Topics

16

EOS Bodies / Weird Banding on shots....

« on: March 20, 2012, 09:32:28 PM »

Whats happening to my shiny new 5d3?

Burst shot at 1/1000th sec, F/2.8 @ 70mm 12,800 ISO (was set to Auto)

I was at a local Church shooting some guys playing badminton at high ISO (12,800) and I saw some yellow banding across the shots. First I was not sure if it was random lighting issues or what, then I started to take burst shots, and the banding appeared moving across each frame... What the heck is it?

EDIT: Issue exists behind the Camera it seems. 

17

EOS Bodies / 5d3 + 70-200mk. II ISO test shots

« on: March 20, 2012, 05:12:50 PM »

Sorry of you have seen many of these... I can add more on request, but these are the first test shots of the 5d3 I got today.

ISO test from 800 all the way to 25,600. In Cam NR = Standard.

No NR applied in PP.

100% crops

Last shot, Used LR4 to apply NR on 25,600 shot only.  Hope you guys get yours soon.

18

Canon General / How many of use self standing Monopods?

« on: February 29, 2012, 10:21:41 AM »

I have a Manfrotto Rig, thats capable for a reasonable price, but on hikes it's a chore to lug around. I am thinking of getting one of these and seems like a great price : http://www.adorama.com/BG682B234RC.html It has a adjustable head that uses the same base plate as my current tripod, so I am already bought into the product line...

Have any of you use these free standing monopods? What are your experiences?

I plan to use it as a hiking aid as well as for self portraits while hiking.

Thanks in advance.

19

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Noise on a 5D vs T2i

« on: February 28, 2012, 10:24:31 AM »

I own a 5D and like it.

A friend of mine has a T2i, and I was trying to explain to him how a FF sensor has less noise etc… we then conducted a test. I shot the same framing on ISO 3200.

Both Cameras had a 50mm f1.8mk.ii snapped on. (however the T2i had a Canon calibrated one on it): For some reason I had my EV set at +2, not sure how much it affected the noise level. (Maybe I need to re-take the test)

Both were shot in RAW; converted in LR4 with standard settings, no PP except cropping.

From the results… it seems both Sensors seem to show similar or comparable levels of noise. The AWB is a bit off but that should not affect Noise grain…

What do you guys think?

20

Lenses / What will the new mk. IV Canon Extenders have

« on: February 08, 2012, 01:52:57 PM »

This is no rumor on extenders but... what would you like to see?

Some of Canon's new lenses are internal focussing, so that their rear elements move. E.G the 70-300L is not compatible with the 2x 1.4x mk.III's since the rear element comes out a bit and can hit the moving element of the lens that is mounted.

Will Canon fix this and increase extender compatibility? Or will they not increase barrel length since it makes long lenses heavier and longer yet  ? I am asking since I want the 2x with my 70-300L, but they are not "compatible" under AF.

21

Lenses / Poll on new 24-70 f/2.8L mk.II

« on: February 08, 2012, 10:53:27 AM »

Everyone has 3 votes: You get this the first time!

22

EOS Bodies / How does Canon respond to the D800?

« on: February 07, 2012, 02:50:59 PM »

So now that Nikon has owned up and announced the fabled D800, and we all kept saying that Canon will respond Fire with Fire…

What do you guys think Canon will do now? Match Nikon on features (since they probably need a high MP body anyway now that the 1dx is the high DR body) or will they go their own route (22mp but better AF etc).

Also on Price, since the $3900 non-AA version did not happen, does that mean Canon with a 22mp body will try and keep it in the 2500 range?

23

Third Party Manufacturers / Is this a Pre-announcement leak for the D800?

« on: February 06, 2012, 04:30:50 PM »

Got it from Nikon Rumors: Brazilian sites leakes official D800 pics:

36.3mp
Native ISO of 6400
4/6FPS (Native/Battery Grip)

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=pt&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fztop.com.br%2F2012%2F02%2F06%2Fnumeros-enormes-os-36-megapixels-da-nikon-d800%2F

The "D" on the D800 font looks a bit weird... maybe it's just the angle of the body that make it look so.

24

Lenses / What UWA options do I have with 77mm Filter size?

« on: February 06, 2012, 12:22:21 PM »

Guys what UWA lens options do I have; if I want to stay with a 77mm Filter size?

FF compatible.  I already have the 24-105mm so something "noticeably" wider.

Would prefer f2.8 but can work with f4 +IS as a compromise.

I do not mind getting used gear.. so older lenses are game (as long as they are AF).

Would prefer the price to remain under $900. Appreciate the experiences of others on this.

Thanks!

25

Canon General / Canon Inc. DSLR Mkt Share in 2011

« on: January 31, 2012, 11:32:50 AM »

BNC released their annual electronics company rankings: Not sure how they get their data, but the criteria seems to be market share:  Looks like Canon is doing great in DSLR and Lens categories trouncing Nikon again. What I got a kick out of was in Lenses, Tamron beat out Nikon for second place. 


On the negative side: If the Canon bosses feel they are doing so great... they wont be pushed to announce the 5Diii   

26

Canon General / Sensor Saturation/ DR

« on: January 23, 2012, 02:25:37 PM »

 I like the idea of the equipment getting smarter, in this case, can it avoid burning up highlights or unduly darkening shadows due to the limited DR of the sensor. While advanced in lithography are the current roadblock, there needs to be a rethink of the way Sensor data is recorded and handled.

Could they develop local dimming on the sensor (or local illuminating):

So lets say you are shooting a scenery of the sea with horizon in the middle. If you expose for water, Sky is over exposed and if you expose for sky, the sea is underexposed etc. (Yes there are Grads but I don't want to carry them everywhere).

What if the sensor can locally dim the sky to bring it down to levels that do not distort (burn out). This will definitely need a faster data processor, but similar things have been done in the Audio with Dynamic range compression/ expansion. The concept is the same. Get the signal past the limitations of the equipment and then later if need be, restored to it's original glory if the right displays are available (with High DR).

So there are 2 concepts to think about:

1) Reduction of DR to fit the sensor's capabilities (sort of what HDR does but without taking multiple exposures)
2) Restoration of DR under right conditions (so that the exposure is not permanently captured in reduced DR but can be rendered however which way).

In some ways this is similar to the inability of LCD displays to show absolute blacks, so manufacturers came up with local dimming schemes. In the good old days of Audio cassettes, the issue of limited Dynamic range also existed and there came along dbx...

Once the information is captured in this compressed format, PP can be used to render it anywhich way the user desires.  Current technology renders each photosite anyway, they would just need a pre-layer to determine exposure levels before bayer demosaicing etc. It will take a lot redesigning, including perhaps a new RAW like format to handle this variable DR and decoders to process it..

This could be revolutionary if implemented correctly.

27

Lenses / Is my 70-200 2.8 mk.II back focussing?

« on: January 15, 2012, 07:33:29 PM »

I took some shots at a party last night. Most of them were a bit out of focus which I don't mind in portraits of regular folks  ... I learnt that the hard way!

But I was curious, if the lens is back focussing.

Exposure is manual, no flash, AF is spot center (5D classic) aimed at the eyes. @f2.8 . NO sharpening done, though some NR was applied in LR4.

The eyes are not as sharp, however some of the hair (a smidge behind her eye plane) are more in focus. See below her mouth on the right side that lock of hair seems to be more in focus.

What do you guys think?  this 70-200 f2.8 mk.II is only a few weeks old and not fully broken in.

There's no MA on the 5Dc.

28

Software & Accessories / Canon SDK +iOS/Android

« on: January 09, 2012, 01:21:47 PM »

Does anyone know if there are plans (rumors  ) of Canon announcing an SDK or plug in for people who would like to take their iOS /Android Tablets into the field for previewing their shots, or even using it for Time Lapse/ focus bracketing and similar "extended" functions? These functions can be performed by a laptop, but these can be heavy & unwieldy on a long trek.

If there is any site where I'd hope to get the info, it has to be CR !

29

EOS Bodies / 7D successor Poll

« on: January 05, 2012, 11:13:05 AM »

Given the past Polls on the 7D, I was wondering if an APS-H offering was made to match the crop-pull of the 7D (i.e. same pixel width) would it appeal to current 7D owners? Would they upgrade to it? Would current 5D owners want the extra reach offered by the APS-H? Would current 1D owners get the same reach they are missing with the 1Dx?

Edit: In option 1: We assume better feature set for Firmware; better noise/ ISO performance compared to 7Dc
Edit 2: Added 2 more flavors based on some requests: Poll re-set: You can re-do your votes.

30

Lenses / Anyone try a Vivitar 2x extender

« on: December 27, 2011, 10:49:00 AM »

I know... you get what you pay for... but at $109, this is worth looking into: I was wondering if anyone has any experiences with these:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/2X-Extender-Canon-EOS-EF-II-Lenses-/130621881929?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item1e69abbe49