Messages

4201

Lenses / Re: Canon 35mm f/2 vs Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 vs Canon f/2.8

« on: March 05, 2012, 08:52:43 PM »

The Canon 28mm f/2.8 is discontinued and replaced with the new IS version that is expensive, but you might be able to find one if you look around.

The 35mm f/2 is a good lens for the money.  If you can manually focus, the Rokinon is also a good lens.  You will get a higher percentage of your money back if you get the Canon and ever decide to sell it.

The fact is, that many of the newer zooms are better and sharper than those old primes, and the replacements will be much better and much more expensive.

A 17-55mm IS is going to beat all the older f/2.8 primes in its range for sharpness and IQ, but it does not have a f/1.4 aperture, and it might cost more than you want to pay.

Don't be afraid of a good deal on a used one, they are simple and fairly reliable.

4202

Speedlites, Printers, Accessories / Re: BG-E11 questions

« on: March 05, 2012, 08:12:54 PM »

Not sure if this is the first post, but there seems to have been little interest in the grip, but I have a couple of questions, one of which will probably not be answered until it goes on sale.

but I do wonder why a battery grip couldn't have the NP-E3 type battery pack of the 1D series?

The really old and heavy 12 volt LP-E3 nimh batteries were superceded years ago by Lithium ION.  most were very happy to get the much lighter batteries in the 1D MK III and 1DS MK III series.  Now, to meet improved savety of lipon, there are new series 1 that cost  $170 ea

The 5D series cameras use 7.4 volt batteries, so 12 volts will not work. They also cost a lot less.

Having two different batteries and chargers for one camera would also be a big additional expense.

4203

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Why don't DSLRs go low ? ASA 25 equivalent

« on: March 05, 2012, 07:25:41 PM »

Think of the photosites on the sensor as buckets that catch photons.  They can only accept a certain number of photons, and they are full, or saturated.  That determines the lowest ISO. Anything that makes them less sensitive also reduces the high ISO.  Manufacturers use as large of buckets as possible consistent with the number of photosites and the physical size of the sensor.

There is a solution, however, and that is to add a neutral density filter on your lens (like sunglasses) to cut down on the number of photons reaching the sensor so that you can use a wider aperture.  Its similar to why you might wear sunglasses on a bright day,  ... too much light.

4204

EOS Bodies / Re: 5DIII pre-order thread

« on: March 05, 2012, 02:12:02 PM »

I pre-ordered from Amazon. Anyone know what date at the end of March they might start shipping? I'll be in Japan last week of March until April 1st and hope it doesn't ship until I get back.

1.  End of March is a very optomistic shipping date, and that is shipping to Adorama.  Expect a week or two slide at least! 

Adorama will work long and hard to get orders out, but even so, it will take perhaps 2-3 days.  Then add in delivery time.

I'd be happy to have mine in my hands by mid April.

4205

Canon General / Re: How to start up a *successful* home photography business from scratch?

« on: March 05, 2012, 02:04:22 PM »

You might try the pro forum on Fred Miranda's blog.

The competition you have to deal with is the large number of would be professional photographers who buy a camera and start advertising on Craigslist for very low prices.  Most of the time, they are taking snap shots with their on camera flash, and buyers looking for a deal are thrilled to get photos on a CD for a low cost.  Then, when they see their wedding photos are not so good, there is nothing they can do, the event is gone. They may even complain to the BBB and that can hurt a business.  I bought a whole used set of lenses, lighting, and accessories from a neighbor who was doing weddings.  He was good, but came to hate the business side, people always complaining and trying to get lower prices, or wanting refunds.  Its a very tough business.

More discerning and particular people will ask for references, want to see your work, and visit your studio. 

As noted, there is the absolutely important business side as well, keeping books, setting appointments, taking credit cards, advertising, attorney's fees, dealing with unhappy customers and bounced checks, etc. 

You may be better off getting some experience and building a portfolio by working for another photography company.  You may even decide to not start your own business.

Good luck, if you start from scratch, it will be a bumpy path, and only the really good businessmen with real talent and good references will make it to the point where they can put food on the table.

4206

EOS Bodies / Re: 5DMiii at BnH or Amazon?

« on: March 05, 2012, 01:46:22 PM »

Amazon is usually last to ship, B&H or Adorama are first.  They will not cancel your order at the drop of a hat either. 

Amazon is great, I've never not been able to instantly cancel a preorder that is still waiting for the product to arrive. 

The issue is that Amazon cancels pre-orders without asking you.  You might be waiting 3 days or 3 weeks, and suddenly, your pre-order is cancelled by them.  Usually it happens due to simple things like typo's in the listing, but they may also cancel if the order is not filled within 30 days, that seems to be sporadic and is based on consumer laws requiring shipping within 30 days or a confirmation by the customer.

It is extremely frustrating to get on a pre-order list on the first day, and then 3 weeks or more later have your pre-order cancelled and, in effect, being told to go to the back of the line.  In my case, I then went to Adorama and there was no problem getting my 7D in short order, in fact, before Amazon started shipping them.

I do use Amazon Prime, and its nice.  They have a big advantage in that they have warehouses all over the country, this means that there is a warehouse two days or less by ground to you.  Thus, they can negotiate two day shipping with fedex and UPS, or send by USPS and the shipment will not cost them more than ground shipping.  If they are out of stock, then it comes by air from further away.

Adorama and B&H have only the New York shipping location, so they pay more for shipping to customers that are far away. 

Another thing to consider is the complexity that Amazon has with very expensive inventory that is prone to pilfeage and getting new products safely to their many warehouses in a timely manner as well as keeping track of all of it.  Its much simpler and more reliable to have it all in one place, and even then, errors in inventory count happen.

4207

EOS Bodies / Re: Was Canon camera ever...

« on: March 05, 2012, 01:09:08 PM »

I pre-ordered my 5D MK II the day it was announced from Adorama, so this is a common practice.

4208

EOS Bodies / Re: 5DMiii at BnH or Amazon?

« on: March 05, 2012, 12:56:18 PM »

Adorama on the other hand emailed me 8:30 this morning saying it is on back-order. I ordered it 10:30PM PST last night and they already used up their initial allotment with the pre-orders. 

Actually, that isn't the case.

We do not yet know how many units we will receive in the first shipment - and if past releases are anything to go by, neither we, nor any other major retailer, will know how many have been allocated until the trailer is unloaded on the day of delivery!

A back-order email is generated automatically whenever an item is ordered but it isn't on the shelves. So you could receive a b/o email if the units were sitting in the Adorama unloading bay but hadn't yet been entered into our system.

Thanks Helen. 

All the sellers I deal with send a out of stock or backorder e-mail. (I did get mine from Adorama).  And, as you say, no one yet knows the delivery allocations for the initial shipment, but even if the first shipment is missed, a second one will likely come two or three weeks later.  Canon will be almost be certainly making North of 30,000 units a month (Nikon is said to be making that many D800's, and canon will probably be making more), so the first day pre-orders are not going to be long in arriving. 

It is amazing to me that Adorama was able to get those first units charged, processed, and shipped in just a few days.  I'm sure that many long days were put in by the staff.

I ordered my 5D MK II on the first day from Adorama, and I understood that it might not be in the first shipment, but it was delivered from the first batch.  It has never has a glitch for the past 3+ years.  I'm on the pre-order list!

4209

EOS Bodies / Re: Refurbished 5D for $1,759

« on: March 05, 2012, 12:32:43 PM »

Has anyone checked to see if they now have the 5D MK II on the CLP?  That can be a additional 15% or more off.  They had it for a while, but removed it due to the scaricity of refurb bodies.

4210

EOS Bodies / Re: Pretty sure this guy is a time traveler

« on: March 05, 2012, 12:30:30 PM »

So, he said it would be announced on a Saturday??

I don't think there is anything amazing about that, there has never been a new Canon product announced on a Saturday. 

Its only a remore coincidence that he was a day off.  Given enough monkeys and enough time, eventually, they will type the works of William Shakespear.

4211

EOS Bodies / Re: Observation on the D800: Only 1 lens in Nikon's lineup can remotely resolve 36mp

« on: March 05, 2012, 12:25:06 PM »

As an engineer I realize that there are several positive side effects to having more megapixels. However, I think the main reason people are buying the D800 would be for the resolution.

I've spent the better part of the day researching the resolving power of Nikon's entire lens lineup and I've come to an interesting conclusion.

Asside from the super telephoto primes, Nikon only has one lens in it's lineup that can actually resolve 36 megapixels, including their primes etc... the Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.4 G.

So in effect the actual resolution of the D800 is a useless figure. The biggest benefit will probably be the side effect of having enough resolution to remove the AA filter.

It will be interesting to see if the 5D3 with super sharp lenses like the new 24-70mm f/2.8 II or the D800E without an AA filter and less sharp lenses will actually be able to deliver the higher resolution. It seems to be anybody's race.

Just trying to to prompt some interesting discussion. Feel free to comment.

Show us your calculations and assumptions. I'm pretty skeptical.  How did you test or get resolution figures for the lenses?

4212

Lenses / Re: Lens Recommendations - Crop (7D) to Full Frame (5dMk3)?

« on: March 04, 2012, 11:04:48 PM »

Look at the focal lengths you use now and multiply by 1.6 to get the equivalent FF focal length you will need.  If you use 24mm, for example, you will be using 38.4mm on your FF to get the same image at the same distance.

I'd not buy ultra wide lenses until you try the ones you have first.  24mm is pretty wide on FF.  You may want longer lenses though, if you now use 200mm, you will have to have a 300mm lens to get the about same fov.  The 100-400mm L is a good choice for a long telephoto on FF.

4213

Lenses / Re: Best time to buy Canon lenses?

« on: March 04, 2012, 10:57:01 PM »

The economy has depressed prices somewhat.  If things improve, prices will rise, if the economy goes South, none of use will want to spend $$$ on lenses, even on sale.

I'd buy from Canada, or at least compare, the dollar goes a little further in Canada right now.

4214

EOS Bodies / Re: 40D vs 5D3: ISO and lens question

« on: March 04, 2012, 10:53:35 PM »

The 24-105mm f/4.0 IS would look cleaner on the 5D3 than the 17-55mm f/2.8 on the 40D, if the DOF is the same. However they would be about equal with the 5D2, with only a slight improvement.

What makes you think that? On the surface it doesn't make sense.

I would say my 40D is 2 stops worse than my 5D2

I see close to 2 stops looking at my old 40D 1600 ISO jpeg images versus my 5D MK II raw images at ISO 6400.

 Unfortunately I was using jpeg much of the time with my 40D because I did not have a good processor for raw.  I did look at some ISO 800 images taken using the 40D and Raw, and they are at least 2 stops better with the 5D MK II ISO 3200, maybe a bit more.

I have not tried to match my 17-55mm EF-s at f/2.8 ISO 1600 with my 24-105mm L ISO 6400 on the 5D MK II.  ISO's, I don't think its worth it to track them down, and I now use primes in low light with a wider aperture than f/2.8.

4215

EOS Bodies / Re: Can a full frame mirrorless be as good as a full frame DSLR?

« on: March 04, 2012, 10:36:19 PM »

A Canon FF DSLR with live view locks the mirror up and, in effect becomes a FF mirrorless body.  The newer ones use slow phase detect AF or they drop the mirror to do a quick af anf raise it again.  You must use the lcd as a viewfinder.

The image is the same quality in liveview.  A mirrorless body would, be the same net effect as the mirror lockup, except we hope that there is some sort of viewfinder, and fast AF.  Therein lies the problem.