thing, MF cameras are relatively slow to operate comapred to a FF D-SLR, and if your work allows you to work slowly and deliberately, that's fine, but if you think that you can use them for events and just click away, you are sadly mistaken.

3

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Wedding expert suggestions desired...first time.

« on: April 28, 2013, 08:30:45 PM »

While I have shot a few weddings professionally, and lots of parties and events, I am not an expert.
The 24-70 will be good for a lot of the shots, but I often find myself using my 24-105 as you often need the slightly longer reach, especially for the candid "people enjoying themselves" shots.
I use a flash most of the time, especially indoors, and find that by bouncing the flash off the ceiling, that you will get good results.
I usually use aperture priority and adjust the aperture as required to adjust my depth of field.
Ideally, you will have 2 bodies wih you, one with the 24-70 and the other with the wide angle lens for the larger group shots.
Make sure you have spare batteries for your camera and flash, and at least 64gig of memory card space.
Take the shots in RAW, as you may need to pull in highlights during processing or pull stuff out of the shadows.
I've never used a crop sensor for weddings, but have often used my 60D for parties and it works fine.
Make sure you take a couple of test shots in each environment you'll be, to make sure your settings are correct.

Best of luck.

4

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon EOS 7D L Announced, Shipping in May

« on: April 01, 2013, 06:38:49 PM »

I'm a lefty, and when I was about 11 years old, back in the mid 1960's, my father gave me his old Exacta film SLR, which was designed for leftys.
The shutter was beside the lens on the left hand side as was the film advance lever.

I loved it because I could use my left eye on the viewfinder and not have my nose pressing up against the body and could actually use my right eye to see the wider view.

I reckon that there is a market for left handed DSLR's, not only for leftys, but also to mount with a right handed version for stereo stills and movies.

Come on Canon, stop discriminating against left handed persons and bring one out!

5

Canon General / Re: Which eye do you shoot with?

« on: March 13, 2013, 08:05:45 PM »

I'm left handed and left eyed.
Whenever I take pictures, I leave greasy smears on the LCD (especially on warm days) and my nose is pressed hard against the rear of the camera.

Today's DSLR's are all designed for right-eyed people without a second thought for the large percentage of leftys.

When I was a kid, back in the early '60's, I was given an Exacta SLR (film), and this was the only SLR (that I can think of) that was actually designed for left-eyed users.
So much so, that even the shutter button was on the left.

Someone needs to think about making handed versions of today's DSLR's.
How hard would it be to make a left handed version of a 5D3?

6

EOS Bodies / Re: 6D vs 5Diii vs 5Dii - Speedlite AF Focus Beam Assist Tests

« on: December 29, 2012, 06:46:38 AM »

I use my 5D3 for weddings, receptions etc, and mostly with a 580EXII and find the auto focussing almost instantaneous - and very accurate, with only about 4 out of 600 shots being soft (and those are probably because of me and not the camera), even ln very low-light situations.
I've never measured the time it takes to aquire focus in thousanths of a second, but it's plenty quick enough for me.

7

Lenses / Re: Announcement on January 8, 2013? New Lenses [CR1]

« on: December 29, 2012, 06:26:12 AM »

When you are taking these large group photos with wide angle lens, , just arrange the people so the really skiny people are on the ends, with the heavier people towards the middle.

Problem solved!

8

EOS Bodies / Re: Has Canon entered the Graveyard Spiral?

« on: November 19, 2012, 11:40:45 PM »

Some months ago, I noticed that Myer were having a 20% off sale in their camera department, so I went in and asked if they had a 5D MkIII in stock.
The guy checked up and said that they didn't have any of them in stock, but could order one in for me.
I asked if he ordered it, would I still get 20% off the RRP, and he said yes I would.
So, I ordered my 5D3 from him and 4 days later it arrived in and I ended up saving around $400 from the cheapest Aussie stock I could find at the time, and I even got a $75.00 gift card with it as an extra bonus.

Sometimes, you have to keep your nose to the ground to get the best deals, and sometimes, they come from the most unexpected places.

9

EOS Bodies / Re: Who said Canon cameras suck?!?

« on: September 26, 2012, 03:26:10 AM »

Some of you Nikon D800 fanboys really make me sick.
You think the D800 is the be-all and end-all of all DSLR cameras, when in fact it has some glaring faults like poor autofocus (especially on the left side) and a rear screen that makes everything look green.

I do a lot of commercial shots where colour is very important, and if I had to go by the rear screen, a D800 would drive me bonkers!
I can and do go by the screen on my 5D3 and it is very accurate, unlike the Nikon screen.

Put properly exposed shots of the D800 beside shots from a 5D3 on a good quality computer screen and you would have trouble picking the differences, except the Canon's colours are more true to life.

Even if the D800 had a thousand megapickles, the 5D3 is still a better all-around camera and is certainly my tool of choice for the jobs I do.
In fact, with all the types of photography I do for a living, or for my own fun, it has always done a sterling job, even in very difficult and demanding situations.

You guys who carry on about how much better a D800 is than a 5D3 remind me of the immature little boys who say that their car is better than yours, because it can do 0-60 1/10th of a second quicker, yet it rides like a buckboard and handles like a limp rag.
There is far more to a good camera than a heap of megapickles, just as there is a lot more to a good car than a quick 0-60 time.

10

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Sony RX1 Full Frame sensor Compact leaked photos / rumor

« on: September 21, 2012, 09:33:04 AM »

When I want to use a compact camera, I'll just stick to my wife's G1X.

$3K for a fixed lens compact, even with a FF sensor, is just way over the top IMHO.

11

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: sony and hasselblad

« on: September 21, 2012, 09:18:11 AM »

Hassy have never used their own sensors, and as they used Kodak made sensors in the past and don't have the size or the budget to make their own, they have to use someone else's sensors, and I guess, right now, Sony was the best they could find.
Canon isn't interested in selling their sensors to anyone else, so Sony was it.

Although I do find it a bit strange that Hassy went to Sony, as they already have an alliance with Fuji, who make the Hassy lenses for their large format cameras (and they are very good too), and Fuji also make reasonable sensors too.

I think it is very brave of Hassy to go into new markets, as in their 70 odd year history, they have only ever made large format cameras, but I guess as this market is now being eaten into so savagely by FF DSLR's as well as the Leaf products and even the Pentax 645, they have to do something to stay bouyant.
They are obviously looking at how Leica can make digital cameras that are well behind the best current technology and still get high prices for them and Hassy are going to do something similar, as they believe they still have a very good name with pros and rich amateurs and offer leading edge tech with cameras made from luxurious materials to appeal those people with money, who want something good, different, luxurious and expensive - but still offering better value for money than Leica.

Personally, I hope they are successful as they are using a slightly different approach to other manufacturers.

Not everyone wants a plain black camera, and I'm sure there are many people who would like to say they have a Hasselblad as it does add some credibility to their photographic prowess, even if they are lousy photographers.

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EOS Bodies / Re: Why I'm not jumping to Nikon

« on: September 21, 2012, 08:52:56 AM »

The grass is NOT greener on the other side.
It may look like it from a distance, but when you get there, you can often find it is only painted on.

Friends of mine with D800's complain bitterly about their greenish coloured screens, the poor auto focussing, especially when you pick a point on ther left side as well as other problems.
I have a 5D3 (as well as a 60D with around 150,000 shutter actuations), and I've never had a problem with them at all. In fact, I am still amazed at what a great all-around camera the 5D3 is.
It really isn't lacking anything.

While the spec sheets and DXO tests may say otherwise, in side to side testing, you'd be very hard pressed to see any differences between the D800 and 5D3.
I shoot everthing from weddings, to parties, carpets, products,interiors, portraits, landscapes - you name it, and the 5D3 always does a great job.
I initially went with the Canon system, because of the their lenses and their lower costs compared to Nikons.
The quality is maybe slightly better with Canon, but as most of us spend more on lenses than we do on bodies, the variety, quality and cost of the lenses is what really swayed me to go Canon, and why I stay with Canon.

13

EOS Bodies / Re: Describe the 6D in one word...

« on: September 17, 2012, 02:34:53 AM »

I reckon it will make a great 2nd body to my 5D3, even if it is mainly used for video.

Now I can retire my overworked old 60D with over 100,000 shutter actuations and still going strong!

There is always new tech in every new camera.
Some of you are whining because it has GPS and wireless, but I could imagine how much you would whine if it had nothing new in it!

You can't please all of the people all the time...................................

Oh yes, and the price will come down within 6 or so months and then it will be quite affordable too.

14

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Nikon D600 announced - $2100, let's see how Canon response!!!

« on: September 13, 2012, 03:42:15 AM »

I wonder if it will have the same green-screen display and the focus point problems as the D800?

This new D600 still doesn't sway me enough to trade out of my 5D3.

15

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon 5D Mark III Mirror Locked Up and Not Responding

« on: August 28, 2012, 03:32:21 AM »

Is the rotating switch around the live view button turned ot the left?
If so, it still thinks you want to take a video and hence the mirror is up.

Turn it off and see what happens.

Even with the button switched on, it will still take photos but will act as though it is in live view.

Otherwise, you may have to remove the main battery AND the small back-up battery to re-set the camera.