docholliday said:

My MR and MT both have serial numbers. It's on the bottom of the generator unit, near the front edge. It's thermal embossed in the plastic, north of the "Canon, Inc.".

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Thanks for checking - I forgot... :-[

You're forgetting that capturing a photo vs. recording a video are two different things. From what I've read on the Black Magic's 4k camera, it can only record video. Sure, you can pull a still frame from a video clip but the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO settings will be far more limited compared to simply capturing a photo to begin with. Example, video recorded at 24 fps cannot have a shutter speed slower than 1/24, thereby eliminating the possibility of capturing a longer exposure.

DSLRs, mirrorless cameras, and many compact cameras have had the ability to capture a photo or record a video for years now. The limitation I stated above is the very reason why the two will naturally remain two distinct activities. Yes, there will be overlap such as time lapse photography converted to video or pulling a still frame from a video clip, but only working within the confines within this overlap will prove to be very limiting.

Thanks Neuro.

Just to add to my earlier post, the PDAF works like this

horshack said:

There are an infinite number of ways to perform invalid tests.

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+1

dtaylor listed several of them above.

Thanks everyone for your help and direction. Applying some of the techniques above, I was able to significantly improve the photos. Also, I made notes on what to different next year based on your comments.

Have a GREAT week!

tom

chauncey said:

We have a rather nice local park that is quite popular with the local Pros, weddings/portraits,...I've never seen any of them not have a 70-200 mounted on their body.

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When you have to get the picture convenience and flexibility count for a lot.

Aglet said:

Good quality NiMH AA cells should provide as much performance as a good OEM BP511, much more actually.
Try Sanyo Eneloop

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The eneloops work great in my flash.
The Ni-MH 2.7Ah batteries from the same brand that I have lying around got me thinking about it.

I use a grip with AAs on the film bodies, but I do not take as many pictures with them.
I was able to rely on alkalines in an emergency in the past, which is really nice.

Thanks guys.
I'll try to get a grip on this battery problem =)

kenmore Camera put on a great expo this past weekend. 70D body only was $1039.
In talking to the staff, he seem to think that the $100 will continue after this current offer.

IslanderMV said:

I had my manual stolen - along with my photo backpack while shooting wildlife. I downloaded the PDF manual to my iPad. While not the same as a paper manual, it has a few benefits. Since PDF's are searchable, you can find anything in a flash.

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Did you ask Canon for a replacement print manual? I did for my one series and they sent one free of charge, said it was one of the perks of owning a 1 series camera. This was 2 or 3 years ago.

Keep in mind that monitors and EVFs add another level of complexity with cables, batteries, mounts, and settings. The loupes like the Zacuto Z-Finder are dead simple. They just snap on the back and you're there.
A big part of your decision should be based on your shooting style. Are you in the studio on sticks? A monitor will be fine. Are you shooting handheld outside? Loupe will be light, block the sunlight, and provide a point of contact to steady your camera. I use both, depending on the situation I'm in but most of the time I'm using the Z-Finder instead of a monitor.

But for all the reasons you mentioned, this is a very versatile, remarkable lens that is easy to take along with several other lenses and another body.

sek

Khufu said:

Don Haines said:

hoodlum said:

Someone needs to come out with a current high quality 400mm f5.6 prime. I would switch systems for a high quality handheld bird lens.

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I think that there are a lot of people interested in a new version of the 400F5.6.... I would get it....

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I love my 400mm f/5.6L... Is there anything this "lot" of people need from it that it doesn't have/do?! Weather sealing, sure, but asides from that I love it's relatively light weight and small size without IS/zoom/wider aperture - coupled with the 5D3 sensor's ISO handling this thing's even incredible when losing daylight!
I guess closer focusing would be nice but that'd maybe ruin the magical optical formula!

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Could you please comment on how accurate the focus confirmation on your Zeiss 50/f2 is?

BruinBear said:

Looks awesome but I personally would never buy a lens like that without AF. I have enough trouble trying to focus a 55 f/2 :'(

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Jason Montalvo said:

Cayenne, I used Premiere pro with Magic Bullet looks to do any color/exposure adjustments

McBrad, I shot it at 60fps and conformed it to 24fps on the timeline.

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Thanks for the replies!!

Keep up the good work and post new ones as you get the completed!!

C

Nice discussion gentlemen, I am reading with great interest!

Don Haines said:

Ruined said:

StudentOfLight said:

I still think single SD or CF card could cause a bottleneck in the data pipepline. If you do the calculations you'll see that 24MP at 10fps is a higher data rate than the 1DX so I doubt it will actually be that much. It is more likely to be around 23.3MP (like 5D-III) and 9fps, which would still be an improvement on the 7D. Those numbers at least seem to be inline with the capability of the dual-digic5+ architecture as seen in the 1DX.

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If you have a 95mbps SD card and the slot/chipset supports full speed 95mbps then single SD slot should be no problem. If an older tech slot/controller on the camera is used then it may be.

i.e. one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Extreme-Class-Memory-SDSDXPA-032G-X46/dp/B005LFT3QG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1383605671&sr=8-5&keywords=sd+extreme+pro

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You can't really use the number of frames per second or the number of megapixels to argue if the slot is SD or CF without considering the buffer size. Nothing states how many shots before the buffer fills or what the size of the buffer is. Make the buffer bigger and you can live a lot longer with a slower storage card...

If you want to run continuous, assuming 32Mbyte per raw image and 12FPS, you are looking at 384MBytes/sec sustained transfer speed.... that's 32 times the speed of your 95Mbit/sec SC card or 6 times the speed of a 160Mbyte/second Sandisk Extreme Pro CF card. ( Read speed is 160MB/sec, write speed is 65MB/sec). Whatever technology they put in the 7D2 for card slot, it is the buffer size that has the most impact.....

If you assumed a 2 second burst and a buffer big enough to hold 2 seconds at 12FPS:
SD - 25 frames and 64 seconds to clear it
CF - 29 frames and 12 seconds to clear it

Does anyone really think that Canon would make a semi-pro camera that can sit there for over a minute trying to clear the buffer? The smart money is on CF.

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Hi Don, Thanks for correcting me on number of cards and valuable info on buffer size.

I can be quite lengthy in my replies sometimes and browser ends up timing-out, so I type responses in text editor and cut+paste into the forum. Sometimes I try to rearrange sentences and fail horribly. The first line my paragraph has nothing to do with rest of the paragraph. The rest of the paragraph is discussing DD5+ capability and the shooting speed of the rumored 7D-II it has nothing to do with number of cards. Apologies.

I would echo the suggestion of the 70-200 f2.8L Mark II and the 40 f2.8. I don't have the 24-70, instead, I have the 24-105 f4. The 24-105 offers greater range, but I still prefer the 70-200 most of the time.

This all depends upon what you shoot. For me, it's most often sports (mostly indoor) and events (people candids) with some portrait stuff. The 70-200 on a FF body is a great range to isolate you subject. Note that at events, I also like to stay in the background and out of the way. It's only for those "establishing" shots and group photos that I go to the shorter zoom or a shorter prime.

For me, the jump from 40mm to 70mm isn't a big deal. If the 40 is a little too wide I can either move closer or crop. Granted, it is nice to have all focal lengths covered between 24 and 200, but I don't get too hung up on not having the full range between 40 and 70.

Just last night I shot grade school musical (basically choirs and school bands) with the 70-200. I used a 35 2.0 for some establishing shots of the venue and crowd, but everything else was with the 70-200. I have no problem getting a group of kids in the shot or zeroing in on one or two. I had my 24-105 with me, but didn't use it because I didn't need anything wider than the 35.

I also find that the 70-200 is great for portraits -- up to 2 in an average living, or larger groups outside. If individuals are the subject matter, I try to avoid the wider focal lengths which can be less than flattering.

AlanF said:

discojuggernaut said:

I don't use the dumb leather hat/cover. Just grab an appropriate-sized tupperware cover from the wife when she's sleeping.

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The II has fabric cover with Velcro. It's an improvement over the leather. Lost it once, but it's so big it was handed in to the nature centre.

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Yes, the new cover is a huge improvement over the old design and it's pretty hard to lose. It's $120 to replace, though! I bought the LensCoat Hoodie XX Large (kept it and returned the Lenscoat) and it's a little easier to use, with the hood on, fits in your pocket, and is only $16 if lost.

Also, I found the Ape Case Large Lens Ape Case (ACPROLC18) for $40 and it holds the 300 with room for extenders and just fits the lens with the hood extended.
http://apecase.com/products/lens-cases/pro-lens-cases/acprolc18-professional-large-lens-case/
It's pretty cool when the hard case is too big.

So basically what you are saying is that in another six months or so, Sony will be out with a new mount

Just wondering if anyone here has earned any photographic honours? If so, do you have any tips for those starting out? I've just been reading that it might be best to focus on prints, as there might be a little less competition in relation to acceptances. Does anyone know if that's the case?

Hi!

I'm new to this forum but here are my comparison between these two cameras.

Both are APS-C sensors and light weight bodies. For sure the EOS M is smaller, lighter, especially used with pancakes lenses.

The big advantage of the EOS M over all other reflexes is its short flange to sensor distance. Design and fabricate the proper CNC adaptor and you can fit almost all lenses produced since the earliest days of photography.

The big disadvantage of the EOS M is that Canon, for unknown reasons, have obliterated most of EOS Utilities functions (when connected to a computer), mainly :
- no remote liveview on a computer screen
- no remote focus control
- no tethered shooting
- no RAW export on the computer
Therefore, persons who intended to use this body for Stop Motion movies, nature / wildlife automatic detection or timelapse shooting, astronomy photos shall considere another body.

The 100D is lightweight though slightly heavier and bigger than the EOS M. It does not suffer the limitations on EOS Utilities and works like any other EOS body. However, it has the same flange to sensor distance as the other EOS.

Fred

I agree with the sentiment above about the 300 being very versatile with the extenders (i have both mkII's with the IS mkI). It is a great piece of handholdable kit that performs well with the 2x, great with the 1.4x, and amazing naked. Great AF, decent IS, and incredible image quality and bokeh with almost no difference in sharpness stopped down. I was fortunate enough to find one at a decent price in excellent condition used on craigslist (it had camo protective gear so the finish looks brand new) and have loved every time i've pulled it out. I would only consider selling it to fund a mkII version or a 500 f/4 (i shoot kiteboarding, events, portraits).

Ruined said:

neuroanatomist said:

drob said:

If you look around at other child photographers and their work, many are shooting with prime lenses and/or 24-70mm f2.8 or 70-200 f2.8 lens. You'd be hard pressed to find any photographer taking pics of children with a kit lens.

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Depends on where you look. Many portrait studios use 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lenses on APS-C bodies, and they work fine. When you have control over lighting (and lots of it) and background, f/6.3-8 works well.

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This is true. There is a massive misconception that pros usually do portraits at f/2 and below, while if in controlled setting usually the opposite is true. If you have proper lighting, best results are often gotten at f/8 instead of f/2.

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While generally agreeing with the convo, there's one more misconception in your statement. Most lenses are not at their sharpest at f8. One can view that during a simple Focal test. Quite a few of my L are at their sharpest at f5.6.

privatebydesign said:

90% 100-200iso; 8% 400-800iso; 2% either under 100 or over 800.

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I suspect that I'm the same. When I get home tonight, I'll have a look at the exact numbers (but this might be thrown out by night-time timelapse photos, which I normally shoot at 1600). Most of my photos tend to be deliberately planned, tripod mounted shots where I want the best possible IQ. Plus lately I've been getting into long exposure shots, and low ISOs help me obtain longer exposures. ISO 100 is where I live.

Re changing brands/cameras to get better IQ. Its never really occurred to me. I'm happy with Canon and prefer their cameras and lenses. I don't really choose cameras on IQ, but on other features. My latest purchase was theoretically a downgrade in IQ - to an APS-C Fuji X-E1. But even it produces great photos. My reasons for purchasing it included it being enjoyable to use, it has a smaller/more socially acceptable body, direct access dials, better IR performance and better AF with IR filters and ND filters. I'm one of those people for whom, once image quality reaches an acceptable level, it ceases being an important deciding factor.

It's not realistic to label all 3rd party batteries as sub-standard. Sometimes you get crap, even from Canon. If throwing your hard earned cash out the window makes you feel better, buy Canon batteries. I'm perfectly comfortable with 3rd party batteries. I have used a few different brands.

I can get 4 Wasabi batteries and two chargers including car adapters for the price of one Canon battery. In use, my 3rd party batteries have been in distinguishable from my Canon batteries. They last as long and are fully recognized and functional with all of my cameras (2 x 5D III, 2 x 5D II, 7D and 60D).

It's not uncommon for me to go out packing three or four bodies for a full day shoot. I will also take along a half dozen or so spare batteries. I always carry extra batteries, just in case, but rarely need them.

Everyone has their own opinions about what's important and we also have our own comfort zones.

That said, I'll save my money for something I do consider worthwhile... Better glass...

Eldar said:

They look good enough to make a more thorough review by some of the more reputable sites more interesting. We don´t know anything about what body they used and how the images were processed though.

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It's the Sigma SD1 - this is why I said center sharpness

How they were processed is not super relevant to me. I process my pictures too, so I'm more interested in the potential of a lens more than how JPGs OOC look.