Lots of pictures of boxes but no actual 70D images!

Update - I went to a local camera store during my lunch break to play about with the 70D. The LV AF is amazingly fast, you just touch the screen to focus and it's instant and accurate. The ergonomics are similar to the 7D but everything is smaller. It's like a mini 7D in a way. Feels solid and the grip is similar to the 7D too, glad they got rid of the 60D grip, yuk!

Only played about with it for a few minutes but it seems like a well rounded solidly built little APS-C with very good, sharp images with good color rendition.

bradfordswood said:

That is a great deal on the 35.

I took the rented 18-35 on a trip to Chicago and shot roughly 500 pictures, 300 of which were keepers. I haven't processed any of them yet, as I'm waiting for Lightroom to release a lens correction profile.

My copy seemed to hunt a little, especially in low light. Keep in mind I shoot on a 60d, so not the greatest autofocus to begin with. I did like the range a lot; I have a 17-40L so this was pretty close in terms of focal lengths.

I've been thinking a lot about switching to full frame, and thought maybe this lens would convince me to stay with crop. No conclusion so far. I wanted to love this lens, and I still could, but I won't know for sure until I get a chance to process all my shots.

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You know Bryan mentioned that it CAN be mounted on full frame, just has a ton of vignetting at the wide end. Curious how well it would do but it's still an interesting lens if the outer quality isn't too bad. Heck the 35 2.0 canon is aweful on the outside on full frame and if it was for the focusing on it it wouldn't be too bad

Hi iGotta

Check this photostream - some awesome shots of motorsports, military aircraft in flight etc. Almost exclusively 120-300 (pre-Sport, from the dates), several with 1.4x and even 2x.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/damoblack/with/9604600100/

He's obviously very good at handling this big beast!

Cheers

Hi Markus

Yes, most of Damo's shots are with the 120-300. You can see it in the Tags most of the time, and can also click on Additional Info: Show more - he's good at completing that, which includes basic settings.

And a correction to my post: of course it's the 120-300 pre-Sport (+1.4x) that I'm renting. I already have the 120-400! Sorry for any confusion - Doh!

Cheers

takesome1 said:

What the 300mm will not do for you, that the 500mm will, is give you decent IQ at 700mm with a 1.4x attached.

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That is my only issue.

takesome1 said:

Since you say your interest changed to equine, I think the 300mm will be the choice for you. You did say the 500mm sits in the corner and gathers dust. It appears that "serious" bird photographer does not apply.

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Indeed, no longer serious about the birds, hence my consideration and want for opinions.

Thanks to you all, so many great replies, it seems the 300 is a real champion.

bitm2007 said:

Hi Guy's

The lens arrived today. It is front heavy but not as much as I feared it might be. Have tested it on a tripod without a collar in bright still conditions today and am pleased with the image quality. Expect the genuine Canon collar, that arrives tomorrow will be beneficial in more testing conditions however.

The biggest surprise was the color. I was expecting white, it's about 15 to 20% grey. I was initially worried, but have done some research and seems to be normal.

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It's actually whiter than the older white lenses. The MkII superteles, MkIII extenders and the 70-300L have the 'new' white paint, less beige than the old one.

Happy birthday ^^ But yeah, like said above you can try looking for an alternative to Canon's repair department. You might even find someone who fixes lenses on Craigslist or get a recommendation from a local shop.

Big DEAL : All L lenses will be black and no more white.

I hope than it is more than just that...

Here is a site have some info about T4i and T5i, if you are interested, check out the details

Hi Paul.
Thanks for the tips, had looked at LCE before but had forgotten them, hadn't seen ffordes, useful resources, another source of limited usefulness is CEX, they sometimes have gear at good prices with warranty. Web site is the limiting factor on usefulness IMHO.
I'm fairly certain one of these lenses is going to join my arsenal, the seriously nice glass comment was aimed at 24-70 white! However reading another post it seems that is not a good focal range for crop, I did wonder.

Cheers Graham.

20 second exposure - no noise - H4D-50


Zoomed in on previous image. Amazing the level of detail.

Shooting anything that moves is a 100% Canon gig. If you can it to sit still, MF will give you amazing results.

the G series won't invade into M series aps-c size sensor territory.

it's ironic how us consumers/semi pro's seem to know it all about what canon should do, but canon doesn't seem to care since it sells rebels like starbucks coffee.

it seems like canon just has a metric ton of old tech they need to sell off and will wait until the last moment to make a comeback.

anyway the only thing that caught my eye is the 9.3 FPS, i have no idea how useful the AF system is but that alone would be killer for soccer moms shooting sports.

i'll stick to my OLD kodak Z915 superzoom for point and shoot crap. my 7D still does the real work.

Apop said:

Hey all, what would you think as a backup camera, the 6d or 7d.
Does anyone know if the GPS in the 6d works on remote locations (gps devices can sometimes struggle getting alocation).

Most reviews I could find were kind of bashing the 6d autofocus performance.
I am only interested in It's center point performance, if it's capable of focussing with decent speed and accuracy and able to track subjects when I keep the point in them.


Any thoughts on the combo's would be much appreciated,

Goal: wildlife
Primary body : 1dmkiv in case of the 6d, or 5dIII in case of the 7d
lenses : 70-200 / 300
tc's : 1.4/2.0

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for what you are doing, I'd say go with the 5d3/7d combo. For my purposes the 6d works great (i have the 5d3/6d combo. I can't really speak to the servo mode on the 6d though, for anything that requires tracking like that I use the mk3. both the mk3 and the 6d have a much better servo mode, and if your shooting wildlife that will be handy.

the 1dmk4 --- I have never owned one, but when I was close to enough $$$ for my mk3 I asked about the mk3 vs the 1dmk4..nobody said grab the 1d4...

gferdinandsen said:

I am looking at getting a 60Da. Does anyone have experience with it, or even 20Da? According to some reviews on Amazon, it can shoot regular photo's in Daylight, is this true? Thanks

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Only if you use an IR cut filter on your lens. Otherwise, you'll get... well....

http://www.tutorial9.net/downloads/101-absolutely-breathtaking-infrared-photographs/#3


Edit: Another example:

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/hoya-uv---ir-cut-filter-review-20088

Scroll down to the washed-out greyscale photo.

The Canon S100 is a great little camera and surprisingly clean at 1600 for a P&S. But, if action is the priority, then DSLT is the only answer. I'd look at a refurbished T4i, T3i, or T2i through Canon's refubish store.

pwp said:

...But for your current dilemma? Just ship it. It will be fine. Alternatively, rent a refrigerated truck...

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I loved the refrigerated truck, I want one for me too. ;D Seriously, photographers used film in temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius for a few hours without major problems. The worst would leave him in a black car with closed windows parked in the summer sun, which could reach over 60 degrees celsius.

Janbo Makimbo said:

thgmuffin said:

insanitybeard said:

thgmuffin said:

The best alternative to the 5D3 would be the 6D and 7D!

6D for still imagery, low light af, full frame advantages. Basically the best all rounder.
7D for sports, moving subjects, optical flash, crop factor.

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I have considered going this route, the only thing is I would prefer to have all the features in one body (obviously the 5D III does not have a built in flash), I prefer to keep weight and bulk down but it sure is an option!

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Not being able to trigger slave flashes is also a pain... :-\ 7D can do it via onboard flash (optically) but 6D can't...

Anyway I still shoot with my T2i (almost identical in terms of image performance to 7D) when I need something lighter and that "extra reach" that APSC gives you. Plus I only own one telephoto lens (55-250).

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Good luck...... Canon do not put pop up flashes in any of their FF cameras, I use an ST-E3 to trigger my 600ex-rts and I also have a 550ex and a 580ex ii if I would ever need to do optical off camera flash.

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Going to buy a RF603 and a few Yongnuo 560 III! Radio triggering FTW!

infared said:

mrsfotografie said:

We've been here before, but I'll throw the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 into this discussion just for the hell of it. It is my quality 50mm, and it's nice that it shares the 77mm filter thread woth most of my other lenses. For travel I have a 50 mm f/1.8 Mk I. These are my workarounds considering the current offerings of Canon 50's.

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I am a fan and own the Sigma 50mm f/1.4....guess we got lucky and got good copies... Love this lens....BUT...it could be that with Sigma's new commitment to the craft we may see an Art series 50mm and if it is anything like the Art 35mm f/1.4...I think I would be all over that!!!!!!!
Canon has a lot..but it just doesn't have it all.

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I'm thankful to say that I've an excellent copy

distant.star said:

.
Be thankful it wasn't in your soup!

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Oh yeah, a 50mm Sigma would definitely ruin a good soup.

Have you used a 3xTC? If so, what is the IQ like - I would not like to miss an easy way of getting 900mm from the 300mm f/2.8?

CarlTN said:

I meant I wanted to shoot the whole sky with the comet in it, and feature part of the terrestrial view as well.

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I see, well, then perhaps a fish-eye would serve you good. But generally, if you choose a very short focal length, the comet will not look as impressive (unless it is very impressive). If you want terrestrial features in the foreground, another strategy is to choose a time when the comet is nearer the horizon, and use a focal length more appropriate for the comet.

CarlTN said:

Incidentally, how well would a 300mm lens work on the Vixen Polarie?

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I have no personal experience with it. The Polarie is intended for more wide-angle work, but is rated for 7 Ibs. of load, so it could potentially take a 300/4 for some 30s, if properly polar aligned. A 300/2.8 would probably be too much, including mount head and camera. An Astro-Trac could be the better mobile option, or a dedicated "light" tracking mount like the iOptron ZEQ25GT if mobility was not essential (i.e. no hiking with equipment unless you have plenty of assistents).

At 300mm it would be difficult to get foreground (but could yield spectacular results if you did; compare with full moon pictures showing foreground). You would ideally have the foreground high above you (a mountain or hill) to avoid seeing the comet through too much atmosphere. For a foreground project, I think 35-100mm would be a better trade-off between seeing both the comet and the foreground well enough. But as you say, it depends a lot on the comet.

If you haven't already, I would recommend you to look at other's comet pictures from past great comets, to probe the possibilities and get inspiration. Just remember that the last really great comet, comet Hale-Bopp, was in the pre-digital era (1997), so options were more limited then.

Well, if you consider their new, low-cost a3000, they could be looking to grab a bit more of the low-margin, high volume consumer end of the market... And they might at that price!

rs said:

sama said:

Just curious to ask if caught for cheating the customs, who will pay the penalty and if the items are seized/confiscated finally, who will be responsible for it ?

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On the DigitalRev site, if you add an item to your basket, on the right below the price it says the following:

[quote author="DigitalRev"]
No Import Tax/Duty to Pay:
Any import tax/duty charged will
be billed directly to us.

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Which is contradicted by generic (non UK) wording on the Customs section of their Conditions of Sale page:

[quote author="DigitalRev"]
Any additional charges for customs clearance must be borne by you, unless an Import Handling Charge is included in the price of the goods.
[/quote]
I've not paid any import duty on the items I've ordered from them.
[/quote]

It's not a contradiction. The answer is right in front of you:

"if you add an item to your basket"

What you've done by adding the item to your basket is invoking the clause from the general disclaimer, "unless an Import Handling Charge is included in the price of the goods"

You're adding an item to your cart, that includes the import handling charge.

I suspect that if you add a different item to your cart that doesn't include the import handling charge, it will not have the "Any import tax/duty charged will be billed directly to us" language.

The generic non-UK wording on the Customs section is the blanket disclaimer, which is superseded by your purchase contract for that one particular item.

Make sense?

CarlTN said:

sagittariansrock said:

mrsfotografie said:

+1 I like the 'new' quality (and will probably get the 35 mm this year), but I think the nomenclature is just plain silly, and amateuristic too. Just like a car manufacturer printing 'Off Road" on a 4x4, 'Street' on a passenger car, 'Town' on something small and compact, just so you wouldn't get the wrong model by mistake :

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Or, like an expensive line of lens being called "luxury" (L)?

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+1, the new nomenclature is not "silly" at all. It is however an obvious marketing ploy...what matters is the product itself. But certainly calling something "art" is not earthshattering. If they had used "turbo", then that would have been silly. Art can certainly be generated from Sigma lenses.

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+1 Call me shallow if you will, but it's by far the best looking lens I own (and I own quite a few). Art is the perfect designation.

brianleighty said:

zlatko said:

brianleighty said:

Also, I haven't done a site scout yet but if I am super far back, do I rent something longer than the 70-200 I normally rent or just have wider shots instead? Appreciate the advice.

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I would use a wide focal length range for some variety, perhaps 24mm to 200mm, or even 16mm to 200mm. As for needing anything longer than a 70-200 -- that depends entirely on the location.

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Thanks for the input. I understand it depends on location. Would you say if you can get full body head to feet that that's tight enough or is more needed?

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Yes, that would be tight enough for me. I would not rent a longer lens in that situation. This comes down to your own preference: do you really want a tight shot (like upper body only) from the back of the church? Normally, you would have it. But it's not essential in every case, especially when so restricted. And, depending on the camera, cropping can help.