Messages

676

Lenses / Re: Which 50mm prime?

« on: December 27, 2010, 08:14:02 PM »

Perhaps you should read the Photozone review:  http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/522-sigma50f14eosff

Since he is getting it for a 5D MK II, you should refer him to the FF review on photozone rather than pointing him to the crop camera review. 

On FF, the Canon lens is about the same sharpness as the Sigma in the center, but the corners and edges are much better.  It clearly shines on a 5D MK II.

677

EOS Bodies / Re: To buy a 500D now or wait for the 550D to drop in price. Advice please.

« on: December 27, 2010, 02:13:10 PM »

Hi folks,

Hope y'all had a great Christmas.

I am looking to buy my first DSLR camera in the next couple of months and would like some advice.

In May of 2011 I will be going on my honeymoon and my wife to be and I would like to splash out on a new DSLR to capture the memories. We are eyeing up the 550D and with the current cashback offer we can get one for £450. However a friend of ours who is a semi-pro photographer reckons we should spend a bit more and get the 550D. The current price of the 550D with an 18-55 mm lens is £649. We don't want to spend more than £500 ideally and so I wondered if you think the price of the 550D will drop to around £500 by the time April comes around - I'd like at least a month to play around with it and get used to it before we go on holiday.

Any comments welcomed thanks.

Realistically, give strong consideration to getting a good point and shoot.  It will be much more portable and easier to carry everywhere. 

The good thing about DSLR's is the ability to interchange lenses, and the higher IQ, but the bad thing about them is that they are not very portable or easy to carry, and a month is not nearly long enough to educate yourself on a part time basis to get to a point where you will exceed what a p&s can do.  You may be the exception, but don't bet a lot of money on it. Almost every image is razor sharp when using a P&S, but the first complaint from new DSLR users is often about the fuzzy images.  The large sensors make for shallow depth of field, and focusing is much more critical.  You will want to understand what you can expect in any given situation, and be able to set the camera accordingly.  IS lenses do make it easier to get sharp images, but they still require some understanding of proper use.

In any event, good luck in your marriage and in your photography.

678

EOS Bodies / Re: The Canon High End [CR2]

« on: December 27, 2010, 02:01:51 PM »

If they replace the 1D IV next year I'm selling all my Canon junk, buying Nikon and turning into the most disgusting Nikon fanboi - anti-Canon-troll the interwebs has ever seen.

Why?  Do you think that the 1D MK IV will stop working or making money for you?  Cameras get upgraded all the time.

679

EOS Bodies / Re: 5D Mark III [CR1]

« on: December 26, 2010, 11:04:26 AM »

RAW video is a nerds wet dream. 104Mb/s+ from a DSLR body ? Right.

I agree that it is unlikely, however, no one yet knows what the next new generation of digic processors can do.  However, Red cameras have had RAW output, so it is possible if it is a priority.

Why would Canon want to do it?  Sales is the answer.  Sales of the 5D MK II far exceeded their forecasts, and professional videographers are using it for commercial videos.  They do not buy just one, but by the dozen.

The potential for sales is not lost on Canon.

680

EOS Bodies / Re: Buy 60D now or wait for T3i?

« on: December 25, 2010, 08:27:07 PM »

Canon needs to keep a gap in price and features between the t3I and 60D.  I expect that it won't happen for another year, and when it does, it will drop in price as well as in features.

681

Lenses / Re: Which 50mm prime?

« on: December 25, 2010, 08:24:43 PM »

I have an excellent 50 F1.4 which is wonderfully sharp at 1.4.  However, it is falling to bits and really needs a major overhawl (the price I have been quoted actually means I will probably just replace it).   

Canon has a flat rate of about $95 to overhaul the 50mm f/1.4.  What rate did they quote you?  That is quite a bit less than the price of a new one.

682

EOS Bodies / Re: 5D Mark III [CR1]

« on: December 25, 2010, 08:20:46 PM »

The problem with the 2 stop noise improvement is that, like the 1D MK IV, it probably represents a noise improvement in jpeg images due to improved in camera processing.  We'd be lucky to get a 2/3 stop noise improvement in RAW.

683

Lenses / Re: Best Lense for shooting video with Canon T2i

« on: December 24, 2010, 05:33:57 PM »

I agree with everything you guys are saying and it definitely makes sense. What I will try and do, is keep all of my shots close and intimate. When I mentioned doing sports photography, I forgot to mention that eventually I would get a nice telephoto lens in the future, possibly the Canon EF Telephoto zoom lens - 70 mm - 300 mm - F/4.0-5.6.

The other type of sports of photography I would get into would be the sports portrait style, where the kids hold the balls with the cropped background in the back, as a way to make some friend with a guy I know who has the business and infrastructure already going.

That said the only video work I would do is close and personal, where lens speed is not so much of a problem. My only reservation with camcorders is that I would have to spend ALOt of money on a piece of equipment that is one dimensional in a sense.

The Canon T2i does it all, photo and video. Its a space saver, meaning its very portable in my opinion.

Thanks for all the words of wisdom. I will definitely stick with canon lenses as I heard somewhere that the adapters can wear down the original threads of the canon mounting system.

More words of advice are welcome as I am open to buying whatever Canon lense is best.

The 70-300mm IS lens is a good one, avoid the 75-300mm lenses, not so good. 

Whoever said that the threads wear down on the Canon mounting system by using adapters is smoking some funny stuff.  Canon uses a bayonet mounting system, no threads are involved, and it does not wear down. The adapters use the exact same bayonet mounting as the lenses.

684

EOS Bodies / Re: DSLR filming accessories

« on: December 22, 2010, 03:38:36 PM »

I suggest that you go to the cinema5d forum.  They have lots of information from actual users of the equipment.  There is much more there about HDDSLR'S

http://www.cinema5d.com

685

Lenses / Re: B&H & Adorama Taking Preorders on new Teleconverters

« on: December 22, 2010, 12:22:41 PM »

499$ now that is cheap...... 

Especially for a passive device with what, 2-3 small elements?

If you don't know the answer, just make something up??

Specifications
Focal Length & Maximum Aperture
Magnification: 1.4x

Lens Construction
7 elements in 3 groups

Max. Diameter x Length, Weight
2.8 x 1.1 in, 7.9 oz. / 72.0 x 27.2mm, 225g



Specifications
Focal Length & Maximum Aperture
Magnification: 2.0x

Lens Construction
9 elements in 5 groups

Max. Diameter x Length, Weight
2.8 x 2.1 in, 11.5 oz. / 72.0 x 52.7mm, 325g

Note: This lens is only compatible with fixed focal length L-series lenses 135mm and over, as well as the EF 70-200/2.8L, EF 70-200/2.8L IS, EF 70-200/4L, and EF 100-400/4.5-5.6L.

686

Lenses / Re: Best Lense for shooting video with Canon T2i

« on: December 22, 2010, 11:49:35 AM »

Do yourself a favor, and educate yourself about making videos with a DSLR, doing a semi-professional job will require much more than you can imagine. The video features on a DSLR are great for someone who is already into video, and has a knowledge of pro type videography.  They know it will cost $5,000-$15,000 to do quality amateur work, and a lot more for pro work.

The 50mm f/1.8 is horrible for doing video, in my opinion.  Video with a DSLR is all manual focus, and that tiny thin manual focus ring at the front of the 50mm f/1.8 II lens is very difficult to use.  I'd suggest starting with a older manual focus Nikon lens which is designed for manual focus. You can find a used one plus a adapter for under $100. Some of the more expensive Canon lenses can be manually focussed reasonably well, but they are not designed to be focused that way, and cost a lot more.

If you want to make videos of your kids running around, or playing scoccer, imagine trying to keep them in focus manually!.  I couldn't even dream of focusing manually that well.  You are limited to pre- setup shots where you can focus before capturing the scene.
 
Unless you are prepared to sink a big wad of cash into the necessary accessories, not to mention a fast computer, video card, and software, a camcorder will likely do better for you. To make video's outdoors, plan on purchasing ND filters or plan to stop the lens way down, and you still may have too much light.  You cannot set a fast shutter when taking video so aperture and ISO are your only tools to control exposure.

687

Lenses / Re: please help me choose

« on: December 21, 2010, 11:23:28 AM »

I've had both.  There is a big difference in weight and portability, but nothing that you can't overcome.  I decided to keep the f/4 IS model, because most of my indoor shooting is done with a prime, and outdoors the f/4 is just fine.

You need to look at your situation and decide accordingly.

688

EOS Bodies / Re: Samples from the Canon T2i / Last night out with the T2i

« on: December 19, 2010, 06:52:01 PM »

(Im using this tinypic.com because the bit.ly only accepts 5mb files and less.  Is there any better photosharing link facilities?) 

I use smugmug.  Easy to use, 12mb limit of file size, links are generated for several different types of blogs.

Note:  if you first click the insert image button in the tools above, and paste in the link to the web site, your image will load and display.

Like this: 50mm f 1.4 wide open

689

Lenses / Re: Yet another help me choose a lens topic. [24-70 vs 17-55]

« on: December 19, 2010, 12:16:05 PM »

If you have been waiting for a year trying to decide on a new lens, then consider that you might not really need one.  You are getting by fine with what you have. 

690

Lenses / Re: Yet another help me choose a lens topic. [24-70 vs 17-55]

« on: December 17, 2010, 09:53:05 PM »

You are making the right choice by getting either of the two lenses .

I had the 24-70L and now I have the 17-55.
The build quality of the 17-55 is not on the same level as the 24-70L.
Image quality is a draw - the 17-55 is sharper but the 24-70L has slightly better colors, IMO.
The 24-70L also feels massive compared to the 17-55.

At the end, the focal range of the 17-55 works much better for me.
So, even though I had to clean my 17-55 once because of the dust issue, I still prefer it for a crop camera.
YMMV.

I tried five different 24-70mm lenses on my 40D.  None were all that wonderful, and images were often blurry from movement.  It only took me one 17-55mm IS to see the advantage, better focal length range, easier to balance, and razor sharp images every time.