It's very unfortunate for Canon to delay this camera to the masses... I'm sure they did it to take some of the thunder out of Nikon's D4 announcement... But the delay looks REALLY bad. I wonder if the tsunami/earthquake had anything to do with the delay?

The silver-lining is that when it IS available to the masses, I might have the cash for it by then!

You may want to investigate whether the 600ex is going to compromise your maximum sync speed on the Mk4, and whether HSS would be completely effective. If you're just getting one flash, save yourself a bundle and get a 580exII.

PW

paul13walnut5 said:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/On-Stage-New-microphone-stand-with-Boom-and-Tripod-base-new-in-box-/251075809635?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a7548d163

Perfectly adequate. I now use a beyer dynamic (k&M are also good) which cost a bit more money (you go through 2 or 3 cheapies and think, nah I should just buy a decent one next time)

Mic from the opposite side of your subjects looking room / direction.

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Thank you...

I found this also on amazon.com...and since I have prime, I get 2x day free shipping!!

If you order over $25 (so, if needing something else)...would be cheaper without the shipping on the ebay one:

http://www.amazon.com/Stage-Stands-MS7701-Tripod-Microphone/dp/B000978D58/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338935976&sr=8-1

Thank you, this will come in VERY handy!!

C

IB said:

First post in CR.

I have a 7d and 300f2.8. I am going to Norway to photograph sea eagles in July and want to get the settings of everything 100% and practice, practice, practice before I travel.

Can I get advice on optimum settings for the camera.

Many thanks in advance.

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I would suggest iso100, f/8 and 1/500 would be a good place to start. Slow shutter for slow wing speed

I think its smart to be paranoid about losing images, but I haven't heard of a camera zapping both cards. How many images have you lost in the past?

The technology is here NOW to quickly backup your images to a remote device, Canon has a wifi transmitter that is high speed, or you can get a slower EYEFI card to backup up your jpegs. It can back them up as you go, and why worry if it is not instant, if it gets behind, it will catchup when you take a break.

For really important big money projects, multiple backups are made ASAP and kept in different pllaces so a single event like a fire, plane crash, etc will not get them all. Even then, money is not unlimited.

I have used aperturent.com a few times and highly recommend them.

I too was in your boat. I owned the 70-200mm f/4 for almost 3 years and it was a great lens. It was tack sharp wide open and it was about 1.5lbs so it was not too bad to walk around with (I had a 40D at the time, upgraded now to 5D MIII). I never had an issues with the lens and on my crop made for a very nice portrait lens. I have now upgraded to the 70-200mm f/2.8 II and sold the f/4 and this is easily the best lens I own (it's ultra responsive responsive as the f/4 was and tack sharp at all apertures but it's tack sharp at 2.8 which a lot of zooms are not). HOWEVER, it weighs twice as much and is like $1k more. I will remove the tripod collar when I am out to reduce the weight somewhat so believe me there are times when I do miss the f/4! But I really wanted the f/2.8 even at double the weight. You cannot go wrong either way and the f/4 is an excellent lens. Ideally I would have kept both!

It may have already been said here (I didn't read every response), but it is the photographers choice to represent the captured image as they choose. Whether the subject is completely isolated from it's environment or a small detail of it, the "look" of the Bokeh, in all it's varying forms, is just one aspect of how each photograph is individually created.

Dylan777 said:

A friend of mine received his D800 with 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S. We went out doing some landscape at Huntington Beach CA. By the way IQ looks very nice on D800.

Wonder if Canon going to make 14-24mm f2.8 in the future? Any rumors? I kinda like the extra wide 14-24mm.

Dylan

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I've been wondering about that one also, it would fit perfectly beside the 24-70II. Nikon has their 'holy trinity', and Canon needs that trio too.

Old Shooter said:

briansquibb said:

birtembuk said:

epsiloneri said:

"Hand holdable"? I bet hand holding these babies gets old real quick Even if lighter than the previous generation, they're still heavy. I have the old 400/2.8 IS and it sees much less use than I'd like to because it's difficult to carry around (and transport on airplanes). Granted, it's a bit heavier than the newer ones, but still, unless you have an assistant carrying gear for you, don't count on taking the superteles too far from the car. That's why I'm seriously looking forward to a 400/5.6 IS, if it ever gets released.

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Agree on this one. That's why after much consideration I'll go with 300/2.8+1.4TC

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I guess the handholdable bit depends rather on the individual

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It must! I believe the 600 comes with a gym membership...

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I handhold the 400 I so I guess the 600II is OK

just wondering how are you capturing these drag race, as in where you stand.

were you somewhere in the middle up high and just pan, or standing close to the end zone? or even in car?

wickidwombat said:

it would be MUCH better than those poxy rubber thingos they give you...

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True, whenever I un-box a new body, the little rubber thingy goes straight into the bin along with the glossy cardboard boxes, packing stuff, plastic bags & ties. Some people keep all this stuff. I prefer an uncluttered life.

PW

I covered a track & field athletics meet yesterday and out of curiosity I took the 5D3 along as a third body, just to see how it performed. Other than the obvious drawbacks of the slow frame rate, it delivered flawless results shooting sprints & long jump. The AF really is up to the job. It was a very bright clear day for the first half of the meet, brutally hard Australian middle of the day light. The 5D3 handles the shadows & highlights that these conditions deliver better than the Mk4 & Mk3. The 5D3 has continued to amaze me with the amount of detail that is there in the highlights. The technique of "exposing to the right" won't get you into trouble on the 5D3.

But as fully expected, the frame rate & the buffer depth were not in the same league as the 1-Series bodies. Yes, you can successfully shoot sports with the 5D3. Care will need to be taken with timing your burst to a much greater extent than the 10 FPS/deep buffer Mk4 & Mk3, but the AF will not let you down.

The 5D3 was very well suited to shooting athletes & officials before & after events in slower moving though still dynamic situations. Here the AF was stellar. The dreaded black focus point issue did rear its ugly head on multiple occasions, costing me shots. Oh boy I wish they'd stuck with nicely illuminated highly visible red.

PW

Thanks everyone for getting back to me & the PM's I got too, Everybody's been extremely helpful, even you Mt Spokane, I understand from previous experience about people having higher expectations of me for projects in the past & personally thinking that I did not meet them. Photography however I love & don't mind perhaps if I fall here or there, it's all part of the wonder for me.

Luckily also that, while the end photos I produce will have to be cleared first by Company-heads, it's a small project that doesn't look to be a big money driven campaign. Perhaps the Company Facebook page, maybe some Postcards produced for Tourists who visit the place. The overall Idea I was lead to believe was to get some of the local employs involved in local projects & the sort. Nothing to Fire anyone over. Though I'd still like to be going in with some knowhow under my belt.

@Quasimodo, No all our milk is pasteurised when it arrives, We couldn't sell our Product if it wasn't. Legally I think that's the case for everyone. Thank you for your other comment Quasimodo, You have in-fact made me realise that It might be a good Idea to have multiple aspects of a particular area whilst inside the Dairy, some unique procedures the Bosses might not like being revealed, so showing the actual Cheese making from a variety of views/aspects would be a good fallback.

@distant.star Your advice will be greatly emphasised in my project I think, So much I had't figured into what I might shoot. Thinking about movement, I could visually see that working here. I also hadn't though about focusing on people specifically, initially. This should also work with what I'd gather the Higher-ups would agree with, I think the mentality here is going to be People & Product, though the overall theme of-cause is still "how it's all made."

Again at Mt Spokane, I like your view about all this, you're right in thinking that of-cause, & from past experience as mentioned before, I know now when to back away from something that's too big for me. I'll be sure to take my own notes from all this as the experience is my no drive for all this, I'm confident enough to know I can take decent photos, though it's going to be nice to have some fielded knowledge with me as I go in looking for some winning photos.

So thanks to everyone for your input. & please if anyone has their own ideas or experiences about all this, please add to the conversation.

He's and idiot.
What a lot of crap saying it isn't good in a wind tunnel.
I didn't realise that fuel economy was vital in a camera........

The fact is the G1X takes FANTASTIC photos.
I got mine for just over US$600 and the image quality is as good, if not better than my 60D with L lenses.
I can't believe how crisp the photos are and how good the colour and contrast are.

I'm not saying it's the perfect camera, and I haven't found one of those yet, but I've used a lot of different cameras in my 50 years of photography, and this G1X is absolutely superb.
Try one for yourself, the RAW images are just amazing, and even set on full auto, the image quality is excellent for a P&S.

The Canon is a great lens, but according to TDP, the Zeiss is slightly sharper from f/1.4 to about 2.8, where the Canon catches up to the Zeiss in sharpness. I got the 35L because I wanted AF and use it mostly taking pictures of family, especially kids that are almost always on the move.

If you are looking to make a decision soon and are willing to work with a MF lens, then the Ziess is the way to go. But of course, everything could change when/if Canon comes out with the 35L II.

paul13walnut5 said:

The TSE- lenses are pretty robustly constructed. You thought of modifying a superclamp with softer pads?

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good idea... will give it a try sometime....

Good job man. Well put together. I really enjoy shooting with my 5D3, great camera!

i'm a gold member and they are on a first come first serve... could be they are flat out with an overabundance of requests... Otherwise I'd keep asking every week or so if you really want to try it out.

I'm a little bit curious of the test reports of 50/1.0. In real life, I find it sharper wide open than 50/1.4 wide open. In my photos, 50/1.0 (@ 1.4) is considerably better than 50/1.4 (@ 1.4). Maybe my 50/1.4 is out of whack, but then again, I have seen similar quality in other pictures taken with similar lenses.

If anyone plans on buying this lens, a couple of comments, as this lens does have a learning curve:

- First, 50/1.0 is really a special purpose tool. There are better day-to-day lenses available for good light, unless you are specifically looking for effects it enables.

- Don't try to photograph people too close with it wide open. It just doesn't work that way. Instead, it is the best I have seen for half-body or full body sized photos in dark environments or when the depth of field is of importance.

- I also find that its AF is way more reliable than 50/1.4s. However, AF is also slow, so it cannot be used to photograph kids if they are moving.

- The way it renders bokeh requires some testing and experimenting. There are several things that one should know about it: faraway backgrounds tend to smoothen out great. Close by background might become a little tedious, and if photographing through leaves or random high contrast areas in background, vignetting causes a swirling sort of look into photos.

- It is great for old style half-body pictures! You don't believe it until you see it!

The only actual annoyance in this lens is flare, but on the other hand that is to be expected with such a fast lens.

About the lead based glasses, do you know the stuff it was replaced with? Prohibition of lead based glasses is a prime example of Green stupidity, if anything.

I admit with my gripped 7D I ALSO LAY IT ON THE LEFT SIDE

Great minds think alike I suppose?

it's micro contrast, that's turning you off, I have the 35f2 ZE and it's sharper than my 35L at f2 but you get a lot of micro contrast just the way Zeiss is made.

A 300 2.8 will not be hand holdable for most people. I would recommend the sigma 120-300 2.8 os...best of every world basically. The prime is unusually not as sharp as the zoom though is slightly wuicker to AF. I have the non os zoom and love it and would highly recommend it.

akiskev said:

darash said:

Pls recommend a suitable lens for landscape photography. Money is not an obstacle.

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I'd suggest Zeiss Distagon T* 21mm f/2.8 ZF.

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I second that. Zeiss 21mm. Wonderful edge-to-edge sharpness, color rendition. Magical.

But I will also note Kernuak's answer... my 70-200 IS USM II rocks for many other landscape situations. Strangely, I dont use the middle ground too much.

The TSE's are also nice for their purpose.

I think it wouldn't make sense to make 7dmk2 a FF camera. Keep the 7Dmk2 a very high class aps-c (above the xxD series), give us a 6D to be the entry-level FF, give us the 3D for studio/portrait/landscape with high DR and IQ. Now that I would buy!