Messages

166

EOS Bodies / Re: Loss in Resale Value of 5D Mk3

« on: May 16, 2012, 10:54:00 PM »

several of canons camera models before the Mrk 3 have the same issue and no fix will be offered to them. those cameras still took great pictures and still perform well on the resale market. this is a huge non issue. mountains out of molehills and such...

its not an issue. relax and go take great pictures with your new camera.

jeez.....

167

EOS Bodies / Re: Question - 5D Classic

« on: May 16, 2012, 07:52:32 AM »

my 5Dc shutter just broke last fall and i had to send it in for repair. the shutter is rated for either 100,000 or 150,000 actuations (cant remember which). canon told me i had 186,000 shutter actuations on my 5D when it broke.

anyway, i got a new shutter installed, a new glass filter put in front of the chip (old one was persistently dirty despite professional cleanings) and i had them clean out the viewfinder. all of that cost me 200.00 US and i got it back in a matter of days. it performed like it was new out of the box. i was extremely pleased.

so i would say don't worry about the shutter count. if you like the way the body performs and how the images look you should keep it. if there is a problem with the shutter in the near future it is a very simple and affordable fix.

168

Lenses / Re: 4K to spend and I don't know what to do with it!!!

« on: May 15, 2012, 06:50:17 PM »

let it all ride on black and then start a post about having 8k to spend and not know what to do with it.

169

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: DXOMark website - mistake and careless on their part...

« on: May 15, 2012, 06:46:22 PM »

i have never really understood  the fanaticism over DxO's ratings whether it be in favor of or against their findings. any review should never be "trusted". its foolish to make decisions about your own livelihood solely based upon the opinion of someone else (and i do believe that DxO results are quite simply an opinion).

reviews are meant to be a guide to HELP inform an audience, not make a decision for said audience. i read alot of reviews about gear, and then i make up my own mind ONLY after i have had hands on experience using the said piece of equipment under real world circumstances.

that being said, a typo or misinformation coming from DxO is entirely inconsequential in my opinion.

forgive me if i misspeled anything...     

170

Lenses / Re: What can tilt-shift lenses do that post-production cannot?

« on: May 11, 2012, 12:41:54 PM »

if its distortion that you wish to avoid then any TSE lens is the way to go. when properly used, they are designed to minimize disortion. im not sure the 14mm wont suffer from the same distortion you find displeasing in the 16-35mm. i'm not certain as i haven't used the 14mm but i am very aware of the 16-35mm characteristics.

171

Lenses / Re: What can tilt-shift lenses do that post-production cannot?

« on: May 10, 2012, 09:49:28 PM »

yeah...a geared 3way tripod head will go a long way in facilitating a better result. never tried it without a geared head that was leveled using a separate level. the bubble levels on tripods aren't as reliable as an independent level.

172

Lenses / Re: What can tilt-shift lenses do that post-production cannot?

« on: May 10, 2012, 09:36:28 PM »

you can effectively increase the angle of view (or coverage) from the 24mm TS so that it can be used in tighter spaces.

simply orient the lens so that the movement becomes a rise/fall and shoot two frames. first frame should be the top most composition of the scene and then second the lower portion of the scene. you then copy and paste the two frames on top of each other, reposition, and erase the overlap. this also works in a vertical orientation though i personally found it much easier to work as a horizontal. a fairly simple work around that increases the usability of an already fantastic lens.

2 immediate benefits to this technique is that you are effectively increasing the field of view without expanding the spacial relationship of the background/foreground (something the 17mmwould certainly increase significantly). second, you are also increasing the resolution of your final image to roughly 1.5x (depending on your execution of the technique) the native camera resolution.

the only thing you have to be mindful of is that you do encounter a bit of parallax in the upper portion of the composition so overlapping and erasing should be done with care. also, you need to be mindful of the limits of the image circle and not push the rise/fall to its extreme or you will encounter vignetting in the center portion of your final merged composition. i guess another consideration is that you are changing the final aspect ratio away from the 8x12 native full frame format so some additional cropping of the final composition isnt uncommon if a more common output size is required (ie an 8x10).

does this technique negate the need for the 17mm T/S? no...but if you already have the 24mm T/S you may find that you can get by without dropping another 2k.     

173

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

« on: April 17, 2012, 09:56:26 PM »

this is a slight tangent but i just thought of it reading this thread....

never go through a revolving door with your camera slung behind your back and a flash mounted to it.  i did this once and soon heard a sickening "crunch" and a slight tug at my back. turn around to see my flash wedged in between the revolving door an the door frame. the door ripped it right off the hot shoe mount but thankfully missed my lens!

i can laugh about it now...not so much when it happened.

174

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

« on: April 16, 2012, 08:10:37 AM »

you still need to be very careful...it doesnt take much to knock an element slightly out of place and your focus becomes unusable. unfortunately i have seen several lenses dropped or receive a significant knock and those that didnt visibly break had major focus issues that needed repair.

L lenses are built to have superior image quality, not to to bounced off the ground.

175

Technical Support / Re: Sensor cleaning technique that actually works?

« on: April 14, 2012, 10:52:36 AM »

how old is the camera and how many shutter actuations do you have on it?

i ask only because my 5Dc shutter just blew up last summer after putting it through 180,000+ actuations so i had to send it in to CPS for repair. for 200.00 i got a brand new shutter installed, they cleaned out the very dirty viewfinder, and replaced the glass filter in front of the sensor. had the camera back in under a week and it was as clean as it was when i first took it out of the box.

i used to clean my sensor with the swabs and they were fairly decent but rather expensive. i took it to calumet once but they did an absolute horrendous job and charged me 50.00. in the end there was significant dust that just didnt want to be cleaned...it would always end up just getting pushed around the frame and typically settling in on the corners.

having CPS replace the filter and clean the viewfinder was worth every penny. if you have a couple years on a camera and the thing is retaining dust i highly recommend sending it to canon and getting a tune up. oh...and i wasn't a CPS member so $200.00 was the price without paying the annual dues. it probably would be cheaper if you dont get the shutter replacement like i did as well.

176

Canon General / Re: Gear / shooting recomendations for first wedding tomorrow!!

« on: April 13, 2012, 03:49:40 PM »

if you are going to be doing weddings more in the future i would advise you to stay away from larger capacity CF cards. 16GB+ scares me....

i shoot on 8GB cards only with the mRAW on a Mrk2. i take 10x 8GB cards with me to a wedding and generally use up 4 to 5 of them. the reason behind this is that i dont want too much of any part of the day on a single card in the case something bad happens to it or it is lost. losing a part of the day vs losing half the day can be the difference between "i can recover" and complete disaster.

weddings can be murder on your gear as well. be prepared for your new shiny stuff to get dinged and worn looking. 1 wedding wont be too bad...but 30+ weddings a year and you just cant avoid it.

177

Speedlites, Printers, Accessories / Re: Ring flash for Portrait photography

« on: April 12, 2012, 03:36:27 PM »

oh and to add to that....

i would absolutely not use the ABR800 at close range on a bride. the output of that strobe can be VERY discomforting on a subjects eyes. i have shot with it and been the subject looking into that thing and i can tell you that anything but the lowest settings on the ABR800 can be borderline painful.

178

Speedlites, Printers, Accessories / Re: Ring flash for Portrait photography

« on: April 12, 2012, 03:32:26 PM »

the alien bee ringflash is awesome...but its bulky and more of a studio ringflash than an event one. i can't imagine sticking the ABR800 into a brides face and blasting her with that. not to mention that it would require a vagabond to power it and your mobility with that rig becomes extremely hindered.

though i have no experience with the Canon MR-14EX ringflash i have some colleagues who have told me they use it for event type stuff. from what i have heard though, in many situations it lacks the distinctive ringflash "halo" look that you get with the larger studio rings.

if you run with an assistant (who could tote it around and pack it away when not using it) and only plan on using the ringflash for a few "signature" shots then maybe you could pull off using an Alien Bee. if you plan on moving about and using the ringflash a bit more extensively then i would recommend the MR-14EX.

179

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Canon Announces EOS 60Da for Astrophotography

« on: April 03, 2012, 03:35:14 AM »

even though i am not into astrophotography i am very intrigued by this and what it implies.

canon seems to be making a push towards specializing their camera systems. the 5D mrk3, though highly anticipated by a wide range of genres, was essentially everything that event photographers have been asking for the past few years. the cross platform demographic that the mrk2 created left many disappointed in perceived shortcomings in the mrk 3. does this announcement not inspire confidence that canon will address the needs of the other genres with specialized cameras in the coming months?

the C300, the 5D mrk 3, the still mysterious C Dslr (4k?), and now this camera? thats a ton of product announced in a short period of time. my gut tells me they aren't done by a long shot. 

180

Canon General / Re: Why pay over the odds for 5D mkiii ??

« on: April 02, 2012, 01:27:33 PM »

i myself and many others are getting the 5D3 for the improved AF and improved low light capabilities. i didn't even blink at the $3500 price tag. to us its worth every penny and then some.

if you have trouble understanding that this camera is not for you.