Messages

16

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Making of a Leica M9-P

« on: July 12, 2012, 10:15:20 AM »

25,000$ - 1 Leica M9-P hermes edition

or

4x Canon 1Dx's 

Let's not miss the point here.

Those who are interested in this amazing camera can pretty well afford it. That includes 4x 1D-X and every lens Canon makes...in addition to the Leica. It's not about functionality, IQ or ISO performance.

This is about appreciating the craftsmanship of something extraordinary and having the means to enjoy it. A classic Ferrari, a Patek Philippe timepiece, a Leica limited release. It's not about the cost; it's about living life in a fulfilling way...whatever that means to you.

17

Lens Gallery / Re: Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM

« on: July 11, 2012, 09:23:42 AM »

A phenomenal lens. It shines at 200mm, but it's great everywhere in its focal range.

Here's a shot of Camilo Villegas from the Memorial Tournament last year...

120mm
f/2.8
ISO 200
1/2000

18

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 5D2 RAW "Crosshatch" Banding

« on: June 21, 2012, 08:07:56 PM »

If you have to use plus 3 EV to see it, its not a issue.  It does depend a lot on the exposure, I usually expose raw images to the right, this allows you to pull down the exposure rather than boost it.
My 5D MK III was a little better in this regard, but you can still pull it up 5 EV and see the sensor.

Well, it's present and visible in the untouched RAW file at ISO 100. I pushed to +3EV simply to show the pattern.

19

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 5D MarkIII Low ISO performance in shadows

« on: June 20, 2012, 07:45:25 PM »

Fascinating! Earlier today I posted an identical thread regarding this same phenomenon I found in my 5D2. ISO 100 and very noticeable vertical banding. Weird!

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=7486.0

20

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 5D2 RAW "Crosshatch" Banding

« on: June 20, 2012, 12:14:18 PM »

...there's plenty of room for future sensor improvements during the next decades and countless occasions to liberate you of your money

Quite true! Perhaps I should start saving up for the jump to Phase One...ha!

21

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 5D2 RAW "Crosshatch" Banding

« on: June 20, 2012, 12:06:21 PM »

Perhaps this better illustrates the issue...different exposure in the same set.

f/5.6
1/20
ISO 100

This is simply opened in ACR, cropped and saved as a JPEG. Visible vertical banding, no?

22

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 5D2 RAW "Crosshatch" Banding

« on: June 20, 2012, 11:51:35 AM »

+3EV simply isn't what these kind of sensors are made for, full stop.

To be clear, I wasn't processing the image +3EV. I only did that to better show the banding I was seeing in the untouched RAW file and on the LCD after capture.

No plans to jump ship over this. The 5D2 rocks. Just wondering if it's commonly seen, or if there's something wrong.

23

EOS Bodies - For Stills / 5D2 RAW "Crosshatch" Banding

« on: June 20, 2012, 11:05:49 AM »

I'm wondering if anyone's seen this subtle "crosshatch" style banding on 5D2 RAW files...

EXIF:

5D2
TS-E 24/3.5L II
f/5
1/40
ISO 100
B+W 010 UV Haze Filter

By no means do I feel like I was "pushing" the camera. It was a pretty standard sunset position. This is the first I've seen this on my files, though I haven't shot much at dusk since purchasing the 5D2 a few months ago.

I could actually see the bands even more clearly on the camera LCD. Pushing the exposure up a bit in ACR reveals the pattern.

Full, Crop and Crop+3EV from different part of the image attached.

24

Lenses / Re: The Canon EF 600 f/4L IS II Has Arrived

« on: June 05, 2012, 10:00:55 AM »

That is some lineup!

I've never shot with more than the 70-200, but I have held a 400/2.8L (original). It's all very cool. Sounds like I need some new justifications...and maybe a raise. Ha!

25

Lenses / Re: Bokeh...is the look getting dated?

« on: May 31, 2012, 11:54:43 AM »

At least for me, when I'm having a face-to-face conversation with someone, their ears don't fall out of focus. In that sense, the f/1.2 look isn't a naturally-occurring phenomenon. However, it leads to a flattering effect of defining or accentuating the subject of an image — probably because it's not something we can see with our eyes, but rather something the photographer uses to tune our view of the image.

So, it's a creative endeavor. Whether it lasts remains to be seen, but I think the shallow DOF look has as much place in photography as images with great DOF.

26

PowerShot Cameras / Re: Patent: 24-1060mm Zoom Lens

« on: May 31, 2012, 11:34:38 AM »

Can you imagine the sort of camera shake you'll get with a 1000mm equivalent held at arm's length?

Oh I dunno about that.  Even at f/7.1, in sufficiently bright light - say, the Utah salt flats at high noon, or better yet, the dayside on Mercury - one ought to be able to get a high enough shutter speed.

Hehe...  +1

27

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Amazon top selling DSLRs...

« on: May 30, 2012, 09:00:24 AM »

Its hard to tell what is selling.  Many sellers, for example make up kit deals with bodies and multiple lenses, even Canon has a kit and non kit version.  Amazon does not add up all the 50 or 100 different versions to give a total, so the information is not really accurate.
 
I also believe that Big dollar camera equipment buyers do not buy from Amazon, most of them have learned the hard way.  Amazon seems to have pretty well given up on selling lenses, at least the last time I checked, only a very few were sold by Amazon.  They likely got bit by returns from inexperienced photographers.

I've bought quite a bit from Amazon, and really the only issue I've had was with the 5D2 Kit I recently purchased. Out of the box, the 5D2 had an issue where the shutter had sprayed lubricant onto the sensor. (At least that's what I was told.) So I sent that back. Actually, returns can only be processed for items up to a certain value. Since the kit was too expensive, I had to re-purchase a new kit, return the first one, and wait for a refund.

The second 5D2 (which I still have) came out of the box with a sensor full of dust and debris, which I thought was odd. Maybe that's common, but I hadn't experienced a new camera with a dirty sensor.

I've purchased lenses through Amazon to take advantage of Prime, so far with success.

I'm interested to know: how has Amazon burned you?

28

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: What if you started from scratch again? Total Loss...

« on: May 29, 2012, 01:26:03 PM »

AAA as an example is requesting copies of my receipts.   Don't really care to do that, does that seem to be the norm?

i'm going through USAA. i have 5k of coverage. for 60.00 a year. it covers my canon 7d, and lenses.

I'm going through State Farm (personal property insurance), and I think I have about $4k of stuff insured for about $50/yr. So probably pretty close in price to USAA, though I imagine USAA would generally be cheaper. It will vary by state. What's nice is it covers every circumstance...so even if I drop my camera bag off a cliff and its completely my fault, they'll replace it.

The caveat is that you cant be making any money off of your equipment or you'd be required to go the business route. Didn't need copies of my receipts at all...just gave them the camera/lens name and my serial # and the processed it pretty quickly.

I use State Farm as well here in Florida. It's a personal articles policy (non-business, currently) with replacement value, zero-deductible coverage. I was required to give them pictures of all items on the policy, including pictures of all available serial numbers (perhaps not entirely required, but does make underwriting much smoother), replacement cost of each item (not necessarily receipts, although I did provide those as well).

I was quoted $1.12 per $100 insured, which comes to just over $80 per year for me. I put everything into a multi-page PDF and emailed it to them prior to meeting with my agent in-office.

29

Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits

« on: May 19, 2012, 06:25:48 PM »

I was lucky enough to capture this moment recently...Enjoy!

"Chatting Sea Birds" http://500px.com/photo/7709295

30

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Spots on 5D2 RAW files?

« on: March 26, 2012, 11:47:38 AM »

Thanks for the input, everyone...

Probably easiest to just send it back!

RP