Messages

1831

EOS Bodies / Re: 4 More DSLRs Coming in 2012? [CR2]

« on: June 14, 2012, 05:26:12 AM »

Sorry to disagree with you, i feel Ayelike has some valid points and you are not addressing them :
1. I suppose he says why anyone will buy a new camera if it will have so similar specifications to 5D2 (the GPS adapter and PDAF alone are not sufficient in my view) when the competition has a new camera with better specs at lower price?

The *advantage* of an older body is that it is has a debugged firmware, it runs magic lantern now (!) and there's plenty of 3rd party gear around. Of course time will change that, except for the sad fact that the 5d3 doesn't take other viewfinder screens - doh.

I just had a very good look at the raw samples of dpreview with Lightroom, and I have to say up to iso6400 I cannot tell the 5d2 and 5d3 apart if I don't use the "nicer" noise signature of the 5d3 as a clue. Esp. in problematic, darker areas the 5d3 is hardly any better. The d800 sensor blows Canon out of the water here - so that can't be it.

But there are some harder and softer facts that make the 5d3 an upgrade, but everyone has to evaluate him/herself if it's "worth it".I'm very torn myself because $3500 is very ambitious indeed for the 5d3, it is an enthusiast model after all with just 150k shutter rating, and Canon cut some corners like the crippled sd card controller & no assist beam.

* 6 fps (vs 4 fps mk2 or d800) - this really is a difference for bracketing or quck burst shots

* more precise af servo system - though it sucks in one-shot mode for lenses slower than f4, and it seems to have speed issues because the original design seems to have the faster 1dx in mind.

* quiet shutter mode - could make a difference if you are allowed to shoot in some places or not unless mirrorless cameras are around

* better control layout (the 5d2 is like a 40d on speed, the 5d3 is more like 60d/7d)

* better auto white balance

* no moiree in video

* better lcd like 1dx

* better sealing for peace of mind, though certainly not a 1d outdoor body

* updated firmware hardware support (radio flashes, gps)

* expanded firmware features like bracketing,  though magic lantern on the 5d2 (focus peaking, unlimited automatic bracketing, timer shots ...) is still way ahead.

1832

EOS Bodies / Re: 4 More DSLRs Coming in 2012? [CR2]

« on: June 13, 2012, 08:21:05 PM »

that would be the "entry level FF".  If Canon doesn't release a competitor to the D600 (if it meets the rumored specs), they are going to get crushed in the DSLR market for most enthusiasts and many pros, I think.

Pros will get the 5d3 or 1dx anyway, and enthusiasts are enthusiasts because they don't exactly care about the price tag. Another poster correctly pointed out that even the 5d3 price tag is tiny in comparison to what people shell out to get L lenses & Canon flashes.

We still have to see what the d600 is really like and how it performs in real world situations - if it's severely limited except for the sensor, Canon might be better off releasing a very good 70d, just phase out the 5d2 and then let the 5d3 price drop during the next year. Then the d600 will meet a proven, firmware-debugged 5d3 with magic lantern @$2500.

1833

EOS Bodies / Re: 60D owners...help, i need reassurance before i pull the trigger

« on: June 13, 2012, 05:29:07 PM »

I had one, its just OK, but superzooms are always a compromise.

Like the 28-300L :-) ? ... well, ok, this might be a compromise due to the price tag.

1834

EOS Bodies / Re: 4 More DSLRs Coming in 2012? [CR2]

« on: June 13, 2012, 05:26:30 PM »

im excited to see if there will be an "entry level" FF. I have my eyes set on a 5Dmrk3 soon time, but id like to see what canon has up their sleeve. I cant wait though!!!! SDFDGRWGR

I'm very interested too, but wouldn't get excited to soon: To protect their 5d3, an "entry ff" body will likely be a paper box with no features around the well-known ff sensor from the 5d3... and this wouldn't be very competitive vs. the (rumored!) d600, Canon might not go this way at all atm.

After 1-2 years after the 5d3 release, Canon might trickle down the sensor & features like the 7d -> 60d, but not after a few month - even Canon marketing would have a hard time explaining this to 5d3 customers.

1835

EOS Bodies / Re: Used 60D or new 650D/T4i?

« on: June 13, 2012, 05:21:21 PM »

agree...using the servo and central point the AF is erratic, but the firmware it's not crippled … this kinda autofocus Always worked this way, from 40D to nowadays

Well, then let me put it another way or I'm getting flamed by some well-known Canon enthusiast: The firmware of 40d-60d has only very basic features for servo af, namely turning it on or off. One thing that would be easy to implement is to tell the camera how long I can move the af frame away from the tracked object before the camera searches for a new object for lock onto.

1836

EOS Bodies / Re: 60D owners...help, i need reassurance before i pull the trigger

« on: June 13, 2012, 05:10:22 PM »

Anyone have a picture with a non-L 100mm f2.8 macro lens?  If possible, I might squeeze that lens into my price...

If you want to shoot macro (actual macro when your lens nearly hits the object, not "macro" in the sense of shooting a not-so-large flower) then the 100mm non-L is great, I used it a lot. I'd advise you to get the non-L used, there are lots floating around because it's older and some people upgrade to other macro lenses (100L, 180mm). The lens is at f5.6-f8 as sharp as the 100L, and this is a good aperture with a reasonable depth of field if you want to have background blur and are not at 1:1.

The advantage of the L is that it's sharper wide open, has a little better bokeh & flares and you can dual-use it for portraits and such (it has a limiter switch *not* to go to macro in addition to the non-L "macro only" - that tells all). But the biggest advantage of the L is sealing for water, dust & sand - if you use the non-L outdoors and near the ground, be on your toes it doesn't get dirty or the wind blows sand in your direction, I killed my lens twice and then switched.

1837

EOS Bodies / Re: 4 More DSLRs Coming in 2012? [CR2]

« on: June 13, 2012, 04:04:32 AM »

If I spend 3500 on a mkIII and find out that a new release just a few months later has better AF in video, etc than my 5D . . . . well it's a cause for grave concern.

This is the way of technology, if you buy something expensive, better don't look at the prices and new entries for the next time or you'll grow grey hears. And given the competition from Nikon (rumored or real), Canon will have to do something sooner or later, if the d600 is real maybe sooner.

But look on the bright side: Whatever replaces the 5d2 will be severely limited in comparison to the 5d3, or Canon would cannibalize its product line too much - so the 5d3 will stay a top of the ff midrange-line.

If you are disappointed or concerned about the video side: You are bound to be, this is where Canon's r&d focus is, and the 5d3 just like the 5d2 is rather a still shooting body with added video.

1838

EOS Bodies / Re: 60D owners...help, i need reassurance before i pull the trigger

« on: June 13, 2012, 03:55:06 AM »

Especially if its portraits, action shots, or macro

Everything is fine with the 60d, except for action shots - the autofocus system isn't up to it if you use af tracking, get a 7d for a more current af system for not so much money more than it used to be. I'd get the 60d because it runs magic lantern, any for you coming from a p&s the 60d body is adequate for the not-so-stellar lens and since you'll have some learning to do using a dslr.

1839

EOS Bodies / Re: Used 60D or new 650D/T4i?

« on: June 13, 2012, 03:32:03 AM »

The autofocus is quick and accurate enough to be used in sports.

I agree with you that the 60d is a nice camera - except for sports: the af points are simply spread too far apart, and relying only on a single af point to do the tracking often doesn't do it. And the worst part is the crippled firmware, since you cannot customize *anything* of the af servo system - just use it or don't use it, from my experience with it I don't I'm sorry to say.

What lens did you use to shoot which type of sport that makes you say the 60d is "accurate enough"?

1840

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: What modes do you usually use on your camera?

« on: June 12, 2012, 04:46:20 PM »

The camera doesnt know what i want the outcome to be.

The camera doesn't know me, but after shooting for a while I know my camera. If I look at a scene, I am pretty much able to predict how the camera will measure and if Av needs exposure correction - so basically, it's assisted manual mode.

1841

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: What modes do you usually use on your camera?

« on: June 12, 2012, 03:24:22 PM »

What about you?

I'm mostly shooting Av with auto iso and use exposure compensation a lot - I overexpose if I know my subject is darker than the scene, or I'm deliberately underexposing to gain speed.

Tv mode doesn't seem to be popular around here, but I use it for action shots with my 70-300L - the smaller aperture is good here, because it cannot go lower than f4 resulting in a too thin depth of field. With my setting and auto-iso, at least 1/500s is guaranteed, but if the ambient light is better the iq gets better without my intervention.

1842

Lenses / Re: My 100-400 is Not focusing consistently specialy when the light is not optimal

« on: June 12, 2012, 03:13:35 PM »

Is the AF of the 5D3 picking something other than what you think? Even if you're only using the centre point, it's effective area can be bigger than you think. This is particularly troublesome if the subject is relatively small or low in contrast compared to something in the background.

I see you've got many camera bodies, so maybe you can answer this, because I am experiencing exactly what you are saying on my 60d:

If the spot I want to focus on is very tiny inside the af frame (like focusing on the eye of an animal with side eyes looking towards me) and large aperture, it's much better to shoot, refocus, shoot, refocus, ... than to rely on the af getting it right.

Is this "too large af rectangle" problem any better on the 5d3 (or 5d2 if we're at it) in comparison to an aps-c like my 60d?

1843

EOS Bodies / Re: Lower Price Full Frame Camera [CR1]

« on: June 12, 2012, 02:46:58 PM »

I don't want to spend a bunch of money on a camera only to realize later I'd rather have FF (or not .. )

If you buy only ef lenses, you'll be able to use them on ff, too. And if you want to do wedding photography, you'll need a second backup body in any case - so just get a good aps-c now, use it a lot and after a while you'll know when your abilities outgrow it or shooting situations are too difficult and you should switch to a ff body.

1844

EOS Bodies / Re: Starter Gear (newbie here)

« on: June 12, 2012, 02:32:19 AM »

and probably grab a nifty 50 f1.8 for shallow DoF and very low light, I would not worry about a filter for the 50 since the lens is only like 100 bucks

Whatever basic zoom you get, the 50/1.8 as an addition is good for learning, because you only know what "thin depth of field" means if you've shot with it. It's not stellar but still a bargain because it's so inexpensive esp. when skipping the protection filter. But do get a lens hood for protection (and anti-flare) - when focusing the lens extends, and because of the crappy plastic build quality it'll break if it hits anything except for a soft cushion.

And skip the polarizer first too, it's an effect filter used for eliminating reflections on glass & water, and only determine how often you'll use it. If you really want one, get a good one for the max. filter size you'll use (maybe 77 or 82mm), but that doesn't come cheap.

1845

Software & Accessories / Re: Formatting vs Deleting and where should it be done

« on: June 12, 2012, 02:13:49 AM »

I format the card every time I put it back in the camera

Is there any real evidence this is better than just deleting the pictures? I've never formatted my card because it has the magic lantern files on it, and never ran into a problem even after 80k shots. Furthermore, I often put old, but postprocessed shots back in the camera as a reference.