Messages

1

Lenses / Re: EF 100-400 Replacement in 2013? [CR2]

« on: May 01, 2013, 03:30:43 AM »

Just another opinion. I love the 100-400 push/pull
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Me too.

2

Lenses / Re: Canon L Glass costs over $1200 / pound

« on: April 25, 2013, 09:35:27 AM »

One salesman at a unnamed company where I worked back in the 1970's was said to have picked a price based on the number of a railroad train car going by his window after the customer asked for a better price.  He made the sale, and it was big bucks

I knew an electrical engineer who priced the electrical installation in new schools by the number of toilets shown on the plans. It was a nightmare working out the schedule of rates for extras when his jobs were accepted. It did seem to work, weird as it sounds.

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Lenses / Re: Just got the canon 16-35 ii and having a hard time seeing the value in this uwa

« on: April 20, 2013, 08:43:04 AM »

My 16-35 is my least used lens by some margin. It me entirely - I've discovered I simply look at the world in terms of telephoto lenses, not wide angle.

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EOS Bodies / Re: diy ideas on how to protect camera from rain?

« on: April 07, 2013, 06:55:50 AM »

Years ago I spent a very wet weekend shooting MotoGP and simply used a large clear plastic bag, taped the lens hood to it so that the front of the  lens was exposed and my hands and the camera where protected. It worked extremely well, better than I ever imagined it would.

And trust me, it was bucketing down, as it can only in a typical UK Summer!

5

EOS Bodies / Re: Big Megapixel Development Announcement in the Fall? [CR2]

« on: March 28, 2013, 03:22:29 PM »

  In fact, Nikon needs to "get in the game."  The D800/E did absolutely nothing for them on a large scale while the 5D Mark III did a ton for Canon on a large scale.

I'm constantly reading that Canon are beating Nikon but I don't see any evidence. I know I read that Nikon took 40% of the whole dSLR market in the UK last year, which is pretty good!

Also don't forget that those of us with money invested in Canon lenses are less likely to switch to Nikon and that no doubt includes those of us with higher end bodies.

No, its Canon that need to stir themselves, Sony and Nikon have made Canon look stupid. If not stupid then maybe just fast asleep?

6

EOS Bodies / Re: Big Megapixel Development Announcement in the Fall? [CR2]

« on: March 25, 2013, 03:16:25 PM »

Its about time Canon responded to the Nikon D800 and D800E. This fixation with high ISO, low DR, and high noise needs to stop. We need a quality camera to bring back the 1Ds range, a camera that is best in class.

For whatever reason Canon have been asleep at the wheel for a while now and its time they woke up. I have no wish for ISO extremes, nor do I shoot video at all, but I do shoot landscapes, so want a camera that has a minimum of noise and world beating DR. Maybe removal of the anti-aliassing filter?

7

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: mirror lock up

« on: March 18, 2013, 04:12:53 PM »

I found that the tripod weight was more important than mirror lockup. I have a pair of tripods.... the old heavy one moves a lot less than the new lightweight one.... but hang a weight off of the lightweight tripod and it gets very steady. I have a eyelet in the bottom of the central collumn that I attach to the camera bag with a length of light rope.... makes the setup much more stable.

surely if it was a bit windy your bag would be swaying all over the place?   my tripods pretty sturdy and there was no hint of wind in my room or shake on my floor!

The "trick" is to have the bag just touching the ground, or hung using a bungy cord. That way the tripod is pulled down to steady it and the bag cannot sway about.

8

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Finnish wearing on my 5D Mark III

« on: February 25, 2013, 09:40:09 AM »

The 5D Mark III is a magnesium-alloy body.

That means to make it look black it needs to be painted.

If you rub any metal that has been painted for long enough against clothing, the paint will eventually wear away and show metal underneath.
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I would expect them to have a black anodised finish which is what all my Canons have had. Certainly a simple painted finish will never last long.

9

EOS Bodies / Re: Big Megapixel Camera in 2014

« on: February 21, 2013, 02:09:08 PM »

Nikon were so far behind for so long they have ended up shooting themselves in the foot. But I don't believe that changes the gloomy outlook for pure stills orientated high end gear.

I've read in the last day or so that Nikon took 40 plus percent of the UK market in dSLR's last year. That's a pretty good batting average! I don't know how much of the total market is taken by the smaller players, but I'm prepared to bet that Canon cannot have done as well.

10

EOS Bodies / Re: Big Megapixel Camera in 2014

« on: February 17, 2013, 07:05:40 AM »

Canon isn't ignoring their minority customer base. I think they have heard loud and clear, they simply need time to produce a compelling product.
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Bear in mind that they led the sensor race by a country mile a while back. They have just been ignoring that side of things and are now paying the price. Lets just hope the lesson sticks. What Sony and Nikon have found is obviously not the end of it, we are only seeing the first stage of what I hope will be ever improving quality. I just hope that when Canon do eventually offer us something it will not just be more of what we have been offered recently.

I've been trying hard to follow the science behind the high ISO noise / low ISO noise difference that seems to be the key to this. It seems that Canon have been chasing the high ISO dream which would never be my choice.

11

EOS Bodies / Re: Big Megapixel Camera in 2014

« on: February 16, 2013, 08:27:52 AM »

Well, for one, you are assuming Brand B makes a camera "at least as good". Consumer sentiment would indicate otherwise. Brand B certainly has a better image sensor...but its camera has a variety of issues, say, with white balance, LCD screen rendition, AF system, buffer unload rate, etc. Brand B has great glass, but it is not as good as Brand A. Brand B's camera is phenomenal for some things, but Brand A's camera is phenomenal for just about everything, with a few caveats at really low ISO...

So...IS it really true that Brand B makes a camera "at least as good" as Brand A? Technologically speaking, they certainly have an edge. Overall, consumer sentiment seems to indicate Brand A still makes a better camera. And that sentiment has nothing to do with brainwashing or existing gear or anything like that (we've seen plenty of cases of switchers here on CR, where people have literally dumped their entire Canon kit and switched to Nikon or vice versa.)

As for price/performance...the D800 does have a phenomenal sensor. However that camera is clearly not as viable in as many use cases as the 5D III. Its gargantuan file sizes has turned more than a majority of wedding photographers off. It's lackluster frame rate without spending additional money on a battery grip (which normalizes the price gap and offers a size/weight ratio benefit to the competition). The poor full buffer clear rate of the D800 creates a lag in your ability to keep shooting, where as Canon cameras just keep on plugging away.

If you consider sensor the singular factor that affects a camera's competitiveness, and it actually turns out that sensor is indeed the primary thing that affects IQ for the kind of photography you do (I can think of one case where that is probably always true...landscape photography), and you are completely unwilling to wait and see what Canon does...then dumping your kit and jumping ships, or straddling both the Canon and Nikon ships, is probably the solution to your problem. Does that mean you are getting a better price/performance ratio? Well, if you do not yet currently own Nikon, and do own Canon, your price point for the D800 for better low ISO IQ (and ONLY better low ISO IQ) is a hell of a lot higher...you need at least one comparable lens. If you just pick up the competing Canon camera, even though the single-item price point is potentially higher (depends on whether you actually get that battery grip for the D800 or not), the total cost to upgrade and not jump ship puts you at a better price/performance ratio.

Rationalism isn't as cut and dry it might seem when one only factors image sensor into the basis of image quality and bang for the buck. I'd say the market is pretty rational already, and that photographers already are purchasing the camera with the best price/performance ratio for the kind of work they do. If the D800, D600, etc. were hands down far better cameras than the Canon alternatives, consumers would be buying Nikon.
[/quote]

Everything you say is of course true, but sadly everything you flag up as of limited appeal is of great interest to me and the Canon advantages I don't see as advantages. Thats why I am dissapointed that Canon have chosen to dump all their loyal IDs customers in favour of video and sports use. I am really not bothered if a camera of mine took just 1 shot per second, frame rates and buffer sizes, like high ISO noise, is of no interest.

I fully understand that something like the 1Dx will be perfect for some, all I want is for Canon to consider both sides which at the moment they are not doing. 

12

EOS Bodies / Re: Big Megapixel Camera in 2014

« on: February 15, 2013, 10:14:55 AM »

I'd prefer a return to the 1D / 1Ds arrangement than downgrading a high pixel camera to "second grade". Never understood why Canon abandoned the traditional 1Ds customers.

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EOS Bodies / Re: What if the rumored 5Dx is actually a 4D?

« on: February 14, 2013, 07:08:50 AM »

Honestly, I think a 2013/2014 update to the 5DIII is pretty unlikely.  Rather, we'll see the high MP FF sensor as a new or split line.  They might re-split the 1-series (1Ds X), or they may call it a 4D, 2D, or split the 5-series line (5Ds).  Either way, high MP will mean low fps.

Thats sounds like my kind of camera.

14

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon's Roadmap for 2013 [CR2]

« on: January 27, 2013, 08:10:56 AM »

So no response to Nikons D800e any time soon then! I'm not surprised, because historically Canon do like to take their time. Hopefully it means that when we do see a new IDs or its equivalent it will have been worth the wait and does not instead mean that they have no idea how to outdo the D800E!

15

Canon General / Re: Why did you choose Canon?

« on: January 26, 2013, 02:30:56 PM »

I switched from Nikon to Canon for the Eos-3, purely for the eye-control. Then I gradually bought my L series lenses and now have too much invested to switch back, even though the Nikon D800E is my idea of the best dSLR currently on the market.