Messages

31

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon fixed 5DIII light leak with tape

« on: May 02, 2012, 02:01:48 PM »

(Plus, I'm pretty sure that Canon Service can work on things inside the camera without messing up the imaging sensor, I mean, things do go wrong in there, shutter failure, etc., and Canon can fix them, right?)

As much as I loved using CPS repair to fix a "bump" on my 70-200 f/2.8 IS USM II, I did notice a few more dust specs inside the lens (when looking through it unmounted) after they opened it up.  Not enough to ever care, but still, not fully dust free.  It happens. 

As for the issue - yeah, its a non-issue.  I dont shoot in dark closets and only maybe if I am shooting the Milky Way at 12,000 ft 100 miles from any city would I ever have to compensate, and I usually AEB anyway.  Exposure Meter only folks!

Tape.  You should see the stuff I work with

I am sure somewhere there is a new inventory item on the Canon Repair Supply System -
(1) Roll 20' of Light Absorbing Adhesive Blocker - $100.

32

Lenses / Re: Best third-party lenses

« on: April 28, 2012, 05:00:48 PM »

I got the Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 recently -  amazing, sharp, beautiful color, "3D".
With my 5D mark III - Wow!

I want to go out and shoot just so I can play with that lens.

Keep in mind Zeiss is for Full Frame.  Its way too much price for Crop if you are not using that awesome sharp edge.  Though I may use my 21mm sometime as a "35" on my 7D when needed.

Yes it is manual focus but the camera's Focus Assist beep/flash confirms you are are on target.  I actually love that - I can set my focus on what I want in the frame, then frame it up without AF messing it up.   Yes, you can switch the AF point or switch to MF, but its just so pure with the Zeiss.

My lens strategy - Canon "L" on the long (got the 70-200 f/2.8 IS USM II for starters - want the 100 Macro and 400 DO).  And Zeiss on the wide end (the 15 and 35 are next).  And a mix in the middle (the new 24-70 II should be phenomenal, and the 85 is going to be a debate of sharp/microcontrast vs aperture/AF).

Keep in mind you can buy Zeiss in ZF or ZF.2 as a Nikon native F and convert to Canon EF-mount if you are thinking playing both sides of the line.  As much as the D800 is interesting to me, I have confidence Canon will match or surpass the resolution in a year so I am sticking with Zeiss ZE and keeping it simple.

33

Lenses / Re: Wide Angle

« on: April 19, 2012, 09:31:41 AM »

For crop, the EF-S 10-22.

But now that I got the full frame 5D mark III and my 7D goes to backup/long mode, I had to find a new wide.
For Canon, the 17-40 and 16-35's became non-starters with their lousy edge; the 14 was interesting; but only the TS-E 17 was of practical interest.

I went with the Zeiss 21mm - edge to edge sharp, magical color, and very wide for most situations.  A Zeiss 15mm comes later.  Its Manual Focus but Focus Assist does works great for situations where you would use ultra-wide on a FF.  And for a crop, its essentially a 35mm (33).

The 10-22 is likely up for sale soon.  Its like an old putter - love it, but I have a much better tool now.

 

34

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon 5D Mark III Light Leak?

« on: April 07, 2012, 06:11:22 PM »

Yeah really,

 I use the top LCD frequently.

 Anyway, went outside in Phoenix AZ around 3:00 PM, no issue.

 I suppose in the most light-tight situation, lens cap on, covered eyepiece, etc, maybe the LED could be a faint light source.

Someone mentioned tripod placement - yes I would agree.  Even slight changes of aim during a test like this may change the metering.

35

EOS Bodies / Re: Is DxOMark Delaying publishing the 5DMkIII Results?

« on: March 31, 2012, 01:26:40 AM »

If I am not mistaken, they carry out the testing with RAW, so maybe the issue with DPP is holding them back...

They don't use RAW converters, that's not an even test. They just look at the RAWs themselves, not converted or touched by anything.

Perhaps, but you can't even look at a RAW without an update.

Yep, I am sure their testing works directly off the RAWs.   

The consumer software I mention does all the NR and other adjustments on the RAW - the beauty of their software.  I use it on images I plan to work on.  Some of the best tools I have used on 7D RAWs.

36

EOS Bodies / Re: Is DxOMark Delaying publishing the 5DMkIII Results?

« on: March 30, 2012, 10:30:24 PM »

Not only the results, DxO has not updated their DxO Pro Optics 7 software.  And thats something I paid for.

37

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Canon EOS-1D X Delayed Again? [CR2]

« on: March 30, 2012, 03:08:56 PM »

Nobody remembers the delays if the product is the best.

But if there are issues - everyone will remember.

Best to get it right.

Of course, you presently cannot list a 5D Mark III body on the CPS profile. 
I'm damn close to qualifying for Platinum.

BTW, even at CPS Gold, the Service is awesome and fast - One day for an outer shell and mechanism fix for a 70-200 f/2,8 IS USM II.  And return FedEx included.  Well worth the membership just for that and the discount.

Platinum... ah...  ok, its a bit more pricey. 

38

Lenses / Re: What lens are you patiently waiting for?

« on: March 28, 2012, 07:15:43 PM »

Zeiss 15mm f/2.8

(if a 14-24mm appeared that had sharpness, I'd consider it.)

After that, the TC 2.0 III and the 100 f/2.8 Macro.

39

Software & Accessories / Re: LR4 update later this week

« on: March 28, 2012, 03:14:31 PM »

Now if only DxO would update the Pro Optics 7 package to work with the 5DmIII CR2 files. 

40

EOS Bodies / Re: Ken Rockwell Updated 5D MK3 Review

« on: March 28, 2012, 12:16:07 PM »

It comes from a 5DmII perspective, and of course he's got a bunch of other toys he has played with.  I am surprised by his AF comments given how legendary the crappy AF is on the 5DmII - sounds like learning curve on his part,

But if you are coming from a 7D because you could not see buying a four-year old last generation FF, I am delighted about the new generation 5DmIII.  And the camera feels very familiar control wise.  And my pix are far less noisy - I find it funny that the 7D quality was snorted at for the past few years (and it was deserved) and now D800 folks are using it as a fine example.

Must be the price.  That $499+ has somehow turned the 5DmIII into a Kodak Instamatic for some critics.

41

EOS Bodies / Re: Any thoughts on how the 5d3 will compare on dxo mark to the Nikon D800?

« on: March 28, 2012, 05:44:37 AM »

Why is everyone taking pictures In the dark?

Photography is about capturing the light. I think it's nuts that so many "camera testers" care so much about these insane ISO levels. What were you photographing a few years ago when high ISO was terrible? Or when you had 100 Speed film loaded in your camera?

I think it's all a bit out of hand. And I don't want to hear the line "pros need these better tools blah blah blah..."

Pros have been capturing images for generations! It's all marketing now. ALL of these cameras are capable of capturing amazing images. Enjoy the camera you choose, and learn it's strengths and weaknesses.

While I agree with the sentiment, I have to laugh about good enough ISO's a few years ago.

They were terrible.

Now the Canon Rebel XTi is by no means a Pro Camera, but it was pretty good when I purchased it a few years back.  While waiting for the 5DmIII to be announced and delivered, my trusty 7D was in damage repair due to a tripod accident.  So for the NASCAR Hauler Parade in Las Vegas, I had to pull out the XTi.  I knew it was going to be bad, but I needed some shots for friends and their 4-year old.   

Wow - it was a raging blizzard of noise at 1600 ISO - all I could use since slower was a motion blur...

We have come a long way! 

(whoops, its an adobeRGB image in sRGB space...  oh well, its 2:45 am and the noise is the point of the image)

(oh, and even if I had the 5DmIII, Tony Stewart's hauler had the equivalent of three train locomotives worth of horns - so it was extremely noisy in a different way.  Good Night!)

42

EOS Bodies / Re: 5D2 vs 5D3 ISO100 around 50 test raws

« on: March 28, 2012, 04:44:34 AM »

Did the same crop on Test 1 of the 100 / 2.8   Again, 5DmII on top, 5DmIII on bottom.

Sharpness looks the same (the 5DmIII shot is slightly wider).

Color - liking the color rendering on the 5DmIII. 

Note, White Balance 5DmII is 4350, 5DmIII is 4600.

Really really close at ISO 100.

43

EOS Bodies / Re: 5DIII is SHARP!

« on: March 28, 2012, 04:17:06 AM »

so you are able to open the native raw files from the 5dmk3 in cs5?
I've read about people being able to covert them in DPP to DNG files, i tried that and it doesn't give me a DNG option to convert to, only jpegs and tiffs, am i doing something wrong.
i then tried the adobe dng converter and it said files were not supported.
can anyone give me some advice on what to do, i really need to deliver some raw files that they can work with to a client.
thank you.

Try the 6.7 version of Adobe DNG Converter.  It works in batch.  Clean conversion 5DmIII CR2 to DNG.

http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/cameraraw6-7.html

44

EOS Bodies / Re: 5D2 vs 5D3 ISO100 around 50 test raws

« on: March 28, 2012, 03:44:21 AM »

Thank-you for the hard work.

I took a look at the 70-200 @ 70 Test 1 shots on a NEC PA241 wide gamut.

I notice that the white balance is different - the 5DmII at 4450 and the 5DmIII at 4600. 

Attached a couple crops from the same images, 5DmII on top, 5DmIII on bottom.   

Sharpness - They are very close, but I do see some artifact/pattern on the 5DmII side - especially in the "10" section.   Its slightly there on the 5DmIII.  Zoom up on the "9" and you'll see definite diagonal banding on the 5DmII.  To be fair, it looks like the shots were not exactly the same size as the 5DmIII looks a bit wider (see the right side lineup).

Color - Also very close, but the very subtle shading - the stain above the "S" and the blue stripes, look fuller / slightly more saturated on the 5DmIII.  The red blocks on the 5DmII look redder - could be the white balance.

Now this is just one sample crop.   Interested in other analysis.

Please note, I used Adobe DNG Converter to clean process the 5DmIII CR2's.  Its a clean convert I understand. 

45

Canon General / Re: Canon Service Centers and Lens/Focus Cailbration

« on: March 27, 2012, 04:53:44 PM »

If you can qualify for CPS Canon Professional Services (point system), I have found excellent turnaround on even significant repairs - and at a discount.  They also bring clean/adjust services out to various major events.   Well worth the membership cost.