Messages

1

Pricewatch Deals / Re: Canon Cinema Prime Lens Kit in Stock at B&H Photo

« on: January 22, 2013, 01:00:48 PM »

I've never understood these "cinema" lenses.  They're used for a pixel count far below that of still photography and don't have to AF, so why are they so absurdly expensive?  And why do they exist at all?

Good question.  I actually took a peek at the lenses to see if I could buy the 50mm for use with an EF mount.  Then I saw the "Not returnable" disclaimer.  That's a pretty big risk to take if you don't like the product and are buying it sight unseen. 

2

Canon General / Re: Canon Experience Stores Coming Soon [CR3]

« on: January 12, 2013, 01:58:43 AM »

4 pages is to many to read.....

but seriously CANADA?   I mean I love visiting but you can't tell me that Chicago New York or London UK wouldn't be a better launching point

There are some cities in Canada where there are huge numbers of wealthy people.  Vancouver has some of the most expensive real estate in the World.  Calgary, although not the biggest city in Canada, has loads of oil money.  My guess Calgary is a test store as the costs and risks of failure of opening a store in a city like New York would be quite high. 

3

Lenses / Re: Soon to be Launched EF 200-400 f/4L IS 1.4x

« on: January 03, 2013, 01:00:38 PM »

Is it me or the lens does not look that huge? I would be delighted if it is not huge.

It looks "small" to me as well.  You can find some comparison photos online that show it beside the 400 2.8 and 600 4.0.  The front element diameter makes it look a bit "wimpy" to me. 

http://images.wantmi.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Canon_super_tele_comparison.jpg

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Canon General / Re: Record Spending Into Camera Gear - HIGHEST

« on: December 13, 2012, 01:35:13 AM »

Well, here goes:

2011:  Bought 400 f/2.8L I IS, 300 f/2.8L I IS, 70-200 f/2.8L II IS, and 200 f/2L IS
2012:  Bought 5D Mark III and a pair of 1D X's

This doesn't reflect selling things that I did, but you can do the math quickly on purchases .

However, I do make money from photography.

I'm  curious if you will "replace" the 300 and 400 with the 200-400 when it comes out. 

5

Lighting / Re: Help with choosing a soft box

« on: December 07, 2012, 10:20:57 AM »

Considering you're going to be going through the hassle of setting up softboxes on stands, I would strongly recommend that you should go with a studio flash setup instead of a hotshoe flash. You'll get a hell of a lot more bang for your buck.

Hotshoe flashes are great for what they're designed to do, which is to be something that you can mount on top of the camera. But you pay a premium for that type of miniaturization, in terms of both performance and price.

A Paul C. Buff Alien Bees B800 costs about as much as that 430 EX II, and it puts out so much more light that it's not even funny. The Buff Einstein flash, their flagship model, is cheaper than the 580 EX II and is ludicrously far superior in every way except that you can't stick it on top of your camera.

Don't fret too much if you're going to be shooting at locations without power. There are battery packs for most studio flashes. Buff sells the Vagabond which is good for hundreds, if not thousands, of pops with the type of setup you're describing on a single charge.

I'll also note that softboxes only work their magic when they're so close to the subject that you're having trouble figuring out how to shoot around them. It's a geometry thing...a 2' softbox is going to have to be no more than 2' away from the subject to be truly effective, preferably less, and it's not going to light up more than the person's face. a 2' softbox at the photographer's position of a 10' working distance isn't going to be significantly different from on-camera flash. A 5' softbox 5' away from the subject is going to be as effective as a 2' softbox 2' away, but it'll light up the whole person...and you can put that 5' softbox 3' away and get some amazing soft and even light wrapping all the way 'round your subject.

Even better?

Buff sells parabolic reflectors...basically high-tech umbrellas. And they go from 4' across to over 7' across, and they make diffusers for them that make the light very similar to a softbox....

Cheers,

b&

Excellent information from you and the poster below.  These forums are so valuable when there is experienced feedback such as above.

I own 5 600EX-RTs and was planning on using 2/3 bundled into a 4 foot softbox.  From the research I've done, I've realized that the flashes won't likely put out enough power for the softbox. 

I'm wondering if anyone has had experience using the Einstein with Speedlights.  I'm thinking I will either need to use a PC sync cord for the Einstein and RF wireless for the Speedlights.  I'd love a shoot-through wireless solution which I can mount on my camera which controls the Einstein and then have the 600EX or ST-E3 mounted on top.   Has anyone attempted that? 

6

Pricewatch Deals / Re: Black Friday at Adorama

« on: November 19, 2012, 07:14:05 PM »

I just looked at a few items and they were all regular prices (the same as the last several weeks with the rebates). 

7

EOS Bodies / Re: Are there 39mp & 50mp+ Test Bodies in the Wild? [CR1]

« on: October 23, 2012, 03:05:15 AM »

As always we have descended into "I-need-120MP-on-a tiny area-cuz-I-can-argue-it-will-work".

Prior to the 1DX and 5D-III release, the same crowd (you know who you are, you have spent hours typing pages on here selling the same old 3 day old fish) screamed for 40+ MP and were bitterly disappointed when Canon went the low MP route for both bodies.

Its not about what you "want"...its about what they can sell in a profitable way in a competitive market.
Most pros own a 1DX... not 7D... so much for the high MP whining. Every flagship that Nikon and Canon have released so far have been lower MP while they release high MP APC and consumer grade bodies for the "My-MP-is-Bigger-than-your-MP" crowd.

I guess learning comes a tad slow... but there is no harm in asking....please continue

Wasn't the 1Ds Mark III the flagship?  Didn't it have higher MP than the rest of the cameras at the time?

8

Lenses / Re: A New EF 800 f/5.6L IS II? [CR2]

« on: October 22, 2012, 01:24:19 PM »

I'm surprised they would replace the 200mm f/2 so quickly.  I thought it was only a few years old. 

9

Lenses / Re: Is it acceptable that 1 out of 5 copies of the 24-70mm II are really great?

« on: October 17, 2012, 05:06:23 PM »

So...what people are saying is there may be some manufacturing variations that result in some lenses being slightly less awesome than another one? On a brand new lens with brand new elements. So maybe it's a good thing I can't afford this now, by the time I buy one they likely will have worked out any minor manufacturing issues.

I guess that's why some people are upset.  This lens is supposed to be a production ready model.  It's not supposed to be in field testing, beta testing or any other kind of testing for that matter.

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Lenses / Re: Is it acceptable that 1 out of 5 copies of the 24-70mm II are really great?

« on: October 17, 2012, 05:02:25 PM »

I bought one copy and it is really great.

Can you please define "great?"  Did you look at photos 100% or are you going by what you see at less than 100%? 

11

Pricewatch Deals / Re: Canon EOS 5D Mark III Price Drop

« on: October 17, 2012, 01:16:23 PM »

There's been another drop.  The kit can now be bought for $3,749.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?sub=cpw&is=REG&Q=&A=details&O=productlist&sku=847546 

http://www.adorama.com/ICA5DM3K.html

This is exactly why I think those that don't Canon sales have been hurting, are wrong.  I've never seen rebates extended this long before either.  No one discounts their products if they are selling well. 

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Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Frankenstein'd EOS 5D Mark II takes Leica M Lenses

« on: October 07, 2012, 04:36:25 PM »

I own both the 5DII and the M9. I don't own the Nocti, but I have used it plenty of times.
One thing I can tell you is that at low ISO (400 and under), the CCD of the M9 destroys the 5DII (and even my 1DX) - You heard it.
Yes, everyone likes to dog on Leica shooters, but it's a great tool that when coupled with Leica glass is an absolute beast.

FYI the Nocti actually costs closer to 11K new

The difficulty with taking these claims seriously is that there are little to no comparison photos. Leica images are often described using airy fairy pixie dust descriptions.

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EOS Bodies / Re: Is Canon EOS-1S the Name? [CR1]

« on: October 07, 2012, 04:09:50 AM »

Super expensive elephant camera (1D class).

Looks like the ones of us waiting for a "Canon D800" can just forget our hopes and dreams for now. 

Give it a rest.  You're not the target market for this camera so Canon doesn't care what you think of the size or anything else about the body for that matter. 

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EOS Bodies / Re: Is Canon EOS-1S the Name? [CR1]

« on: October 07, 2012, 04:03:47 AM »

Yep, 1DS III was $8000 at release and for the first few months.

Do you know how long it took before it took to come down a bit?  And do you remember what it came down to? 

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EOS Bodies / Re: Canon EOS 3D Outed by B&H Photo [CR0]

« on: October 04, 2012, 10:29:56 PM »

I really hope it is a hoax!

I don't want this camera to be elephant sized. 

Elephant sized?
Have you ever held a 1DX?
The thing just fits into your hand (or at least mine) like it was molded for it. It's a perfect fit. It was one of the reasons why when I first starting shooting professionally 6 years ago that I chose Canon over Nikon. The 1 series Canons just felt right in my hand.
By contrast, my 5D Mark III feels small and gives me fatigue because the bottom part of my palm has no place to rest.

He's stated before that he is waiting for the price of the 5D Mark III to come down.  If that's the case, he's never going to buy one of these so I'm not sure why on earth he cares whether it has a grip or not.  I really believe that anyone spending this kind of money generally prefers a grip.  Canon doesn't care about the opinions of those that aren't or can't spend that much coin.