Thanks for all your replies.
I was not going to buy anything from this guy - it was clear that it is a scam, I just was not sure how they were doing it since Amazon normally protects buyers. Thanks joshmurrah for the explanation!

And no Tiger, there is no need to boot me. My intention was (obviously, I think) not to advertise this or to even try to sell something in this way. I think of all places on the web this forum would be the last one where any even moderately reasonable person would try it... I also have a real email address, and I even exist as a real person

Now, all this said, if anyone here is interested in selling his 300 f/2.8L II to me for under 2k I might be interested. ;D

Here's what Ken Rockwell has to say on the subject. He debunks the myth that new camera models with better ISO can compensate for slower shutter sync

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/syncspeed.htm

RLPhoto said:

I've seen some photog's use PCB einstiens to light a small gym with radio poppers for triggers.

They tend to use a 10" aluminum cone to get the reach they need and setup long before the game starts.

but for something this large, probably a couple of large broncolor strobes.

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It just seems like a lot of light to use in a situation like that. If I'm Lebron, and I'm ready to throw one down over Dwight Howard, I'm going to be hopping mad if I get a big flash in my eyes at the last second.

pwp said:

I've said it before....content is king.
-PW

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Yes, the proof are the many visually appealing videos on youtube shot with zero Dof and zero content.

AmbientLight said:

From a pure business perspective you sure got a point here .

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Shoot! I thought I was being pessimistic...

It has been a long time that I have been in software - A REALY LOOOOOOOOOONG time (for me at least...). The phrase "to err is human" did not just spring up. That was a program manager of a software firm may be 4000 or so years back realized that it was "money for nothing, bugs for free"!

In case you are going to shoot a lot wide open for portraits or night shots I strongly recommend the 50L.

Nevertheless as Neuro stated in this thread you should question your preferred focal length, because although 35mm is somewhat similar to 50mm it is not the same. The 50mm will give you tighter portraits or night shots with more reach. If you want to shoot wider, go for the 35mm, if it is the opposite you should buy the 50mm.

I own and absolutely love the 50mm. I use a 24mm f1.4 for wider shots with fast aperture, because I feel 35mm focal length is not really something for me, but that is exactly the point in focal length preference.

Awesome insights folks. I'm going through the feedback, and yeah looking at real life samples, both are amazing.

jointdoc said:

There is a good podcast by Martin Bailey #235 and #236 in March 2010 comparing these two lenses. You may want to check out his website.

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Thanks a lot jointdoc, That was a wonderful review by Martin Bailey. I am going to save up, and get the MKII. No point cheaping out on glasses. I have a 24-70, and really dont dig it's sharpness although it gave me some nice images. Since it was used on a 60D and I wouldn't bump the iso hence used to shoot wide open which ultimately gave softer results. Now that I will be using it with the 5DIII, I am probably going to stop down to f3.5 or 4 and bump up the iso to compensate. Neuro and others helped me figure out I will need to AFMA the 24-70. If that doesn't help then I will have to figure out if I want to send it to Canon to get it calibrated to the 5DIII.

Just ask the "dark side" or fellow hobby photographers for some tips. It's strange no one cared at university about what we used, it was all about your skill not what brand you had. Come to think of it most of my mates including my lecturer had Nikon, but not once did I hear brand bashing. The only person who cared about DSLR brands was my wife and I put that down to a girl thing. Best of luck I wish I could be there :'(

Thanks. I'll start the upgrade now then

Heron Bay

Hi ........



Thanks

I'd suggest go with the Canon 50 1.4

Neuro, wow - that looks great - I can hardly wait to get my 600mm II.

WesternGuy

DV333 said:

Had a 60D. Shot with it. Got ML. Still lacking something with it. But like everyone one says AF isnt all great for filming. Manual focus over AUTO. I'd say Try both and see what you like better. :-\

P.S. got my hands on an EOS M for a bit.... : not that bad with filming maybe T4i will be better. Maybe a small body like M isnt so bad for film?????

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Well how much control over video does one get with the M? A smaller body would be good for when it's needed, but as for lenses there are only two so far, and no one knows what'll be added later. And if you're going to you standard EOS anyways then that kills the point of a small mirror-less for compact portability.
Though, since it can be stuffed into a tiny compartment, it would be a space saving back up.

I am told 5D Mark 2 + 24-70 F2.8 L lens is sharper than 60D + 17-55 F2.8 APSC. DXO Mark seems to agree on this. So I decide to do a test.

http://hkfreelancephotographer.com/canon-5d224-70l-vs-60d17-55-apsc/

Thanks guys!

Got the 55 f/2 and 135 f/3/5 Super-Tacs. Will add pictures and opinions as soon as I'll have them in my hands and play around a bit.

Give me a damn 70D Canon.

The Canon radio gear is super reliable. We tested the water initially with just two 600s, and we were so happy with it, that we are at 4 600s and the ST-E3.

At this point we have more than 3 months of extensive experience with the system and the verdict is clear: Absolutely recommended.

Pros/Cons of the Canon Radio Setup:

Pros:
1) Super Reliable. Compared with previous radio option: Pocketwizards (MiniTT1/FlexTT5) controlling 580EXIIs. The interference problem on the 580 seems to be gone on the 600.
2) Controlled directly from the camera. Canon doesn't advertise this as much as it should, since this is a killer feature (External Speedlite Control Menu).
3) Allows for 5 different groups, with up to 16 flashes overall. This allows for complex lighting setups. I believe Nikon only goes up to four groups (if you use the master as the first group, from the mcnally sketching the light book)
4) No line of sight requirement: As with every radio solution, of course.
5) Compatible with previous Canon flashes, using optical transmission. Optical works OK indoors, but is very tricky outdoors, specially if the sun is hitting hard.
6) Good Range: Canon's range estimate is very conservative. You can get more range.
7) You end up carrying less gear and weight around. For events, this is critical.

Cons:
1) Expensive?. Typically, this is the first complain (it was mine complain at first), but compared with the previous option, a 580 plus a pocketwizard, is about the same. I guess, the Canon marketing guys did their math right.
2) Still, you end up spending thousands of $, when you purchase multiple flashes (For events, is indispensable to have at least 3 600s to rotate them as they overheat)
3) Not compatible with other lighting equipment. I don't know of a way to control and fire other lighting gear (strobes) with the canon system. (If anyone knows of a creative way, please let everybody know)
4) Overheating: When pushed hard, I see very similar behavior as the 580s. Not sure if the way the 600s handle heat is a major improvement over the 580s
5) Can't think of other cons.

Please feel free to add pros and cons to this list.

I would love to read opinions from neuro, spokane and all of the excellent participants of this forum, the real value of this forum.

wickidwombat said:

i really wish someone would make a 20mm TSE lens
i'm not the biggest fan of 24mm and i think the 17 is too wide
20mm is my favourite focal length for wide shooting i wonder if zeiss could make a TSE version of their
21mm now THAT would be sweet

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wider is good with me but I agree, a 20mm TS is something I'd really like too.
my 20mm Nikkor is a favorite.

bdunbar79 said:

I do think, however, that the 1Ds Mark III gets skin tones and mid tones correct, or at least they are much more accurate than the 5D Mark III. I've had this battle a bit with the 5D3.

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Good skin tone is the most important factor for the type of work that I do
(fashion and nude photography for magazines).

So, I should definitively stay with the EOS 1 series of cameras?

Is 5D Mark III significantly inaccurate regarding the skin colors?

Skin color correction in Photoshop is always major pain in the ... for me.

Thanks, exphose. I had also written a Perl script that copied large files to the card until it was filled. Didn't run into any issues with the card. That, of course, doesn't rule out weird interactions between the card and camera.

But I'll note that I've not seen the issue with the replacement 1DX I have (knock on wood) using the same cards I had before -- I've even filled them up during a shoot.

Shawn L.

I had similar results when I compared the two, the 17-55 actually seemed a bit sharper than the 24-70.

Hello - I'm planning to spend 2 weeks in South East Asia in December. I haven't set my itinerary yet but was thinking of splitting my time between HCMC, Angkor Wat, and Bangkok. I know that's not enough time to soak in all the culture and sights but I can't extend my trip and I really wanted to visit all three countries. That said, I am hoping to get some travel advice for that part of the world. I'm from NYC and I've previously been to Asia (Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia) but stuck to "safe" touristy areas. I'm hoping for a more local and "real" experience for this trip. Besides taking normal precautions and safeguards should I be worried at all about my photo gear?

This is what I have and what I'm thinking of bringing. I'm trying to travel light but would welcome any different suggestions:
7D
Tamron 18-270
5DmIII (taking)
24-105L (taking)
50L
430EXII
Gitzo GK1580TQR4 Tripod (taking)
Lee 2xND, Big Stopper, 2x GND
Canon S95 (taking)
Panasonic TS4
Gorillapod SLR-Zoom
Tamrac Zipshot

Everything above is insured. Would anyone take the 7D+Tamron instead for the weight+reach? I'm tempted to bring the Lee Filters and flash but I'm not sure how much I would really use them.

For those that have photographed the three countries above, are there any MUST SEE places? I've researched and looked at guidebooks but I'm looking for a photographer's perspective. Would you split your time equally between the three countries? Spend more time in one than the others? That kind of stuff.

Any tips and general recommendations would be really appreciated!

4K at 15fps isn't as great as it seems. Secondly, Canon DSLR's are not video cameras, they are still cameras with a video feature, there has to be some balance between the stills/video. And yes the new GoPro looks great and I'll probably get one, but you can't expect the same IQ out of it as a DSLR. But the GoPro has a tiny sensor, it's much harder to get high frame rates out of a full frame sensor. You want high FPS with a larger sensor, the Sony FS700 is about $8k and does 120fps/240fps@1080p and 960fps at low res.

Specs and numbers aren't everything. It's like saying "oh well this T4i is 18MP and the 1D Mark IV is only 16, why is the 1D such an overpriced piece of crap?" When we all know that the 1DiV is better than the T4i in every way. And while it's nice to have high frame rates available, how often will you actually use them for a project (not just messing around)?

What they said, 23.976 is standard, you aren't doing anything wrong.

darrellrhodesmiller said:

i've used all the sites mentioned above, there really is no perfect solution. Creative live is great and if you can catch the lessons while they are recording them they are free.. They tend to focus on model photography.. or at least thats what they have been focusing on recently.. which isnt my thing, but they really are good classes.

AdoramaTV is very good too..

i've been on lynda.com for about 2 yrs.. their photoshop and lightroom training is 2nd to none.. in the last year or so they really have changed their focus from trainers teaching the classes to professionals in the industry that really use the software.. and use it in the way you would use it.. In the last year they've also added a photography catagory, all these classes are taught by photographers.. some very famous photographers.. some are very beginner type classes.. but they are getting more and more intermediate and advanced classes. for 20.00 a month you can get 1 yr of unlimited classes for the price of one creativelive class.

D

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Thank you all for the feedback.

I don't have/use the Adobe products....I'm looking to learn more of Apeture3 and FCPX...which they do seem to have lessons on there too.

I think the photography stuff I want to take...and one that excited me, was the apparently LARGE class (8hours or so) for the open source Blender tool....which I think would be quite fun to learn and see if I could incorporate that into my video stuff....maybe even stills somehow?

Thanks for the lynda.com info...and the other thinks to lessons/tutorials!!

The lighting thing I need too...will check out strobists!!

Any other suggestions greatly appreciate!!

C