Messages

91

EOS Bodies / Re: 7D Sensor...

« on: February 13, 2012, 10:35:57 AM »

I disagree.

The 7D has the best APS-C sensor currently offered by Canon.  The features that differentiate it from the lower models are build, AF, fps, etc. 

If the 7D had a larger sensor - even slightly larger - the image circle of EF-S lenses would not cover it. So...bad idea.

neuroanatomist: I recently went out shooting for a week with my brother inlaw. He has a 7d and a 24-70. I have a 550d and Tamron 17-50. Over the week we exchanged cameras several times for hours at a time. I expected his 7d+24-70 to blow the 550d away. Well, I was in for a surprise. Overall, the 550d + Tammy where at least as good as the 7d. I would even dare that in some cases they where better. When shooting at night in low light on a tripod, the 7d took quite a few seconds to digest each shot - the 550d was much quicker?

Bottom line is (my impression) that placing aside all of the 7d's pro qualities as far as AF, body, etc. from a pure IQ point of view - I saw no large advantage - and even seem to feel a certain annoying softness in the images.

Strange ? Can you comment?

Has your brother-in-law micro-adjusted the AF on his 7D with the 24-70? That should have gotten the focus right on.
Have you micro-adjusted the AF on your 550D with your Tamron 17-50? Oh, I dont think the 550D can microadjust. I know the 60D does not. That is something that was dropped during the "upgrade" from the 50D to the 60D 

92

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Just how strong is the Magnesium Alloy construction?

« on: February 12, 2012, 08:31:13 PM »

Uh, cliff notes version, I went to sleep with it on my tripod, tethered to my computer transferring a full card of RAW files over - tripod legs retracted, its about a foot off the ground. I woke up, somehow managed to kick the camera... and in slow, slow motion it fell... hit the ground...

and now the bit with the canon logo broke off. yes it hurt, yes i was stupid =(

canon says they can replace it, it'll cost RM199 to replace the front plate - not overly expensive i guess, but i expected magnesium alloy to be stronger... thankfully, the lens is okay - at least, i think its okay....its going in for a checkup as well - sending all my lenses in for calibration since the camera has to be sent off anyway....

considering I've seen (and heard of) videos/stories where the falls have been worse... im actually a bit surprised it just went crack - For what its worth, it cracked across the two screw holes, so that could have weakened it quite a bit....

I feel your pain and hope everything else is fine. BTW, have you bought a card reader yet?

93

Lenses / Re: Next 5D Kit Lens

« on: February 12, 2012, 07:02:03 PM »

I think Canon is stuck going with an AF lens. That's not what I would like but I think that's what will happen.

I would like to see a choice. Body only, 24-105 kit or new 24-70 f/2.8 II

Edit: 2/17 Senior Moment - I thought I said IS lens. Also probably "need" a zoom.

94

EOS Bodies / Re: buy 7D now or 5D Mark II later?

« on: February 12, 2012, 02:02:21 PM »

As far as cost goes the 7D (refurb) is available on the CLP for about $1085 + tax IIRC. The 5D2 is not available on the CLP. My first 7D was bought new on the Pro9000 Mark II printer deal (2+ yrs ago?). Liked it so much that when I found out about the CLP I bought a second one. I think the 7D is a great camera for wildlife and birds ( and a lot less expensive than the 1D4  .

There is a knock on the 5D2 about its autofocus. A lot of people will tell you that it isn't really true and they have no problem. I started with a 50D and its 9 cross AF points. The 5D2 has 9 AF points but only the center is a cross. When I added my first 7D its 19 point (all cross) AF made a big difference to me. If you are shooting landscape I see no problem with the 5D2 autofocus. If you are shooting weddings and events I think the 50D AF would be a help but nothing big. But for birds and wildlife the 7D AF makes a big difference.

Then there is the "crop factor" thing. Folks who don't shoot birds will tell you to just get a longer lens. I was able to eventually get a 500mm f/4L IS which yields a FOV like an 800mm on a FF body. There was no way I could spend for the 800mm. At times my 500 is "shorter" than I need and I add a 1.4x extender getting a 700mm f/5.6 IS with a 1120mm FOV on the 7D. If you add a 1.4x to the 800mm f/5.6 you get an 1120mm f/8 lens that wont autofocus on the 5D2. It may focus on the 1DX if Canon fixes the "problem" with its "no f/8 AF".

For what you shoot I'd go with the 7D. If you change to weddings I'd go with the 5D2. I'm thinking of adding a "Landscape Kit" to my birds and wildlife setup and would buy a 5D2 myself for that.

95

EOS Bodies / Re: Which one ???

« on: February 12, 2012, 01:24:21 PM »

My first DSLR kit was the 50D and the 100-400 (and the 28-135 kit lens). I wanted to take photos of the large Florida birds after we moved here. The 7D was introduced later and I looked, read reviews and decided it was good for me. Saved and got one. Liked it so much that I wanted a second to replace my 50D. Discovered the CLP and ordred my second.

The autofocus alone made this a superior camera to the 50D for BIF. I had been shooting the 50D tripod mounted on a 500mm and the 7D handheld on my 100-400mm but the second 7D made the whole operation better.

Get the 7D, after the first month or so you won't regret it  The autofocus will take some time to really master but the 7D is worth it.

96

Lenses / Re: What will the new mk. IV Canon Extenders have

« on: February 12, 2012, 10:06:04 AM »

I wonder about manual focus on a 600mm f/11 lens 

97

EOS Bodies / Re: When do you expect to see CR3 rated 5D/3D rumors?

« on: February 10, 2012, 10:06:53 PM »

If 7D mk2, 5D x (or mk3), 3D, 70D and 650D as well as a whole bunch of lenses get released this year, what are we going to speculate about in 2013??? 

"Will there be a 1D5 release in 2013?"

98

Lenses / Re: Handheld shooting: FF vs. Crop

« on: February 10, 2012, 02:40:58 PM »

I guess I was more concerned about camera shake. I am hoping that since the FF is not cropped, it won't be as sensitive to camera shake.

Expanding on that thought...

Example: a 300mm lens on a crop camera vs a 300mm lens on a fullframe camera will physically have the same 'blur' distance on the sensor. But the crop camera blows up a small part of the image, including the blur distance contained in it, so the blur is more prominent relative to the final image size than for the fullframe camera. Note however that 300mm on a crop camera is the equivalent focal length of 480mm on a fullframe camera. So the increased shake is 'to be expected'. In this comparison, we're not comparing apples to apples; we're comparing different effective focal lengths.

So if you want the same FOV on both cameras you would need a 500mm on the FF to equal the 300mm on the crop. I imagine one would shake a 500 more than one would shake a 300. And I don't want to get into the difference in cost. 

99

Lenses / Re: 36+ Mp EOS dSLR (rumored): How do existing EF lenses cope?

« on: February 09, 2012, 10:46:00 PM »

I still have a functioning 8088 based computer running dos 3.0 and has a 10mb hd

Is that a full height 5 1/4 inch drive or one of the new half height ones.

100

EOS Bodies / Re: Would we be asking too much?

« on: February 09, 2012, 01:04:50 PM »

With all these folks jumping to Nikon, perhaps I should consider their used equipment and build a nice landscape kit in addition to my birds/wildlife kit.

101

EOS Bodies / Re: Childish Behaviour

« on: February 08, 2012, 11:53:11 AM »

I'm with you here. I like having as many MP's as possible. Why? Cropping! I shoot birds. And those of you who do well understand the phenomenon. And those of you who would tell me to just get a longer lens, two problems:

1. I don't have 12,000 spare bucks hanging around.

2. An 800 5.6 is very hard to take and use in many of the places I like to go. Humping through the everglades with my current lens is hard enough...

So, is cropping the ideal solution? Maybe not on paper, and perhaps not in a forum discussion, but on the field, and back home on my computer, it is the ideal solution for me.

re:#2 Right now Artie Morris is out on his Southwest Florida Workshop and probably has a porter/caddy carrying his 800, 1D4, Gitzo tripod and gimbal head. He blogged about wanting someone to carry his 800 setup and they could carry their own smaller kit and attend all the workshop functions for free.

Like you the 800 and new Series II superteles are out of my range. But I may get a 1D4 before the go away.

102

EOS Bodies / Re: Rebates extended?

« on: February 05, 2012, 07:28:53 PM »

I had been thinking of starting a FF landscape kit last month.

Looked at B&H prices: 5D2 + 24-105 kit: $2899 - 100 = $2799 and 17-40: $797 - 90 = $707. $2799 + 707 = $3506.

Just saw that there are Double Rebates with a DSLR purchase. How lucky am I? I want a DSLR kit and an extra lens. Checked B&H again: 5D2 + 24-105 kit: $2999 (OH?) - 100 = $2899 and 17-40: $797 - 60x2 (OH? Not 90x2?) = $677. $2899 + 677 = $3576.

Double rebate and it only costs me an extra $76. Love these rebate things.

At $3346 I would have jumped but now I think I was right last month when I decided to wait until something happens on the 5D3 front and then decide 2 or 3. Waiting. 

103

Lenses / Re: Canon Rebates Extended Until March 3, 2012?

« on: February 05, 2012, 01:01:39 PM »

I guess we will have to wait to see the prices (starting point) at the dealers to know how the deals changed from those that ended Saturday.  Going to check B&H and Adorama

104

EOS Bodies / Re: Rebates extended?

« on: February 04, 2012, 08:22:27 PM »

Looks like they cut the rebates to 2/3 of what they were (17-40 from $90 to $60, 70-200 f/2.8 II from $300 to $200, etc). The newer TS lenses (17 & 24) are gone, only the older 40? and 90 are there.

Stops me from changing my mind to pass on a few things.

105

EOS Bodies / Re: Poll regarding the lack of f/8 autofocus in the 1D X. Please - EVERYBODY Vote!

« on: February 04, 2012, 08:10:12 PM »

Well, I'm living with a pair of 7Ds because I didn't have the money for a pair of 1D4s. I use the 1.4x on my 500mm f/4L IS. If I went full frame I would need the 800mm f/5.6 to equal the 500 FOV. Since I use the 1.4x on the 500 I would use a 1.4x on the 800 which would then be an f/8 lens. Then I would have to find a 1Ds3 to focus at f/8, the 1DX would not cut it.

I also use the 1.4x on my lightweight 70-200 f/4L IS because the 70-300L was not out yet.

I'm wondering if I should attack the photography budget   go deep into debt and buy a 1D4 before they are gone and then have an upgrade path available. Or perhaps pray the 7D2 or 7D3 will have an answer.

Or maybe I should give up birds and wildlife and move to landscape. Sell all the white stuff, the bigger Gitzo, the Wimberley, the crop bodies and buy a 5D2 and some short black Ls.

If you gave me a 1DX I'd try to sell it without opening the box.