Messages

151

EOS Bodies / Re: The Mirrorless Future

« on: August 20, 2012, 12:40:21 PM »

What utter tosh!

Maybe my irony radar is switched off but come on!

The SLR form is perfectly braced for hand held shooting, mirrorless with live view is not.

Thats before you get under the hood.

For the folk who need WLF's nothing other than a WLF will do, for the folks who need an SLR form, nothing else will do, for the folk who like rangefinders, nothing else will do.  Part function, part form, part technology.

Everybody want to kill off DSLRs, yet nobody really wants to buy into mirrorless.

Get your stories straight and stick to them.

+1          Try using a mirrorless with the sun over your shoulders glaring on that screen. Anyone that has used a viewfinder would miss it. Try having a mirrorless with a large sensor and a 400+mm lens hanging off the pathetic grip, and hand-holding a shot.  I'll keep my camera pressed against my face, thank you.

152

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Cleaning Camera - some questions

« on: August 19, 2012, 10:38:16 PM »

I actually periodically use an air compressor to blow out my camera bag, I hate dust acumulation. I use a blower on my lenses a lot, and use a lens brush for flicking dust off any externals, and a lens pen on my filters. I check for dust on the sensor maybe once a month  and give it blast of the blower if I see something that might show up in a pic. Ive had my 60d about a year and did clean the sensor once, mostly due to an unsucessful sensor brushing haha. Brush ended up touching internal grease and smeared the sensor. One sensor swab made it 100% clean at f/45!

153

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: ISO levels

« on: August 19, 2012, 10:21:31 PM »

Interesting, I've not heard of this before. Might have to try and see if I can tell difference.

154

5D MK III Sample Images / Re: Where am I ?

« on: August 19, 2012, 10:04:09 AM »

@Ryan 708,Quebec?

Yup yup, you got it. Hotel de Glace In Qubec city.

155

Sports / Re: learning bike shoot

« on: August 18, 2012, 10:28:51 PM »

What focus mode were you using? If using single-shot AF with an object moving that fast toward you by the time you hit the shutter he will be out of your focal plane. There is no motion blur on the front wheel's spokes, SO the shutter speed should be enough at 250. Could try bumping the iso to 800 and knocking the f-stop down a stop, see if the increased DOF helps. Hope you figure it out!

156

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Survival of the fittest/luckiest

« on: August 18, 2012, 10:13:57 PM »

my friend dropped his 40d down a set of concrete stairs and broke his 17-40L in half. Canon put it back together for $180 i think he said, and he says the lens has never been so sharp. The body didnt suffer any damage other than cosmetic.

I was taking pictures of a big block chevy on an engine stand for a friend, and I turned the engine stand around and while turning a front castor broke off the stand, and the motor fell toward me so natural instinct was to catch the falling object. My T1i was in my hand with my 17-70 on it. only got some scuffs but i smashed it into a block of cast iron pretty hard haha. Enough that I was making an ugly wincy face when I checked to make sure it was ok

157

5D MK III Sample Images / Re: Where am I ?

« on: August 18, 2012, 10:02:12 PM »

hints: I was married in this room, my guests were cold.  If no one can guess Ill post another pic from the same town.

158

Lenses / Re: Canon 200-400 lens - Post Olympics

« on: August 17, 2012, 12:48:44 PM »

Apparently they are not going to either confirm or deny. which is a confirmation of sorts ;-)

159

Lenses / Re: Opinions please: Canon 70 - 200 f/4 IS vs. 70 - 200 F2.8 non IS

« on: August 17, 2012, 12:47:21 PM »

These two lenses have been on my wish list as well, and I would love the 2.8/IS but that it out of my price range. I have used a 2.8/IS and done a bunch of research and Im goinjg to go with the f4/IS. when i get the dough haha. the 70-200 f4/IS has the highest user ratings on cannons website of any lens, AND of any lens on amazon-dot-com, so it must make the end users happy!

160

Lenses / Re: great new lens for canon?

« on: August 17, 2012, 12:44:28 PM »

Think they would let photogs into a presidential debate room with that bugger? haha

161

Lens Gallery / Re: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

« on: August 17, 2012, 07:44:22 AM »

flower straight out of my ol T1i, the glass from my 60D

162

EOS Bodies / Re: B&H is selling the 5D II at $1979. What does this indicate?

« on: August 16, 2012, 06:03:34 PM »

It means I have buyers remorse now. haha

163

Macro / Re: Some random Macros

« on: August 15, 2012, 07:47:38 AM »

A couple daylight shots i got using my sigma 17-70, and a 10x cheap macro filter

164

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Fickle, very Fickle

« on: August 12, 2012, 08:49:48 AM »

It's been a real education to read some of the replies posted in response to this question, such that I feel compelled to add my own 2 cents' worth.

I upgraded from an EOS40D to the 7D in 2010, partly because of the reportedly much better quality sensor in the 7, partly because of the increase from 6.5 to 8.4fps [I shoot a lot of hawks, owls, buzzards]. I carried a set of L Series glass with me to the new camera: 16-35mm f2.8, 24-70mm (Mk I) f2.8, 70-200mm (Mk I) f2.8, 100-400mm f4.5-5.6.

In almost all respects I find the 7D auto-focus to be a step back from the 40D. I think there are several reasons for this:-

1. You have to partner it with the right lens. Shooting raptors with my 70-200 I get 2-4 times as many pin-sharp "keepers" than with the 100-400mm. Yesterday I shot 650 exposures of the Olympic Sailing in Weymouth with the 100-400mm and less than 1% are keepers. In *all* cases it's [poor] focus that has spoiled the shot. Note that the 70-200 has USM, the 100-400 does not: that makes a *big* difference.

2. I think [I've read but now cannot find] that the 7D actually uses a different, "newer" AF when compared with the 40D. Perhaps this is the equivalent of a "Microsoft Version 1.0 Release"? [ i.e. they shipped it in order to get poor unsuspecting users to help identify the bugs].

3. This might be complete nonsense, but in my highly subjective view the worst possible thing you can give this AF system to work with is a tree-line in sunlight. The broken "surface" of the trees coupled with the hot-and-cold spots caused by sunlight and shade are enough for the "You gotta be kidding me!" warning light to appear in the HUD (if there was one, which there isn't). In other words, perhaps my experience is pushing the camera/lens combination to the limit.

4. I wonder - and I don't know - if the 7D is particularly fickle to "micro-adjustment" requirements for Canon lenses. I have not tried this, and I have no way of knowing if it's good, bad or indifferent, but last night, after a poor result from the Olympic shoot, I went in search of enlightenment and found this:

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/cameras/1ds3_af_micoadjustment.html

As the article explains that there is a "reset" option to keep everything safe, I am tempted to give it a try...

Bottom line, I find that when the 7D gets it right, it is capable of breathtaking shots, head and shoulders above my 40D. Unfortunately, my 40D returned 5-6 times as many "keepers" as the 7, and in *all* cases the reason for ditching 7D exposures is focus.

By way of comparison, I recently decided to treat myself to a 'go-anywhere' camera upgrade. I'd been using a Canon Powershot G12 since they came out [G9 before that, Ixus before that], but on the recommendation of a semi-professional photographer friend of mine, was lured to the Panasonic, and bought a Micro-Four-Thirds DMC-GX1 mirror-less. Wow. It doesn't have the frame rate of the 7D, but *every* shot is pin sharp. Even the kit lens turns in very respectable images... and put a decent bit of glass on it [I recently purchased the 7-14mm ultra-wide] and it just blows my 7D away...

I'm so hacked off with my 7D that I want to sell it. Would love a 1DX but need to wait for the price to come down and the savings to build up to match it... I asked my Father [who inherited my 40D, if he'd swap it for my 7. He knows the trouble I've had with this thing and the rotter won't bite...]

How about a 60D with under 4k clicks? Ill bite on the 7d

165

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Some Pictures with the 1D X

« on: August 10, 2012, 10:15:19 PM »

I dont often appreciate black and white ( too many people think B+W is wonderful, no matter the content)  but that baker street shot is fantastic. Great eye!