Messages

16

Canon General / Recommended photography books

« on: December 06, 2012, 10:38:16 PM »

I am an avid reader and I was just wondering which books you have read that helped you further your understanding of photography, whether from a technical or a compositional angle.

Myself, I recently discovered John Szarkowski's "The Photographer's Eye" and I have been studying it slowly. This got me to thinking that there must be other great books which I have not yet discovered. I also like Edward Hopper's paintings very much and I saw its application to photography as a higher art form not realizing of course that this is a well trodden road. 

17

Canon General / Re: Is it worth it...for me?

« on: December 05, 2012, 07:12:28 AM »

I like your photographs especially your black and white work. I would seriously consider starting to work with off camera flash and spend your winter perfecting throwing light on to your subjects. I might even buy two flashes (since money is not holding you back) and get both off your camera. I bought a set of Cactus V5 triggers because the price was right and they seem to work ok for manual work. 

18

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Sigma 35 f/1.4 DG HSM First Impressions

« on: November 30, 2012, 01:53:42 PM »

My impression is quite good regarding the Sigma 35 ...

Thanks for the review.

19

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Sigma 35 f/1.4 DG HSM First Impressions

« on: November 29, 2012, 10:03:38 AM »

Have the 5d3 and 35mm 1.4 Sigma and can use all the AF points like my L 2.8 glass can on the camera. All 45 cross and 61 points are usable.

What are your impressions of it?

20

Technical Support / Re: Best Methods For Long Term File Storage ??

« on: November 15, 2012, 08:12:03 AM »

I think it is important to distinguish between data availability and data integrity, since some of this discussion is conflating these two principles. RAID, for example, provides data availability but it does not provide data integrity as does, for example, off site backups.

Think about it this way. If you build a mirrored pair of disks and copy all of your photographs to the raid set, you are still at risk of data loss; it is easy to accidentally delete a photograph and the raid set will not enable you to recover it because the data will be deleted from both disks.

If you want both data availability and data integrity then implement RAID (raid 1, raid 5, etc) *and*  then off site backups (off site here defined as media that is not in the same location as your raid set).

In short, you need to back up your data even if you are using RAID. It is a serious error to think that raid provides data integrity.

In my view it would be better to simply not use raid but copy your data daily to different media since data integrity is probably more useful for most people, but of course not all. This is what I do on a regular basis. I have one disk holding my photos and two other disks containing backups of that same data (I am paranoid). If my main disk fails, I am guaranteed of not losing any data and I perform incremental and full backups using these two disks.

21

Software & Accessories / Re: Magic Lantern 2.3 Available as Free Download

« on: August 20, 2012, 07:31:16 PM »

Has anyone tried this on a 5dm2? I am a little nervous that it might break my camera but some of the functions would be super useful. Any advice appreciated.

Thank you.

22

Software & Accessories / Re: Other photography websites...

« on: August 14, 2012, 09:52:08 PM »

I don't mind flickr. There are some pretty good photographs up there. I tend to use it for compositional ideas and as a starting point for learning new techniques.

23

Lenses / Re: EF 40mm STM Pancake Problem Acknowledged

« on: August 08, 2012, 08:45:00 PM »

I played with mine some more today.  With the lens mounted to my powered up 5D MK II, I pushed the barrel of the lens all the way back, and did a lot of other screwy things, but it kept on working perfectly.  Apparently not all of them have the issue, or it is particular to certain camera bodies.

I have the problem on a 5d Mk2.

24

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: The 5D Mark III Fix

« on: May 04, 2012, 06:26:59 AM »

In my view, the fundamental question is whether the tape fix actually blocks the light from leaking. Has anyone tested this? 

25

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Hyperfocal distance

« on: April 10, 2012, 06:59:25 AM »

Thanks for the replies. I tried setting the hyperfocal distance manually and then using AF, and as you both say no discernible difference between the two approaches. For the 24-105L, I find F8 to be optimal, i.e, 35mm@f/8 focusing at 17 feet. Nice depth of field with acceptable sharpness. 

26

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Hyperfocal distance

« on: April 09, 2012, 07:46:02 AM »

This may sound like an odd question but it is one that has bugged me for some time. Here is an example scenario.

Using a 5d2 and a 24-105L lens, I want to use the hyperfocal distance for 35mm at f/8. I know that it is approximately 17 feet.

So it seems to me that I have two choices.

1. Using the lens' distance markings I can manually set the focus distance to be 17 feet and take the picture. This is tricky because the markings are a little off but assume that I have set it accurately.

2. Using an object that I know is measured to be 17 feet from the lens I can use AF, focus on it and take the picture.

Should there be any difference in acceptable sharpness or is it the same thing? I guess the easiest way for me to tell is to test it out. I am just not very good at determining distance by eye so the AF approach runs the risk of mistake but at least I am guaranteed that there will be some plane of sharpness, even if I focus on an object not exactly at the hyperfocal distance.

27

EOS Bodies / 5d mark 3 in stock at downtown camera in Toronto

« on: March 28, 2012, 08:10:32 PM »

I picked up a cactus trigger on the weekend and I got to test shoot a 5d mark 3 at Downtown Camera in Toronto. Sorry, I forget the price but man does it have much quieter shutter than my 5d mark 2! Anyway, just thought I would mention it. I am not affiliated with this store in any way shape or form, although I do buy my equipment from them. I hope it is ok to mention this in the forums. Sorry, if it is not.

28

EOS Bodies / Re: Am I crazy to even think of switching to Nikon? Here's my gear...

« on: March 12, 2012, 08:30:24 PM »

My wife and I started up a photography business last year.  I'm currently in the process of getting her a camera body.  We primarily shoot family portraiture and are moving into weddings this summer. I currently have:

Canon 5d Mk2
Canon 35L 1.4
Canon 50L 1.2
Sigma 85mm 1.4
Canon 135L f/2
Canon 580ex II

I do have the mark 3 preordered but damn the D800 is tempted... I could sell everything and start from scratch... I would lose some money yes, but does Nikon have equivalent primes as Canon does?

Rent one and see before making any firm decisions. No tool is perfect; it is how you use it. 

29

EOS Bodies / Re: 5dmark III - full production camera samples

« on: March 12, 2012, 08:26:35 PM »

soft soft soft.where is sharpness?

It's Martin again telling us in every topic that the images are soft !!

I thought he was switching to Nikon.

30

EOS Bodies / Re: 5D Mark III ISO 100 RAW's - NEW

« on: March 11, 2012, 10:47:34 AM »

Dear Martin,

Long time lurker here. I was not planning on registering but I simply could not take any more of your little show. I have been taking notice of your consistent behavior throughout several topics and just decided to skim through your posts and oh, boy... You began, months before 5DM3 was released, complaining about this and that, how you used to be a Nikon-guy a year ago and were seriously contemplating going back, and you go on to complain about leaked 5D specs, and when 5D comes out, you complain a little bit more, followed by further complaints about sample images. Each time with a definitive statement on how that is it and you are certainly switching back to Nikon. "I know it is going to be expensive but I have to do it". OHHH-KAY! We are bloody idiots on the verge of jumping ship and you are that guy who will give the final nudge, eh? And if that's not it, that's even worse... Like if you do not have a hidden agenda and are simply somewhat neurotic. Because people are taking your comments seriously and responding to your monological rants.

Please, let it go.

I agree with you. It is painful to say the least.