Mt Spokane Photography said:

I start with the default settings, except for using the P, Av , Tv, or manual mode, and setting the ISO I want. Once I get consistently sharp images, I know that the camera is working right, and only then do I mess with other settings.

IMHO, too many new users (not the OP) go thru the menu turning things on anf off without knowing exactly what will happen. Then they complain about the poor image. If they started with the basic settings and got good images, then they should know that a poor image was likely the result of some change they made.

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On my 7D the only changes to the defaults are RAW and expansion point - works very well out of the box. Most other setting can be changed in post (DPP)

The June edition of What Digital Camera (interactive magazine) reviewed both the Mark III and the D800 and gave them equal scores of 92%. For what it's worth, they also reviewed the Sony A57 and gave it a 90%.

I bought the Sirui T-1205X. The sales rep at B&H recommended the Joby Ballhead X. I've been using it for a few weeks and don't have any complaints.

Downsizing is the only fair comparison b/c when you go to print, there will be interpolation done (either in software or printer driver) to some size/dpi.

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yup. I don't even pay attention to any review showing pointless 100% crops. who da heck sells a 100% crop of a screen shot?. When you print, you normalize and the ISO advantage on the MKIII gets cut significantly when that happens. Ultimately it is such waste to shoot either camera at high ISOs with crippled DR and horrible noise. ISO 100 FTW baby!

Thanks guys, I took back the 270 today and got the 600.

best bet is probably check the canon refurb site almost daily. I have seen things appear on there back in stock at 8pm sometimes. Thats how I got my 430 EX II for $191 when it was 20% off...just have to always keep an eye because there will sometimes be no changes for weeks then all of a sudden there are changes in stock a few days in a row...

When I have my 7D in AI Servo with one focus box, I find I get an insane number of photos in exacting sharp focus exactly where I want it. I even use a bunch of old canon primes- 24 f2.8, 35 f2 and a 50 f1.8 mkI. Those lenses are spot on all day long. I actually leave my camera in AI Servo, then program the DOF preview button to switch to One Shot for when I'm shooting a "still" shot. I photograph a lot of kids these days, and they don't stop moving!

I think there is definitely a learning curve with the 7D, and what I learned us that One Shot isn't as accurate as Servo.

Noise? Never really had an issue at low ISOs. High ISOs I just move a reduce luminance/ color noise slider to the right a bit. Then when I downsize the photo and hit print, never see a problem.

Stop pixel peepin' at 100% at the camera's highest resolution.

Who are all these people making >20" prints of every photo they take?

AmbientLight said:

I admit it makes me wonder why people would troll like that. What's the purpose of it?

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Trolling is a good laugh to the troll because one tiny post typed in some secs generates loads of enraged comments - either people really arguing about the given subject, or about trolling in general. The simple rule is: "don't feed the troll".

I believe it is rather that you are not trolling.

Although there are a fair number of honest posts about issues with the 5D3 it appears to me that the majority of lucky photogs, who could already get one, appear to be satisfied with it. The number of posts on rumour sites about a specific topic is not always a reliable indicator.

Back to the original topic:
I do believe that Nikon is indeed in need of providing something to rival Canon's f1.2 lenses. RLPhoto's argument about the 1.2 is a good one (I am a happy user of the 50mm f1.2 myself).

I have a 8-15 fisheye and a truly excellent lens it is. I would go for the ef 1200

The 600 is lighter than the 400f/2.8 so I often handhold it especially in strong light when shooting at 1/1000 or higher

My digit is plenty big.

The dioptor adjustment on my 60D is always changing while in my bag & its quite irritating.

Have you asked anyone else if it looks blurry to them ( in person - hands on ) to rule out a hardware issue?

I bring this up as long shot - some sunglasses don't play nice with some lenses. 8)

No, you can't, you either have to use automator or a piece of custom software. It's not you but OS X that is retarded. ctrl+a, f2 is the easy way, why os x lacks this feature is beyond me.

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Frankly, I'm glad to see these types of comments regarding Macs. I continuously hear (being in IT) how the Mac is so much better than Windows. I find most of the people saying this are comparing new Macs to Windows Xp which is now officially 11 years old. There are deficiencies in all OS's and their packaged hardware. None are infallible to attacks, viruses, wear and tear, etc. It's disgruntling with Macs/Apples that you have to succumb to Apple's way of thinking vs. freedom of choice as with other OS's. A caged environment demanding top dollar on everything.

Looking to grab a housing for my 5Dmk3. Will be used for watersports/boating/surfing...no scuba diving. I have researched both SPL as well as AquaTech. Any feedback either way? Is there a better alternative? We would use it to shoot video 80% of the time...if that makes a difference on your feedback.
Thanks!

Canon mirrorless?
I for one know exactly what it will be: a sorry little G1X-style box with the same sorry G1X-sensor and its sorry 4:3 not-even APS-C format and a sorry sluggish GX-1 AF System one version with a sorry poor EVF and one version witout EVF and a sorry 18-55/f3.5-5.6 kit lens ... I already hate it, before it is even announced. So sorry, Canon ... I will not buy it.

You might chose spot AF if you are shooting thru a small opening in a fence or obstruction and do not want to focus on the closer object. The drawback is that you must keep the tiny spot right on the money, or AF will be off. Using the surrounding points for moving subjects allows the center point to drift off slightly and the helper points to keep autofocus without it focusing elsewhere. Its like having a larger center point. That can be good for running or moving sports figures.

Here is a case where I used spot focus just to see how well it worked with my 5D MK III. It works very well, as it does on my 7D. This is a 1:1 crop, so the tree twigs can easily capture the autofocus.

Neeneko said:

AdamJ said:

If their new 50mm f2 is as good as they say, I'll be amazed that nobody has created such a good 50mm lens before. The double Gauss formula has been tinkered with for 100+ years and it has always had its flaws. Top build quality alone doesn't magically result in a near flawless lens so I'm intrigued to see what Leica has done differently.

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Well, historically there have been a number of fantastic prototype lenses that never got off the ground due to issues related to manufacturing rather then 'can it be built', so it is plausible that they found a way to make them at a price point that works and maintains sufficient QC to be marketable.

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Computing a 50mm with an asperical lens the calculation has much more parameters and i think you need new software with intelligent heuristics for optimization and more calculation power to get good results.

I have a Canon E2 hand strap and am looking for a quick release grommet or eyelet to be able to remove the hand strap from the camera body top eyelet. I want the option to remove the hand strap without having to thread and un-thread it each time.

I know Optex have these but it still does not solve the coupling between the strap and the loop:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/542472-REG/OP_TECH_USA_1301322_System_Connectors_Adapt_Its.html

Thanks in advance!

Buydig.com has bodies in stock!

Just bought mine!

Sorry, B&H!

EvilTed said:

I actually went with........

Neither

I ordered her a new Olympus OMD EM-5
With a Panasonic 14mm (effective 28mm) and the Panasonic Leica 25mm F/1.4 (effective 50mm).

This is a better fit for her size wise (she is small) and the glass is supposedly pretty good.

I'll let you how it shapes up....

Cheers

ET

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I picked up a GF2 as the camera for my wife (with the 20mm f/1.7). Micro 4/3 has a huge advantage over the other small camera systems in the glass available. I'm surprised that m43 hasn't done better compared to other mirrorless systems, I suspect it's because most of the market for these products don't understand the advantages of having a good system of lenses available.

I've heard good things about both the body and the glass you picked up, excellent choice (make sure you get filters for those lenses!)

hkhan said:

There used to be a mode called Depth of field AE mode (DEP) in discontinued Canon cameras. I do not know why it was discontinued. It should be introduced again.

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I had this on my legacy eos bodies, and looking back it really sounds like a good idea. But thinking about it, I strangely almost never used it because I usually shot with a large dof around f8 at these times and used the dof preview button to see what's in focus.

marekjoz said:

Magic Lantern calculates DOF and displays it. Very useful. Sometimes there's an error when lens doesn't communicate properly to the camera (or there is a bug in the ML itself) values currently set

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You already wrote about some drawbacks of the ml implementation, another is that some (older) lenses simply don't give the camera the required distance information.

Elevon said:

Hi there, Im wondering if theres a cheaper Canon alternative lens in which I could buy instead of the expensive 24-70mm f/2.8l?

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If you want full frame compatibility and don't need the wide end that desperately, you can wait some and then get the new Tamron 24-70/2.8 - it's just dropping in price, in contrast to 17-55/2.8 it has weather sealing and good build quality and esp. on crop its center sharpness is good. See this thread, too (nicer forum around here, but anyway): http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1145772&page=32

awinphoto said:

altenae said:

7d has a separate processor JUST FOR AF... the 5d3 doesn't.

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Not true.

The 5D Mark III has a dedicated processor for the AF:

From the Canon site (and many many other sites)

Both the 1D X and the 5D Mark III use dedicated AF microprocessors; these AF microprocessors are not DIGIC chips. The increased sensitivity of the focus system has also allowed for faster predictive focus measurements. Increased processing power is another factor to the 5D III's excellent AF performance - "The dedicated AF processor is four times faster than the one found in the EOS-1D Mark IV.


Also my 5D mark III is very close to 6 FPS.
Not sure why his 5D mark III is slow !! , make sure noise reduction is also off and battery fully charged.

Noisy images at 100 ISO !!!! , please post sample images so that we can see what is wrong.
If your 7D output is less noisy then for sure something is wrong.

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Fair enough that the 5d3 has a microprocessor, although unspecified by canon, it is unknown what the power that processor is compared to a full digic. As far as it was explained to me, the 7d's drive was aided by 2 digic 4 processors, much like the 1d4's 2 processors helped that AF system and drive. The 1dx also has 2 digic 5+ processors to help that drive and buffer. The 5d3 has 1 digic 5+ processor in comparison to the 7d and 1d4 and 1dx 2 digic processors. It has been hinted that the 5d3's 1 processor should be (in af terms) be as good if not better than the 1d4 although it lacks in FPS and buffer, it is what it is.

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7D does NOT use the 2 digic iv for AF it has a dedicated AF chip. 1DX also has a dedicated AF chip, the digic iv in the 1DX is only used to do the special color metering AF stuff.

Pixel Nut said:

;DI purchased the Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 VC on 5/4/12 for $12889.00. Unlike my Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 VC, this lens has very good noise and CA control. The focus IQ is much improved and the VC is truly impressive. It is sharper and has less distortion than any Canon 24-70mm f2.8 (series one) that I have tried to date. It is also sharper than my Canon 24-105mm f4 and my Canon 17-55mm f2.8. On a full-frame, this lens by Canon standard is not a true 70mm. It is more like 66-67mm. However, it compensates by being brighter at f2.8. This lens seems to be at it's best from f2.8 to f7.1. It gets just a little bit softer at f8. I am very happy with the performance of this lens. Into my camera bag it goes with my Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS II and 70-300mm f2.8L IS.

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Hey! same blurb you posted on BH's site review on the lens; you must really like it!

Well, your glowing review prompted me to have a closer look at it.
I checked the MTF charts for the Tamron 24-70, both Canon 24-70 L and compared to the Nikon equivalent.
The new Tammy certainly seems to be sharper than all of them wide open altho the new Canon 24-70 L II is close in some areas.
Another edge the Tam may have, judging from the published MTFs, is slightly smoother bokeh.

I'm certainly going to watch for actual test results on this one, I think it may make a suitable complement to the D800e I'll be waiting for .. interminably.

bchernicoff said:

jrista said:

I may have to grab a 1.4x Kenko and try it on my 100-400 until I can afford something along the lines of a 600/4 II.

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Just be sure to order the right model (DGX) and read the post people in which people have had problems with them. It seems like they possibly did a silent update that has increased compatibility, so I would recommend ordering one new from Adorama (I bought mine through Amazon but the order was filled by Adorama).

http://www.adorama.com/KN14XPEOSDGX.html
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=4977.0

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Thanks for the links. I'm definitely going to check that out. I've been thinking about the way AF is rated, and why Canon may not want to rate their new AF system for f/8. Generally speaking, I think AF systems works with more infrared light than visible light, and as such, they are capable of functioning to very low exposure values. I think most of the time Canon AF systems are rated for -1 EV operation, while Nikon's newer AF systems are rated for -2 EV operation. I am curious if the f/8 AF "limitation" is only once you start to approach this limit. Based on your videos, f/8 AF certainly seems to work great when there is a decent amount of light.

I guess one could try to AF in full moonlight (which would be about -2 EV) on the 5D III or 1D X, or maybe a dimly lit room with dimable lights, etc. to see how f/8 AF works at those levels. I believe birds at or just after sunset are probably around 8-10EV, which is probably roughly the same as @bchernicoff's second video (maybe a bit darker), in which case f/8 AF and a Kenko TC with Canon's f/5.6 AF sensor is probably entirely viable for bird photographers.