Messages

136

PowerShot / Re: Boy Scout Photography Class - Thoughts?

« on: January 05, 2013, 03:50:49 PM »

I suppose a bikini glamour model would not work?  That would keep their attention. 

hahahhahaha

It would distract the Instructor... (me!).   

137

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 5D3 & 600ex-rt + AF assist beam = slower focus

« on: January 05, 2013, 03:45:16 PM »

Simply put, the 6D outperforms the 5D3 for low light focusing.

Having neither access to a 5d3 or 6d, but wanting to decide for one sooner or later it's rather difficult because it's very fuzzy what "low light" is (few people posting state their lens, object distance + shutter&aperture) - and how fast either camera focuses with af assist disabled in lower light.

On the one hand, I am amazed how many people have this problem w/o an official Canon confirmation, on the other hand if the issue is really as severe as it appears to be for "5d3-like" situations there should be an even larger outcry - or Canon really changed something on the latest hardware?

Summing it up, I understand this is an important issue for lower-light shooting like events and receptions where even the up to -2lv 5d3 needs the af beam, and there is no solution in sight except probably using non-Canon flashes, correct?

It's a frustrating issue for the reasons you state.  It's a moving target kind of intermittent problem because it seems like some folks have dealt with it in a big way, others aren't sure (or don't use or care about low light shooting) and still others don't see any problem whatsoever and seem to think the low light AF works better than anything they've ever seen.  I had a major problem with it myself, exchanged the camera and I now think it merely works OK, it's not a total show stopper anymore but it doesn't blow me away either.

I would suggest you rent or borrow both the 5D3 and the 6D and see for yourself based on how/what you shoot.  For me, I wouldn't have paid much attention to the 6D if the 5D3 had worked as well as I thought it should have in low light.  Focus hunting and missing shots doesn't  = 'working well'  to me.  As things stand at this point in time, my use bears out that the 6D works better in low light.  YMMV.

As for using non-Canon flashes, setting tweaks, etc I can't give you a good opinion because none of it matters in my use.  The functionality was the same in general no matter how I tried to help the problem.  I guess the AF Assist from a Yongnou 622C helps a little but I don't use AF Assist so it doesn't matter to me.  (I do have the 622C units, they are pretty neat but the beam cluster is a bit off center.)  The small SunPak RD2000 flash I have used for years doesn't have AF Assist, won't work with the 622C and I'm not going to start using a big flash just to gain the AF Assist beam that I never needed in the past with my 5Dc.  Plus, I don't like distracting people with flashing things in low light.  If you read my numerous posts earlier in this thread, I don't want to trade the embarrassment of poor AF delays for the embarrassment of flashing distractions in low light.  Just what I want in a church service, flashing patterns on the pastor, alter and front of the sanctuary.  (Now that I have a silent shutter!)

Sorry for the length.  Feel free to share your thoughts and experience and contact me if you like.  Good Luck! 

138

Lenses / Re: Educate me about why 70mm <> 70mm...

« on: January 05, 2013, 02:00:26 PM »

In both instances, the image on the lower pic is larger.  Did you measure from the focal plane of the camera?

+1  Notice the focal plane marking on the top of your camera.  Try a more precise test measuring from that point.

I think you have an excellent question.  What follows is my opinion and I also look forward to a more educated answer.

Refer back to your option #1.  The numbers painted on the lens are indeed somewhat approximated.  Like all other things in the real world, nothing is totally exact.  There are always slight variations to the established range because the range designation is meant for reference, not perfection.  It should be somewhat identical to all other lenses of that design, but not exactly the same when compared to other designs.  You will find that the aperture is also not exact when compared to the spec, if you could measure it exactly that is.  This variation from spec is seen in many reviews (esp when super-tele-zooms are reviewed) where the advertised apertures and zoom ranges are tested.  The advertised numbers are often a bit inflated to make the lens seem a bit better than it really is.

I don't think there is anything wrong, it's just a good observation on your part.  I look forward to the discussion...

139

Animal Kingdom / Re: O give me a home, where the buffalo roam

« on: January 05, 2013, 01:09:39 PM »

That's a great shot with the mono reeds in the background and the tongue lick!  What a fun shot!

I do wish your watermark wasn't quite so big and distracting.  That cotton pickin' BUFFALO(!) watermark!  (Pardon my foul language!  LOL)   

140

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Zeikos Lp-e6 battery does not work with canon charger that came with 6d

« on: January 05, 2013, 01:03:09 PM »

Wow.  That's interesting.  This is new info to me.  I already knew about the 6D camera not reading off brand batteries but I didn't realize they had gone as far as not charging off brand batteries with the Canon charger.  Good to know!  Thanks!  In this case, I guess even if someone gets around the battery lockout with a firmware hack, they will still need a 3rd Party charger to charge the battery.  Thanks Canon.

When I get a new camera, I take as little out of the box as necc so if I have to return it, I haven't disturbed most of the accessories.  I never use the neck strap, etc anyway.  So for now, all I have taken out of my 6D box is the battery, camera and viewfinder eyepiece.  (I wouldn't have even taken out the battery for a while until I realized I would need another "genuine" Canon battery for the 6D.)  I've got plenty of chargers already and they all work with all my batteries including the 5D3 charger.

So this 6D battery/charger thing is totally new as of the 6D and I expect it is the new normal going forward...

141

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: BLOWN away.

« on: January 05, 2013, 12:48:54 PM »

The other deal-breaker for me is second-rate color rendition. Sure, colors look fine to 99% of the general public who buy this, but to a Colorist like me for whom color is everything, the colors don't sing anywhere near as well as they do on my Nikons or Canons. In fact, my iPhone 5 even has better color rendition.

I'm an artist. When I speak of color rendition, I'm speaking of how well the camera interprets reality, not laboratory accuracy. Lab accuracy isn't relevant to me — I just need the photos to look great! right out of the camera.

That's a lot even for his standards.

his "standards" are +maximum on saturation.
and he is shooting JPG´s.

the guys a clown nothing more.

i guess 90% here know that... but i always find it dangerous to quote "ken "oh the colors" rockwell without making that crystal clear.

Full Disclosure - I get a kick out of reading Ken.  I think many take him too literally, half of his stuff is meant in a satirical way and the other half is often not too far off.  Most folks don't need most of the high end crap that is marketed to death every year by the big camera names.  If people want to spend the high $$ because they can afford it, great.  But honestly, if someone knows what they're doing, they can create great images with a rebel and a decent EF lens or two.  D series bodies and L lenses aren't required.  (Except for the 5Dc, that was a game changer for me and it won't break the bank either.)

That being said however, I also smirked when I was reading his comment (quoted above) about the color rendition, him being an artist, etc because I immediately thought the same thing as you:  high saturation colors.  However, that's his style.  I don't fault him for it, that's just his thing.

142

Lighting / Re: How to produce circular flash reflection in eyes?

« on: January 05, 2013, 10:50:41 AM »

PC Socket?  Oh Dude!  Have I got a site for you!

If you want to get totally geeked out and lost in a cool website for half an hour, go here...

http://michaelbass.blogspot.com/2006/11/canon-flash-auxillary-sync-mod.html

This guy does some seriously wicked mods for improving/customizing flash equipment.  He rocks.  He can custom make anything and does it right.  His work is high quality with good attention to detail.  He also will rebuild what you already have to be much more "bullet proof" with better metal shoe plates, tougher screws, etc.

My biggest concern with his work on flashes is that once the flash is improved, it will never fail and won't break so my camera will split in half instead!     (Gotta hate it when that happens!)

143

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Anyone still using a 20D?

« on: January 05, 2013, 12:16:36 AM »

Ditto.  Except it's the 30D for me.  Love that camera.  Haven't used it for a while but I do still pull it out sometimes.  It's not worth getting rid of and it's still a great camera.  Keep your 20D.  I suspect that you will regret selling more than keeping it.

144

Technical Support / Re: LP-E6 battery failure - Canon 6D

« on: January 05, 2013, 12:08:43 AM »

I have one Canon LP-E6 battery that looks perfectly genuine but throws the Error Msg in the 6D.  It matches pictures some reviewers have posted on Amazon that are counterfeit.  So I got one fake Canon battery that looks real.  I remember now that when it came, it came in a small "Canon" box.  The genuine batteries come in clear plastic/cardboard packages that can hang.

145

Site Information / Re: How does one change camera appearing under the poster's name?

« on: January 04, 2013, 11:54:00 PM »

I saved even more!  I went from a 5DIII to a EOS M.   

146

Software & Accessories / Re: Compactflash Card: SanDisk vs. Lexar...

« on: January 04, 2013, 06:43:50 PM »

I've never had a card fail either.  I started out in the 1990's with smart media cards, then CF cards.  I recall paying $265 for a 85MB card for my Nikon CP-990 way back in early 2000 or so.  I've had close to 100 cards, most of them Lexar or Sandisk, but there were Kinbgston, Delkin, Transcend and likely others in there too.
 
I did sell my almost new 30D to a lady who had just had her Canon XT burn out.  I included a small CF Card.  A few days later, she put in her  Toshiba CF card  that she had been using with her old camera, and it burned out the 30D as well.  Since the camera was only 5 months old, Canon fixed it for her at no charge, and she destroyed the bad card and bought a good one.
Its rare, but a bad card can cook your DSLR.

Wow!  That's an interesting story.  Makes me think I may use an old Rebel to "test" those new CF cards, eh?  I typically "stress test" new cards already on my computer using a test program that confirms the read/write speeds and will give an indication of whether the card is working correctly.  It's sort of a hedge against counterfeit cards or faulty cards catching me off guard in the field.

147

Software & Accessories / Re: Compactflash Card: SanDisk vs. Lexar...

« on: January 04, 2013, 06:39:09 PM »

I have had excellent luck with every card I own. Including trancend~.

I bought 4 16gb 90mb/sec cards for the holidays off amazon for I think around $75 each. I tend to shy away from bigger cards (32 is my personal max size limit) because I like the security of having all my photos across 4 cards rather then all on one. I lucked out and got 4 sandisk 8gb SD cards for my 5d III as backup for $10 each over the holidays too.

+10  Ditto!  Spread out the worry in case a card gets lost or corrupted.

148

Software & Accessories / Re: Oddest kit purchase?

« on: January 04, 2013, 06:30:19 PM »

This is what a dollar's worth of posterboard can do as a reflector:


Heidy by Rick.Scheibner, on Flickr

Love it.  Beautiful semi-soft image of a beautiful lady.  I assume this was natural sunlight bouncing from behind her off the posterboard?  Great job!  I really like the comfortable and subtle smile looking slightly to the side.  It's not a 'run of the mill' shot and it's not too edgy either.  You could (and probably did) do a lot with various crops of that for a great head shot, etc.  It also really helps when she is wearing good colors and looks sharp.  Nice.

149

Site Information / Re: How does one change camera appearing under the poster's name?

« on: January 04, 2013, 04:34:08 PM »

Well, now that I've surpassed 300 posts, my lifetime goal has been reached.  Scratch one thing off the bucket list!   

150

Site Information / Re: How does one change camera appearing under the poster's name?

« on: January 04, 2013, 03:26:11 PM »

I got degraded from 5D mark 3 to M. 6D seems to be next, so I'll need another 400 posts for mark 3?   

Yeah, me too!  Funny just as we start this thread, all the designations changed.  I mention in a post above that I am a 5D Mark III and then bam!, I'm suddenly a EOS M.  I just passed 300 and I'm still an EOS M so M doesn't roll over at 300 anyway.  Time to start making bets on when 6D or whatever kicks in...

I guess we'll just have to keep posting in this thread over and over to see how it changes as the posts increase!