Messages

16

Lenses / Re: 300 f/2.8L and 400 f/2.8 at f/2.8

« on: April 21, 2013, 09:34:40 PM »

I'm not sure if the 400 focuses slow, but it definitely does "slower" vs. the 300.  I'm serious, as I've noticed this even before you asked.

I think you're right, that the 300mm focuses faster than the 400mm. The 400mm is no dog, but I remember being surprised at how much quicker the AF of the 300mm felt, when I played with it some time ago.
I can't recall which body I used, but it could be on my old 50D (your 1Dx can drive the AF motor faster due to the higher battery voltage).

17

Lenses / Re: 300 f/2.8L and 400 f/2.8 at f/2.8

« on: April 20, 2013, 10:05:31 PM »

I did realize of course that with the 300 the runners are closer to me when I fire the shutter, vs. the 400, which could matter. 

Is DOF (f/2.8 is pretty thin) more difficult to manage at longer focal lengths?

bdunbar79,

Just how closer were the runners when you used the 300mm?

Assuming that you want the subject to fill approximately the same amount of the frame, you're likely to shoot at, say, 30ft with the 300mm but at 40ft with the 400mm. And if you do that, you get the same DOF from those two combinations (6").

BTW, I think you've just explained why I've had problems in getting tack-sharp images shooting motorcyclists on a track, when using my 400mm too

18

Pricewatch Deals / Re: Where are European rebates

« on: April 19, 2013, 09:25:11 PM »

I just got an email from my preferred shop in Denmark (photografica.com), and they announced that Canon starts a cashback campaign on Monday (April 22nd), running until June 30th. It's a fairly limited list of items:

380DKK cashback:
Canon EF 40/2,8 STM
Canon 430EX II Speedlite
500DKK cashback:
Canon EOS 700D
520DKK cashback:
Canon EFS 18-200/3,5-5,6 IS
Canon EF 70-300/4,0-5,6 IS USM
Canon EFS 60/2,8 Macro USM
600DKK cashback:
Canon EOS 60D
750DKK cashback:
Canon EOS 7D
Canon EFS 10-22/3,5-4,5 USM
Canon EFS 17-55/2,8 IS USM
Canon EF 17-40/4,0 L USM
Canon EF 100/2,8 L MACRO IS USM
Canon 600EX RT Speedlite
1.500DKK cashback:
Canon EF 16-35/2,8 L II USM
Canon EF 8-15/4,0 L USM Fisheye
2.240DKK cashback:
Canon EF 24-70/2,8 L II USM
Canon EF 70-200/2,8 L IS II USM

If you're living outside of the EU, you can get the 25% VAT returned when you leave the country (ticket, passport, receipt and item must be shown to the customs).

With the cashback and getting the VAT back, the 70-200/2,8 II is about USD2.280, which is an okay price considering that you get a 2 year warranty due to the Danish legislation.

19

Canon General / Re: Slot canyon advice

« on: April 19, 2013, 01:37:29 AM »

I was in both upper and lower Antelope slot canyons of Page, AZ in October (I guess these are the slot canyons you refer too).
In upper, I brought both my 5D3 with 17-40L and my 50D with 24-70L II. I didn't use the 50D, so I brought only the 5D3+17-40L in lower.

From your gear, I'd choose the 16-35L and bring the tripod - especially in lower Antelope. They will give you a 2 hours "ticket" for you to explore the canyon on your own. Consider bringing a remote trigger also for long exposures.

Research how much sun there is at what time of the day in August - the canyons get a very dull brownish look without sunlight. Upper is kinda A-shaped (narrow in the top, wide in the bottom), whereas the lower is V-shaped. This suggests that you should pick Upper during midday, and Lower in either morning/afternoon.

Since you're in Page, AZ, anyway, I'd suggest you consider going to the "Horseshoe Bend" of the Colorado river on the other side of the town too. This is a sunrise adventure - bring a flashlight.

20

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

« on: February 25, 2013, 02:19:03 AM »

I don't see the brass yet, but the paint do come across as significantly softer and more easily worn off on my 5D3 too.

I had chippings in the paint of my 50D, but the 5D3 has fine lines across the body from something brushing against it.
And I'm not a pro and I'm quite picky about protecting the camera and lenses.

21

Technical Support / Re: Possibility to recover overwritten images on harddisk?

« on: February 20, 2013, 01:31:09 AM »

I bought myself a Ready NAS, Which runs in X-Raid2 because both of my hdd´s were erased like if you get it new and don´t know why, I restored als my data transferred it to the Nas wher one Hdd mirrors the other

This tread is very old, but before anyone believes that using nas/raid for data safety: It does protect you from *hardware* failure, but it doesn't from *software* or *user* error. If you accidentally erase some folders of files (most common disaster cause) a raid setup won't protect you, only an independent backup will. So raid is for high availability, but not necessarily for data safety.

Agreed.

Repeat after me: having a RAID disk is not a replacement for making backups! They're really orthogonal issues.

22

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: New MFA method

« on: February 20, 2013, 12:02:47 AM »

I wonder if Focal Method "TurboCal" is using similar technique as "DotTune" to perform MFA prediction in 30 Seconds  with no shutter activation in an automated way.

http://www.reikan.co.uk/focalweb/index.php/2013/02/focal-1-8-release-candidate-available-for-focal-pro-users/

Thanks for the link! I agree, they might be doing something similar to DotTune, provided the Canon SDK+USB interface provides a way to both change the AF tune value programmatically and also feed the PDAF evaluation information over USB to the computer as well.

FWIW, I forwarded a link to this discussion to Reikan some days ago. I have no idea if their method is the same nor if they have acted independently or not.

23

Canon General / Re: Record Spending Into Camera Gear - HIGHEST

« on: December 31, 2012, 09:58:27 PM »

I don´t talk about prices because cameras and lenses are only tools for my work.

If someone spend a lot of money for a 5D Mark III with the EF 24-70 2.8 II lens for private use than it´s a very big investment compared to my investment for professional use.

Actually, I bought exactly that (5D3 + 24-70 II) in 2012 
Plus hard+soft grad ND Lee filter, two adapters (77+82mm), a travel tripod, a new gear bag, and 4 Lexar 1000x cards.

But you (and neuro) make an excellent point about amateur vs professional use/budgets.
My excuse is that I'm a bachelor, and I can allow/afford to do this with my income.

A happy and prosperous New Year to all!

24

Lenses / Re: Landscape tips needed on shooting the Grand Canyon

« on: November 18, 2012, 05:58:54 AM »

I'll link to an earlier response I made to someone else asking about the Grand Canyon and Antelope Canyon areas.  If you want me to email you the mini-Antelope Canyon guide I mention there, feel free to PM me.  I may even be able to fit it into a PM, but it was a bit long.

As the asker of the thread that Cali is refering to, I can only +1 on his recommendations.

I used my 17-40mm primarily on the 5D3 and exclusively for Upper/Lower Antelope as well as Horseshoe Bend.

I had great use of grad filters for 6am-9.30am shots I took at the Horseshoe. Oh, and bring a (big) tripod to lower antelope.

Personally, I was underwhelmed by GC - but then again, I had been on an 8-day streak of Valley of Fire, Zion, Bryce, Grand Staircase, Torrey, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches, Needles overlook (with a hailstorm!), Natural Bridges, Monument Valley, Antelopes, Horseshoe bend and then the south rim of GC.

25

Lenses / Re: Thinking about a 17-40 f4L USM. Thoughts?

« on: November 03, 2012, 11:57:26 PM »

It's focal range is really meant for a full frame sensor though.  I wouldn't pair it with a crop body as the main walk around lens.

The 17-40mm was the first lens I bought in my 'digital era' and it was used as my main walk-around lens for quite some years on my 10D and later 50D (more than 75% of my pictures were with the 17-40mm, until I started shooting motorcycle racing).
Now that I have FF, the 24-70mm is more of an all-round lens than the 17-40 (but it was exactly the right lens in the Lower and Upper Antelope Slot Canyons as well as at Horseshoe Bend).

26

Lenses / Re: 24-70 ii shipping?

« on: October 03, 2012, 03:28:03 AM »

I was in BelAir Camera today. They just had received a couple of 24-70'ies for preorders but they had at least one on hand that they were willing to sell to me for USD2300 + sales tax.

I really should not go back and buy it...

27

Software & Accessories / Re: Recommendations needed for Compact Flash cards for 5D Mk III

« on: September 22, 2012, 05:10:33 AM »

B&H has a deal on Lexar 32Gb 1000x CF cards at the moment which just can't be ignored.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/841573-REG/Lexar_LCF32GCTBNA10002_32GB_CompactFlash_Memory_Card.html

Either Lexar or B&H are backlogged (or both), because I'm still waiting for my shipment notice of the Lexar 1000x 32GB cards I order on Aug 30th. They were supposed to be shipped on Sept 7, but got a "sorry, they're delayed until Sept 21" mail. Now it's Sept 22, and I have received neither a shipment notice nor a delay notice.

I'd say pick Adorama instead. Here's a link to their 2-pack deal ($240): http://www.adorama.com/ILXPCF1K322.html

28

Lenses / Re: Quality control issues with the 24-70 L II?

« on: September 20, 2012, 02:40:28 AM »

Quality standards are not reduced over time, but the number of units getting a major inspection off the line can decrease. In order to maintain efficient throughput in manufacturing, not all aspects of the assembly are inspected at 100%.

While statistical testing is the norm in many companies (and the only thing making sense in many cases), the QC procedure do depend on the type of business you're in. I work for a medical device company, and we do 100% inspection (all units are tested). Most electronic products like mobile phones are 100% tested as well.

29

Software & Accessories / Re: Sandisk has new cards coming!

« on: September 19, 2012, 10:18:45 AM »

Yes, i understand this is for future cameras that support it meaning Canon last to the party but if Nikons d800 could use it the buffer probably wouldn't be a prob with 75 mg files. I don't see any spec showing a diff size or shape but images that look like reg cf cards. Where is the info for what you are suggesting? Maybe i read you wrong...

I had my information from the wikipedia page I linked to (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFast#CFast), which states

CFast cards are not physically or electrically compatible with CompactFlash cards.

A bit of googling turns up this whitepaper about CFast, which states that the size is the same, but the interface is different (SATA vs PATA).

30

Software & Accessories / Re: Sandisk has new cards coming!

« on: September 18, 2012, 09:42:56 PM »

Beware that these cards are CFast 2.0 cards, which are not backwards compatible to Compact Flash, neither electrically nor physically. CompactFlash is using the 16-bit parallel PATA bus (IDE harddrive bus), while CFast2.0 uses the SATA bus.

In other words, you can only use them in (future) cameras that specifically support CFast2.0.