Messages

16

Lens Gallery / Re: Canon EF135mm f/2L USM

« on: May 10, 2013, 08:21:49 PM »

I've had my 135L for 4 years, love it.  Probably never sell it.  However, color rendition isn't necessarily its strongest asset.  It's really just part of the whole package that makes it such a great lens.  The color balance itself is a tad cooler than I like, and sometimes too green, so I compensate with some magenta bias in-camera.  In my opinion, bokeh smoothness is its strongest asset.  Sharpness, and both global and micro-contrast, are all a close second.  I will find it hard to believe any current or future lenses in the 135mm focal length, will be a better overall lens.  An f/1.4 or faster zoom of some kind, could possibly be a better overall lens, but would be pricey and hard to design and build.  I find that much of the wildlife I like to shoot, needs such fast aperture for the low light...that none exist.

I certainly would be interested in a replacement with IS (which would be huge for my event work), and I wouldn't mind if they could tighten up the CA a bit.  It isn't as bad as my 85mm f/1.8, but still shows it on occasion.  It's interesting what you say about color.  It probably is a bit cool, which is ironic, since I'm partial to my Tamron 24-70VC which is probably on the warm side.

Canon color rendition overall, is generally considered to be "cool".  I've read it many places...but certainly not all Canon lenses have a cool temperature.  Interesting you mention CA.  My copy really doesn't have any, or if it does, I haven't found it.  One troubling thing I'm noticing with the 6D, is that with the 135...sometimes AF is slower than my 70-200 f/4...especially in servo mode.  Hard to believe.  Also seems to hunt a bit more in very low light, than the "slower aperture" f/4 zoom.  Very odd.

As far as color goes, I have never seen a color rendition and spectrum, as good as the 200 f/2L that I rented.  I want one...but again, would prefer something a bit shorter that is an even faster zoom, with identical optical performance.  I think it could be done, but if Canon did it, it would cost $15k !!

The Zeiss 100mm f/2 I rented, might have the best color for fall foliage, or possibly even green foliage.  However, it also had some weird contrast, where it didn't go "black" enough...yet the bright end seemed very contrasty.  The red end of the color spectrum was really alive and "analogue" looking.

I could really tell a difference when I was doing a head to head between the 24-105L and the Tamron 24-70 VC for my lens review.  The color temperature was noticeably cooler on the 24-105L, and when I was comparing them side by side, my preference was always the Tamron (that is certainly just a matter of taste).  What the 135L does so wonderfully well is the transitions in color and focus.  So smooth, and the end result is typically very pleasing.

17

Reviews / Re: Review - The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS

« on: May 10, 2013, 04:40:39 PM »

Absolutely.  According to my dof calculator, the DOF at 300mm f/5.6 at or close to minimum focus distance is about .22 inches (5.5 milimeters).  That is actually a smaller DOF than my 135L f/2 wide open at the same distance (.39 inches or 9.79mm)

Thanks for the calculation, that's really interesting. I recently discovered the severity of the "small dof effect" when I was wondering why so many of my images are just slightly out of focus - and atm I think the reason is that focus & recompose simply doesn't work reliably anymore.

At the moment I have to take multiple shots and then select the sharp(est) one, but I'd be grateful for any hints for circumventing this problem w/o purchasing a 5d3...

Despite reports about the 6D being "center point only", I actually have a pretty close to perfect success rate using the outer points.  I don't know that I would try it in really low light, but most of the time it works fine.  I can't remember missing a lot with the 60D either, though.  One your biggest advantages when you move to a 6D will be the ability to AFMA your lens to the body.  On my two bodies, one is a -1W 2T and the other is 2W 2T.  That little bit of adjustment can make a big difference.

If you are shooting narrow DOF shots off center for composition and have time, using Live View focus is a pretty sound choice.  Slower, but highly accurate.

P.S.  I use a App called DOF Calculator from the Apple App Store.  It allows you to enter the focal length, distance to subject, f/stop, and then calculates based on your camera model.  It obviously provides highly accurate results and that is my source for the above statistics.

18

Reviews / Re: Review - The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS

« on: May 10, 2013, 04:37:36 PM »

Absolutely.  According to my dof calculator, the DOF at 300mm f/5.6 at or close to minimum focus distance is about .22 inches (5.5 milimeters).  That is actually a smaller DOF than my 135L f/2 wide open at the same distance (.39 inches or 9.79mm)

Thanks for the calculation, that's really interesting. I recently discovered the severity of the "small dof effect" when I was wondering why so many of my images are just slightly out of focus - and atm I think the reason is that focus & recompose simply doesn't work reliably anymore.

At the moment I have to take multiple shots and then select the sharp(est) one, but I'd be grateful for any hints for circumventing this problem w/o purchasing a 5d3...

Despite reports about the 6D being "center point only", I actually have a pretty close to perfect success rate using the outer points.  I don't know that I would try it in really low light, but most of the time it works fine.  I can't remember missing a lot with the 60D either, though.  One your biggest advantages when you move to a 6D will be the ability to AFMA your lens to the body.  On my two bodies, one is a -1W 2T and the other is 2W 2T.  That little bit of adjustment can make a big difference.

If you are shooting narrow DOF shots off center for composition and have time, using Live View focus is a pretty sound choice.  Slower, but highly accurate.

19

Reviews / Re: Review - The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS

« on: May 10, 2013, 03:44:21 PM »

Dustin, When you zoom to 200mm on the 70-300L, is the aperture still F/4? At what focal length does it lose F/4?

According to Bryan over at the Digital Picture (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-300mm-f-4-5.6-IS-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx ) the 70-300L hits f/5 at 155mm through 224mm before it moves to f/5.6.  I wish it was still f/4 at 200mm.  Then there would really be no advantage to the 70-20mm f/4 lenses.

20

Reviews / Re: Review - The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS

« on: May 10, 2013, 11:44:11 AM »

I needed the extra DOF to make sure the whole primary leaf was in focus.

+1 - in my observation people seem to underestimate how very thin the dof is for 70mm@f4 or 300mm@f5.6 if the subject is near - and I'm even on crop with a larger dof at same object size. What I usually want is a nice bokeh with overlapping light circles and not a smaller dof, and the 70-300L is able to deliver this if the background is a bit away.

Absolutely.  According to my dof calculator, the DOF at 300mm f/5.6 at or close to minimum focus distance is about .22 inches (5.5 milimeters).  That is actually a smaller DOF than my 135L f/2 wide open at the same distance (.39 inches or 9.79mm)

Even for this shot (f/7.1, 200mm), the DOF was only .62 inches (15.83mm). 

21

Reviews / Re: Review - The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS

« on: May 10, 2013, 09:09:01 AM »

Here's another nice thing to note about the lens - Canon's modern approach uses the curved aperture blades that means that bokeh highlights stay round even when stopped down.  In this shot (f/7.1) you can see some large OOF highlights that are still almost perfectly round.  I needed the extra DOF to make sure the whole primary leaf was in focus.


Spring Inferno by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr

BTW, check out the 100% crop of the detail from the shot:

22

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: dissapointed 6d 100mm f2 and 24mm 2.8 (non l)

« on: May 09, 2013, 06:34:42 PM »

I have shot enough in Arizona, USA and Southern Israel (similar harsh light during midday and dust in the air) to know that if you don't shoot at the right times of day, you WILL get harsh, flat images.  Filters help, but it's a battle, even in post processing. 

That dust in the air becomes a major advantage in the morning and particularly in the evening, however, producing amazing sunsets unrivaled in other environments.  It's difficult when you can't control the time of day you shoot, because I think you will find that the really stunning pictures of the pyramids were almost certainly not taken at the time of day that you were shooting.

its interesting doing a quick search on google of pyramid images, most are pretty average, and alot have what ibelieve to be skys added into them in post processing.

I wouldn't be surprised if that is in fact the case.

23

Lens Gallery / Re: Canon EF135mm f/2L USM

« on: May 09, 2013, 06:33:36 PM »

I've had my 135L for 4 years, love it.  Probably never sell it.  However, color rendition isn't necessarily its strongest asset.  It's really just part of the whole package that makes it such a great lens.  The color balance itself is a tad cooler than I like, and sometimes too green, so I compensate with some magenta bias in-camera.  In my opinion, bokeh smoothness is its strongest asset.  Sharpness, and both global and micro-contrast, are all a close second.  I will find it hard to believe any current or future lenses in the 135mm focal length, will be a better overall lens.  An f/1.4 or faster zoom of some kind, could possibly be a better overall lens, but would be pricey and hard to design and build.  I find that much of the wildlife I like to shoot, needs such fast aperture for the low light...that none exist.

I certainly would be interested in a replacement with IS (which would be huge for my event work), and I wouldn't mind if they could tighten up the CA a bit.  It isn't as bad as my 85mm f/1.8, but still shows it on occasion.  It's interesting what you say about color.  It probably is a bit cool, which is ironic, since I'm partial to my Tamron 24-70VC which is probably on the warm side.

24

Reviews / Re: Why I Chose a Canon EOS 6D over a 5D MKIII

« on: May 09, 2013, 12:24:21 PM »

I've now sold my 5DII and bought a second 6D.  I love the image quality and the operation of the camera.  I like the thought of being able to have two identical, responsive bodies when shooting events.

25

Lens Gallery / Re: Canon EF135mm f/2L USM

« on: May 09, 2013, 12:18:08 PM »

Here's a sample taken with the 135L + 1.4xII extender (189mm f/2.8L )  I love that with the Canon extender you can do a separate AFMA and get better AF results.


Strange Magic by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr

Beautiful

Thanks.  I love the color rendering out of the 135L.  It never ceases to impress.

26

Lens Gallery / Re: Canon EF135mm f/2L USM

« on: May 09, 2013, 11:19:38 AM »

love it

Yes quite nice Dustin. 

, on Flickr

love it

Thanks, guys

27

Lens Gallery / Re: Canon EF135mm f/2L USM

« on: May 09, 2013, 09:26:27 AM »

Here's a sample taken with the 135L + 1.4xII extender (189mm f/2.8L )  I love that with the Canon extender you can do a separate AFMA and get better AF results.


Strange Magic by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr

28

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: dissapointed 6d 100mm f2 and 24mm 2.8 (non l)

« on: May 09, 2013, 09:23:56 AM »

I have shot enough in Arizona, USA and Southern Israel (similar harsh light during midday and dust in the air) to know that if you don't shoot at the right times of day, you WILL get harsh, flat images.  Filters help, but it's a battle, even in post processing. 

That dust in the air becomes a major advantage in the morning and particularly in the evening, however, producing amazing sunsets unrivaled in other environments.  It's difficult when you can't control the time of day you shoot, because I think you will find that the really stunning pictures of the pyramids were almost certainly not taken at the time of day that you were shooting.

29

Lens Gallery / Re: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

« on: May 09, 2013, 09:20:15 AM »

DPP 7 - Here we go again! by alabang, on Flickr

Very nice color here!

30

Reviews / Re: Canon wins five honours at the 2013 TIPA Awards

« on: May 08, 2013, 08:47:05 PM »

I wonder what the nominees were. I'm surprised the 6D topped the 5DIII and D800.

I think they fell in the previous year.  MKIII received best Video DSLR and D800 received best expert DSLR