Messages

1

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 1D X FPS limiting factor?

« on: December 29, 2012, 03:41:52 AM »

To answer the OP, I'm pretty sure the limit is in the mechanical shutter, however, like Mt. Spokane mentioned, it's likely that the capabilities of the processors and the buffer are matched to the limitations of the shutter mechanism. It makes no sense to over-engineer something if it can never be used. If they could get 14FPS with the shutter moving, they wouldn't have needed it locked, and it would have been better for them if they could have allowed focusing at 14FPS. Saying JPEG only is not dependent on whether the shutter moves, either. Also, it should have been (relatively) easy to slap more buffer RAM on the board if it were needed to handle more data.

Card speed is definitely a limiting factor, though, but more on the continuous shooting side. If you put 1GB of buffer memory into the camera, but it takes 8 seconds to clear it (and that's with Lexar 1000x cards), once you fill that buffer you're going to be waiting if you want to burst again. They might be able to fit 4GB on there, but then you need to wait half a minute to write the whole buffer out. I think the processors can handle a bit more than the 150MB/s of data the card can, especially if you're shooting clean images (ISO 100). The more noise and the more cleaning functions you turn on, the more you'll tax the logic. And they could always go for more chips if they can find the room. Think quad Digic 5+.

As to the later posts about file sizes, consider this: a 7D and a 1DX are really close to the same MP (same written image size of 5184x3456). However, a 1DX takes FAR cleaner images under almost all circumstances. Cleaner images = better compression. The idea is that a cleaner image is likely to have more pixels that have the same value, so the compression algorithm can more efficiently store that. If every pixel is a different color (because it actually is or because of noise changing the output just slightly), compression falls apart. I just took two pure white images (.6" ISO100 no lens, shot at a lit wall) from a 7D and a 1DX. Both show they're completely blown out in LR. Results: 14,498,781 bytes for the 1DX and 14,223,956 for the 7D. I'd guess that 200KB is mostly extra metadata.

2

Lighting / Re: Batteries for Canon EX 600 RT...

« on: September 02, 2012, 03:12:11 AM »

I've been using Imedion batteries in my 580EX II for almost a year now. They hold their charge very well since they're low-self-discharge, so they won't die quickly if you keep them in your bag. They also have a pretty good life at 2400mAh. Couple that with a PowerEx charger to make sure they aren't cooked by those fast chargers and you should have a system that lasts quite some time. You'll probably still want to keep around a spare set, but I've gone over 800 shots on just one set (almost always less than full dumps, since I don't want to roast the 580EX II), and then I just switch out to the next, get home and put those 4 on the charger. If you're doing a long shoot, take 2 extra sets.

The other thing you can do is get a speedfire to run it off AC, or something like a quantum turbo to give yourself a much bigger battery. Those tend to be pretty good solutions, although they are more pricey. The upside to them is a faster recharge time on the flash. You still need to use internal batteries to power the rest of the flash's functionality.

3

EOS Bodies / Re: 1DX - Ethernet, USB 3.0 or 2.0 for transfer?

« on: August 14, 2012, 12:29:21 PM »

@ihans: What exactly is "very fast" for you? I doubt any macbook is going to suddenly make the camera faster at sending data. I know my computer isn't the weak link.

@M.ST: That's what I do under most circumstances, too, but the point of tethering is that you don't have to keep pulling cards to dump files. That slows down a shoot, making your clients wait to see their files on a big screen.

@Mwindley: All I did was use the connection wizard and set up the connection, just like it outlines in the LAN manual. It seems like you HAVE to use the wizard. If you just try to set it up manually it doesn't look like it ever runs the test at the end to confirm that it can connect, and then it'll never work.

4

EOS Bodies / Re: 1DX - Ethernet, USB 3.0 or 2.0 for transfer?

« on: August 14, 2012, 03:32:48 AM »

So, it appears that the so-called gigabit connection on the 1D X is barely faster than a Fast Ethernet connection. Sustained transfers using both EOS Utility and FTP Server seem to be capped at ~16MB/sec. This is pathetic. $6800 for a camera that can't even transfer information above 1/6 the card's speed.

For the record, transferring data to my FTP server from another computer reveals a 50MB/sec capability over the wire, so it's not the computer bottlenecking. The card in the camera is a 600x card that can easily do 70MB/sec in a Lexar USB3 card reader, too, so it's not that, either. The cables are all CAT6, and the switch is reporting gigabit negotiation on both ends. It looks they just popped a gigabit port off the USB bus in the camera, instead of using a dedicated chip. And even then it's slow, given that USB2 should be able to do around 30MB/sec sustained. (theoretical maximum of USB2 is around 60MB/sec, but you'll never see anything close).

It's a good thing we have USB2 and Fast Ethernet on a flagship camera from 2011. Don't know why they even wasted the space putting the port in.

5

Canon General / Re: Insurance for Camera gear

« on: August 13, 2012, 03:44:24 PM »

In the U.S. what you want is normally called an inland marine policy, which covers actual replacement cost in the event of loss/damage. Couple that with liability in case you hit someone with that giant lightbox and you're good to go for a pro. Costs are usually around $2.00 - $4.00 per $1,000 per year. Companies that specialize in photographer's insurance are effectively giving you this. I'd imagine they have something similar in Europe. Best bet would be to call your current insurance company and see what they offer, and then shop around for other rates based on what they tell you.

Personal articles policies are fine if you're a hobbyist. If you make a single dime off your services, though, you'd better get it converted, because they'll deny your claim in a heartbeat if they find out. If you're planning on making money, you're already depreciating/writing off your equipment anyway, so get a business policy and write that off, too.

6

Pricewatch Deals / Re: Big Lexar Memory Card Deals at B&H

« on: August 02, 2012, 03:03:06 PM »

According to B&H's page, the sale will be around all month, so you have a little bit of time to scrape together the money to get 'em. And if you have a 5DIII or 1D X it's well worth it to get them if you like to machine gun. 

7

EOS Bodies / Re: 1DX - Ethernet, USB 3.0 or 2.0 for transfer?

« on: July 16, 2012, 07:37:08 PM »

You can always install another FTP server on Windows Home Premium, like the FileZilla Server, which is free. Might have to open a couple ports on the firewall if you have it enabled, but that's trivial.

8

EOS Bodies / Re: 1DX - Ethernet, USB 3.0 or 2.0 for transfer?

« on: July 16, 2012, 04:02:50 PM »

I'm actually very interested in this as well. My idea is this: get a small (13-14") laptop with an SSD, hook it up directly over gigabit, and then set up an FTP server to dump the images to. If it ACTUALLY works at gigabit speeds, that's ~110MB/sec. That acts as a tertiary backup for the dual cards, as well as allows you to near-instantly get a bigger view of the pictures even if you're firing away at high speeds (just set up Lightroom to monitor the folder). My 7D over USB2 is dog slow with tethering.

One of the big reasons I sprung for the 1D X instead of the 5D3 is because of this. The 5D3 is crippled by having to use a USB2 interface to link to the WFT, which caps out at 35MB/sec (and is even slower sustained). I'm hoping that since it's built-in, it's running at wire speeds, and isn't attached to the USB bus. If it really isn't, then I may consider getting a 5D3 instead, as the other perks of the 1D-X are mostly able to be worked around (grip can be purchased, wft can be purchased) and it's still cheaper than a 1D X.

Would someone be able to run a test for this? Even using the EOS software, you should be able to monitor the network connection with task manager to see how much it's really transferring. You'll probably need some fast disks, though. SSD would work the best.

9

EOS Bodies / Re: B&H 1DX Order Fulfillment Tracking

« on: July 07, 2012, 02:39:02 PM »

It's also entirely possible that they don't use fully sequential ordering on their invoices. With larger sale systems, you have to worry about multiple systems all trying to add records at the same time, and they may have a database cluster, as well. So, different servers would use different numbers for the last digit. It may be that they only got 500 orders, and the last digit is there to ensure there are no collisions on the order number.

At least, I certainly hope so, or the order I placed on 3/16 might just be my Christmas present.

10

EOS Bodies / Re: B&H 1DX Order Fulfillment Tracking

« on: July 05, 2012, 04:25:50 PM »

I ordered online 3/16 at 6:23pm EST, order #1019913xxx

I can almost guarantee I'm not going to be in the first few shipments, but I do hope I'm not going to have to wait another two months to get this camera. I've been waiting too long dagnabbit!