Messages

226

Lenses / Re: A small walkabout lens - lay it on me!

« on: June 04, 2012, 08:01:42 PM »

I have the 16-35L, 70-200/2.8, 24-105 and 8-16 fishy. I wouldn't call the 16-35 small, or any L lens small, certainly not unobtrusive. Too hard to take candids, people notice when one of those cannons is pointed at them.

My daily kit is the 24-105 and 16-35 in a top loader, and I love them dearly, but it's neither light nor unobtrusive.

227

Lenses / Re: A small walkabout lens - lay it on me!

« on: June 04, 2012, 11:09:40 AM »

EDIT: Or the zeiss 18mm! It's not too big, and close to my ideal focal length, thoughts on these two lenses?

Well, the weight there might be getting away from your "light" classification, but, if you're at the 18mm Zeiss, consider the 21mm as well (even heavier though). Every review I've read says its the best lens in that focal length range.

Voigtlander weighs about a 1/3rd of the Zeiss lenses...

Yeah, the Voigt is looking like the one to check out ... funny I never knew about that brand.

228

Lenses / Re: A small walkabout lens - lay it on me!

« on: June 04, 2012, 11:08:46 AM »

35mm f2


White Bull Terrier by MFV.pt, on Flickr

Nice shot, I see heavy vignetting though. Full Frame?

229

Lenses / Re: A small walkabout lens - lay it on me!

« on: June 04, 2012, 08:37:38 AM »

Aieeee! Great help folks, thanks!

Mt. Spokane (my parents live in Spokane BTW, I visit there often) thanks for the info. I will definitely send this lens in for repair. I had thought it was much more expensive.

On the Voigtlander, I didn't know these lenses existed! The Voight 20mm looks like the bomb, my dream focal length! Pancake! A little slow and MF but I can deal with that.

How is it with a FF Canon 5D? My credit card is practically out on this one!!

EDIT: Or the zeiss 18mm! It's not too big, and close to my ideal focal length, thoughts on these two lenses?

PS. The Sigma 30mm isn't for FF.

230

Lenses / A small walkabout lens - lay it on me!

« on: June 03, 2012, 11:07:32 PM »

OK I'm sick of trying to find a walkabout camera. None of them work for me, tried the Fuji X100 (want to buy one?), the Canon S100, a G12, etc. I just end up wishing I had my 5DMKII. Now there are situations where for weight and threatening considerations a smaller rig is preferred. So ... I need a small lens for my DSLR, ideally a wide angle.

I have a 50/1.4, which isn't that great. Slow to focus, IQ ... maybe my version has problems, it got touchy after some sand grains got in it, probably not worth trying to fix. Plus it's 50mm and too tight for me.

My dream focal length is 20mm but Canon seemingly has no good primes in that range. I don't like to rent, I prefer buying and deciding as it takes me months to figure out a new lens. So ... recommendations?

• Lens ideali around the size of the 50/1.4
• Prime
• Ideally wide, at least 24mm

Maybe the new 24IS? Dunno ...

231

PowerShot / S100 GPS problems

« on: June 01, 2012, 08:01:04 PM »

My S100 GPS used to reliably reacquire the satellites after a few minutes from startup. Then after owning (and loving) it for a month the GPS refuses to acquire, even after restarting the GPS service. Now I turned on GPS logging, and it reliably acquires GPS again (but is using power while off).

I use this camera so much I think I'll just leave the logging feature on, so the GPS stays locked, but has anybody else noticed this behavior?

232

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Film is still hard to beat

« on: June 01, 2012, 07:52:02 PM »

You want to know how film compares to digital? Look at the growth of number of pictures taken versus population growth. I haven't done this, but I know the rate of population growth is slowing while the growth of digital pictures is exponential. 15 billion pictures per year by next year is a number I recall (could be wrong by a few digits). Try walking around with a film camera as small as the S100, or a film camera in your phone.

Digital has trumped film as a medium, case closed.

233

PowerShot Cameras / Re: Anyone have the g1x and are happy with when your dslr is not around?

« on: June 01, 2012, 08:54:22 AM »

I have yet to find a 'tweener' which works well. By that I mean a device which is in the middle, not as big and complicated as the top end but more capable then what you get at the low end. In cameras I have a S100 which I love. The damn thing rides on my belt (always!) and is always there. I don't notice it but when I need to take shot - any shot - I've got it. I also have a big DSLR with lenses that ride in a toploader case, that comes with me when I'm going out. One case over the bag and I have the bare essentials of a DSLR, I love that top loader bag.

In the middle I have a G12 and a Fuji X100, and I use them the least. The G12 isn't too portable and generally takes mediocre pictures. The Fuji can take nice shots, but it's slow and finicky. I have the same issue with the iPad. I love my iPhone, and my big computers (Mac Pro and Macbook Pros), but other than for watching movies occasionally I don't have much use for the iPad.

The commonality is that these things do a little of everything, and so do nothing particularly well (as far as I'm concerned). Neither portable like the S100, or capable like the DSLR, and so just end up annoying me.

So yeah, I'd love to find the camera that takes near DSLR quality shots with near P&S portability, but it doesn't seem to be invented yet (unless I got a Leica maybe, and then I'd be annoyed with manual focus no doubt). Maybe Canon will come out with a mirror less that will pull that off, one can hope.

234

EOS Bodies / Re: Camera Manufacturing Plants

« on: June 01, 2012, 08:01:06 AM »

When I worked in Japan (at a different company) there was a Canon factory near us on the Tokyo periphery. I remember meeting a foreigner who worked at the factory and having a nice chat on the train. Unusual because Japan hires few outsiders.


Maybe I should try to look him up and ask about the 1DX.

235

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon EOS-1D X Delays [CR2]

« on: May 31, 2012, 07:46:51 AM »

I work in engineering in a similar industry. For such a thing to happen, a 8-12 month delay, something got seriously fuu-d up. Its probably in production or engineering but we'll never know. Marketing or management could have done it too by over promising on features or schedule. It's probably a number of things rather than a single one. If it was a single problem, those usually call for a one shot delay, say of a month. This long of a delay is probably due to a series of problems.

236

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Considering an EOS 35mm (film) body

« on: May 31, 2012, 07:33:47 AM »

12 year old autofocus and metering technology, 150 year old sensor technology, every shot costs a buck, no auto ISO and a limited range, and they get back to you a few days later (toss in a few trips to the store with the price of gas). No thanks ...

237

Speedlites, Printers, Accessories / Re: Make my own 600-RT gels or wait?

« on: May 30, 2012, 10:14:42 AM »

After using the gel that came with my 600, I wasn't so impressed.  It doesn't fit the holder all that well, was difficult to keep in place while attaching and it's incredibly flimsy -- don't see it lasting very long at all.  I'll probably just cut up the gels I have now to fit inside the holder.  Changing the white balance manually to accommodate is hardly even worth mentioning.  The auto sensing thing didn't even work consistently with my 5D3 anyway.

The way to put it in is to slide in from the bottom, the two upper corners tuck into the slots, then the bottom tab slips into the two fingers on the bottom. If you practice a little I've found it to be the quickest way to get a gel on the flash, additionally - at least while in the holder - the gels are much more protected then any other system.

They do use a thin gel material, a thick isn't necessary with their system and is probably easier to insert. Thinner might translate to better light transmission too.

238

EOS Bodies / Re: Chinese Alternative BG-E11 for 5D III not as bad

« on: May 29, 2012, 08:16:02 PM »

Really? Based on an earlier discussion I (after waiting a few years gong back and forth on the issue) bought a off brand grip for my 5DMKII. Maybe the 5DMKIII Chinese grip is different, but this one sucked. The buttons are cheesy, the on-off doesn't have a click registration, and the shutter doesn't feel nearly as good as the original. It didn't register the second battery until I jiggled it around.

I sent it back and bought the Canon version. Better.

239

Lenses / Re: 24-70 f/2.8L mk 1 or 24-105 f/4L

« on: May 28, 2012, 10:21:52 PM »

I've owned both, albeit not contiguously. Sold the 24-75 I, will never sell the 24-105. My most used lens and go-to, takes beautiful shots and is versatile.

240

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: What if you started from scratch again? Total Loss...

« on: May 28, 2012, 05:05:31 PM »

Exact same as I've done except the 5DMKIII to update the 5DMKII. I've gone very slowly and cautiously, only buying a lens after its been recently updated. Or flashes for example, I held off buying a handful of 580exII's and PW's or whatever for a Canon solution. Now the 600's came out and I LOVE them, so I bought three and a EX3. Couldn't be happier.