Messages

286

Lenses / Re: What happened to DO?

« on: March 05, 2013, 07:31:28 AM »

When I used to sell camera gear the biggest differention was that DO allowed the same optical quality in a smaller lens.  There was a big L (400 I think) and plasticy 70-300 IS DO,  however the cheaper 70-300 IS was it's peer as far as the final image went.

Perhaps it crops up, just they don't sing and dance about it?

287

EOS Bodies - For Video / Re: 5D MK 3 Corrupted Video Files?

« on: February 26, 2013, 03:23:42 AM »

Bit harsh texas,  whats the difference between having files on from an old shoot, and the last scene of a current shoot?  Unless you format after each and every clip you've nullified your arguement.

The 5d3 card issue is now well documented, I've been that soldier with the 7d and sandisk udma cards, so I know how frustrating it is, and I dump my files, transcode and check and then overwrite format used cards at the end of each days shooting.

Card maintainence is important, but this particular glitch doesn't swem to be cauused by that.

288

Software & Accessories / Re: I'm not much of a techie, need some advice on my iMac...

« on: February 22, 2013, 02:49:12 PM »

Either way it sounds like your single HDD trying to is the write and read problem at the same time.

what's going longer bit Takes a. it? Doesn't out to work

copy-paste glitch? ;-)

That was my very best impersination in type of a hard disc trying to read and write at the same time.

The completely obvious root of the problem.

289

Software & Accessories / Re: I'm not much of a techie, need some advice on my iMac...

« on: February 22, 2013, 12:51:55 PM »

100GB or 100MB raw files?

RAM can do so much, the real bottleneck these days are s-l-o-w s-p-i-n-n-i-n-g drives.

You can speed things up by having two drives, say one for CR2's and one to save your TIFFs or JPEGS to (that way one drive head isn't trying to read and write big files at the same time through one bus.

Some imacs (27's) had space for a second internal drive, so maybe this the way to go, a wee blazingly quick esata SSD or something big for storage.  Either way your machine will run faster.
 
Either way it sounds like your single HDD trying to is the write and read problem at the same time.

what's going longer bit Takes a. it? Doesn't out to work

290

Lenses / Re: Could we ever see leaf shutters in EF lenses?

« on: February 22, 2013, 12:44:07 PM »

You can adapt a leaf shutter to a DSLR, just get a Hasselblad lens and adapter.  It might take a little experimenting, but you can do it with no problem, except its all manual.

How would you trip the leaf shutter on the lens?  And get it in time with the reflex?  Would the camera body be in bulb?  Live view or MLU mode?

My old ETRSi lenses had a T and B switch on the lens, but it also had a reflex up and dark slide, just interested in the practicality of getting the leaf experience in addition to the MF glass.

291

Lenses / Re: Could we ever see leaf shutters in EF lenses?

« on: February 22, 2013, 05:41:47 AM »

If canon were to seek to offer the benefits associated with a leaf shutter then I think the more likely route would be to equip a camera with a fast electronic shutter - i.e. a faster electronic readoff sensor, perfectly feasible with CCD based cameras at present in high end conventional video cameras.  This would also solve artefacts such as rolling shutter.

I know the CMOS technology is in some regards catching up with CCD's, but I'm very surprised the likes of Sony, who pioneered FIT ccds 15 years ago -and who are very keen on making sure Canon don't steal the industrial camcorder market- haven't jiggled some of their tech around.

We know Sony can make CCD's this size, the challenge is can they do it with a fast enough read-off, and enough megapickles for stills users and at a reasonable cost.

I would say that this kind of approach, which wouldn't require special lenses, and is camera based, at a premium for those who need it (studio photographers) would be a practical way forward.   Ideally for us of course, Canon would either develop such a chip themselves, or buy it in from Sony (and why not? historical precedent, dividends for Pentax and Nikon if you DXO watch..)

In short, the solution is electronic, not mechanical.

292

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Beginner considering a canon 40D for sports photography

« on: February 19, 2013, 06:07:46 AM »

It's not the body.  And the problems the body has aren't ones that the 40D will necessarily solve.

My 2 cents.

Get a x0D series for the better construction, better viewfinder, better ergonomics and better control.

If you are otherwise happy with your T1i then here's a couple of things to try first.

1: On all EOS cameras the centre AF point has the best performance.  Your T1i is no exception, as it's the only cross point.  Go into P Tv Av or M.  Select the centre AF spot as your only active point.

2: Ai Servo has a better chance of getting the action shot that one shot AF.  One Shot AF will actually prevent you taking a shot, unless the camera thinks it is in focus.  This will make your moderately fast camera much slower,  and the same would be true of a 40D or 7D or 1D.  So go to tracking AF (Ai Servo)  learn to track for a few seconds, burst burst burst, track for a few seconds, burst burst burst.

3: Consider your lenses.  Dark non-constant max aperture lenses are going to really hinder your AF system.  The centre AF spot becomes even more sensitive with lenses brighter than f2.8. Spend some money on a bright USM lens.  The 50mm f1.4 USM or 85mm f1.8 USM will let in loads of light and really boost your AF performance.  And if your AF is fast, your frame rate is up!   You'll get the benefit no matter your shooting aperture.  If you put slow lenses on any body, you are going to struggle.  If you are shooting action, you should be using fast lenses regardless of the body.

4: Consider your format.  Where are these pictures going to end up?  Are they going to be A2 posters?  Or 9x6 prints?  Do you really need to shoot RAW?  JPEGs, particularly smaller JPEGs without in camera effects, will get the most out of your cameras buffer depth.  RAW is a killer, and max resolution is often overkill.

5: Memory card speed. When your 500D came out memory cards were much more expensive.  Treat yourself to a class 10 card, if you haven't got one already.  This won't make your camera physically faster, but it will reduce buffer bottlenecks when you are piling on the frames.

So yes, there are reasons to buy a better body, but I don't think a 40D is the answer to your problems.
Brighter glass will probably be more effective, as will a look at your technique and settings.

I used a 400D for a few years and it was a different camera with bright glass on it.  Centre spot AF. Ai Servo mode. Bright USM glass, faster card.  Exactly the same advice I would give to a 40D user.

293

Canon General / Re: Digital Rev!

« on: February 18, 2013, 07:25:45 AM »

The guy should count themselves lucky, you should have seen the nick of the 7D they sent me, looked like it had been set on fire, spray painted and frozen.  Worked fine though.

294

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Film EOS Body

« on: February 17, 2013, 03:58:14 PM »

+1 for EOS 3.

The 1N has pretty basic AF and very basic flash by modern standards, the EOS 3 has the same pro layout but with the 1V's AF system and modern era E-TTL flash metering (it will work properly with any EX or ETTL guns you have for your DSLR)

It's also a bargain just now.  The 1V is better, but the 3 has 99% of the 1V's DNA and costs a quarter, a third, and is also more likely to have had a cherised life as an amateurs pride and joy than a pro's workhorse.

And.

And..

And...

You get EYE CONTROLLED FOCUS, which if you spend time setting it up is just about the best thing ever.

A lot of folk slate the Eye-Controlled Focus, but they had funny eyes, and if you don't like it there is an off switch.

It feels a bit light in the hand next to a 1V, but then my car feels a bit light in the hand next to a 1V.   It has a distinct shutter noise (or mirror slap noise, horses will bolt, birds will fly away en masse) 

I wouldn't buy a 1V nowadays.  You would want to buy a new unused and keep it in its box, if you want a user which to almost all intents and purposes is the same camera, get a cheap but cherished 3.  Use the strap stopper for the viewfinder blind, the EOS link software probably won't run anymore.  Hey presto, your are back to the 3.

The question isn't should I buy one?  It's why haven't you bought one already!

I don't know what you are using just now but do bear in mind that as a pro-orientated camera with weather sealing the 3 lacks a built in flash.  This may not be that big a deal.  If you want a film body with built in flash then buy as recent as you can, buy a 30v (again with eye control, but built in flash, laid out more like a x0D series)

Good luck with your 3.   

295

Technical Support / Re: Old Lens Underexposes

« on: February 16, 2013, 10:24:55 AM »

And 9 years is not old.

Even though the sample was manufactured 9 years ago, the design dates back to the birth of the EOS system, October 1987, so the technology at work is going on 26 years old now.  Witnessed in the facts that it's no longer a 'fashionable' effect, and that the focus motor takes about a week to slew from close to infinity.

296

Technical Support / Re: Old Lens Underexposes

« on: February 16, 2013, 08:47:29 AM »

With the effect switched off it's actually a decent performer, if you can live with the afd focusing.

297

Technical Support / Re: Old Lens Underexposes

« on: February 15, 2013, 11:07:02 PM »

This is a funny lens.

I got duped into selling mine for a fault, for next to nothing.

1.  Look through the lens.  If it looks as if there is condensation do not panic.  Its the soft optic and not a fault.

2.  Metering will be affected with this lens as it is being bounced about the lens tube a bit rather than focused into the meter.  Use centreweighted rather than spot or partial metering.  And where possible do a test shot.

298

Video & Movie / Re: Timelapse of the Aurora in Finland

« on: February 15, 2013, 07:29:32 PM »

Beuatiful.

299

Canon General / Re: Bag question

« on: February 15, 2013, 06:41:55 PM »

Regardless of my personal feelings, when carrying a 15 lb (or more) load, my back really likes two shoulder straps and a hip belt, vs. just one shoulder strap...

Hib belt great for stopping the bag swinging, terrible for screwing up your lower back, a chest strap is the way to go, weight over shoulders and chest.  My current bag lacks the chest strap but as it's great for me in every other way I'm thinking of getting a chest-strap stitched on.

300

EOS Bodies - For Video / Re: 6D not usable for shooting video?

« on: February 15, 2013, 05:09:52 PM »

I wouldn't take this so personally!

Not taking it personally at all.  Just got tore a bit to shreds for suggesting that a 5D3 would ever under any circumstances have the potential to exhibit moire.  You could buy six 5D3's for the price of my work ENG camera, which has occasionally exhibited moire. 

Thank god for the tools to fix it.

The problem with the land of milk and honey is curdling and bee's.