Thank you!

The EF mount version of this lens is now available for pre-order at B&H, just in time for Potatokina:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/890581-REG/Voigtlander_bd296e_28mm_F_2_8_SL_II_Lens_Canon.html

Luckely Canon Sweden was in error, today did I recive my 24-70/2.8L II! Some RAW-files for you to preview: http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=9336.0 Unpacking pictures (in Swedish): http://rust.se/canon-ef-24-702-8l-ii-usm/

FYI, plural eyes ONLY works when the quality of the sound recorded via the on board camera mic is good enough and its 'focus' the same as the audio you wish to sync to. So, in a quiet interview situation where primary audio is being recorded double system, sure the camera mic is perfect for lining up waveforms via something like plural eyes. But if you are in a noisy situation and the mixer is booming, chances are the camera mic picks up way too much ambience; or when you wish to sync up wireless lav sound on subjects and the camera is likewise too far away or the environment again too noisy, it will not work. How can it? Plural Eyes is 100% dependent upon lining up similar waveforms between the canon audio and the 2nd system audio; if they aren't there, it can't line them up.

Other than that, I use it constantly but ALWAYS have other fallbacks for obtaining sync such as getting the TOD clock as close as possible to the recorder TC; and slating when possible. A more $$ solution is to have a jam or wireless TC system, but this usually precludes also having a camera mic ( that is without adding a lot of stuff to the camera...).

my 2 bits

Like most people who have replied, I have both and the 85LII is my main lens. The 50L gets very little use as it sits between the 35 and the 85 which are both amazing and it is less so. My main reservations relate to its sharpness wide open. I do a lot of low light stuff and use the 35 and 85 wide open a great deal.

The only thing I would add is that while the 85 is amazing on full frame, I was very disappointed with how ordinary it seemed when I tried it on a 7D and a 60D.

I bought a new one anyway. Fixing the old one just isn't worth it. At least now I have the MkII versions of both the 18-55 and 55-250, which looks nice for what it's worth ;D

xamkrah said:

Filters.

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Thanks for the reply. How are you finding filters most useful to your photography? ND to show motion / allow you to shoot wide open etc in daylight? Circular polarizers to enhance images? UV to save your butt if you've got butterfingers like I do? Where are you seeing the most impact in areas that post production tweaking won't get you there? Thanks in advance

verysimplejason said:

I didn't bother with the lens roadmap because I'm already looking at the EF and EFS lens lineup which is extensive enough. It will be advantageous if instead of looking at native lenses, one looks at the advantage of looking at EF and EF-S lenses instead

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[EDIT] it does seem to me like we're saying the same thing, we just phrase it differently. The EOS-M really is just piggy-backing on top of Canon's EOS system. It isn't a system camera in its own right. If you want to buy a mirrorless as a way to extend your Canon DSLR system, then I agree that it makes sense.

My critique is really directed at how it stands up to the competition in its own right. To me, it's pretty clear that it's close to dead last (only the duds from Nikon and Pentax are in the same territory)

First, if you want to buy a camera to use the EOS system of lenses (which I agree is a very strong system), your best choice is a DSLR. Assuming you don't own a DSLR and want to use EF glass, there's not much point in my opinion getting the EOS-M. You could get the latest Rebel for the same price.

EF (and EF-S) lenses blow the compactness advantage you otherwise get from a mirrorless camera because of the longer flange distances. So there's not much point in the Canon mirrorless unless the native lenses are adequate.

I mean, why invest in something you cannot use later if you want to go to the next level (DSLR APS-C/FF)?

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Because that thing might be more suitable. Because it makes more sense to buy glass for the camera you have now, not for the one you might buy later. For example, that's why APS-C users buy EF-S lenses for wide angle -- full frame lenses aren't wide enough.

I travel a lot with work around Europe and the US and always take my camera with me and this has taught me a few lessons.

1. Pack lite and make the most of the kit you take with you. Trust me walking around with all your glass is old really quickly.

2. Pack lite, unless you want to risk having a horrid trip because of lost equipment ALWAYS hand carry your camera...this poses the weight problem as most flights are now putting a 10kg limit on carry on (and some as low as 6kg!)

3. Cheat where possible. How many shots do you think you are really going to need 200mm for when walking in a city? I live in London and shot in the city at weekends and to be honest some of my most preferred shots have been at <100mm and so the 24-105 is a great choice for this...plus if I want one or two longer shots I have a 2x tele converter (no idea, but better then lugging a great 70-200 around!).

4. Be creative, get out of the comfort zone of having all the kit to cover everything and use creativity to overcome the short falls in traveling light.

Personally I now travel with just my 5d3, 50 1.4 and 24-105 and the 2x tele. I don't even bother with my flash as the 5d3 can make up with it in ISO. Sometimes I might add a fold up reflector and a cheap (See:lite) 70-300 5.6 for when I think I will REALLY need some reach, but it is a fraction of the weight of the 2.8 version.

I also take my mac air with me as carry on, this acts not only as a backup for the memory cards, on location/hotel room editing but I also use it as a charger for many devices (cell phones etc) thus saving the need to carry a lot of adapters. A second battery will generally see me last a two week holiday as I do not use live view much at all.

Good luck!

PS, if you want a quick and dirty of the tourist highlights in London, there are a number of walking "photo tours" run for photography training purposes which are worth investigating.

Well, given how much Sony just dropped on us today, Nikon should be dropping something big tomorrow to compete...

Rienzphotoz said:

Lawliet said:

Ironically Canons raw files grow to similar size once you apply the lens corrections of newer DPP versions - and some lenses really benefit from it, the 16-35's borders come to mind.

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I've never used DPP to apply lens correction to raw files ... but I'll give it a try to check out the file sizes.

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If Digital Lens Optimizer is used, which is great, RAW file size almost doubles (!). I get around this by applying DLO, convert from RAW to JPEG, then undoing the DLO (which gives you original file size) before closing/saving the RAW.

3300 shutter counts is not very much. I do such amount of shutter releases in one or two days.

Congratulation for buying such a camera.

dr croubie said:

My $0.02:

Do you need it now? Or can you wait?

If you can wait, think about it this way. When the 6D (or whatever, low-cost FF) is is introduced, there's going to be a lot more FF cameras going around. So as long as it's under $2500, some people would be 'upgrading' their old 5D2s to the 6D, depending on which features they do and don't want (ie, if the AF in the new body really is as good as the 7D, some people might ditch their 5D2 just for that, if the sensor is roughly comparable, even if it means less other features).
In short, I'm guessing that when the 6D drops, the 5D2 will get cheaper.
At that time you will need to decide between the 6D and 5D2, depending on whatever specs you want and the cash you have.

So the decision is
- buy a 5D2 now, and lose a bit on the re-sale value, but you get to use it now.
- or keep the crop for now, wait until the 6D drops, whenever that may be, could be photokina next week, could be this time next year, and decide between 5D2 and 6D then.
(personally, i'd be waiting, but i've got enough toys to play with for years without buying new ones. If you need it soon, then it's going to be 5D2)

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yes this makes sense, I should at least wait until next week before making any kind of move.

I find this lens a bit slow both in terms of aperture and AF for me now, but i loved it when i got... it is a great lens to get started on and great value. Good for travel as it is small light and versitile... I managed to get a good bird in flight shot, but this is one of 10 misses.

Just amazing! Waiting for my 100-400 to come back from repair...

Like the folks said above, what do you want to shoot? What is your budget? Otherwise the responses will be all over the map...

Canon 5d mkII. Anyone tried shooting remotely? I recently did and at first thought, all I need is a remote switch cable release and monitor. Well that worked until I actually tried it...as soon as you turn on live view you find out you can't focus using the shutter release! Ugh.

So the next best thing I did was scrap my first idea. Instead, I used a netbook with the EOS utility installed and tried out the remote control software canon provides. Works great, I had the camera where I could not reach it and using live view I could focus using the keyboard and view the results. Pretty cool. However, I still miss having a remote switch that allows me to walk around and get close to the subject for example.

I also tried doing a self portrait using the same method and found it really hard to focus on myself and trigger the shutter with my computer on une side of the room and me on the other. All my photos have one arm missing!

So, here's what I did to get "remote switch working in live view". Its a hack, but it works pretty well. I took an old USB keyboard, opened it up and soldered a stereo jack to where the spacebar goes and to the alt-F key. I them plugged in my remote switch and ran a windows macro program to move the mouse and control the canon software. I can now use the remote switch just as if it were plugged on the camera (its on the computer usb port instad) with shutter relase and focus and I have the added bonus of seeing my image on the computer using live view! Pretty neat!

Has anyone else tried this?

dhofmann said:

Don Haines said:

The 400 F5.6 sells for $1350 in Canada. To get a longer Canon lens you have to be ready to shell out $9690. That's a HUGE jump in price.... and I'd be willing to bet that there is a market for something in between, like a 600 F5.6.

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A 600mm f/5.6L would cost at least US$7,500. But a 500mm f/5.6L might come in under US$4,000.

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Pentax announced a 560mm f/5.6 for $7,000. So the $7500 price is very realistic.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/09/10/Pentax-announces-smc-DA-18-270mm-F3-5-6-3-ED-SDM-and-HD-DA-560mm-F5-6-ED-AW-for-K-mount

Edwin Herdman said:

It won't get made because they want to sell and make only 500mm f/4L lenses.

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Other than that there is not enough demand for a 2nd 500mm. Same goes with the 600mm and 800mm.

FarQinell said:

What about Sony then? Their longest "pro" lens currently is a 300/2.8. Perhaps they may be tempted to break the stranglehold Canon/Nikon have on long lenses and come up with something tasty like a prime 500 or 600/5.6!

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Sony is selling a 500mm but it costs as much as a Canon 800mm!

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/845555-REG/Sony_SAL500F40G_500mm_f_4_0_G_Lens.html

Zlatko said:

drjlo said:

Assuming Lensrental meant Canon24 f/3.5 TS-E "MKII" (chart doesn't say MkI or II), that would be quite impressive for any zoom.

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The chart doesn't say Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L MkII, but the article clearly says Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L MkII (just before the chart).

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I hope that was Mark I since I planned to buy Mark II for my first TS lens. Poisoned by Bryan DP.

I really dissapointed with 24mm result in 24-105, and I found 24-70 Mark I was worst beside I tested 4 copies. Good IQ in 24-35mm is prority when I purchase all around zoom lens.

Scott_McPhee said:

I was doing this for free for my cousin as money was tight - I am reasonably experienced or I would not have taken on the job at all.

I got some great shots and in most situations the 5D3 performed perfectly.
Metering/exposure was very impressive - on the mark 99% of the time.

I did have to put up with another (Nikon user) photographer trying to shoot the wedding as well and this was really starting to piss me off until I met a retired wedding pro who was there.
We got rid of the Nikon guy and he was excellent help setting up poses and shots - I learned a lot from him over the rest of the day.

It was hard work but I really enjoyed it - and after a wee bit of Lightroom magic we will have some great shots.
5D3 is a dream to use in this situation.

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Your shots look good, I prefer to use DPP to convert raws mainly becuase i like the quality over lightrooms conversion of canon raws, granted lightroom is far better from a work flow perspective. But then again your shots look perfectly fine as is.The curve tool in lightroom, photoshop could help brighten midtones

Just reading through the comments, it's amazing the lengths that people go to in order to protect this lens! It is sharp, sharp glass...but man is it ever finicky.

tron said:

I remember reading that the charging current for NiMh cells has to be over 1/2C (even by a little) for the chargers to stop charging correctly. I am sorry I am writing this by heart. I do not remember where I have read it (so please check for yourselves too).

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I think it would most likely depend on the design of the charger rather than being a fixed limit, most better ones have a timer as well to terminate the charge and monitor changes in voltage rather than a fixed limit. However I've had this situation with a cordless phone charger, when the batteries died I replaced with ones about triple the capacity and the charge cycle wouldn't stop.

The C100 with the Atmos Ninja 2 looks like a solid combo providing 422 ProRes or DNxHD for ~$7500. For web/internet/TV, the 420 24Mbit H.264 via AVCHD container is sufficient (as it is with the 5D2 and 5D3).

422 via HDMI reported here: http://www.cinema5d.com/news/

Thanks for the tip. Should probably have sone that right away. But after we finished up here we
got on the bikes and drove three hours down to the coast, also in quite heavy rain.

Thanks for the encouragement. Looking at it again I wish I could get back and do it again to try to improve on this.

i have been very impressed with the build of the 100 f2.8L macro which is plastic too it makes it light weight too compared to the metal nikon 105 f2.8 micro its much lighter

its just the metal lenses feel more high class probably more of a perception of better quality than a reality possibly