Messages

1

1D X Sample Images / Re: Weddings

« on: May 01, 2013, 08:15:12 AM »

Love the photos. Which lens did you use for most of these?

2

Pricewatch Deals / Re: EF 24-105 f/4L IS for $770 Shipped

« on: April 17, 2013, 07:42:13 PM »

now its $739.99

3

Lenses / Re: canon 24L 1.4 ii lemon

« on: April 02, 2013, 10:16:13 AM »

My copy focuses fine on the 5D IIs, but its pretty much useless on my wife's T4i. Very inconsistent, with heavy backfocusing. I think the lower end DSLRs like the T4i are not optimized to be used with such wide aperture lens. I haven't tested any other copies. Would've been nice if it worked well with the t4i because its such a great "normal" lens on a crop sensor.

4

Canon General / Re: Announcements Coming Tonight

« on: March 21, 2013, 11:20:50 AM »

Slightly off topic; the T4i with 18-55mm lens kit is on eBay daily deal special for $579 with 4% eBay bucks. Since the T5i is not much of an upgrade, I'd jump on this deal if I was on the market for a rebel.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Canon-EOS-Rebel-T4i-18MP-CMOS-Digital-SLR-with-18-55mm-EF-S-IS-II-Lens-/321093662606?pt=Digital_Cameras&hash=item4ac2ac778e

5

Software & Accessories / Re: IMac vs MacBook Pro vs Custom PC for editing?

« on: March 12, 2013, 02:31:10 AM »

I would recommend a custom built PC. You can really pack some serious hardware for $3.5K. As a matter of fact, I just completed building my first custom PC a couple of weeks ago and loving it! My build is listed below. It came out to about $3.5K (not including monitors). I really shopped around for parts and it took me about 2 weeks to get all the parts I needed. For example, I bought the 3930K CPU for $450 (brand new) and the GPU for $520 (brand new) both from eBay.

 Thermaltake Chaser MK-1 Full Tower Case : $140
 Thermaltake Grand 850W Gold PSU: $150
 EVGA GTX Classified 680 4GB GPU: $520
 Asus P9X79 Pro Motherboard: $320
 Cooler Master 212 Evo CPU Cooler: $30
 2x Western Digital Black 4TB HDD: $600
 Samsung 256GB 840 Pro SSD (Main/OS): $240
 Samsung 512GB 840 Pro SSD (Scratch drive): 520
 G.Skill 64GB DDR3 1600MHz Memory: $320
 Intel i7 3930K 3.2 GHz Hexa Core CPU: $450
 LG 14X Blu-ray Writer: $55
 USB 3.0 5-in-1 Memory Card Reader: $30
Keyboard & Mouse: $80
Windows 8 Pro: $85

6

Technical Support / Re: im thinking about buying a DELL 2713HM - how important is wide gamut?

« on: March 07, 2013, 12:55:49 PM »

STAY AWAY FROM DELL.

Worst Monitors I have owned.  I am going on my 4th monitor in 5 months because of dead/dying pixels and other issues. 

Specs are nice - but product is crap.  Your luck may vary, but I don't even bother putting the box in the attic any more... I just leave it right besides the desk. 

Maybe Dell can offer a new service and include a future dated RMA with every purchase.

Sounds like you have been buying the Dell office grade cheapies. They're patently not suitable for working with images or performance gaming. In a recent similar CR thread I mentioned we have five Dells in the studio, U3011, U2711 and three older UltraSharp spec 24 inch panels.

They have all been faultless workhorses. I will buy more Dells when required. My first Dell, a 24 inch Ultrasharp from around 2007 is still working perfectly. It calibrates fine with the EyeOne. Very stable. Go figure. People just seem to love flaming Dell. That said, I wouldn't buy anything from them other than their premium monitors. It's not that their other hardware is bad, it's just not suitable.

-PW

Thanks pwp!

I had ordered the 2173H on Tuesday and it is on the way to be delivered Monday. I had lost some sleep last night wondering whether it would be a crash and burn for the $ 1,000 I paid for it.

Why did you pay $1000? You could've bought it from from ecost or nextwarehouse (which is where I bought mine), you could've gotten it for $727. With $8 extra, you could also opt for free return shipping if you dont like it. With the money saved, you could've bought the xrite i1 display pro for hardware calibration, which you will eventually need for proper calibration.

7

Technical Support / Re: im thinking about buying a DELL 2713HM - how important is wide gamut?

« on: March 05, 2013, 11:40:53 AM »

I have done a mini review of Dell U2713H vs NEC PA241W-BK on Dell.com. I'll just copy and paste it below. I don't find myself using the wide-gamut feature much because I mostly print photo books from adoramapix.com and they only accept sRGB color profile. I just bought the wide gamut version just incase I need it in the future.

Review from Dell.com:

I have used the NEC MultiSync PA241W-BK for a couple of years and now decided to upgrade to a slightly bigger monitor with Adobe RGB color gamut and LED backlighting. Here's what I found:

Pros:

- Less aggressive AG coating. The NEC had very matte looking screen where images looked grainy and text weren't that sharp. Dell's semi-gloss AG is much smoother and images look great.

- LED backlighting. Gives slightly higher contrast and better image quality.

- Price. Cheaper than comparable sized NEC (PA271W-BK)

Cons:

-Backlight bleeding. I have read that it happens on the U2713HM model and was hoping it would not be present in this model. However, the backlight bleeding is there and is quite noticeable throughout the screen, especially in the corners. The NEC handled this much better.

- USB 3.0 buggy. I'm using Windows 8 in a custom built PC, and connecting this monitor to the USB 3.0 port on my computer causes it to crash. I've once got it working after assigning windows default driver for my USB 3.0 port, but it would still cause my system to crash if I turn the monitor off while the computer is on. It works good when connected to USB 2.0 port, but you loose the speed.

- Touch adjustment button is often irresponsive. The main 'Menu' touch screen button often fails to bring up the menu. Most of the times it works in the first touch or two, but at times I have even had to press it up to 10 times to bring up the menu. Wish it had a more responsive, solid button.

- Dell Utility manager doesn't detect the monitor. Not sure why the latest Utility manager doesn't detect it. Maybe its because I'm using windows 8. I'm not sure. I will keep checking for an update to the software.

Overall, this monitor is average for the price. It has some issues that needs to be worked out. Just a quick note: I have Rev A01 of this model. Also, shop around! I've purchased this from a retailer for 25% less than the MSRP.

8

Portrait / Re: Happy Holidays Photos!

« on: December 19, 2012, 02:30:50 AM »

Happy holidays everyone! Love all the photos, especially the Gingerbread girl . Great job!

9

Canon General / Re: Remote Shutter Release for Canon 5D3

« on: December 09, 2012, 11:06:23 PM »

Awesome inputs as always. Looks like there are quite a few options. So far I am looking at these options

1) hähnel Giga T Pro II
2) Vello FreeWave Plus Wireless Remote Shutter Release
3) Yongnuo RC603C

I like the idea of being able to auto focus wireless-ly. For some timed interval shots the Giga seems to be the way to go. Correct me if I am wrong.

The hähnel Giga T Pro II can basically do everything the Vello can plus timed interval shots. The only con IMO is that it uses CR2 & CR2032 batteries as opposed to AAA with Vello. Also, the Vello is cheaper.

10

Canon General / Re: Remote Shutter Release for Canon 5D3

« on: December 09, 2012, 08:31:30 PM »

I use the Vello FreeWave Plus Wireless Remote Shutter Release http://www.amazon.com/Vello-FreeWave-Wireless-Shutter-Release/dp/B006BGVRZE/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1355102607&sr=1-3&keywords=Vello+FreeWave+Wireless and it works great . You can change connector cables for different cameras. It has radio 2.4GHz frequency and has the ability to use auto-focus wirelessly. The button on the remote acts like the shutter release button on camera.

11

Speedlites, Printers, Accessories / Re: The Future Speedlites, Not Far Off Now? [CR2]

« on: December 04, 2012, 12:11:31 PM »

I thought the 600EX without the RT is already available?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Canon-Speedlite-600EX-Flash-Speed-Lite-Light-600-EX-NON-RT-VERSION-/350649902594?pt=Digital_Camera_Flashes&hash=item51a45ce602
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Canon-Speedlite-600EX-Shoe-Mount-Flash-/230785695681?pt=Digital_Camera_Flashes&hash=item35bbe63fc1

12

Lenses / Re: what 5 lenses would you want (exclude factors such as buissiness and body)

« on: December 04, 2012, 01:12:25 AM »

In order from "Most likely to buy' to 'Least likely to buy'.

Canon 14-24mm f/2.8L (rumored)
Canon 135mm f/2.0L
Canon 14mm f/2.8L II
Zeiss Distagon 21mm f/2.8
Canon 300mm f/2.8L

And ofcourse, any new version of the lenses that I already own 

13

Canon General / Re: How do you store your gear?

« on: November 27, 2012, 01:31:58 AM »

How do YOU peoples store all your hard earned gear
Here's me

Sort of like you, but I use the pick n pluck foam.

14

EOS Bodies / Re: My 5d seems to have better video then stills

« on: November 23, 2012, 01:19:07 AM »

I can think of a few reasons why this may be happening.

1- You may need to do AFMA on your camera to fix any front or back focusing.
2- You may need to use a higher shutter speed to reduce blur from camera shake.
3- You maybe need to use a narrower aperture to have enough depth of field.

15

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Canon Surveys for 5D Mark III

« on: November 08, 2012, 03:10:14 PM »

I guess it's Canon sussing out the perception of the competition, but it might give some idea as to the future of the 5D. Make of it what you will.

My sense is that people always want more of everything.  More features, better quality, greater durability, better sealing, faster speeds, etc.  Improving anything requires greater investment by a manufacturer — in employees, research, development, materials, testing, manufacturing, quality controls, etc. — and of course charging accordingly.  But when a manufacturer introduces the improvements that people said they wanted, there is inevitably much complaining — even outrage — about the price.  "How dare they raise the price!?"  It's as if we forget that all of the extra things we ask for actually cost money.

The 5DIII is the perfect example of this.  Canon improved and upgraded just about every detail of the 5DII, as per many photographers' requests.  Then there was no end to complaints about the price.

Don't completely agree with this. Technology improvements are expected from one revision of a product to another, but it doesn't mean it should increase the price everytime an improvement is made. Look at other manufacturers, like Apple that introduces an ipad almost every year with improvements while keeping the price the same. A more relative example would be the Nikon D700, which had an introduction price of $2999 which is the same as the D800, while Canon increased their price of the 5D3 from the 5D2 about $700!

You're right, not every improvement needs to increase the price.  But many do.  It just depends on the improvement and how much it adds to production costs.  Apple products have much greater sales volume than cameras like the 5D3, so they can take advantage of greater economies of scale.  And I'm guessing production is very different and labor costs are lower than for high end cameras.

Well apple is just an example. What I mean is Electronics in general will have improvements while keeping the price relatively steady or even declining.  I'm talking about time in relation to technology. If the 5D2 and 5D3 were released in the same time periord, I would totally understand the price difference. But we're talking about 4 years of techology advancements! If this trend continues, we are looking at the 5D4 for over $4k and the 5D5 for about $5K!