Topics

46

Canon General / Birders don't use Canons?

« on: October 17, 2011, 02:33:12 PM »

Okay, while everyone waits for the announcement (or possibly non-announcement) of a new DSLR, I thought I'd start a new topic for entertainment purposes.

New movie out in the U.S. "The Big Year" is a semi-comedy about competitive bird watching. I couldn't help but notice the incredible job of product placement done by Nikon. Basically, everyone in the movie (aside from one scene using an Olympus) was using a Nikon camera or Nikon binoculars usually with a Nikon-branded strap prominently displayed.

I didn't see a single Canon in the movie. Just a coincidence I'm sure.

I don't know what models of DSLRs they were using, but I was amazed at the pictures they all seemed to capture, especially since most of them seemed to be using kit lenses. I guess I must be doing something wrong.

So, let's have some fun. What's your favorite/most amusing/most preposterous film scene involving a camera? What clever photo product placements have you seen in the movies or on television recently?

47

Software & Accessories / Adorama has Lightroom Half Off

« on: September 01, 2011, 03:00:32 PM »

I just noticed Adorama is running a one-day (ends at midnight, Sept. 1) 50% rebate on Light Room if anyone is so inclined. Canon Rumors Guy would probably prefer that you click through from this site, BTW.

48

PowerShot Cameras / Fuji X10

« on: August 31, 2011, 05:04:32 PM »

Okay, it hasn't been released yet, but I'm getting kind of excited about the new Fuji X10.

On paper it looks a lot like what I'd like to see in a Canon G13. Thoughts?

49

Software & Accessories / 7-D won't fire with Flash

« on: August 12, 2011, 09:30:10 PM »

Okay, this happened to me again tonight and I'm wondering if anyone is familiar with this phenomenon.

I was shooting some portraits using my 7D with two 580 EXIIs mounted off camera and a 430 EX II as a third light to separate the subject from the background. Triggering the flash through the on-camera infrared pop up.

Shooting RAW. Initially, while shooting, everything was going fine and then I began to have a problem where the shutter button would not work and the viewfinder readout says "busy."  I'd have to pause and wait for several seconds before it would clear and let me shoot. I'd get off one shot and it would do the same thing.

When this first happened, I thought the camera was waiting for the flashes to recycle, so I bought battery packs for the 580s. But, it still happens. I thought maybe it was the 430 not recycling, so tried shutting that down. Still hangs up.

This has happened on a number of occasions and I've tried several different things, but can't seem to figure out where the problem is. One time, I tried switching out the memory card, even though it wasn't full. That seemed to help, but not consistently.

Clearly, the camera is waiting for something to clear or recycle, but I can't figure out what it might be. Anyone else ever have this problem or have any ideas.

Thanks.

50

Software & Accessories / To HDR or Not To HDR

« on: July 27, 2011, 12:41:03 PM »

Getting a little boring now with the lack of good rumors. So, time to spice things up a bit.

What do people think about High Dynamic Range?

Do you love it? Hate it? Never use it? Always use it? Find it annoying or the greatest thing since sliced bread?

When I first saw the effect a few years ago, I was intrigued. Some of the shots seemed very other-worldly and I wondered how they were made. Now, I admit, I'm getting a little bored with the whole look. Too many mediocre images hiding behind a special effect. I've never used it and when I've experimented with it, I've found I tend to like the "natural" look better.

So what do you think? Will this become the expected standard for all pictures or is it just a passing fancy?

51

EOS Bodies / Will Canon Withdraw from the Megapixel War?

« on: June 20, 2011, 10:38:19 PM »

Nikon Rumors is reporting that Sony will soon announce a 24mp APS-C Sensor which is likely to become the foundation for the next generation of the D300.

That got me thinking, will Canon continue to up the ante in the megapixel war, or will they, at some point, decide to shift strategies and open up a new front (increased dynamic range, improved high ISO, superior noise control)?

Certainly, they have the technology and expertise to keep increasing the megapixel count, but I wonder if they might decide that a more modest increase (say 22mp) in the next generation of APS-C sensors, coupled with an extra stop or two of speed and improved image quality might be more advantageous.

I'm generally a fan of more megapixels, but I'm beginning to wonder if there is much point to going too much bigger. With a native size of over 21 x 14 inches (at 240 ppi) the current 18 mp sensor is more than sufficient for most needs.

At some point, the trade off in file size outweighs the benefits of a native size that exceeds anything that even most professionals will ever need. (Yes, portrait, wedding and commercial photographers need the larger sizes, but most photographers shooting for publication, either in print or on the web, don't. And, yes, I know that folks like Macfly need the resolution for their work, but photographers at that level aren't ever going to be shooting with an APS-C camera).

Anyone who's read any of my past posts know that I am definitely not one of those "fewer megapixels are better" people. Frankly, I think that is ridiculous. But, I do understand the law of diminishing returns and I can't help thinking that we may be reaching that point.

I have tremendous respect for Canon's market savvy and I wonder if they might decide that they can really shake things up and gain a competitive advantage by taking the market in a totally new and unexpected direction.

52

Lenses / Canon Lens Price Drops

« on: May 30, 2011, 06:02:58 PM »

Photo Rumors is reporting modest price drops (most are $50 or less) on a number of Canon lenses. Not enough to make me rush out and buy anything, but I'll take any price drop as a good thing. Especially since the trend has been in the other direction.

53

Canon General / Canon Refurbished

« on: May 27, 2011, 05:45:23 PM »

Does anyone out there know how Canon determines which lenses (and cameras) they will offer through their refurbished store?

Please...no guesses...or making up answers. I can do that myself.

Here is what I'm getting at. I check the refurbished site regularly (mostly to dream) and yes, right now, almost all of the lenses listed are shown as "out of stock." I understand that. Availability is contingent upon what they happen to have at the time.

No, what I am talking about is why certain lenses and cameras don't even have a listing. For example, almost every version of the 70-200mm is listed including the F2.8 II. Granted, most are out of stock right now, but they keep the listing anyway. On the other hand, there is no listing at all for the 400mm 5.6 for example. I wonder why. It sure seems like, given the fact that the 400 mm f5.6 has been around for centuries, that there ought to be a few out there that come in for refurbishing.  They've got the cheapest 70-300 mm lenses listed (can't even figure out how it would be cost-effective to refurbish some of these) but other lenses aren't listed.

Same way with cameras. They list the ID MkIV. But not the 5D. In the PowerShot category they don't list the G12 or G11. Again they list lots of Powershots that I can't imagine would be worth refurbishing.

Just curious if anyone has ever read or knows how they determine what to offer and what not to offer.

54

Software & Accessories / Neck strap alternatives

« on: April 25, 2011, 09:25:17 AM »

Anyone out there have any actual experience with some of the newer alternatives to neck straps? I'd love to find something a bit more comfortable when hiking but many of the things I see advertised look more like gimmicks than practical alternatives. Anyone have any experience with these?

55

Lenses / Something New to Argue About

« on: April 01, 2011, 11:50:01 AM »

I get bored with the never ending bigger megapixels vs. more megapixels war.

So, I thought I'd ask a new question that could start up a different battle for a change. Seriously though, I would like hear some informed opinions on this.

In practice, is there a diminishing return on focal length and if so, at what focal length would most people consider that diminishing return to occur?

Let me explain: As a user who is not an engineer, my experience has been that there are big gains in reach at the mid-range of telephotos. (Going from a 135mm to a 200mm feels like a big jump and going from 200mm to 300 also feels like a big jump. Going from 200 to 400 is huge.)

But, it seems like at some point, the gain in reach from a longer lens doesn't really offset the downsides of size, weight, speed, cost, etc.

I'm not talking about professional sports or wildlife shooters, but rather, for us mere mortals who have to pay for the equipment ourselves and can't charge it off to a client base.

Of course, ISO speed enters into this as well. Shoot with a shorter lens at a lower ISO and crop, or use a longer lens and a higher ISO?

Telephotos are often described by angle of view and the gains in angle of view get incrementally smaller as the lens gets longer. Is it really worth shaving a couple of degrees off the angle of view? What's that really mean in practice?

And, of course, there is the whole issue of APS-C crops. Since a 200mm feels like a 320mm and a 300 feels like a 480mm on a 1.6 crop sensor, how does that affect the trade off at the long end.

I got the idea for the question while reading the discussion board on the Sigma 50-500 and wondering, with my 7D the Canon 100-400 scales out to 640mm, while the "Bigma" scales out to 800mm. But really, what does that mean in practical terms? Would that extra 160mm really be noticeable at those lengths?

Just offering this up as new point of discussion while we all wait for news from Japan.

56

EOS Bodies / Godwin's Law for Digital Photographers

« on: February 13, 2011, 03:56:54 PM »

Having seen one more discussion forum devolve into a debate over megapixels, I'm suggesting a digital version of Godwin's Law, along with a ruling that the first person who raises the issue in any forum is automatically declared a loser.

57

Software & Accessories / Thoughts on 430EX

« on: January 25, 2011, 01:47:52 PM »

I'd like to get the opinion/advice of others on the forum.

I have a 580 EXII which I really love. I'm thinking of adding another flash to use as a slave/fill. Leaning toward the 430EX II. Since I can use the 580 or my 7D as the remote trigger and won't need as high of a guide number for the second strobe, I'd rather save the $170 difference between the 430 and 580.

Can someone give me a good reason why a second 580 EXII would be a better choice, especially given that I can almost buy two 430s for the same price?

58

Site Information / Mozilla Bug

« on: July 26, 2010, 05:57:23 PM »

Just wanted you to know, I think there is a problem with the site in Firefox. The "Price Watch" section has dropped into the body of the site and the links don't work. Works fine on Internet Explorer, but doesn't seem to work on Firefox. At least not on mine.