Posts

bdunbar79 · Jan 2, 2013

Agreed. I use the 300 f/2.8 and 400 f/2.8. But money is a problem obviously with those, lol! So on crop body, 70-200 is more than sufficient.

Jan 2, 2013

(Updated)

<mumble!> My mother's Leica Rangefinder
<mumble> Bought my first SLR - just-released Minolta AF 7000 (aka Maxxum), 24mm f2.8, 35-70mm f4, 70-210mm f4 "beercan." After a few too many snap-happy weekends (20+ 36-exp films) it was mothballed, to save my aching hip-pocket nerve! The 'keeper' rate on this camera was astonishing.

1999 (Sony DCR-TRV900E - video)

2003 Canon IXUS 400 - great little camera; still have it, still use it occasionally (keep it in the car)

2008 Canon 30d / 17-85 IS USM because I needed a half-decent camera now and the 5D2 was too late; compromise camera ought 2nd-hand with the intent of replacing it with a 5d2 - which quickly turned out to be a white elephant due to AF issues and the price.

2011/2 (Sony HDR CX130E - video) To simplify my workflow - mini-DV is a hassle, SD cards mount right up With no '5d mark 3' available at the time - again - Canon left me high and dry. Again.

2012
Canon 5d Mark III (arrived last week)
70-300 f4-5.6L (arrived Wednesday, my only non -S EF lens)
100 f2.8L Macro (arrived Friday, with...)
24-105 f4L (the dealer shipped a 16-35L II instead!)

That's about all I can afford right now. Arguably more.

I see what all the fuss has been about now - the big, bright viewfinder, the heft of the beast... and images that make you scratch your head when they hit LR4. I'm used to seeing something obvious to fix from the 30d, but the images SOOC are way better. Sharp as a tack, too. Gotta watch that DoF now

Stewbyyy · Jan 2, 2013

I picked up a 1D Mark IIN a few days ago, it's my first time with a 1-Series body. I'm moving from a 40D/60D set up to a 1D IIN/40D set up as I'm shooting mainly sports and events. The previous owner was a press photographer who used the camera for years and looked after it, she never had a problem with it.

I've noticed that there's a slight hesitation before it attempts to find focus and it's noticeably slower than my 40D, it doesn't feel quite as snappy. I've tested it on a Sigma 24-60mm F/2.8 and a Canon 70-200mm F/2.8L and the results are the same. The tests are using only the centre AF point. The 1D hunts a fair bit more in lower light than the 40D but I put that down to the age difference between the two. Could the hesitation problem due to the age as well? I wiped down the lens contacts but that didn't make a difference.

I'm considering sending it in to the local Canon service centre here in Dublin, but would just like some other opinions before I do so.

Mark Carey · Jan 2, 2013

meli said:
Mark Carey said:

Really sorry guys - this is embarrassing.

The demand on my site from this post has caused a massive load on a shared server. Its a big post with a lot of images. As soon as it comes back online I can trim it down a bit - at the moment I cant get in to do that.

Im investigating getting a dedicated server. I have a couple of other sites as well so might not be a bad idea.
If anyone knows a good value company for this Id be very interested. Im in the UK.
My website admin guy is talking about £80 per month, gulp!

Mark

Click to expand...

Hey it happens, just break down the photos into 4-5 pages and you'll be allright. I wouldn't consider a dedicated server unless you expect that traffic everyday! Alternatively consider setting up a secondary blog in something like tumblr, its free & it can handle the punishment.

Cheers for the review & the wonderful photos!

Thanks Mate,
its seems to have recovered now. Im astounded at the amount of visits CR sent to my website!
Good call about breaking the blog posts up. They are really content heavy and Ive been slack about considering that. I dont know how to break them over several pages but Ill figure it out. Ill check out Tumblr as well.

cheers

Mark

Axilrod · Jan 2, 2013

jondave said:
Huh? What's your opinion based on? Canon and Red aren't even competing in the same category, much more on price.

Well after the price drops the Epic isn't much more than a C500 and the Scarlet isn't much more than a 1DC and about the same price as the C300. And in terms of specs the RED stuff is killing it. Then again people love the C300 and seem to love the C100 so specs aren't everything, but they still matter to some.

Famateur · Jan 2, 2013

Agreed -- good advice. Thank you!

Jan 1, 2013

You'd need another Yongnuo receiver.

tomscott · Jan 1, 2013

My BG-E2N got stuck on my 40D, half way unscrewed so it would not turn on.

The problem is over tightening or over use. The main cog is plastic and the smaller one is metal so it strips. Only way i could get it off was by drilling a hole through the visible cog and un-tighten the smaller cog with a screw driver. Broke the grip, but they are pretty cheap now.

You can see the metal cog here.

Kernuak · Jan 1, 2013

Happy New Year. I celebrated by letting a friend persuade me to go "swimming" in a sea-filled lake

. At least it wasn't raining like it has been for most of the year or snowing. The temperature had dropped compared to recently though, but it was still a balmy 5 or 6 Celsius.

enice128 · Jan 1, 2013

I use clear uv filters on ALL my glass! Make sure its a good quality one, at least spend the $ on a b&w one! The least u can do is protect ur expensive glass. The less expensive filters will effect the quality of ur images plus god forbid u bang the front element u only damage the filter not the lens!

Michael_pfh · Jan 1, 2013

On my 1D4 the 135L focusses very quickly and accurately. This lens is simply great value for money.

stefsan · Jan 1, 2013

Very handy, thanks for posting!

Northstar · Jan 1, 2013

neuroanatomist said:
Northstar said:

I so so so so frequently have to boost exposure in pp by 1/2 stop if I've decided to shoot auto iso in "m".

Click to expand...

As I said, you can correct it with an AE microadjustment, which basically sets the zero point for the camera's meter where you want it.

I will be doing this...thanks again.

rpt · Dec 31, 2012

serendipidy said:
The tiger works for Nikon ;D

LOL!

Dec 31, 2012

I recall something about needing to disable silent shooting in live view with TS-E lenses, but I thought the new ones (17 and 24 II) were exempt, so that's probably not it...

Even though restoring defaults fixes it, it could certainly be a firmware bug. For example, the AFMA bug that was fixed with firmware 1.0.6 was triggered by enabling the orientation-linked AF point setting. If you can reproduce the behavior based on a single setting, that will help Canon (and the rest of us, eventually). If not, you might still contact Canon and offer to email your settings file to them for testing.

skitron · Dec 31, 2012

neuroanatomist said:
It's more prominent with smaller light sources when the focus distance is close and the light sources are also close, but still OOF.

True, and I inadventently had a nice 'test lab' this year since our tree had both clear miniature lights and the larger old skool solid color c4 lights. The mini - which as far as light sources goes is both the visible filament and the reflection of the filament in the clear glass - has some onion effect while the larger uniform light source c4 bulbs are perfectly smooth. Moral to the story is string your tree with c4 bulbs next year for premium quality bokeh, lol.

RC · Dec 31, 2012

Thanks for all for the feedback! Glad to know that I'm not missing anything with the 1.4 Mk II Extender on the 70-200 II.

Now I recall reading that the Mk IIIs were optimized mostly for the real big whites.

ahab1372 · Dec 31, 2012

neuroanatomist said:
How are you determining that the dark frame is done? After the exposure and a few seconds into the dark frame, the read LCD comes back on (showing the quick control menu). Last night, that's when I stopped the timer - I was holding the camera, and my hand was covering the red light. :-[ But, the red light is still on and the 'shots remaining' display flashes until the dark frame is done, and the review image is displayed. To confirm, on both my 7D and my 1D X, with long exposure NR enabled (not Auto), the dark frame is the same duration as the exposure setting.

So...I recommend checking again, timing from the shutter/mirror click until the red light goes out and the review image shows up - that should be the same length of time as the exposure was set. If not, I'd call Canon.

Not sure if it applies to 7D/5D/1D, but on the Rebel it helps to turn on Live View. You get a second "clack" at the end of the dark frame, and the display says "BUSY" while it is taking the dark frame

revup67 · Dec 31, 2012

and I'm wondering whether the 5dmk III will be enough speed (FPS) and reach for zoos and birds in flight.

I see this question all the time..I personally do BIF almost weekly with a 400mm 5.6 L prime and the 5DM3 (graduated from the 7D though still have both). Once you shoot with the 5D you'll forget all about that crop factor at 1.6 and the extra reach worry. The IQ of the 5DM3 stomps all over the 7D, the AI Servo settings in the 5D are incredible (6 Cases with tweaking on each..go here http://www.garyluhm.net/bio/tips_0512.html. The FPS is slightly lower than the 7D but the accuracy is better with Ai Servo on the 5D provided you've got the right settings. I've used my 7D twice in 6 months and have a hard time picking it up after going FF... I used to be on the other side of the fence and its most difficult to hop back over.

mingyuansung · Dec 31, 2012

I have read couple similar cases for 5d3 + 85L. I have the same issue for 5D3 with 50L. I reported in another thread http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=11969.0

So if it is convenient for you, you can try Canon Service center and let us know the result. Since I need to spend nearly a whole day drive back and forth there, I have not tried them. I called though.

I researched another forum and read couple other people's experiences and talked to Canon Service center. 5D3 has micro adjusted out side focus points (not center focus point) in order to fix those F1.2 lens back focus issue. This is confirmed with Canon Service center.

So my conclusion is if the lens itself has back focus issue, it will be fixed on 5D3 and perfect. If the lens has no back focus, you will get front focus on 5D3. And as well as 1Dx. The only fix is if Canon Service center would spend time to adjust your camera setting with your lens. It is a case by case issue and it does take time. So that is the reason I am afraid I would waste my time with the service center.

So I would suggest: 1. return the lens if possible. 2. try more copies if you can. people do report all accurate focus points with your combination. 3. use center focus point and crop. 4. try Canon Service center.

After spending good money and expectation, I can feel your pain. Take care.

Axilrod · Dec 31, 2012

crasher8 said:
Sure, who knows what it will cost, hell it's ALL speculation. Nobody knows Sh_t about this lens. Nobody.

No one knows for sure but you can still make an educated guess based on pricing of recent Canon gear and pricing of similar equipment from other manufacturers. Nikon 14-24 is $2k, it's safe to say that the Canon will cost at least that much. But based on recent pricing it's safe to guess that it will be slightly more, so $2499 doesn't sound unreasonable and isn't a complete shot in the dark.

jhanken · Dec 31, 2012

Having had pretty much the same problem, I just ordered two Yongnuo YN-622C's. Depending on your location, you should be able to get them for anywhere between 80 and 100 USD for the pair. Anything cheaper will be far less versatile. Most alternatives with equal functionality are more expensive (Pocket Wizards, Phottix Odin) or again less functional (Phottix Strato, older YN's). Flip side is that build quality of YN is far from stellar.

My copy of the Yongnuo YN-622C worked for a while on my 5D classic, now when I mate them, my 5D goes into hang cycle when I push the shutter release, like it is trying to save a photo to the card but cannot. I won't try it again out of fear it will bonk by camera. I use the Cactus V5, they work great if you don't need TTL.