Messages

511

United States / Re: Looking at 70-200 F4 IS vs 70-200 F2.8 Non-IS

« on: November 26, 2011, 07:22:46 AM »

I have the 70-200 f2.8IS II.  Wonderful lens, but it's a brick in my camera bag.

A friend has the f4.  Wonderful little lens, gorgeous photos, and a delight to carry vs the 2.8s.

512

Lenses / Re: Filter for direct sun photography

« on: November 25, 2011, 02:49:57 PM »

Shooting video of the sun with my 400mm f2.8 has not damaged my sensor at all, and most of us have included the sun in a photo from time to time without effect on the sensor.

Eyes on the other hand do deserve more protection. I use a welding shield I have, and can stare at the sun all day long.

513

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: How bad is the AF on 5DmkII really?

« on: November 23, 2011, 07:10:01 PM »

I own both a 7D and a 5DII.  When I shoot sports, the 7D is my primary camera. 

My 5DII is an awesome camera, but it does feel like Canon went out of it's way to limit in a few areas to keep it from cutting 1D/1Ds sales.  Now I sell stock, and the 5DII is my primary for almost everything I shoot besides sports.  I have never been unhappy with it's AF system, I just don't expect it to be a 7D.

In any case if sports was my primary focus, I'd buy the 7D way before a 5DII.  Strap the best 70-200 you can afford on it and you have a sports machine gun rivaled only by 5000+ camera, and then by only a small margin.

514

United States / Re: Fungus removal?

« on: November 23, 2011, 11:19:17 AM »

it can be fixed, but a complete tear down - rebuild of a lens like hat can be $1000+. 

This is my repair shop: http://www.sp-ts.com/ Call them or similar, describe the problem and try and get an idea what it will cost.

515

Lenses / Re: RIP Canon EF 15 f/2.8 Fisheye

« on: November 22, 2011, 01:18:17 PM »

What a lot of people don't realize is that you can use it on a full frame down to just below 14mm. The difference between 15mm and 14mm is quite large, and I'm really glad I've got that extra mm over the original one.

Yes, at 14mm, (maybe even 13.75), there is no vignetting. 

Admittedly, a huge disadvantage of the 8-15mm lens is the cost.  But the 15mm prime will be around available used for the next 20+ years or so, and the Sigma is probably here to stay as well.

516

Lenses / Re: Retail Markup. How much do stores really pay for the equipment they sell us?

« on: November 22, 2011, 01:08:59 PM »

Profits on cameras and lenses are pretty low, and there is very little room to make deals.  Camera stores will generally make most of their money on accessories: filters, bags, cleaning supplies etc.

Don't get me wrong, that sucks, I wish I could find that one store with 50% off on the lens I'm lusting after, but it's the reality of the situation.

517

Lighting / Re: Canon flash mounting

« on: November 22, 2011, 11:50:03 AM »

Here you can see the bracket in use with a 580:

518

EOS Bodies / Re: how much should i expect to pay for T3i ?

« on: November 22, 2011, 09:52:56 AM »

The heavy discount places can sometimes pay off, but more often do not.  It's a judgment call, and depends on how much you value your time.

519

Lenses / Re: RIP Canon EF 15 f/2.8 Fisheye

« on: November 21, 2011, 11:02:48 PM »

Had the Sigma before, and loved that lens. Looooooove my 8-15.  It's wider than the Sigma. (It's 15mm is ever so slightly wide than the Sigmas 15mm) and it's still FF at 14mm, where it is considerably wider. For video you can go to 13.5. It's sharper than the sigma, especially way out on the corners.

FF fisheye on crop camera bodies is great.  i do shoot with a 7D in addition to my 5DII and knowing i can jump to FF fisheye on the 7D can be great.  This can be great in video mode.

Circular fisheye?  Not really my cup of tea, but I am trying to shoot it occasionally. 

520

Lenses / Re: Gear Acquisition Syndrome: please help!!!

« on: November 21, 2011, 02:31:08 AM »

You have a great camera and think you're taking amateur photos.  You think you need some other piece of gear.  A lens, a flash, another camera.

The painful truth...  You need knowledge and practice.  What books about photography did you read today?  Which instructional websites and youtube videos did you study?  Photoshop magazines poured through?  Photography club meeting attended?  How many thousand shots did you shoot this week?  How many of those did you post and seek critiques of? (not ridicules flickr awards)

Actually, I liked your Cuba shots.  But my point is, the photographer is more important than the equipment.  There are an insane amount of resources for learning, most of it free.  Tap in.

521

EOS Bodies / Re: Help! I'm impatient!

« on: November 21, 2011, 12:17:14 AM »

There will always be a better camera available.  What happens when you get you 5d, and you meet someone with a 1DX?  How about a Lieca S2?   The photographer shooting next to you may have it.

Deal with it. 

Outshoot the guy with a better camera.  Learn more than him, practice more than him, know your cameras controls better than him, move to better shooting positions than him. Show his girlfriend your better photos!

522

EOS Bodies / Re: Smartphone picture quality is amazing now! Watch out Canon!

« on: November 20, 2011, 11:04:01 PM »

This is an advertisement.  For a lens rental place.   At the end the guy with the best photos is shooting a Canon DSLR with a 500mm f4 IS.  The people shooting with cell phones are.... in an advertisement.  Actors?  People shooting casual shots?  Not under any illusion that their photos will look like the guy with $10K+ in equipment?

Does Canon Rumors allow advertising like this?

Did you take this seriously?

523

Lens Gallery / Re: Canon 400 f/2.8 IS

« on: November 20, 2011, 08:38:31 PM »

I love this lens.  Something made me buy it 2 years ago, used, and today it's worth about $2K more than I paid.  But I can't think of selling it.  In fact I dream of obtaining it's 200mm and 600mm siblings and having a little family of them.  It's  dream to shoot with, assuming you have a monopod, or tripod with the right head.  I have a 2X and 1.4X multiplier that I also purchased used.  These really add to the lenses usefulness. 



IMG_8348 by TexPhoto, on Flickr


Untitled by TexPhoto, on Flickr


Untitled by TexPhoto, on Flickr

524

Lens Gallery / Re: Canon Body Nikon Glass!

« on: November 20, 2011, 08:18:42 PM »

When I setiched from Nikon to Canon 3 years ago (the 5D 2 was the reason), I had a 6 month old Nikon 14-24mm zoom.  A very nice lens, I bought a very nice adapter and used it a few times.  I hated it.  I had focus confirmation, but still it seem awquard, I had f stop control, but only via an odd little lever that dimmed the view... etc.

I sold the lens.  It just did not feel right.  Like driving a Ferrari down a muddy hill.

525

Speedlites, Printers, Accessories / Re: Next Canon Flashes With Exposure Based on Color Temperature?

« on: November 20, 2011, 08:12:34 PM »

With todays flash, you get one temperature of light from the flash, and another from the ambient light.  Your foreground and background will then have different light temperatures on them making color correction difficult, even from the RAW photo.

So... a flash that could mimic the color of the ambient light, would mean foreground and background could then both be corrected with the same fix, or the camera could do it automatically.

Sounds very high-tech, and like the kind of thing I would never use.