Messages

1

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: The Blackmagic Production Camera 4K

« on: April 09, 2013, 07:45:01 PM »

Let's hope Canon is paying attention, because THIS is how you innovate!
You offer a camera that is much better than your previous model with features that your most discerning customers want and that won't make it obsolete in a year or two. Features that look to the future like Thunderbolt I/O and 4K video capture. And then you offer it at a price that makes your competitors' heads spin. Bravo to BlackMagic for showing the big boys how it's done. This is the company that RED Digital Cinema should have been but alas they've become just like all the rest.

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EOS Bodies / Re: Canon Announcements on April 23, 2013? [CR2]

« on: April 09, 2013, 12:36:22 AM »

Guys, I'll probably ask a very naive and somewhat a silly question... What exactly is the difference between different generations of Canon sensors? I mean, let's say Canon 5d ii and iii share the same sensor (correct?) however 5d iii overall has a better signal/noise ratio. That means that the improvements in the image quality do not necessarily require a new sensor technology? So, why do we all want Canon to have a new generation of sensors in their DSLR? Just curios 

It is nothing but a bunch of gearhead whiners crying because "theirs" ain't the biggest this week.  Ask yourself this:  have you ever been able to walk through a gallery and point out which camera shot which photo?  If the stuff was as bad as some of these idiots claim, nobody would use it.

Something else you might want to ask yourself:  If this Sony technology is such a "game changer" why hasn't the game changed?  Where are the stunning examples of what can be done?  Why do we continue to see shots of the back of lens caps, mediocre landscape shots with shadows lifted 5 stops just to prove a point?  Where are the game changing photographs from this so-called game changing technology?

If this represents such a huge advance in the state of the art of making art, where the heck is the art?  Galeries won't hang your DxO curves.

I agree with much of what you say as art is only as good as the vision of the artist. People don't pay professional photographers for their skills (as anyone can learn to master those), people pay us for our creative interpretation of a moment in time. A photographer like Lindsay Adler gets paid the big bucks for her creativity, not necessarily her technical skills.


However I do feel that as a fashion and beauty photographer, the more resolution I have to work with, the better I am able to display my interpretation. High resolution at that price point is the ONLY reason why the Nikon D800 appealed to someone like me and why I am dying to see Canon's large megapixel offering. As a beauty and fashion photographer, you want your images to stand out and be full of crisp detail and working with more resolution helps in that sense. Other than that, I prefer Canon gear and Canon lenses. The images coming off my 1DX in low light situations is nothing short of astounding!


That being said, great artists can create with whatever tool given to them. Here is a wonderful example of a music video shot with a Canon 550D. Now if you listen to the experts, you shouldn't be able to color grade and/or add too many VFX to Canon's compressed video format, but this video completely obliterates that thinking:
http://philipbloom.net/2013/03/23/sbtrkt/

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EOS Bodies / Re: Canon Announcements on April 23, 2013? [CR2]

« on: April 08, 2013, 11:52:14 PM »

But that is exactly the reason that has most people on this forum up in arms, they AREN'T keeping up with advancements in new technology, they are simply rereleasing the same camera over and over again in different configurations. The average consumer may not notice or even care, but we dedicated shooters and die hard Canon fans do!

Fine. But, 'we dedicated shooters and die hard Canon fans' make up an infinitesimal fraction of their market. The vast majority of dSLR buyers are 'average consumers'.

Now imagine what would happen if we "infinitesimal fraction of the market" stopped supporting Canon. Marketshare is directly related to mindshare. It doesn't matter what the actual facts are, only what people perceive are the facts (Marketing 101). Ask Apple about the Final Cut Pro X fiasco. When enough pros (who equally represented a small portion of Apple's market share) bashed the new editing software, everyone else abandoned it as well as they assumed the pros must know what they are talking about. Canon like any other company need professionals to shoot great images with their gear to market the possibilities to non-professionals. If enough pros start complaining, even those not knowledgable about it will start to echo those complaints creating a snowball affect.

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EOS Bodies / Re: Canon Announcements on April 23, 2013? [CR2]

« on: April 08, 2013, 11:36:57 PM »

With all the excitement at NAB this year, it seems more likely that these announcements will be within their Cinema Line of cameras.

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EOS Bodies / Re: Canon Announcements on April 23, 2013? [CR2]

« on: April 07, 2013, 08:40:07 PM »

If I were to guess, Canon doesn't make or market every one of their cameras to every consumer. They probably don't expect a 60D user to replace their camera with a 70D. If anything, a 60D user should be happy the advancements are only "minor" from one body to the next. I'm happy to not be tempted to spend more money. Why would you wan to upgrade every release? They "need" to make the annual upgrades to keep with their tech advancements.

But that is exactly the reason that has most people on this forum up in arms, they AREN'T keeping up with advancements in new technology, they are simply rereleasing the same camera over and over again in different configurations. The average consumer may not notice or even care, but we dedicated shooters and die hard Canon fans do!

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EOS Bodies / Re: Canon Announcements on April 23, 2013? [CR2]

« on: April 07, 2013, 08:22:47 PM »

I don't think many people choose a camera based on the company's sales or profit - have yet to see that included on the camera's spec sheet....................

+1000
Well said.

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EOS Bodies / Re: Canon Announcements on April 23, 2013? [CR2]

« on: April 07, 2013, 08:20:13 PM »

Even I could beat Usain Bolt if he stands still on the track and just lately Canon seem to be standing still which leaves the chance for others to beat them.

problem is, even when canon moves slow .. no other company is beating it on sales or profit.

This is sad but true. I wish they were losing money like water to motivate them to do better. I mean really, the 600EX-RT was a stroke genius, why haven't they continued that kind of innovation through the rest of their line? It makes no sense at all. Canon has so much going for them e.g. the menu system; top class, the camera body ergonomics; can't be beat, excellent optics, so why can't they get their act together and design better sensors and give us more features for our hard earned bucks to keep them, as well as the photographers who use their gear competitive? People tend to forget that aspect of the equation. We as professionals have a lot invested in the gear we choose. If other photogs are shooting with better gear, it gives them a slight edge. In the competitive market for photogs, even a slight edge can mean all the difference in the world. If someone can deliver a more finely detailed image in the same low light conditions, they have an edge. Would you rather slice with a butcher's knife or a finely crafted katana? Sure both will get the job done, but I'd rather use the tool that lets me get it done more efficiently and perhaps with finer detail.

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EOS Bodies / Re: Canon Announcements on April 23, 2013? [CR2]

« on: April 07, 2013, 07:58:05 PM »

Pay close attention to the new sensor in the Canon EOS SL1 as far as performance goes. We’re told this sensor will appear in the EOS 70D, but not the EOS 7D Mark II.

Ok, Canon has just mutilated the potential of the 70D to sell well.

And expect reviews of the camera everywhere to widely condemn Canon for this continued delivery of left overs from last week microwaved and presented as fine dining.

lol. Love your analogy.

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Canon General / Re: 24-70Mk2 fell off my 5DMk3 and smashed

« on: March 31, 2013, 04:45:54 AM »

"The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?" - as found on the Internet

Not sure about that. Maybe greed. See, right here in this thread we have someone who suffered an unfortunate accident and cries out, "Design flaw," not my fault, someone else should take responsibility. The next step is litigation - sue Canon for bad design or lack of proper warning, of course with the expectation of a financial award.

You're quite right of course, that seems to be the direction in which the world is moving 

No, that seems to be the direction that America is and has always been moving. I will never forget the first time I read an article about a lady who ordered a hot coffee in McDonald's and then sued McDonald's when she burn her lip (or tongue) on the drink because it was "too hot". Now McDonald's are required to label all their HOT drinks HOT. Well duh, if you order a hot drink, wouldn't one expect it to be hot?! The case should have been thrown out of court and the lady fined for wasting the court's time, but instead she was able to cash in.


Now back to the subject, I almost experienced the exact same think with my new 24-70 MkII and my 5D MkIII, but fortunately I was lucky enough to catch the lens before it fell. My first thought wasn't to think I want to sue Canon, it was how could I have been so stupid to hit the lens release button while shooting. Needless to say it has never happened again because I am now aware of it and am much more careful. It wasn't Canon's fault, it was my own. I don't understand people who want to fault the manufacturer for their own carelessness. Not saying that's what happened to the OP because I wasn't there, but in my particular case I do believe it was entirely my fault.

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EOS Bodies / Re: Big Megapixel Development Announcement in the Fall? [CR2]

« on: March 24, 2013, 07:05:39 PM »

Maybe by then, Intel will have a superfast processor and SATA express will be out.  Current SSD's are limited by SATA III to about 500mb/sec, and huge image files take a lot of time to process.
At least Canon has options for sraw that you can select when you don't want full blown resolution.  With the D800, you get those huge files every time if you want to use raw.
That way a user would have a choice.

Yes but I doubt Canon will try to incorporate anything more than what is bare minimum. Lately they just don't seem to be interested in leapfrogging the competition, they seem to be content with merely keeping in step. So I doubt they would use any new technology that hasn't been tried and true like SATA Express. Perhaps this time we'll at least hopefully get USB 3.0 (although I would prefer Thunderbolt) as an I/O upgrade. But who knows, perhaps they'll prove me wrong. I certainly hope so for everyone's sake.

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 1Dx vs 5D M3

« on: March 21, 2013, 05:33:33 AM »

I think it safe to suggest that, in most performance-related matters, the 1Dx will marginally to significantly (though never greatly) outperform the 5DIII.

There are, however, actually a few areas in which the 5DIII outperforms the 1Dx, and they're worth keeping in mind.

First and foremost is price, of course. You can buy two 5DIIIs and have money left over for the price of a single 1Dx. And there are a lot of situations where a second body is far more important than the marginal differences between the two models.

Next, the 5DIII has a silent mode that's not quite believable. For settings where you need to be unobtrusive, such as weddings or contemplative sports, the 5DIII's silent shutter alone will win the day over the 1Dx, all the other superiorities of the 1Dx be damned.

In a similar vein, the 5DIII is a lot smaller. You can slap a Shorty McForty on it and it doesn't look a whole lot different to the non-photographer from a high-end P&S -- especially in comparison to a 1Dx with a 35L. And, yet, the smaller combo will give you comparable results in all but a few extreme and not-especially-common situations. (And, yes, yes, I know...there're people here who think f/2 is slow...you're extreme and not especially common. Congratulations!)

At the same time, the 5DIII works great with the grip (though, obviously, not quite as well as the 1Dx with its integrated grip). Point is, it's very versatile, in that it's equally at home at the party and hung off of a Great White; the 1Dx just can't slim down, while the 5DIII bulks up pretty damned well.

Not to be overlooked, the 5DIII has a few more megapickles than the 1Dx. At lower ISOs, that can (marginally) give the image quality edge to the 5DIII, especially if you're cropping.

In general, if you're considering both and there's a serious question in your mind about which to get, then the 5DIII is for you. It's definitely for you if any of the cases where it does better than the 1Dx are particularly important to you.

The 1Dx is the action photography monster powerhouse. If you're shooting for SI, you'd be an idiot to not be shooting with one. And it's better than any other 1-series camera Canon has ever made, so it's the best choice for all those other photographers for whom that sort of thing is built. If you're shooting in a war zone and you need to be able to club a renegade rebel to death with your camera and still be able to use the camera to take pictures of the steaming corpse, the 1Dx is for you. If you're shooting wildlife in the deep jungle and you never know when you'll have to use your camera to chip off some flint to use to start a fire because your matches got washed down the river, the 1Dx is for you.

But, really...if you're not sure that the 1Dx is for you, then the 5DIII almost certainly is.

Cheers,

b&

Love your examples (lol) and your explanation seems spot on from my experiences with both cameras. Because I mainly shoot fashion and portrait, my 5DMkIII is the camera that is in my hand 90% of the time. I only reach for my 1DX when I get hired to shoot events e.g. fashion shows, wedding parties, sports etc.... where I know I will encounter low light and/or fast moving subjects and gotta bring home the shots.

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 1Dx vs 5D M3

« on: March 20, 2013, 02:51:52 PM »

I just shot these for a client this past weekend. The scenario was my back to a 9 foot jump, them launching over my head, and the 5d III picking them up within nano seconds of hitting the jump. Most series had 4 out of 5 tack sharp images. Mind you, my back was to the jump, so I literally had to rely on the sound of them getting closer and judge the launch timing. I've owned 3 1 series cameras, and you will have to pry my 5d III from my cold dead hands at a huge price difference for 98% of the same performance.

It was bitter cold and the battery level never budged after 3 hours.

Shot/strobed with 4 600EX-RTs off camera.

Really nice shots bro.
The 600EX-RT is amazing! I have three myself.

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 1Dx vs 5D M3

« on: March 20, 2013, 02:33:03 AM »

I own both cameras and in my daily usages I've found the AF performance to be very similar with the 1DX having a what seems like only a slight edge.

Where the 1DX shines for me is in the low noise of the files that come out of it. Simply amazing camera in low light situations and clearly superior to my 5DMkIII. I often shoot at ISO 10,000 with my 1DX but won't go above 6,400 on my 5DMkIII (just personal taste). Other than that, they seem to lock focus about the same, so if AF is your only concern, I'm not sure the 1DX's price is justifiable for your needs. However if you care about low noise and super fast fps e.g. shooting sports etc... indoors, then the 1DX is your camera.

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EOS Bodies / Re: Canon EOS Rebel T5i Leaks

« on: March 20, 2013, 02:06:51 AM »

Canon has become so unimpressive with their camera specs lately. Has anyone seen what even a small family owned company like Sigma is doing? They've managed to stuff a 46MP Foveon Sensor into a point-and-shoot, and their lenses have recently been setting benchmarks that put even the best L glass to shame at a fraction of the cost. Canon needs to get off of their lazy asses and start innovating. They clearly have the means, just apparently not much inspiration.


Sigma link:
http://www.sigma-photo.co.jp/english/camera/dp1_merrill/#/specification

The max image dimension is shown as 4704 x 3136 pixels...

The way to get to 46MP is by multiplying by 3. It is on the specs page...

Canon still need to get off their you-know-whats but Sigma's 46MP looks like marketing to me.

Still you have to applaud Sigma's effort for at least trying something new (whether it's just marketing hype or not will have to be reserved for real world testing). Canon hasn't had a wow! feature since putting radio transceivers into their flash units (which I absolutely LOVE!). I'll say it again, what really disappoints me with Canon is that they have the largest marketshare and the technology to do so much better, but they seem to be content with just coasting along. I'm sure if they really wanted to, they could blow the doors off the competition, so why the mediocre upgrades time and time again? There's no excuse for it. I want Canon to do better because they can.

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EOS Bodies / Re: Canon EOS Rebel T5i Leaks

« on: March 19, 2013, 10:10:32 PM »

Canon has become so unimpressive with their camera specs lately. Has anyone seen what even a small family owned company like Sigma is doing? They've managed to stuff a 46MP Foveon Sensor into a point-and-shoot, and their lenses have recently been setting benchmarks that put even the best L glass to shame at a fraction of the cost. Canon needs to get off of their lazy asses and start innovating. They clearly have the means, just apparently not much inspiration.


Sigma link:
http://www.sigma-photo.co.jp/english/camera/dp1_merrill/#/specification