Messages

2416

EOS Bodies / Re: Um... is there a 30mpix camera on the way and when?

« on: April 15, 2012, 12:51:11 PM »

They should try perfecting there 20 megapixel line up first, there is still a lot to improve on in terms of dynamic range

Afaik, you can either improve on dr or noise. And for _most_ people, the dynamic range of the current lineup should be ok. I'd wish the 18mp crop sensor had more dr, too, but realistically looking at the pictures I'm taking it is ok as it stands when shooting raw, using recovery and some fill lights in Lightroom.

And when the dr of my 60d isn't sufficient it's in typical hdr situations or when shooting a black insect on a white flower. Your mileage may vary as a wedding photog shooting bride and groom. So personally, I'd wish for less noise, then some more mp for macro, and then more dr - but as Ken Rockwell (hey, he got another brownie point for the GoogleBot) always states: That's just me.

2417

Lighting / Re: What happens to a non-sealed speedlite when getting wet?

« on: April 15, 2012, 12:36:31 PM »

Its just a matter of covering the flash with a plastic bag to keep it from getting wet, you can keep one in your pocket and slip it on if it starts to rain.

I never had any problems to remotely trigger them trough the bag.

Thanks, I didn't expect this to work at all! But maybe it reduces the IR transmission distance even more when outdoors, but it sure is worth a try.

2418

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: What is "highlight tone priority" good for anyway?

« on: April 15, 2012, 12:33:24 PM »

The setting  is usually not used by raw processors except for DPP, so it has no effect on raw images for most photographers.  Its just a trigger telling DPP to apply a exposure curve to the raw image as it processes it, no harm done, you can change the curve any way you like.

This is interesting and unexpected (and still doesn't explain the raised iso) because Adobe raw in Lightroom does the same thing. I really expected that htp alters the actual raw data, too. It might be futile to ask but are you 100% sure about this? Any sources?

2419

EOS Bodies / Re: Um... is there a 30mpix camera on the way and when?

« on: April 15, 2012, 12:30:41 PM »

yes

In the next two years? Imho absolutely, given the competition from Nikon. But until then, Canon has to fortify their corporate hq because they'll have to defend their lives from people who believed their "~20mp is enough" marketing and invested accordingly.

But as with the Nikon D800, only a few lenses will be able to use the resolution, maybe that's why Canon is putting out the ridiculously expensive 24-70ii...

2420

Lenses / Re: Canon 50mm f/1.4 and AF Reliability

« on: April 15, 2012, 12:19:30 PM »

Is my assumption that off-center focus points for the 60D will work pretty well not correct? I was hoping that the off-center points would be at least as good as the xxxD center point (apart from the f/2.8 advantage).

There's two criteria for af points that you seem to be mixing up when talking about a "good" af point: sensitivity and pattern detection. The sensitivity of the points is how precise the body tell the lens to af - this is needed when using a lens with a large open aperture because of the thin depth of field. The type of the detection (cross etc) just determines if the af point is able to focus at all or how likely it is to hunt (try to focus at a venetian blind without a cross type af...).

So yes, the 60d/7d have better pattern detection on the outer points, but that doesn't help when using a f2.8+ lens with open aperture because they are not sensitive enough.

2421

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: What is "highlight tone priority" good for anyway?

« on: April 15, 2012, 12:12:34 PM »

I recommend doing the research in Google. If you need more look it up.

I already knew and wrote what htp does, I've taken tenth of thousands of pictures with it. And I'm perfectly able to type something into google, but as you may or may not have discovered that not everything an internet search returns is very reliable. So I guessed it'd do no harm asking here if anyone has separated the usual user theories from the real information, no need for anybody to reply...

That being said, thanks for the links. But my question still is: If it's just an in-camera tone curve, why does it raise the iso value? Is it really 100% something that can be done in postprocessing?

2422

Lighting / Re: What happens to a non-sealed speedlite when getting wet?

« on: April 15, 2012, 10:34:16 AM »

So, that's about as wet as it can get and it still worked.

Thanks, this is the information I was looking for! It proves that there's no part in it that instantly breaks when coming in contact with water, so potential problems seem to boil down to the usual corroded pcb issue.

2423

EOS Bodies / Re: 5D Mk III vs D800/E, is the 5D3 better at anything?

« on: April 15, 2012, 10:26:12 AM »

Great pics is not about the camera and its specs. It is about the photographer and its creativity/style. So go out and shoot some!

Except for sports shooting, I guess we can all agree on that. But beyond that, mostly its a matter of putting hard earned money into an soon-to-be outdated body or in (what) lenses. And of course the thought if magic lantern runs on a body...

Concerning "shoot some": Lightroom is still processing the 1k shots from yesterday, what would I do in the meantime than post some :-p ... but have fun with your new 5d3, you should considering the investment.

2424

Lighting / Re: What happens to a non-sealed speedlite when getting wet?

« on: April 15, 2012, 10:04:51 AM »

I would think that a flash would respond the same any other precision electronic device would.  Not necessarily well.  If it does get wet, put it in a ziplock bag with dry rice for a few days.  Certainly it could be bad now, but you never know.  As long as nothing shorted.  You could probably send it to Canon for repairs.

To make myself clear: My flash didn't get wet because I stopped shooting - but I was wondering if continuing to shoot would have broken it beyond the need for drying. So if anyone *actually* has experiences to contribute beyond the usual theories, feel free to share.

I am asking because my 60d body seems to take rain much better than many people would think (or maybe it's just luck), so there's a gap between theory and practice when thinking about what weather conditions equipment can take.

2425

Lighting / Re: What happens to a non-sealed speedlite when getting wet?

« on: April 15, 2012, 08:40:26 AM »

but why would you use flash exposure bracketing? That seems like a film days hangover to me.

... because for bounce flashes, I'd have three test shots in one go. And for critical shots, I'd be on the safe side when using bounce without the need to calibrate first. When using macro on something that moves, it's always a gamble what bounce fec looks right in combination with a fill flash. I'm already poking the magic lantern devs to do this in software.

2426

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon 7Dmk2 any rumors??

« on: April 15, 2012, 08:25:28 AM »

I have no issue with aps-c, what I am proposing is that Canon fill that ground that is currently being ignored ie the mid range that is between aps-c and ff and give the 7D owners a reasonably priced upgrade path

That's what I was writing about, too, and a question only Canon marketing looking at their sales stats and research could answer: Why offer a reasonably priced upgrade path if users will take the unreasonably priced one, too, if there is no other one available?

But I'm absolutely in favor of an aps-h model at a somewhat affordable price and would get it over a 7d any moment, but I just don't think it'll happen.

2427

Lighting / What happens to a non-sealed speedlite when getting wet?

« on: April 15, 2012, 08:16:38 AM »

I've got a 430ex2 which is absolutely sufficient for almost everything I do. The only thing I miss is flash exposure bracketing which marketing has cut (thanks, Canon!). And it's not weather sealed...  thus I'm wondering:

Recently I was shooting in the rain with remote flash. Since I need the IR sensor to be visible I cannot wrap the flash in a plastic bag. What happens if the 430ex2 gets wet? Does it just stop to operate until dry again? Does it take lasting damage? Any techniques to reduce the risk?

Thanks for sharing your experiences...

2428

Lenses / Re: First dSLR, lens recommendations

« on: April 15, 2012, 08:14:01 AM »

I’m just a little concerned about the missing IS. How fast shutter speed is required to get rid of shaken images?

IS is no substitute for fast shutter speeds on tele lenses (might work better on mid range zooms). I just have learned this from my 70-300L, and thus have to agree: IS is very convenient, but overrated.

IS is good for close framing (less crop = less noise) and does help you to take ok pictures with long exposure times, but for really sharp pictures you still have to apply the good ol' formula: exposure time = 1 / (lens focal length * crop factor). For a 200mm prime, you should _at_least_ expose with 1/320s on a crop body, for some safety margin and 100% crops on a 18mp sensor I'd strongly advise 1/500s to even less. If your subjects moves like a racecar, you have to go even lower of course.

Last not least: a fast tele lens is no general fix for sensor noise due to the thin depth of field - at 200mm and f2.8, you'll probably be at f4-f5.6 anyway for most shots. I have this comparison because I used to shoot with my 100/2.8 and now have the 70-300/4-5.6.

2429

Technical Support / What impacts does a metal L lens take without any iq degradation?

« on: April 15, 2012, 08:00:39 AM »

I've got this shiny new 70-300L, which has the red ring and Canon marketing has painted it white, too - although as was discusses elsewhere, this isn't necessary since the lens is small and doesn't contain any fluorite elements...

... but anyway: some of the paint already has been scraped off while I was laying the lens on something solid for support (IS is nice, but not lifting the lens at all is even nicer). This makes me wonder - what hits did your metal L lenses take w/o any damage or iq degradation? Do I have to treat it as my plastic 50/1.8 too, or to what extend does the improved quality really show in real life handling?

2430

Third Party Manufacturers / Tokina 11-16 II - anything new since the announcement?

« on: April 15, 2012, 07:44:52 AM »

http://www.canonrumors.com/2012/01/tokina-at-x-11-16-f2-8-pro-dx-%E2%85%A1-lens-announced/

... I'm waiting for this one, has anyone heard anything new since the announcement? I'm wondering if the prediction "late July 2012" is still valid and if Tokina announcements are to be trusted at all. Looking at the latest Canon delays, I don't want to wait until July 2013 - in this case, I'd rather get another model...