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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Which would you pick for a wife camera sony nex 6 or eos sl1?
« on: March 22, 2013, 10:19:07 PM »
Pentax Q/Q10
May 25, 2013, 01:34:08 PM
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Pricewatch Deals / Re: Deal: EOS-1D X for $5936 via eBay
« on: January 12, 2013, 02:13:16 PM »
In short, Canon needs to eliminate gray market, period. As well, they need to stop making their legitimate dealerships jump through a series of flaming hoops to get their instant savings back they're forced to give customers. It takes up to 3 months to get you IS back from them, but they're on you the second a below MAP price pops up any where. Not to mention, will hold special order product indefinitely, without notice, because of some sort of invoicing issues. They treat independent dealers like criminals when the real criminals are the ones selling the gray market machines, which are in turn, being promoted by sites like this.
So happy to have switched from Canon. I used to like them.
So happy to have switched from Canon. I used to like them.
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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Q: A dedicated Still Image DSLR without video? Thoughts?
« on: November 16, 2012, 01:56:10 PM »No video means no live view. Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats live view focussing for still life work. That includes landscapes. Not sure what the optimal aperture is for the depth of field you want? No worries; just press the DoF preview button while in live view and your eyes will tell you.
A DSLR without video is crippled, and it would take serious effort to do the crippling.
Thanks, but no thanks.
And, yes. I write this as somebody who has virtually no interest in videography whatsoever.
b&
That's interesting, my Fujifilm S3 Pro has Live View and no video shooting. My 50D had live view without video. How did they manage to do that? My new K-5 has video but I couldn't tell you the first thing about how to use it. My mode dial could literally have two settings: "M" or "B", and I would be perfectly satisfied and forget live view. Parallax is already an issue. I want my eye view, not the camera's from yet another angle.
By the way, those two cameras that didn't have video were not "crippled" by any sense of the word. In fact, I've won a few photo challenges with both of those cameras.
All 3 of those cameras, the literal couple of times I tried using live view, simply destroyed battery life as a result of it being turned on. It's a serious waste of power, IMO.
Personally, I think it's a useless feature that should have never been introduced in to still cameras. Just because it's possible doesn't necessarily always mean it should be done. It causes sensors to run excessively hot without proper heat dissipation, thus killing pixels, and completely wastes battery life.
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Canon General / Re: Canon's MAP Pricing Goes Into Full Effect Today
« on: November 01, 2012, 10:59:25 AM »Exactly. The difference is that Sony and Nikon actually enforce their MAP policies and will not ship product if a dealer is found to be in violation of MAP. Canon just doesn't care about the small shops. That's been evident for years.Are they stupid? Now more people who will go digital will go for Nikon or Sony.You do realize Nikon and Sony have similar policies, and in fact, Nikons is one of the strictest I have seen. The only way to get deals on Nikon gear is to buy it in bundles (with a lens discount) or to get it refurbished. Try and find the D800 at less than retail, it just doesnt exist
Also see: 'Series of Flaming Hoops to Jump Through' when applying for Canon dealership status.
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Canon General / Re: Canon's MAP Pricing Goes Into Full Effect Today
« on: November 01, 2012, 10:46:03 AM »
I hate B & H.
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Canon General / Re: Canon's MAP Pricing Goes Into Full Effect Today
« on: November 01, 2012, 07:39:29 AM »with these prices it will mean i just sell even more nikon stuff to new DSLR customers.... at their MAP price.
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Canon General / Re: Does Minimum Advertised Price apply to auctions?
« on: October 23, 2012, 01:41:19 PM »
I've seen a lot of answers come through this little discussion but not one acknowledges the truth, only what people *think* should be true.
The facts are:
1) Manufacturers set the prices for retailers (large or small). A violation will ["should" but often _does not_ (when it comes to the big kids)] warrant some form of punishment from the manufacturer. (ie; no product shipping for period of time, etc - kind of like being grounded)
2) MAP is part of the dealership agreement that both parties enter in to and sign. Argue that all you want. It's truth. [Ask any Rep. Please, so we can stop arguing about it.]
3) Instant savings are not supplied by the Manufacturer - they are handled by the dealership and thus are reimbursed by the manufacturer after jumping through a small series of flaming hoops - screw up the reimbursement process and the retailer automatically loses their money.
4) Any comment regarding dealer inefficiency is simply ignoring the above three facts, entirely
5) Providing 'work around' tips is simply implying that you're willing to do some thing illegal to obtain your product.
The facts are:
1) Manufacturers set the prices for retailers (large or small). A violation will ["should" but often _does not_ (when it comes to the big kids)] warrant some form of punishment from the manufacturer. (ie; no product shipping for period of time, etc - kind of like being grounded)
2) MAP is part of the dealership agreement that both parties enter in to and sign. Argue that all you want. It's truth. [Ask any Rep. Please, so we can stop arguing about it.]
3) Instant savings are not supplied by the Manufacturer - they are handled by the dealership and thus are reimbursed by the manufacturer after jumping through a small series of flaming hoops - screw up the reimbursement process and the retailer automatically loses their money.
4) Any comment regarding dealer inefficiency is simply ignoring the above three facts, entirely
5) Providing 'work around' tips is simply implying that you're willing to do some thing illegal to obtain your product.
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Canon General / Re: Does Minimum Advertised Price apply to auctions?
« on: October 20, 2012, 04:49:20 PM »
+1
In my experience, paying more is no guarantee of better service (sometimes it is the opposite), so Mom and Pop need to extol their virtues not complain about the virtues of others. I have to earn my money the same as Mom and Pop so I want to get the best value I can. We pay more in the UK for the same gear and that is nothing to do with protecting Mom and Pop - it is to do with Canon charging what they can get away with - so Canon are not big on levelling the playing field when the field gets bigger.
It still sounds to me like people are willing to blame the Mom & Pop store for having to abide by the rules instead of walking away from the guy who [is supposed to] but doesn't.
Funny thing, this world. People define themselves through their actions, I guess.
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Canon General / Re: Does Minimum Advertised Price apply to auctions?
« on: October 20, 2012, 04:18:17 PM »
I don't know if I would personally call the annual millions of dollars in sales of tangible inventory that a Mom & Pop that I know of a _minor_ investment in to 5 major companies.
If a certain Manufacturer doesn't want to be bothered by the little stores and only wants to ship product to a dealer who doesn't play by the rules set out for all to abide by then fine, they shouldn't even have opened the dealer account to begin with.
The small retailer (who carries every single model in numerous mfr lines - top to bottom) shouldn't be held responsible for trying to actualize the "American Dream" and be held liable for following the rules of the manufacturer.
Also, I find it incredibly difficult to blame the retailer when camera hardware margins are so small. Camera prices do not reflect the keystone 2.14xCost that every other aspect of retail is. Camera hardware margins are tiny compared to all other goods for sale in the marketplace. Some times as much as only 7%, once the credit card fees get paid, the light bills, etc, there is no room to move for sales. Which is why Mfrs control the instant savings programs. Those are prices set by the manufacturer for the dealer to abide by.
Can't blame the dealer for that. But many would like to try. It's the manufacturer's issue. If a Manufacturer places a set of rules on the table to abide by, then every one should be held accountable for that set of rules.
The point is: people who undercut MAP (because they order in quantities of hundreds and not tens - and therefor get larger discount percentages) should be held responsible for not adhering to the rules.
If a certain Manufacturer doesn't want to be bothered by the little stores and only wants to ship product to a dealer who doesn't play by the rules set out for all to abide by then fine, they shouldn't even have opened the dealer account to begin with.
The small retailer (who carries every single model in numerous mfr lines - top to bottom) shouldn't be held responsible for trying to actualize the "American Dream" and be held liable for following the rules of the manufacturer.
Also, I find it incredibly difficult to blame the retailer when camera hardware margins are so small. Camera prices do not reflect the keystone 2.14xCost that every other aspect of retail is. Camera hardware margins are tiny compared to all other goods for sale in the marketplace. Some times as much as only 7%, once the credit card fees get paid, the light bills, etc, there is no room to move for sales. Which is why Mfrs control the instant savings programs. Those are prices set by the manufacturer for the dealer to abide by.
Can't blame the dealer for that. But many would like to try. It's the manufacturer's issue. If a Manufacturer places a set of rules on the table to abide by, then every one should be held accountable for that set of rules.
The point is: people who undercut MAP (because they order in quantities of hundreds and not tens - and therefor get larger discount percentages) should be held responsible for not adhering to the rules.
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Canon General / Re: Does Minimum Advertised Price apply to auctions?
« on: October 20, 2012, 01:49:08 PM »Did I say I prefer the Larger retailers? You might reread my post rather than making something up to fit your mindset.
In terms of being "inefficient" I can hardly call stacking up thousands of pre-orders on a camera they don't have in order to secure sales, telling people they'll be waiting for two months, good efficiency.
I know there were smaller retailers that were shipping major releases far faster than the "efficient" retailers you prefer.
HERE IT IS AGAIN
"There is a much better reason to buy locally, and it comes when your local dealer provides good service. I buy locally as well as from mail order houses, depending on the situation. (small local dealers do not sell all brands and models)"
I own and run a small business, so I know what efficiency is, and it has nothing to do with taking pre-orders. It has to do with keeping my overhead cost down so that I do not have to inflate prices to survive.
I think I was more drawn to your impression of the "inefficient" smaller retailers. Which, if a person shops at smaller retailers and calls them "inefficient" while making the point, I would tend to lean towards thinking that person prefers the Big & Huge guys.
Sorry for the misunderstanding and thank you for clarifying your point.
Some thing happens to the Big & Huge guys when they get Big & Huge, they forget where they came from and will stop at nothing to crush the competition. Even if it means selling products below cost and extremely far below legal MAP pricing.
It's simple: People need to adhere to MAP (and there are a select few who don't.) However, no retailer that I've ever seen, unless they're willing to commit financial suicide, is selling things at an inflated price in the overpriced camera biz. It's more often the case that products are being sold well below dealer cost. Legally speaking: HOW?
If there are ever prices in question, check that particular retailers price and then check the price at the manufacturers website. If the two are different, one of two things have happened: 1) either they're violating MAP or 2) they haven't made the price adjustment to match the MAP set pricing. If you ever determine those prices are different, the dealership should be reported to the manufacturer in order to correct the situation.
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Canon General / Re: Does Minimum Advertised Price apply to auctions?
« on: October 20, 2012, 01:04:04 PM »To me free market is one that does not restrict prices, I'd be free to sell below cost. Restricting the price is not just protecting small dealers, its merely protecting the right of inefficient dealers to make a profit. Its the same complaint that small dealers have against wallmart when they think the government should step in and protect their "RIGHT" to charge more for the same thing due to their inefficiency. If customers actually value their service so much, then they don't have to worry.
It's a free market system which has a set of rules for all to follow. It's a welcome endeavor seeing the Big & Huge guys having to play by the rules for a change.
There is a much better reason to buy locally, and it comes when your local dealer provides good service. I buy locally as well as from mail order houses, depending on the situation. (small local dealers do not sell all brands and models)
In the 1960's when I bought my first Canon SLR, prices were strictly controlled, you could not import a Canon, Nikon, Pentax, etc camera. Customs would seize it if they caught it.
A bunch of fellow workers got together and ordered cameras from T K Wood in Hong Kong. The logos were painted out with black paint, or removed. New logos were shipped in a separate box along with all the manuals and paperwork.
I bought mine locally.
In terms of being "inefficient" I can hardly call stacking up thousands of pre-orders on a camera they don't have in order to secure sales, telling people they'll be waiting for two months, good efficiency.
I know there were smaller retailers that were shipping major releases far faster than the "efficient" retailers you prefer.
As well, I'd rather go to an "inefficient" place that treated me like a person and not a member of the corralled herd.
It's never been any ones "right" to sell a product for more. But considering cameras only carry roughly a 5-7% margin over cost, blowing things out at $200 below MAP says some thing: they don't care what you do. That's not free enterprise, that's simply not giving a sh*t about any thing except numbers of cows parading through your winding barrier system. If a dealership can't abide by the rules that every one else is held hostage to, that means there is a problem. These days it's only a problem if both sides agree it's a problem. If, like in politics, one side says it isn't working, well there must be some thing "inefficient" about the other side, right? Meh.
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Canon General / Re: Does Minimum Advertised Price apply to auctions?
« on: October 20, 2012, 11:08:36 AM »I can't help but feel Canon's move here is in response to both Beach and Adorama selling a lot of 5D Mark III's for a substantially less price than they normally do. This would quite likely led to lots of calls from Canadian (r)etailers bitching about how they are being undersold and can't do a thing about it.
It could also be that Canon (USA) is planning to reduce the cost of certain items to further selling more of them but this seems unlikely.
Be that as it may, I can't help but wonder if "MAP" applies to auction websites such as eBay and if it doesn't then there's a backdoor here that is still wide open.
MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) is part of the signed dealer agreement that the high-volume sellers have been ignoring. There have been some consistent offenders in MAP violation for years and it has put a lot of independent dealers out of business as a result.
For example, a small Mom & Pop shop gets the G15 the same day as the BIG retailers but Big & Huge blows 30 units out the door at $200 below MAP. Meanwhile, the Mom & Pop Store is just busy answering questions as to why people can find it else where for less, then that doesn't really mean every one is playing fair, does it?
Some one is violating legally binding terms of the dealership agreement and it isn't the Mom & Pop store. So, in order to give every one equal chance at a customer's business, manufacturers impose what is called a MAP, or Minimum Advertised Price. It's supposed to even the chances for customers to spread their hard earned dollar over the wealth of places from which to purchase gear. However, when some one likes to just open the semi trailer door and start a product toss at literally hundreds less than MAP, it makes a lot of people wonder why manufacturers tend to look the other way. It makes the smaller dealerships ask why the Big & Huge guys aren't being held to the same set of rules the little guys are.
Units, mojo. Units.
With diligence and repeatedly pointing this out to the Mfrs, it seems to be gaining ground that some thing is taking place and it needs to be dealt with.
As for shipping to Canada, I can, from personal experience, say that why would you want to? Regardless of size of box, the contents, or the way it's shipped, most, if not all people are subjected to Customs Fees upon pick up. Added shipping costs combined with major differences in market price means that one way or the other, some one is not paying the same price for the same gear.
Nikon can and does slap dealers on the wrist for even the simplest of MAP violations. As well, SONY will threaten to alleviate a dealer of their right to sell their products if they don't abide by their strict MAP policy. It was only time that all Mfrs have their feet held to the fire and enforce their dealership policies.
When it comes to auctions, if a product is an open box customer return item, it can be sold as such in the proper sales arena. It CAN NOT be sold under the premise as being new via a new product market and for a lower price, that's a major MAP violation. It has to be labeled as used, it has to abide by current market value, and it has to be backed up by the retailer in terms of honoring any warranty or other protected product status.
I look forward to the days of back door retailing to be over with. There's no need to maintain a monopoly on sales of any product. Or else we all should pretend its 1984 and there's only one retailer from which we buy our one type of camera. It's a free market system which has a set of rules for all to follow. It's a welcome endeavor seeing the Big & Huge guys having to play by the rules for a change.
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Lenses / Re: "White fog" on pictures.. (EdMika converted nFD 135mm f/2 to EF lens)
« on: October 17, 2012, 12:01:42 PM »
I will try, there is one repair shop for lenses and he does all kind of repair jobs. Maybe you can tell me another person/address who would disassemble the lens for me? I believe I would be capable to do it myself, but if I would succeed to put it back together is another question.
Some times we send batches of Leica hardware to these guys and they do an excellent job. They've cleaned other pieces for us in the past and have done a wonderful job saving gear that we thought might not make the cut.
http://vermontcamera.com/
I'm pretty sure he'll work on just about any thing. As far as rates, I'm out of that loop so you'd just have to let him know what you have and I'm sure he'll work some thing out for you.
Hope that helps you out some!
-mb
c/o
http://gmcamera.com
http://theusedcamerastore.com
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Lenses / Re: "White fog" on pictures.. (EdMika converted nFD 135mm f/2 to EF lens)
« on: October 16, 2012, 02:20:08 PM »
Do the light inspection test by taking a small flash light and, while looking through the rear of the lens, shine the light through the front and start to take a good look around the different elements. Many things you've never seen before about your lens will instantly become visible. If there is haze, it will appear as a soft glow on the culprit element. Some of this can be cleaned, it's not damaging but aggravating in terms of what it does to overall image quality. Adds a soft diffuse glow to a lot of subjects in certain lighting situations.
Pay attention to any dust particle with any kind of circle forming around it, that's early stage fungus developing. It's best to get any lens with fungus off the camera and leave it off until the fungus has been cleaned as it can spread to other pieces of gear, although contagious cases are rare unless some thing is severely affected by it.
Any dust particle which has moved in to the stages of looking like a spider web or small frost formation may be well to the point of actually causing damage to the glass. Fungus growths can emit an acid which can and will etch in to the coatings first, then the glass.
If you find any of the above afflictions inside of your lens, especially fungus, remove it from the camera and refrain from using it have it CLA'd by a professional who has the tools to take the lens apart and clean internal elements.
These defects all tend to start from moisture being introduced some where in the lens. Either a wet, dew soaked morning, the same goes for night time photography where dew has formed on the camera, or just simply being stored in a not-so-optimal environment with no silicon dessicant.
I have experienced a lot of issues with some plastics and how they interfere with external elements. Ever notice how when you buy a filter it has a ton of haze all over it, yet it's brand new? It's the off-gassing of the plastic and foam used inside that is reacting with the glass and the coatings to create some sort of haze on the surface of the lens or filter. It's incredibly common on older filters and lenses when stored in older containers utilizing products like old open-cell foam, foam padded filter cases, etc. the foam and plastic material break down over time and will cause glass to draw these materials to its surface as a 'reaction' to the breaking down of the petroleum based materials.
There is no science to it all and this information is in regard to the literally hundreds of used and new lenses that pass through my hands on a weekly basis. If you think your lens is affected by any thing at all, try and find a local person who is willing to work on things for a fair price.
-mb
Pay attention to any dust particle with any kind of circle forming around it, that's early stage fungus developing. It's best to get any lens with fungus off the camera and leave it off until the fungus has been cleaned as it can spread to other pieces of gear, although contagious cases are rare unless some thing is severely affected by it.
Any dust particle which has moved in to the stages of looking like a spider web or small frost formation may be well to the point of actually causing damage to the glass. Fungus growths can emit an acid which can and will etch in to the coatings first, then the glass.
If you find any of the above afflictions inside of your lens, especially fungus, remove it from the camera and refrain from using it have it CLA'd by a professional who has the tools to take the lens apart and clean internal elements.
These defects all tend to start from moisture being introduced some where in the lens. Either a wet, dew soaked morning, the same goes for night time photography where dew has formed on the camera, or just simply being stored in a not-so-optimal environment with no silicon dessicant.
I have experienced a lot of issues with some plastics and how they interfere with external elements. Ever notice how when you buy a filter it has a ton of haze all over it, yet it's brand new? It's the off-gassing of the plastic and foam used inside that is reacting with the glass and the coatings to create some sort of haze on the surface of the lens or filter. It's incredibly common on older filters and lenses when stored in older containers utilizing products like old open-cell foam, foam padded filter cases, etc. the foam and plastic material break down over time and will cause glass to draw these materials to its surface as a 'reaction' to the breaking down of the petroleum based materials.
There is no science to it all and this information is in regard to the literally hundreds of used and new lenses that pass through my hands on a weekly basis. If you think your lens is affected by any thing at all, try and find a local person who is willing to work on things for a fair price.
-mb
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Lenses / Re: Canon fd lenses
« on: October 12, 2012, 04:02:10 PM »
If I'm not mistaken, you said you were looking for FD primes for an FD bayonet equipped Canon 35mm, correct?
Almost any of the primes mentioned so far will serve you well on any FD bayonet camera body. I use an FT QL from 1966 and an FTb QL from the following year and love all of the following on either of the two Canon film bodies I have.
FD 24mm (they make a couple of different versions of this)
FD 28mm f/2.8 (also with different versions)
FL 35mm f/3.5 - Excellent every day, all around lens
FL 50mm f/1.8 (the 1.4 & 1.2 jump exponentially in price. the 1.8 delivers plenty of light to the film plane so don't get too caught up in which one is best)
FL 55mm f/1.4 - probably the sharpest lens I've personally ever put on any EOS EF Mount camera body - even with an EOS/FD adapter in between.)
All of the 50mm primes are matched for the performance of the metering system as thery were essentially designed around the 50 1.4. Focus sharpness will, of course, be dependent upon your eyesight and how well you see through the finder. Split screen focus was stock for all bodies back then, too, so that helps a lot in darker situations.
Almost any of the primes mentioned so far will serve you well on any FD bayonet camera body. I use an FT QL from 1966 and an FTb QL from the following year and love all of the following on either of the two Canon film bodies I have.
FD 24mm (they make a couple of different versions of this)
FD 28mm f/2.8 (also with different versions)
FL 35mm f/3.5 - Excellent every day, all around lens
FL 50mm f/1.8 (the 1.4 & 1.2 jump exponentially in price. the 1.8 delivers plenty of light to the film plane so don't get too caught up in which one is best)
FL 55mm f/1.4 - probably the sharpest lens I've personally ever put on any EOS EF Mount camera body - even with an EOS/FD adapter in between.)
All of the 50mm primes are matched for the performance of the metering system as thery were essentially designed around the 50 1.4. Focus sharpness will, of course, be dependent upon your eyesight and how well you see through the finder. Split screen focus was stock for all bodies back then, too, so that helps a lot in darker situations.
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