Messages

1

Lenses / Re: Canon 200mm 2.8 l ii: what's the deal

« on: October 01, 2012, 04:37:57 PM »

I have the 70-200 2.8L IS and the 200 F2.8 L II; I like them both and I use them both, although for slightly different tasks.

What I like about the 200 2.8 L II is the size (small), weight (light) and price/performance. And the fixed focal length. I'm currently using it primarily as a tube lens behind Mitutoyo infinity corrected microscope objectives. The zoom is a PITA as a tube lens.

Outside of that, I use the 200 on my 7D and the 70-200 on the 5D3 for zoos/wildlife with relatively short viewing distances. But if I "might kinda want something around 200 or 300mm", the 200 II goes in my bag and the zoom stays home. The 1.5 pound difference feels much bigger when carrying it around for a day.

Although for many people, the convenience of a zoom is probably worth the price and weight difference.

2

Technical Support / Re: AFMA Misbehaviour

« on: September 15, 2012, 11:17:02 PM »

I thought I read somewhere that if the "All by same amount" setting was set, then "Adjust by lens" superseded it for specific lenses. That way if you knew your body was -4 with every lens but a couple, you could set it "in case".

I'm digging through my manuals to see if I actually read that or if I just assumed it behaved that way.

3

Software & Accessories / Re: Need help on neck/Shoulder Strap for camera body...!!!

« on: September 14, 2012, 11:56:47 PM »

I have and use both a BlackRapid RS-5 and a SunSniper (depending on which bag I grab). I love both straps. And I loathe the stock strap to camera connector; I have no confidence that they wouldn't unscrew on me while I walk and the camera spins.

Happily there is a fix. I use a major brand Arca-Swiss compatible L-plate on all my bodies (Kirk, RRS, I don't think it matters). So instead of screwing the strap lug into the tripod socket on the camera or the L-plate, I bought a Wimberly C-12 clamp (http://www.tripodhead.com/products/C12-compatibility.cfm) for each strap I use.

The Wimberly clamp has three set screws surrounding it's threaded socket. I removed the rubber gasket from the strap connector, screwed it into the Wimberly clamp as tight as I could, then set all thee set screws. End result is that the Wimberly clamp cannot come free from the strap no matter how hard I try to twist it off. Then I clamp the camera to the strap with the clamp knob facing forward so it's not hitting my leg/hip when I walk (the lens hits first).

With this arrangement I have confidence that the camera won't unthread from the strap, I can move the strap between camera bodies, and it's freaking easy to get the strap off when I need to use a tripod.

4

Lenses / Re: If you can have ONLY 3 lenses, what would they...???

« on: September 11, 2012, 04:12:38 PM »

35 f1.4L
100 f2.8L Macro IS
200 f2.8L II

Carried with my 5d3 and 7d. Covers nearly everything I need.

5

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: New 5d3 to use with my 7D or Replace 7D with 7D2? Which wide angle lens?

« on: September 11, 2012, 03:48:04 PM »

I have the 5D3 and 7D; they work very nicely with each other. I often have them set up with complementary lenses so I can switch bodies instead of changing lenses.

Is there something you don't like about the 10-22? Or are you just looking to have one body ready for landscapes and the other for reach?

I've used the 16-35 and I like it for when I need that focal range and f2.8. However, for landscapes I'm a bigger fan of the 17-40; it's an incredible lens for the money. I'm usually shooting landscapes stopped down, so the 2.8 doesn't gain me anything. And if I need to shoot wide open, I'd rather use a prime.

6

Software & Accessories / Re: What CRM software do you use for your photography business?

« on: September 05, 2012, 08:36:29 AM »

I've used a few different CRMs. Salesforce is nice, but expensive. I've got nothing nice to say about ACT!

Currently, I'd suggest taking a good look at HighRise (http://highrisehq.com/). Relatively inexpensive, web based, and I've not seen it go down during business hours (unlike Salesforce). Email integration is done by CC and BCC. Generally a nice package.

7

Lenses / Re: Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Firmware Available

« on: August 23, 2012, 04:08:58 PM »

Unless I'm being pattern blind, I'm not seeing a date code on my 40 STM. Which seems odd to me.

8

Lenses / Re: Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Firmware Available

« on: August 23, 2012, 02:41:35 PM »

The "lazy" was more referring to QC on the firmware by obviously not testing the update on enough different body/scenarios to ensure it would work.  I do realize they can't test every scenario though, but a body with registered batteries seems like a fairly common one. 

But, yes... I see new body firmwares coming soon!

I don't think it's happening to every body with battery information registered; my 5d3 has battery info registered and the STM upgrade went through first try. But it is clearly happening to some combination of battery, body and battery information registration. I wouldn't rule out an unforeseen interaction between some custom setting and the battery registration.

I haven't been following this closely enough, but I wonder if maybe the issue is with battery information registered from counterfeit or third party batteries? Maybe the people who had the issue and then succeeded after deleting the battery registration information can chime in on that.

9

Lenses / Re: Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Firmware Available

« on: August 23, 2012, 12:08:30 PM »

Same result here with the battery registration delete after a failed update. 

<snip>

Canon... really... REALLY?  That's just lazy.

I would guess less "lazy" and more "we have a bug with battery info registration we didn't know about and didn't see (on the new cameras) in our testing lab".

10

Lenses / Re: Canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS vs 24-105 f/4L IS

« on: August 23, 2012, 11:49:23 AM »

If you are considering the 24-105L for video you should be aware of two things. The lens is not parfocal (as you zoom, the focus distance changes) and the lens breathes (focal length changes while focusing). A lot. Neither issue is particularly problematic for stills shooters, but can be a real problem for video.

If you can work around those two issues, the 24-105L is a perfectly decent lens for video, although I often find myself cursing the relatively small aperture. I never had good luck with video once I got over ISO 800 on my 5d2 while shooting video; it got noisy in what I thought was unattractive ways. And I preferred to be at ISO 400 or slower.

11

Technical Support / Re: Aperture 3 Import Issue, 40mm STM (after firmware update) on 5d3

« on: August 23, 2012, 11:28:02 AM »

No...none of the EOS utilities are required to move files directly off the cards from a card reader that I know of....<P>
A file, is a file, is a file to any OS on a computer....give it a try with just a card reader.

That being said...strange behavior indeed with camera to computer with that one lens...but to work around it, get a card reader. I got one cheap for like $25 or so off Amazon.com...usb2....fast enough for me...

I have a card reader and it's my preferred method of getting data from camera to computer. Doesn't do me any good when I've left it in the support bag that I didn't have with me. So my "work around" was going to be to import directly from the camera when I ran into this (apparently) lens related issue that I have since worked around...

I was checking to see if anyone else had experienced this weirdness before I opened bug reports with Canon and Apple. It's my preference to have a reproducible bug on other hardware before I blame a vendor; it's always possible that the issue is isolated to my environment or I did something different when I changed lenses.

I did misspeak (mistype?) when referencing EOS Utility and mounting the cards as disks in OS X. I had a vague recollection that with EOS Utility you could get (some) Canon DSLRs to enter USB Mass Storage mode. On further searching it appears that I was wrong and no Canon DSLR supports USB mass storage.

12

Technical Support / Re: Aperture 3 Import Issue, 40mm STM (after firmware update) on 5d3

« on: August 23, 2012, 08:36:52 AM »

The issue is that transferring pictures into Aperture (or using Image Capture) fails while the firmware upgraded 40 STM is mounted. With any other lens attached, file transfer works as normal.

Doesn't seem to matter what lens the photos were taken with; I was trying to transfer a mix taken with the 40 STM and the 100L Macro. Even transferring a single image taken with the macro into Aperture with the 40 mounted would hang for a long time and then fail.

I believe that in order to have the card(s) appear as disks to OS X, you have to have EOS Utility working. This is a no-go in my case because I'm running Mountain Lion. I never shoot tethered, so that wasn't an upgrade concern.

13

Technical Support / Aperture 3 Import Issue, 40mm STM (after firmware update) on 5d3

« on: August 23, 2012, 01:39:56 AM »

I'm running into an odd issue trying to import images into Aperture from my 5d3.

I have my Canon 5d3 running firmware 1.1.3 with the 40mm STM updated to 1.2.0 mounted. Connected to the Mac via a USB cable. Aperture (3.3.2) sees the images on the CF card, but fails when trying to transfer them. Image Capture behaves the same way (seeing images, but failing to transfer them).

If I change lenses to anything other than the 40mm, Aperture transfers work as expected.

Anyone else having issues like this?

14

EOS Bodies / Re: Shooting leveled landscape pictures

« on: August 22, 2012, 07:11:28 PM »

I buy 2 axis spirit levels off ebay 5 or 10 at a a time. They are accurate enough for me, and I don't feel bad losing them or giving them to friends.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p4069.m570.l1313&_nkw=2+axis+level+hotshoe&_sacat=0

15

Lenses / Re: quess how many lenses, ebay foolishness.

« on: August 22, 2012, 11:13:14 AM »

So in other news, what's the opinion on the Calumet filter they have on? I've never heard of that brand.

It's probably a rebranded Hoya as sold by http://www.calumetphoto.com/.