Messages

31

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Canon EOS-1D X Technical Report

« on: January 30, 2012, 06:17:28 PM »

I'm surprised that the X-sync speed has dropped to 1/250 sec, when the 1Ds Mark III and 1D Mark IV sync speed is 1/300. For a machine that can do 12fps I'd have thought it would be 1/300 or even higher. That extra speed can be handy before having to switch to HSS.

I'm pretty sure it's always been 1/250. You can still set the 580EX for high speed for above 1/250 for fill flash and use higher shutter speeds. Just a setting in the flash. In daytime, I'd be using a polarizer anyway to cut reflections off noggin, etc

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Canon EOS-1D X Technical Report

« on: January 30, 2012, 05:23:13 PM »

That was actually pretty shockingly uninformative.

Quite.  "We wanted to make a new camera.  We wanted to make it good."  Earthshatteringly insightful...

We would have expected nothing new from that anyway - we have already heard. Specs look pretty impressive (people are wondering about the f8 focus stuff - minor I think), so why are people so negative! Canon must be confident and backing their new AF and IQ - they are hanging their balls out! Two stops over 5DII is a bit much for RAW, I think maybe one stop ISO with better circuitry to suppress read out (and banding) noise+gapless microlenses. Let's wait n see. I think that people that would gripe of AF would be the ones that don't know how to tweak it for their own needs anyway - too much camera for them. I think this will be a great camera. If even some advances happen with the (hopefully) 5D III, I'd be more than stoked! I know DPP is pretty good, but would love to see things like dark frame subtraction (and at a stretch flat frame division) prior to 16bit output. I'd love to play with the files prior to curves applied. That may upset the forensic folk though.

33

EOS Bodies / Re: Nikon D4 gets it right on movie mode!.....will Canon strike back?

« on: January 07, 2012, 08:20:14 AM »

Tell me if I'm wrong, but I read the D4 video specs and it says 1080i (not 1080p) for uncompressed readout. I'm not a video man, but I think this could be a snag for some.

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EOS Bodies / Re: Will Canon price match the 1DX to the D4?

« on: January 07, 2012, 08:01:12 AM »

From what I understand, native ISO is amped base iso at pixel level on chip before readout (photos to electrons = base ISO multiplied by amp factor). Expanded ISO is basically software shifting EV after readout (ie pulling exposure). Lo expansion tends to clip highlights and Hi expansion raises the noise floor (along with banding noise and other noise associated with readout). You no longer get true 14 bit quality files from expanded ISOs.

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EOS Bodies / Re: Will Canon price match the 1DX to the D4?

« on: January 07, 2012, 07:14:24 AM »

Seems Nikon has had a good crack at the video aspect with the D4 specs. Interesting that the native ISO is only 12800 on D4 vs 51200 on 1DX. Loose a lot of DR by artificially expanding ISO. However, those after high ISO would be looking for clean ISO 12800 to 25600. 10(11) fps on D4 vs 12(14) on 1DX. New AF on 1DX. 1DX looks pretty good for the photographer. See how the RAW IQ compares between the two once they're in the wild. I would think they're quite close.

36

Software & Accessories / Re: DPP and RAW addition/average/subtraction

« on: January 07, 2012, 06:11:15 AM »

Thanks trggermike for the compliments. My work flow changes depending what I'm shooting. I do a lot of panorama work and stitch using PT Gui. I do exposure bracket around +/- 1.5 to 2 EV and manually blend with layers and masks in photoshop. In the field I use a polarizer most of the time as cutting unwanted reflections greatly increases saturation and closes down the dynamic range in the foreground, water and trees. I haven't used HDR programs with my work that I submitted (except for the Platforms wave shot). I haven't been happy or able to sort out the programs I've tried. I have had some success with Dynamic Photo HDR, but it doesn't work with files over 32 megapixel (my panos are between 50 and 100 megapixel).  Sometimes I use stacking (to average random noise and get cleaner tiff files) and darkframe subtraction (to reduce long exposure hot spots and pattern noise) when exposures get longer than 1-2 minutes. This is the case for me using a 5DII for infrared photography as the blocking filter is quite strong. 1-2 minutes at ISO200 can get a little noisy. Hope this is useful.

37

PowerShot Cameras / Re: *UPDATE* Canon PowerShot G1X Revealed

« on: January 05, 2012, 09:37:14 AM »

Yerry - just checked that link. Wow - 1/1.5" is pretty close to APS-C size (at 1.5 crop)! Digic 5 and 14 bit RAW - I think I will look at this one. Like one of the posters before me, I do wish the lens was a bit wider, say 24mm. Is constant apeture of F2.5 required on a camera that doesn't use telecoverters, etc. So variable apeture starting at F2.0 would have been a bonus.

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PowerShot Cameras / Re: *UPDATE* Canon PowerShot G1X Revealed

« on: January 05, 2012, 09:20:27 AM »

Yerry - good point. G12 has a 1/1.7" sensor. Why would Canon brag about sensor size with a relatively small increase in size (maybe they would anyway)? Could a 1.5" sensor be true? Now, that would be awesome!

39

EOS Bodies / Re: D4 AF vs 1d X AF

« on: January 05, 2012, 09:10:52 AM »

I agree about the 5D AF. Centre is awesome, but I would love some cross AF sensors on the outer rim. Doesn't worry me much as I shoot mainly landscape. Sensor performance and RAW quality is important to me.

I have never used a 1D camera, but from what I can gather, you can customize the way the AF works to your needs by mucking around with the custom functions that can be accessed via menu only. It's like customizing the various AF algorithims to suit your needs. If you want the AF to work best for you, you need to sort this out. If I am right, sounds like the AF whiners haven't spent the time in learning these in depth functions to get the best out of their cameras. Less time drinking beer and more time tinkering!

Interesting Canon has had a good crack about overhauling their AF for the 1Dx. I know some have questioned F8 capabilty, but lets see how the package performs once it's released into the wild. Would be interesting to see how the D4 goes, but I don't see either as ship jumping or buyer remorse cameras as both will be awesome!

40

PowerShot Cameras / Re: Canon PowerShot G1X Revealed

« on: January 05, 2012, 08:15:01 AM »

@Shorthand - you beat me to the punch. A 1.5inch sensor is bigger than APS-H - too good to be true! 1/1.5" would still be good and would be a great alternative to a lot of the mirrorless offerings out there - esp for those that want a second 'walk around' camera.

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EOS Bodies / Re: tips on getting started shooting in raw?

« on: January 03, 2012, 11:32:32 AM »

I think RAW is the way to go, even if you're a beginner. If you shoot jpeg and you are trusting the camera to do the processing for you. What if the jpeg is shot with a white balance you're not happy with? Jpeg is generally considered the finished product at it has far less latitdude for manipulation. Raw is the data direct from the sensor. HDDs and CF cards are pretty cheap these days. I think it's best to try. I'm pretty sure you will never stop shooting RAW once you see it's value.
I use DPP, which is easy to use. And you can manipulate and batch process many RAW files at the same time. Can take a little while to convert and save to 16bit tiff files (which I recommend for your good stuff) depending on your computer, but worth it.
The best way to learn is to have a go. You will quickly learn it's benefits and how to get the best out of your files. Make sure you keep and back up your raw files too.

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Software & Accessories / DPP and RAW addition/average/subtraction

« on: January 03, 2012, 09:49:07 AM »

I do use DPP to tune and convert RAW to 16 bit TIF, but I think it would be awesome if we could use DPP to stack or dark frame subtract using the RAW files before camera curves are applied to the TIF files. What do you think?

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Lens Giveaway Contest / Re: Contest Announcement!

« on: January 03, 2012, 09:12:00 AM »

Wow, how was the turnout for this comp! I think all the Canon Rumors followers should be proud of the images the we have come up with. Yeah, we might cop the gear freak thing, but great to see that we do actually go out and shoot some great photos too!

Thanks to CR guy for putting on this comp. I think he had more than he bargained for, but well done for getting through all the images at such a busy time of the year! Judges have had a huge job and congrats to an awesome effort and balanced judging. Well done! Congrats to all the division winners too. Good luck for the final prize!

I would love to see a comp like this again! Happy new year to all :-)

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Lens Giveaway Contest / Re: *Contest* Underwater - Post Here.

« on: November 15, 2011, 08:27:23 PM »

Morning barrel at Sunrise Beach

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Lens Giveaway Contest / Re: *Contest* Landscape - Post Here.

« on: November 15, 2011, 08:13:29 PM »

Clouds light up after sunset at Noosa Heads