Messages

241

Canon General / Re: OMG....you always get smited for offering your opinion!

« on: March 12, 2012, 03:38:49 AM »

I think there are two problems with the karma system in this forum:

1. The karma is counted per user, rather than per post.

2. It is an easier (and more attractive to those who wish to remain anonymous) to respond than have an intelligent discussion.

I think it is a given some contributors would rather leave than develop a thicker skin, and therefore it would be best to either improve the karma system or turn it off.

242

Lenses / Re: New Lenses Coming [CR3]

« on: March 10, 2012, 12:20:08 PM »

Right, my whole point about mentioning a new 50mm 1.4 at a decent price is that just about every enthusiast who owns a Canon would get one sooner or later.  At around the $500 mark, even the less enthusiastic might save up money and get one,  it could be a huge seller.

I own a 50mm f/1.4, but my impression is the 50mm f/1.8 is far more people than the f/1.4 among enthusiasts.

243

EOS Bodies / Re: What's Next? A General Breakdown

« on: March 08, 2012, 03:59:26 AM »

There are going to be some more gear announcements heading into Photokina 2012 in Germany. I have heard between 10-13 lenses will be announced in 2012 from Canon. No word if that includes any lenses for the predicted mirrorless camera.

How many of those would be cine lenses, upgrades a-la the new 18-55mm IS (read: make the lens cheaper to make), or cause a sticker shock?

I've waited for the EF 8-15mm to come out since it was announced, planning to upgrade my 15mm f/2.8. The price cause me a sticker shock, so I waited for it to come down. Last month I gave up on that, and bought a Sigma 8mm f/3.5

Yes, I've read here that the Yen is strong. My salary is neither paid in Yens nor is linked to the Yen, and the raises I've got hardly compensate for the local inflation rate. If Canon doesn't take that into account when pricing it's new lenses, I'll keep on buying Sigma & Samyang.

[Taking local taxes and currency exchange rates into account, Sigma & Samyang lenses cost the same as in the U.S., while Canon lenses are up to 25% more expensive. Even parallel / gray import are often >5% more expensive here than in the U.S.]

244

Lenses / Re: Wide angle zoom L lenses from Canon in the future. Thoughts??

« on: March 07, 2012, 01:42:12 PM »

My thoughts:

1. The EF 16-35mm f/2.8 is five years old, I don't see Canon replacing it quickly, especially as - based on photozone's reviews - the similar Nikon lenses aren't excellent either.

2. There was a Canon patent published for a 17-40mm f/2.8-4.0 lens. The 17-40mm f/4 is almost ten years old, and the 24-70mm f/2.8 was updated after ten years, so I wouldn't rule this out.

3. Nikon has a 14-24mm, Sigma released an upgraded 12-24mm, and Canon has nothing in this range. Canon might want to release something in this range.

As for lack of rumors - the 8-15mm f/4 was a surprise. There was a rumor about an ultrawide zoom, about a new f/4 L lens, but no patent or "fisheye zoom coming soon".

245

EOS Bodies / Re: A curiosity: Canon Mirrorless MF?

« on: March 03, 2012, 12:56:56 AM »

Panasonic makes a 7-14mm which translates to a 14-28mm equivalent.  I believe the widest for and APS-C Canon is 10mm which translates to 16mm.  I'm not sure on the full frame bodies.  The lens is not cheap (although that's relative), running around $900, but it's certainly competitive in terms of how wide it is.

Sigma makes an 8-16mm lens for APS-C, and a 12-24mm lens for FF. Both lenses are available for Canon cameras.

246

EOS Bodies / Re: The (un)official I'm switching to Nikon thread

« on: March 01, 2012, 06:33:29 AM »

Always the case....

The situation along the Egypt-Israel border is similar, as can be seen in satellite photos.

The reason is that Bedouin on the Egyptian side of the border are allowed to let their goats to graze freely, while Bedouin on the Israeli side of the border are not. That makes the land on the Israeli side of the border greener.

247

Lenses / Re: Patent: Canon EF 35 f/2 IS

« on: February 25, 2012, 01:36:56 AM »

Improved IQ & USM would be at least as nice as IS.

E.g. adding diaphragm blades to improve bokeh would be really nice.

248

EOS Bodies / Re: Will the suggested 5d III specs satisfy your photograpy needs?

« on: February 23, 2012, 03:40:58 AM »

I'll be perfectly happy with 22MP, and would welcome an improvement in the AF system & ISO performance. Dual card slots would be nice.

The price caused me a slight sticker shock. I hope the street price will be lower and/or that it's the price for a kit which includes a lens.

249

Lenses / Re: New Lenses Coming [CR3]

« on: February 23, 2012, 03:19:17 AM »

A Photoshop version geared towards photographers for $300 or so, count me in.  (I know, Lightroom does a lot of the same stuff, but you know what I'm saying).

Out of curiosity - why didn't you buy photoshop elements?

250

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon Full Frame body with crop mode ( that can use EF-S lenses)

« on: February 21, 2012, 01:06:53 AM »

Why is it closer to the sensor? To keep prices down. Long story short - with the back of the lens closer to the sensor, it means that it becomes easier to get wide angle/super wide angle - with less glass, a smaller size, and a larger aperture than otherwise possible.

In other words, it does help the consumer - in fact, it helps the larger consumer group - the APS-C users.

Would it keep them from moving up to FF - if they were planning on moving up in the first place? Nope - EF-S shows its quality most at super wide angles. IE: APS-C users will have one, maybe two at lenses at the most to (really) replace. 10-22/17-55 - two lenses with a big enough market for resale, so not really a problem. Maybe a third, 55-250, if you really think about it, but again, easy resale.

Based on reviews, it seems the Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 is as good as optically the Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5, though it's back is not closer to the sensor.

And if Canon made it, it would cost a bomb.

having it closer to the sensor doesn't make it a sharper performer - it makes it easier to design, and cheaper to produce.

Based on B&H prices at the moment, the EF-S 10-22mm is $100 more expensive than the Sigma 8-16mm

As for ease of design, that's not something customers care about.

And if Canon made hte 8-16, it would be 500$ more expensive.

Sigma are able to price significantly lower than Canon

Thanks for saying that in practice, having the back of the lens closer to the sensor does not make EF-S lenses cheaper, wider, or significantly faster than similar lenses that do not have the back of lens closer to the sensor.

The ease of design is something customers *do* care about - you just don't know it. If not for the 10-22, made possible by its very design, you'd be up into the 16-35 L range, and good luck paying the price on that.

What is it that Sigma can do, and Canon can't?

The argument that other manufacturers (Nikon, Sigma, whoever) makes "crop" lenses as well that can be used on a FF doesn't make sense. if you can use it on an FF, its not a "crop" lens.

The Sigma 8-16mm's image circle doesn't cover a full frame sensor, so how can it be anything but a crop lens?

Canon took a totally different route in designing a lens for a crop sensor - take advantage of the smaller sensor to provide the customers with more possibilities AND lower prices.

Only the Canon EF-S 10-22mm is neither wider nor cheaper than the Sigma 8-16mm, and hardly any faster.

251

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon Full Frame body with crop mode ( that can use EF-S lenses)

« on: February 20, 2012, 06:40:44 AM »

Why is it closer to the sensor? To keep prices down. Long story short - with the back of the lens closer to the sensor, it means that it becomes easier to get wide angle/super wide angle - with less glass, a smaller size, and a larger aperture than otherwise possible.

In other words, it does help the consumer - in fact, it helps the larger consumer group - the APS-C users.

Would it keep them from moving up to FF - if they were planning on moving up in the first place? Nope - EF-S shows its quality most at super wide angles. IE: APS-C users will have one, maybe two at lenses at the most to (really) replace. 10-22/17-55 - two lenses with a big enough market for resale, so not really a problem. Maybe a third, 55-250, if you really think about it, but again, easy resale.

Based on reviews, it seems the Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 is as good as optically the Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5, though it's back is not closer to the sensor.

And if Canon made it, it would cost a bomb.

having it closer to the sensor doesn't make it a sharper performer - it makes it easier to design, and cheaper to produce.

Based on B&H prices at the moment, the EF-S 10-22mm is $100 more expensive than the Sigma 8-16mm

As for ease of design, that's not something customers care about.

252

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon Full Frame body with crop mode ( that can use EF-S lenses)

« on: February 20, 2012, 03:16:19 AM »

Why is it closer to the sensor? To keep prices down. Long story short - with the back of the lens closer to the sensor, it means that it becomes easier to get wide angle/super wide angle - with less glass, a smaller size, and a larger aperture than otherwise possible.

In other words, it does help the consumer - in fact, it helps the larger consumer group - the APS-C users.

Would it keep them from moving up to FF - if they were planning on moving up in the first place? Nope - EF-S shows its quality most at super wide angles. IE: APS-C users will have one, maybe two at lenses at the most to (really) replace. 10-22/17-55 - two lenses with a big enough market for resale, so not really a problem. Maybe a third, 55-250, if you really think about it, but again, easy resale.

Based on reviews, it seems the Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 is as good as optically the Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5, though it's back is not closer to the sensor.

253

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon Full Frame body with crop mode ( that can use EF-S lenses)

« on: February 18, 2012, 12:05:13 PM »

What percentage of photographers who start with an APS-C camera, uprades to FF, and doesn't keep the APS-C body as backup?

254

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon Full Frame body with crop mode ( that can use EF-S lenses)

« on: February 17, 2012, 05:48:16 AM »

I could be wrong but I thought that only Nikon could do it because they hold the patent for it.  So for sure Canon can technologically do it, but if it anything remotely close to the way Nikon does it, they wont be able to because of Nikon's patent.  That was my understanding...maybe soomeone can confirm...

Jacques

Canon DSLRs already have mirror lockup. Canon pocket cameras can autofocus using contrast detection. The rest is technicalities, specifically -

1. A way to turn the camera off with the mirror locked up.

2. Check if an EF-S lens is connected to the camera, and if so -
2.1. If mirror is down, keep it down, display a message on the back screen, and under no condition move it up.
2.2. If mirror is up, keep it locked up, and use contrast detection to autofocus.

2.1 -> You need to move it up to take a picture, all you'd have then is a telescope - if you have the 55-250 or maybe the 18-200 on.

This is a security measure against the case in which the photographer does not lock the mirror up before mounting the EF-S lens.

2.2 -> You'd then have a glorified and overpriced point and shoot - you can't use your viewfinder, and you're stuck using liveview/slow contrast detection...

Yes, that's the best that can be done in this situation.

That all said and done: if you can afford full frame, you can afford L glass. just saying. Why you'd want to go full frame them have it crop in-camera with a relatively inferior piece of glass is beyond me....

I bought a 5Dmk2, and only the zoom lenses I bought are L. The primes I bought (50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8, 15mm f/2. are not L, but more than satisfactory to me.

255

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon Full Frame body with crop mode ( that can use EF-S lenses)

« on: February 15, 2012, 08:54:20 AM »

I could be wrong but I thought that only Nikon could do it because they hold the patent for it.  So for sure Canon can technologically do it, but if it anything remotely close to the way Nikon does it, they wont be able to because of Nikon's patent.  That was my understanding...maybe soomeone can confirm...

Jacques

Canon DSLRs already have mirror lockup. Canon pocket cameras can autofocus using contrast detection. The rest is technicalities, specifically -

1. A way to turn the camera off with the mirror locked up.

2. Check if an EF-S lens is connected to the camera, and if so -
2.1. If mirror is down, keep it down, display a message on the back screen, and under no condition move it up.
2.2. If mirror is up, keep it locked up, and use contrast detection to autofocus.