Topics

1

EOS Bodies / Canon wins big at TIPA

« on: May 09, 2013, 09:13:33 PM »

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but good to see Canon walking away with some awards including best professional lens (24-70 f/2., best expert Camera (6D), best video DSLR (1DC), best entry level DSLR (100D)  and best expert printer (pro-10).

http://www.tipa.com/english/XXIII_tipa_awards_2013.php

2

EOS Bodies / Future of APS-C Given 6D Pricing

« on: March 27, 2013, 05:58:05 AM »

I see the 6D is now $1649 from some suppliers.  Even here is Australia, the global HQ of the Canon overpricing division, 6D's are $1800 (GST Excl).  With the upcoming 7Dii and 70D, for the first time ever, we'll likely have APS-C bodies priced higher than FF bodies.  Wow!  This really complicates buying decisions.  And not just across Canon's own range, but across the board.

And while I'm sure the 70D and 7Dii will have features to match their price and should appeal to many, given the image quality gains, you'd have to be very aware of your needs to forgo the 6D.  The same with people looking at buying into another system with a higher end camera - eg Olympus OM-D, Panasonic GH3, Pentax K5ii.  If your sole criteria isn't smaller and lighter, why would you bother?

And personally, while I've been considering a Fuji Xpro1 for fun, my logical side is telling me that it is inferior to the 6D in many ways and that I'd be very silly to buy one.

So after some crystal ball gazing, I've come to the following conclusion.  The 70D will move up in specs to become the 7D replacement and will sell for a similar price to the 6D.  At that price range, people will need to choose between speed, performance and better AF or the better image quality of the 6D.

But we won't see APS-C bodies selling for more than FF bodies. Instead, the 7D replacement will be a full frame camera selling in the $2000 - $2200 range.  It will be a 6D with beefed up AF specs.   Maybe the features of the 5Diii but with the 6D sensor to keep some differentiation (Or a 5Diii light if you want to think about it that way).  This will become THE camera for the masses.  And while it will cannibalize 5Diii sales, this will be more than compensated by the increased sales to those seeking the allure of a FF camera that ticks most boxes and those who would have chosen a 6D, but can spend a bit more.

Anyway, just wanting to put my prediction out there.

3

EOS Bodies / 600D vs 100D

« on: March 21, 2013, 07:09:33 AM »

I know I'm going to get asked this...

With the 600D $445 locally and the 650D $586, apart from the small size, what does an $800 100D offer? 

I'm also getting the impression the 700D isn't a dramatically improvement over the 650D and you wouldn't pay a large premium.  Am I missing something?

4

Software & Accessories / Time Lapse Movie Software

« on: December 20, 2012, 05:13:07 AM »

Hi, I'm going to try my hand at making time lapse movies.  Just wondering what your favourite software is?  Can you recommend some software that allows you to zoom and pan but is also suitable for a beginner?  I currently have Photoshop CS4 (non-extended version) and Lightroom if that makes a difference. 

5

Landscape / Geminid Meteor Shower Suggestions

« on: December 14, 2012, 01:27:01 AM »

Any good tips for photographing meteor showers?

6

Landscape / Solar Eclipse Next Week - Any Suggestions?

« on: November 08, 2012, 09:05:37 PM »

We've got a total solar eclipse next Wednesday morning (14th November) in Northern Australia.  Does anyone have any good suggestions for photographing one?  Any special filters or preferred lenses that you'd suggest? 

7

Lenses / Excellent shorter lens with TC vs Average longer lens

« on: October 02, 2012, 07:42:22 AM »

Was just checking the Samyang site and see they've got an 800mm mirror lens and a 650-1300mm zoom.  A second hand shop near my work has a Meade 1000mm f/11 mirror lens for sale.  And I see a lot of similar lenses for sale on eBay.  A quick google search suggests the image quality from these lenses isn't great.  Unfortunately...it seems you get what you pay for.   

But my question is this: -

If you had a 300mm f/4, would your cropped image appear sharper than a cheap 1000mm+ lens?  What about a 300mm with a teleconverter or two?  Is there any point to buying a cheaper, longer lens?

8

Lenses / How are lenses measured?

« on: September 22, 2012, 04:01:36 AM »

Can anyone provide a simple explanation as to how the focal length of a lens is measured?  Where is measured from?  What makes a 17mm lens a 17mm lens?  What makes a 400mm lens a 400mm lens.  My initial thought was that if you held up a negative 400mm from your eye, you might get a similar angle of view to a 400mm lens.  But that doesn't seem quite right, and doesn't account for fish eye lenses etc.  A quick google search didn't shed much light.  Does anyone know?

9

EOS Bodies / Sensor Format

« on: July 15, 2012, 12:37:37 AM »

After a rather stressful printing exercise trying to make 36x24 images fit nicely into 8x10 frames, is anyone else hoping the new canon mirrorless cameras will have a more printer friendly sensor ratio?   

Why do shops favour 8x10 frames with very little choice in the 8x12 range?

10

Speedlites, Printers, Accessories / 430EX II Price Drops

« on: June 15, 2012, 12:42:15 AM »

I've been noticing the recent price drops on the 430EX II.  Do you think this is a sign that the 440EX-RT is imminent?

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Speedlites, Printers, Accessories / Flashes, AF Assist and focusing in the dark

« on: May 16, 2012, 04:56:49 AM »

Lately, I've been trying to take wildlife photos in the dark using a radio trigger to power some non-ex flashes.  I'm generally shooting subjects about 20m away.  It's too dark for my camera to auto focus so I'm manual focusing or pre-focusing on a particular spot.  But I'm not getting many keepers.  My eye sight isn't the best and I just can't focus accurately or fast enough.

What can I do?

My first thought is to pick up some Canon flashes.  I understand that the AF Assist of the ST-E2 isn't very powerful and the 580EXii is better and has more features as a master controller anyway.  Therefore, I'm thinking I should pick up a 580EXii (or maybe a Metz 58 AF-2) to use the AF assist, and use this to control a couple of slaves.  Does this sound sensible?  I've heard that the AF assist on a 580EXii might extend to about 20m.  Does that sound right?

Realistically, I'm not going to pick up two or three 600EX RTs.  But given that the price difference between the 580EX and the 600EX isnt that big, should I just go for one 600EX and use this as the master controller now and future proof my system?  I assume 430EX-RTs aren't that far away?

The ST-E3 lacks AF assist.  Am I right in thinking that it won't trigger the AF assist on a 600EX (and even if it could, the lines / grid wouldn't necessarily match my AF points anyway)?

Am I missing something?  Is there a simpler or better way to obtain improved night time AF performance?

12

Speedlites, Printers, Accessories / Third Party Flash / Metz Mecablitz 58 AF-2

« on: May 03, 2012, 11:08:48 PM »

I'm thinking of picking up a 580EX ii.  But being a careful purchaser, I thought I'd look around and see what else is out there.  The closest competitor seems to be the Metz Mecablitz 58 AF-2.  The price difference isn't that big.  Just wondering if there is any compelling reason not to choose the Canon flash?

Is there anything else out there to consider? The 600EX-RT is probably a little too pricey for my occasional level of use.  I'll also use the flash on a variety of different cameras so an "auto" mode (External Automatic Flash Exposure in CanonSpeak) is desirable, which rules out the 430EX II.

13

Canon General / Truth in photography

« on: February 02, 2012, 01:30:39 AM »

I've been following the “Debunk this Peter Lik picture…PLEASE!!!” thread closely for the last few days, and I'm surprised at the amount of interest it has generated.  I started following it because I like to reverse engineer things to work out how they were done.  Otherwise, I’m not too concerned if it is actually a combination of multiple images with significant post production.  If it is art, I feel that it should be able to stand on its own and the “behind the scenes” activities are largely irrelevant.  But many people think differently.

So, I'm curious.  With photography in general….

Do you feel genuinely upset and angry when a photographer portrays a photo as something it’s not?  If so, why does this get you so worked up? 

If a photo is actually a combination of several photos, but the photographer implies that it is a single, unaltered image, do you consider this unethical?

Do you think photo buyers really care about the effort that went into producing an image?  If so, do you feel that an image with less manipulation is of greater substance than an image with more manipulation?  Or is this irrelevant provided that the photographer doesn’t mislead anyone? 

Tell me your thoughts. 

14

EOS Bodies / 5Diii vs 7Dii (FF vs APS-C)

« on: October 27, 2011, 10:33:41 PM »

Hi.  I'll probably pick up a new camera next year, and am weighing up the pros and cons of APS-C vs FF.  I'm curious - why is there so much interest in the 5Diii compared with a 7Dii?  A 5Diii with 7D build, AF and speed would seem to be many people's dream come true.  I appreciate many of the benefits of FF - shallower depth of field, less noise at higher ISOs etc.  But with all of the hype, you start to think that the only benefit of the APS-C sensor is the lower price and 1.6x crop for longer lenses, but for everything else it is an inferior product.   If a 5Diii was virtually identical to a 7Dii except it had more megapixels on a larger sensor, would the joys and benefits of using a FF camera really be that noticeable in the real world?  Do people who have made the switch from APS-C to FF agree that it is the best decision that they've ever made and wish they had done it sooner?  Or after making the change, have you been left wondering what all the fuss is about?  Would appreciate your thoughts.  Thanks.

15

EOS Bodies / Mandatory Autofocus and Shutter Sounds

« on: September 28, 2011, 03:16:56 AM »

Hi.  I've just bought a new phone.  When using the camera, you can't turn the shutter sound off (and it beeps every few seconds to confirm that it is in focus).  Its very annoying!  After doing a bit of research, it turns out that this is on purpose.  Apparently there is legislation being debated in the US to make shutter sounds mandatory (I believe it is called the 'Camera Phone Predator Alert Act').  And some other countries have already introduced similar rules. How come nobody is discussing this?  While we all know who this legislation is aimed at, there are numerous occassions when a silent camera makes sense (plays, presentations, speeches, wedding ceremonies etc).  Plus, if you are some sort of perve, you'll just start using a P & S, anyway, and given that rules like these often expand over time, its not that hard to imagine it encompassing cameras in the future.  Maybe the reason the 5Diii seems to be getting delayed is because they are being fitted with an extra loud compulsory "beep" every time you focus the camera that you won't be able to turn off?  I'm just surprised that people from the US, being the home of rights and freedom, are proposing this.