Random Orbits said:

Seems like it might be worth your while to buy/sell that lens as long as the price differential remains that large... even if you don't choose to use it/keep it.

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I think I'm just getting itchy for an upgrade... and maintaining the status quo isn't that appealing.

neuroanatomist said:

When Zeiss Glass does warm the heart…or at least, the cultured human cardiac myocytes in the lab this afternoon. ;D

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I'd be more concerned that you've got a piece of equipment called (what looks like) HAL 100 on your desk.
Only a few more upgrade cycles and you'll be at 9000.

Canon HAD to do something, after all Nikon was was using the new black. It has higher DR. (Darkness Resolution)

Sabaki said:

Double check and listen if the hood clicks when you fit it to the lens.
May be a situation with the spring isn't in place and it's simply not locking onto your lens.
If that isn't the case, check out your handling techniques, as you may be inadvertently taking the hood off, so to speak.

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Thanks, but definitely no problem here on that score...it's clicking in just fine. I just get so absorbed in my work I take minimal notice of my gear, even in busy, tight packed events where the cameras, lenses & flashes get knocked around almost constantly. Other than my run-away EW-88C hood, in general the gear handles the extremes of job pressure perfectly well, the most vulnerable items being the cables running from flash to external batteries getting snagged and modifiers like Stofens or Gary Fong getting dislodged and lost. I can't recall the large hood on my old optically inferior 24-70 f/2.8 MkI ever falling off.

Not to worry, I'll find a fix.

neuroanatomist said:

Yes, the release button has a light touch, as does the 70-200 II's.

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My 70-200 f/2.8II hood release button needs a much heavier touch than the 24-70 f/2.8II under discussion.
I suspect mine is merely a production line anomaly.

-pw

T1i was the first camera that I owned with AF and I was amazed. Then when I had a 5DII I wondered about all these people going on about AF. I mean even with the T1i I could do better taking shots of my kids playing sports than I could with my A1.

Then I got a 7D used for $800. Oh boy, another eye-opener. Not just AF, but responsiveness and speed. Then I started rationalizing that I could get rid of noise and for anything but landscapes and portraits the 7D would come out instead of the 5DII.

So I had to get a 5DIII. I had told myself for over a year that I didn't really need it, the 5DII and then the 5DII + 7D combo was fine. I lied. Trying to shoot my kids running around indoors with the 5DII during the Christmas break and knowing that my 7D would get all the shots I was missing with the 5DII (but with ISO6400 noise) I finally pulled the trigger. The 7D also got me fed up with focus-recompose that I was doing with the 5DII.

Mini-Review for the new EdMika Polymer FD to EF conversion kits.

Canon's Manual Focus FD lenses are legendary for sharpness, color, and contrast. Many people have discovered how well they work on various Mirror-less and 4/3 camera systems using simple ad-on adapters that go between the lens and the camera.

Unfortunately there is no way to use a simple adapter with EOS camera without adding corrective optics which destroy the image quality. EDMika recognized this a long time ago and has been developing individual conversion kits for EOS cameras.

I was scanning through the various ebay listings and came across EdMika's new Polymer mount conversion/converter/adapter kits.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xedmika&_nkw=edmika&_sacat=0&_from=R40

He has recently added many more conversion kits for the FDn (New FD mount) series lenses and they are no longer made of Brass. The text of his ebay listing describes his reasoning for the change in material, and I think it is a good move. The Brass kits were extremely well made but they were heavy. I bet that in some cases the new brass mounts were heavier than the lens they were going on. The brass color also didn't really match the chrome plating of the camera mount and could also cause light reflections near the sensor.

These new Polymer mounts are also extremely well made, weigh almost nothing, and are completely black in color. I really appreciate the weight savings when I use the lens with my SL1. I am sure users with larger cameras will feel the same way.

I ordered the kit for the FDn 50mm 1.4 and it arrived in just 3 days. The package includes a new mount, "Ed Bushing" (to engage the aperture), and a EdMika EOS lens cap.

The kit does not come with any instructions so you have to watch all the videos on the ebay listing page to get a good idea of how the various FDn lenses are taken apart and them assembled with the new mount. The kit is very easy to install and fits really well.

Here is the video that applies to to FDn 50mm 1.4 because it uses the "Ed Bushing" that replaces part of the original aperture linkage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ats-wQOkreY

In my photos I show the partially assembled lens with the old silver colored ring beside the lens and the new "Ed Bushing" installed in position. The "Ed Bushing" is also black in color and made of the same Polymer material.

The new Polymer rear lens cap is interesting, and lower in profile, but I think I prefer the standard Canon cap.

A friend of mine and early adopter of the D4s dropped me this link
http://weeder.org/rLHYDQx#

AvTvM said:

I am convinced Canon would gain a lot by also introducing not only a sensibly-priced 430EX-RT but also a TX-RT transceiver that would allow to also include 580EX II / 430 EX II (possibly also mk 1) speedlites in a radio wireless setup. Ideally also select studio strobes where makers cooperate with Canon. Use of other third party ettl speedlites could be inhibited via some chip in such a canon RT transceiver.

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I'm not sure about that one. Going backwards. RT is the future and besides as business I would not want to sell my customers something so they can keep using older technology. I would want to sell them new toys. Just look at the computer and cell phone industry.

Arctic Photo said:

Rienzphotoz said:

Dylan777 said:

The Sonalpharumors guy will be working overtimes on all new interesting rumor cameras.

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Actually its not a "guy" ... sonyalpharumors is run by a girl called Andrea and she does it during her free time ... here is a link for a bit of info on her:
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/about/

She is an ardent fan of Sony products, but 2 years ago, Sony wanted to shut her site (I guess they were just plain dumb to see that she was actually helping their ailing brand) .. here is an article on that.
http://www.sonyrumors.net/2012/03/25/sony-targets-sonyalpharumors-shut/
But she stuck to her ground and her site is still alive and kicking ... despite Sony's stupidity, she has not become negative or revengeful and she continues to post Sony rumors pretty accurately, but she does point out the stupid mistakes/typos Sony makes on their websites ... brave girl and much respect.

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That is so stupid. Sites like that and similar supoorts the brand, I mean they have a strong enough brand that people spontaneously starts websites to discuss their products and possible future releases of them.

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I totally agree ... I think Sony legal dept is just paranoid.

Thanks a lot Dr. John,

I would abandon that idea

neuroanatomist said:

They don't calibrate anything for free. Here's what they do (copied from an earlier post of mine):

Bodies: http://www.usa.canon.com/CUSA/assets/app/html/Support/18point.html

Lenses: http://www.usa.canon.com/CUSA/assets/app/html/Support/11point.html

When waiting around at the Jamesburg, NJ service center (I brought my 1D X in for the lubrication recall, which they performed on the spot in <1 hr), I overheard one of the reps telling a customer that the clean/check for lenses basically wasn't worth it. For bodies, I'd say it's marginally worth it - unless you live close enough to a Canon Service Center to drop off, the cost of shipping+insurance might be higher than just having a local brick-and-mortar camera shop do a sensor/mirror/focus screen cleaning.

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adhocphotographer said:

I knew it was possible to take stills while filming, but if it screws up the shoot, what's the point? Is there anyway of repairing this, or at the least disabling this feature so i don't do it again? What did i do wrong, and how can i avoid it in the future.

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You don't mention a 5d mk III, but your sig does, so I gather that's what you're filming with.

Page 244 of the manual shows the settings for Shooting (Camera icon) menu 5 and the "Movie shooting button" settings. This sets the shutter to start/stop movies when in movie mode. It prevents stills while shooting video. That's how I have mine set up. With that setup, it also allows most remote triggers to control video start/stop.

I returned my 5dIII and got a Rebel so I could use the handy Sports, Landscape and Macro settings :-*
Life is so much easier now, at least when I remember to change the mode.

The Tamron 150-600 is probably your best bet for wildlife photography on a budget. Its the cheapest and longest and by all accounts the IQ is great for the money. Seems like a no-brainer first wildlife lens to me.

Unless by "shooting some animals" you mean at the zoo or your cat or something. In that case, I'd go with one of the 70-200 2.8's.

AlanF said:

Watch it, Guy. The one in the white blouse is my wife, and you wouldn't stand a chance against her.

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I know, that's why I said it - now I've got you thinking!

flowers said:

I would first import the clips, cut and create the timeline as you suggested and then denoise and color grade (first denoise, then color grade). I noticed you said [email protected], 1080i has the same vertical resolution as 720p so it's softer for that reason also. I looked into Atomos Ninja when it seemed to be all the hype, I found it to be too much of a compromise but I don't remember the specifics anymore. Can your atomos record in 1080p? If it can, turn that on. Also your shutter speed of 60 fps? That's fine if you're making a film but have you ever seen sharp frames of volleyball in a movie? Of course not, it's all soft and motion blurry to give it that cinematic feel. You'd only use higher shutter speeds for special occasions, maybe a slo-mo close up of the person hitting the winning "goal" (I have no idea what a goal is called in volleyball) but even then not the jerky crisp kind. you have to decide on the look you want, that's the first thing. your look defines everything else. you don't shoot at 1/60s because it's 1/60s f/4 ISO 1600 outside, you shoot at 1/60s because that's what the look you're going for demands and add or substract light according to the light you have available. i would avoid sharpening the image too much, you might get some artefacts. get neat video, import into fcp, denoise with neat video, add sc sharpen to sharpen the image a little, adjust contrast (the less contrast, the more soft the image appears) and see what you get. have you compared 1080p footage SOOC without ninja and the 1080i (deinterlaced interpreted 1080p but really 720p-verticalres)? which looks softer? is it the camera only being able to output 1080i but not 1080p or is it the limitation of the ninja recorder? you need to find the cause of the perceived softness to see if there's anything you can do about it.

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Thanks for your time / opinions on this - the look I am trying to achieve is the 'sharpest (best-focused) / least motion-blur' game footage for players/parents/coaches.
With these recording options on the Ninja2
(HD 1080i60, 1080i59.94, 1080i50, 1080p30, 1080p25,
1080p24, 1080p23.98, 1080p30(60i), 1080p25(50i),
1080p24(60i), 1080p23.98(60i), 720p60, 720p59.94,
20p50, SD 486i59.94, 576i50)
which would you recommend, and with the 5d3, I am not sure if the compression 'option' is relevant when outputting thru the HDMI, but if it does, which do you prefer? Also, with respect to shutter speed, I chose 1/60 for the 'rule' of 2x frame rate, but should I shoot 1080p30(60i) or go to 720p60/ I do that, then while the NINJA says it supports that, it is not an option when I tried it last time (not sure if I made mistake in camera output) or if it is real limitation (typo) on their end. My ultimate goal is to have a tournament's worth of games on a BLURAY disc look as focused/sharp and correctly colored as possible.
Appreciate your clarifying my settings/workflow.

Skirball said:

Edit: Sorry, ignore that, I didn't understand what you were trying to do until I read a section on it in that link that Dave posted and then it clicked (good stuff btw, thanks for the link). What you're trying to do looks like what is on the bottom of page 10. You set the remote flashes to group B, and the on-camera 622s to group C. Then set both cameras to only fire A+B. The on-camera flash is treated as Group A for that camera, but Group C for the other, and vice versa. That is brilliant. Can't say I have a use for it, but I'm going to try it just to do it.

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I tried the solution described above and it works perfectly. I was using two on-camera 565EX's and two off-camera 468 II's, all mounted on 622C's.

The Fuji xt1 seems to be selling well, anyone else loving theirs to bits? Haven't touched my 5d mkiii since!

CarlTN said:

Sabaki said:

So if I throw a magnifying glass onto a Canon lens, sell it for $5, DxO could possibly score it a 31 too?

Sure, cost factor is important to consumers but would I be wrong to ask that a lens's score is based entirely on performance?

Precisely why some folks think the Tamron 90mm macro lens is equal or superior to the Canon 100mm non IS macro lens.

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How is that Tamron inferior to the Canon? The review I read said it was just as sharp, focused just as fast and accurately. Just because it's not 100mm, or because it's not a Canon...that makes it inferior?

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I shot with the lens, my shoot buddy has one.

Extending barrel, noisy AF but that's a moot point as I shoot manual. Yes it is really sharp but overall, the build quality and other considerations, I strongly feel the Canon is a better lens.

eml58 said:

expatinasia said:

Was actually thinking of a rain drop(s) running down the surface. If light can get in so can water, and the lens release button looks like the sort of place water could run into and divert into the camera.

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Hi Expatinasia, have a look at this video, at around the 3.45 mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUJc83wV6iA

I haven'y tried that with my own a7r, but I did have mine on a Jet Ski in Australia in December videoing my son on those Water Plume thingys, covered the a7r in a reasonable amount of salt water, washed it off later with a soaked towel of fresh water, still working, impressed me at least.

I've tried the light leak thing on mine, friend of mine also has the a7r we bought them same time same shop in Singapore, unable to get the light leak issue, but I can on my 5DMK III's, hasn't seemed to have caused much of an issue to date though.

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Thanks, I do like DigitalRev's videos. Always entertaining and educational.

And your jet ski test seems to have cleared up any issue of water leaking in through the holes that the light finds.

Cheers.

If I want a "Retro" Canon SLR, I would just get some tape, write CLASSIC on it and stick it onto my 7D, done.

What a lucky man, although, 4 million dollars is still ridiculous.

TrabimanUK said:

Chisox2335 said:

watchman48 said:

We have been to Zambia, SA and Botswana a number of times on safari and there couple of things that you might need to bear in mind.
If you are travelling between camps using light aircraft there is usually a weight limit on bags. I know that recently Proflight in Zambia introduced a strict weight limit on their internal flights. A couple of bodies plus lenses, battery packs etc. soon build up the weight. worth checking with your travel agent.
I wouldn't bring a tripod, prefer a monopod. If you are sharing a vehicle with up to 6 guests, space is limited and tripods take up a lot of room. I find the monpod easier to use, especially if the jeep, land rover etc. is bouncing around. No tarmac roads I'm afread. A lot of the good lodges will supply bean bags.
If you can avoid changing lenses during the game drive then do so. Apart from the dust aspect it's much easier to have two bodies set up with different lenses so that you can swap at a moments notice. I have the 100-400 and find it only of use in good light and would tend to use my 70-200 f2.8 for the early dawn and dusk shots.
The light drops quite dramatically, especially on the equator.

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Plan is to use the 70-200 during those times 100-400 in good light as you mentioned. I will be bringing a monopod or bean bag for the truck and a tripod for astro shots. We only take one inter country flight and it's on a decent size sa airways flight. All other transfers are by car.

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Be aware that SA ailines have an 8kg hand luggage allowance. It's a bit on the low side and you might have to be clever in your packing. If your wife / girlfriend is going, then load her handbag, as women get the 8kg hand luggage limit PLUS a handbag.

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Just got the death stare and "fine"

rs said:

On the surface, those requirements read like the spec sheet of the G1X mk II. Are you sure that's not number one on your list, and this is just a last ditch attempt to see if anyone can talk you out of it?

I'd say go for it!

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OK RS,
you were right.....after all.
Maybe it does not make sense buying it in pre-order, aka not waiting for price drop, but life is too short, and the clock is ticking...down.
So, yes, I pre-order the G1X mk2 at B&H.
Nothing else did made sense and come or close to what want/need within minimum compromises

tron said:

I had a 5D3 and 5D2. Recently I sold my 5D2 and got a second 5D3. No regrets. I have 2 new (current) cameras to play with. They
are exactly the same so there is no confusion in their use plus - and that's a big plus for me - no murphy's law: Wrong lens / camera combination.

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I still have the 5DII and I usually remember the power switch change, but the zoom (image) button throws me every time I use it!

flowers said:

If it's not a fact and you insist on it, it's emotional. Do you have any proof of this? There are plenty of batteries out there that work on more than one model of Canon dslrs, and everyone who uses them is happy with them. Some people have different firmware versions. Between two different bodies there are many different firmware combinations. If everyone is happy with the 3rd party battery I see no evidence of what you said is happening. I have OEM and 3rd party batteries too, no difference, both work for me. Of course I keep my firmwares at certain versions for certain reasons but I'm sure you'd get the same answer from people who upgrade their firmwares indefinitely.

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OK sir, if that makes you happy than, "emotional" it is :