Messages

1

EOS Bodies / Re: EOS 70D & EOS 7D Mark II

« on: May 17, 2013, 10:10:25 PM »

Both Canon and Nikon seem to be in No Hurry to introduce Pro Level APS-C/DX cameras. There are rumors that the 7D2 will be available in 2014, but the are no rumors about the Nikon D400 ever being announced, zilch, nada, nothing. Until Canon pre-announces the 7D2 it's just vaporware.

So that leaves APS-C/DX shooters looking at something that isn't Canon or Nikon.

With the p/s you can expect several models in various colors to be announced each year, but as you move up the spectrum the updates get less and less frequent. Once you get into DSLR's, the vast bulk of Canon Sales are rebels and as you move upwards in price the numbers sold drop off.  Let's say it takes 100,000 rebels sold to make a camera profitable.... they might hit that in a month. They make more profit per body on a 7D, let's say it only takes 50,000 sold to make a profit..... it could take half a year.. It probably takes a couple years on a 1Dx...

The point is, it takes a lot more time to show a profit on higher end bodies, and without significant improvements over the previous model, sales will be slow. Canon is in business to make money and without a significant improvement there is no sense in them releasing newer versions. High end releases show a lot more improvement over the previous model than a mode dial that goes all the way around....

2

Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits

« on: May 17, 2013, 02:33:23 PM »

If you look closely, you can see my silhouette reflected in heron's eye in the first shot.

And that may well be the ultimate self-portrait. Wonderful shot!

3

EOS Bodies / Re: EOS 70D & EOS 7D Mark II

« on: May 17, 2013, 08:10:07 AM »

Sales drive revenue. Revenue drives profit. Profit is a major driver of share price and shareholder value.  Share price and shareholder value determine whether a public company thrives, survives, or fails.

Betamax was better quality than VHS.  VHS sold better. Betamax failed and was abandoned.

On a more DSLR related note, Olympus came out with 4/3 format. It was going to be a worldwide standard. Many things about thier cameras were ahead of what the Canon and Nikon crop bodies offered at the time. They had beter user interface, beter weatherproofing, arguably better sensor performance, and faster autofocusing..... and where is it now? ( 4/3... not micro 4/3 ).  Sales sucked, product not stocked by retail stores, death spiral, gone.

I don't think you're paying attention.

Look at the sales figures for MILC cameras (Mirrorless Interchangable Lens Cameras).

And if that market was a dead end that was dying then why would Canon have released the EOS-M?

4/3 dSLR, not m4/3 MILC, is what was stated.  The most recent 4/3 camera is the Olympus E-5, a 'pro' body almost 3 years old that no one expects will be replaced. It's #3,139 in Amazon's sales ranking.  The 'consumer' line of 4/3 cameras (E-xxx) stopped with the E-600 in 2009. Panasonic and Leica tried the format, dropped it over 6 years ago.

So, who's not paying attention?  You, dilbert.  But at least you've figured out we're talking about cameras, not lenses, this time.  Bravo.

We are talking 4/3, a DSLR crop body, and the market is most certainly not dead. Olympus failed to capture sales despite technical excellence..... So they let the line die.  This is why many of us say that sales matter. Who cares how good the camera is if it isn't made. Just like Betamax, no sales became no more new 4/3 cameras. One might argue that sales are the most important aspect of a camera.

4

EOS Bodies / Re: EOS 70D & EOS 7D Mark II

« on: May 16, 2013, 09:44:16 PM »

Neuro, you have a habit to answer with sails,

Not to be picky here.... but I doubt that Canoe will ever be number one in "sails"..... they make consumer electronics, not boats.....

You even threw in the word "Canoe" for the icing on the cake!  Well done.

Oops... I just realized I forgot to post the picture to go with that...

(she is gorgeous and only 103 years old)

and for the sensor is everything crowd..... picture shot with an Olympus OM-1 using Kodachrome 64

5

EOS Bodies / Re: EOS 70D & EOS 7D Mark II

« on: May 16, 2013, 09:41:26 PM »

Sales drive revenue. Revenue drives profit. Profit is a major driver of share price and shareholder value.  Share price and shareholder value determine whether a public company thrives, survives, or fails.

Betamax was better quality than VHS.  VHS sold better. Betamax failed and was abandoned.

On a more DSLR related note, Olympus came out with 4/3 format. It was going to be a worldwide standard. Many things about thier cameras were ahead of what the Canon and Nikon crop bodies offered at the time. They had beter user interface, beter weatherproofing, arguably better sensor performance, and faster autofocusing..... and where is it now? ( 4/3... not micro 4/3 ).  Sales sucked, product not stocked by retail stores, death spiral, gone.

Well, the Olympus E5 got a DxOMark Overall Score of only 56.  That must be why it didn't sell. 

Personally, I've never paid a lot of attention to Dx0Mark scores. A lot of people fixate on sensors, but it seems far more important to deal with more important stuff first. I tend to shoot in good lighting conditions so I don't have a fanatical worry about ISO scores.

To me, the most important aspect of a camera system is the AF system. An in focus picture beats an out of focus picture. I don't care how much dynamic range or megapixels are involved.... Focus is of paramount importance.

My second criteria to look at is the glass. It does not matter if you are shooting anything from a rebel to a 1Dx, the resolution of the glass has to exceed the resolution of the body if you are going to push things to the limit. With the higher pixel density, this is far more important on crop bodies than FF bodies, but when a high megapixel FF body comes out, make sure you have top notch glass of you will get soft pictures. Stick a 100L Macro on a Rebel and it will take pictures so sharp it will amaze you.... put a $200 kit zoom on a rebel and you get mush.

My third criteria is good user interface.... gotta be able to control things on the fly and in a panic.... stepping through menus does not cut it.

New sensor? Yes it's important to me, but it is far from being everything to me. I use camera systems, not components in isolation. It is very important to me that whatever system I am using comes from a stable and profitable company. If they are loosing money, they run the risk of going away, and that leaves me with a shelf of orphan glass.

6

EOS Bodies / Re: EOS 70D & EOS 7D Mark II

« on: May 16, 2013, 08:18:39 PM »

Sales drive revenue. Revenue drives profit. Profit is a major driver of share price and shareholder value.  Share price and shareholder value determine whether a public company thrives, survives, or fails.

Betamax was better quality than VHS.  VHS sold better. Betamax failed and was abandoned.

On a more DSLR related note, Olympus came out with 4/3 format. It was going to be a worldwide standard. Many things about thier cameras were ahead of what the Canon and Nikon crop bodies offered at the time. They had beter user interface, beter weatherproofing, arguably better sensor performance, and faster autofocusing..... and where is it now? ( 4/3... not micro 4/3 ).  Sales sucked, product not stocked by retail stores, death spiral, gone.

7

EOS Bodies / Re: EOS 70D & EOS 7D Mark II

« on: May 16, 2013, 07:54:04 PM »

Neuro, you have a habit to answer with sails,

Not to be picky here.... but I doubt that Canoe will ever be number one in "sails"..... they make consumer electronics, not boats.....

8

EOS Bodies / Re: EOS 70D & EOS 7D Mark II

« on: May 16, 2013, 07:34:55 PM »

The biggest surprise I've seen from Canon (or anyone else for that matter) in the last several years was the SX50. Everything else from everyone else seems to have been incremental improvements. The surprise is that they could make a 50X superzoom that works reasonably well... I thought that 30X was pushing it... had tried out several, and hated them. The SX50 works quite well in good light and in the right conditions outperforms lens/body combos that cost 20 times as much.

A bit better AF performance, a bit better ISO, a bit better noise, wifi, gps, a few more megapixels.... none of that will be a surprise. We all know that it will eventually happen. A surprise is something unexpected.

Perhaps a "surprise announcement" will come in the form of a mirrorless camera that takes EF lenses....

9

EOS Bodies / Re: EOS 70D & EOS 7D Mark II

« on: May 16, 2013, 10:24:30 AM »

We’re told a “surprise” announcement will be made by Canon in July, what that is we’re unsure. However, the source alluded to it being a camera body. I wouldn’t call the EOS 70D a “surprise”, but we’ll see. Could it be…….. something else?

Think outside the box..... the iCanon! A Canon that you can also use like an iPhone.....

10

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: What equipment to bring to get the stars

« on: May 15, 2013, 11:56:44 AM »

You can do an insane amount of post-processing.... including taking "dark shots" and image subtraction, image stacking...etc..etc..

It all comes down to time.... how much time do you want the shot to be? On a star trail it could be hours, on a still image it could range from seconds to minutes.... the wider angle the lens the more time you have before motion is apparent.... you will have to experiment for your setup. I like to use the lowest ISO I can get away with....

I strongly advise getting some software like Stellarium (free download) and set it up for the destination.... you will be able to see on your computer what objects are in the sky and how to locate them. Things like the Andromeda galaxy are hard to see with the naked eye but very visible in a time exposure.... all you need is a 200mm or longer lens and it shows up very well in a photo.

11

Landscape / Re: Sunset landscape

« on: May 15, 2013, 08:59:00 AM »

Hello CR!

Here is my latest work, feedback would be nice!

Shot with 7D - 17mm - F/8 - ISO 400 - 1/20 sec

Where so many would have gone out to the end of the deck to take an unobstructed picture, you found interesting rocks along the shore and included the deck. Nice composition. I like the picture!

12

Canon General / Re: It annoys me when camera phones try to take credit for professional level gear.

« on: May 15, 2013, 07:00:48 AM »

It does S___ me blind when people compare camera phones to pro gear stating categorically that they are just as good.

Take a look at the "no 7D2 in 2013" thread..... I posted pictures of the moon from a 60d and from an iPod to end a ridiculous "gear does not matter" debate. Although phones can take great pictures, particularly in the right conditions, once it gets a bit more challenging there is no substitute for a "real" camera.

13

Canon General / Re: It annoys me when camera phones try to take credit for professional level gear.

« on: May 15, 2013, 06:52:06 AM »

here are two offenders.

The reflections are photoshopped in. On the top photo the reflection shows an element that is not on the phone, while  the bottom picture has lines of perspective that indicate a focal point BEHIND the phone.

14

Landscape / Re: Sunset landscape

« on: May 14, 2013, 11:20:13 PM »

Another sunset on the Ottawa River, Canada. Shot from the canoe one evening last year as I was paddling home.

15

Landscape / Re: Sunset landscape

« on: May 14, 2013, 11:09:04 PM »

The backyard last fall.... The sky looked like it was on fire!