Street Portraits in the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho

I have had the Eos R for a couple of months since its release and have done mostly commercial work with it and i couldn't wait to try it out for my personal work. In December I went to Lesotho for a week and stayed in a little village called Malealea...all these street portraits were made there using a Tamron SP 35mm F1.8 and a EF 50mm F1.8.

Many more of my Lesotho street portraits can be viewed here:

http://thelazytravelphotographer.blogspot.com/

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Updated list of unreleased Canon gear

Quickly....APS-C and "2/3rds" are different sensor sizes.

But, agreed with overall point, I would expect the replacements to the 7DII, 80D, M5/6, Rebels to continue to be APS-C sized sensors.

As for the MP race. I hope that Canon continues to provide the market with cameras in the 20-30 MP range. It would be a shame if that was no longer an option as I agree, I think that is a great MP count for many applications.

But, I like options and am glad to see high MP sensors out there as an option. This forum has several examples of people using the 5Ds(R), but one that I find interesting is a friend (seriously, not me) that has the 1DxII, 5DIV and 5DsR. He is primarily a birder and feels each excels in different instances.

Options are good.
They do! I have 5DIV and 5DsR (and a 7DII I do not use much now). The 5DsR is the very good for distant birds and at the same time makes targeting BIF easier due to being FF. I have not used the 5DIV for birding a lot but it is a fantastic landscape camera (with a big DR) and a superb low light one (Milky way, night shots, internal spaces like churches and museums). I would rather see them updated to the next generation versions rather than seeing mirrorless ones.
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APS-C DSLR lineup to get a shake up? [CR1]

My comparisons are with the 5D2, 6D2, and 7D2.

I find the 7D2 AF system beats the 5D2 in every way. I find that the 7D2 beats the 6D2, except in live view, where the 6D2 beats the 7D2.

I assume that any replacement to the 7D2 will put it back on top for both.

Any of the current three digit Rebels (Txi/xx0D) beat the AF of the 5D Mark II. It's the weakest thing about the 5DII.

The 5D Mark III has a 1D X level AF system that is noticeably better than the 7D Mark II, both in terms of accuracy and consistency from shot-to-shot.

The 6D Mark II has a PDAF system very close to the 80D PDAF system, but is is a step below the 7D Mark II for sure.
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Canon officially announces the EOS RP

Why make these mirrorless cameras smaller? Why can't they stay the same size as the DSLR? That would leave room for another card slot!!! I'm far from sold on these cameras!!!!
In fact, Sony seems to be on the path to make ML cameras in the future even fatter than DSLRs :devilish: And Leica's SL isn't small. I think Canon is quite wise to offer both a bigger form factor with the "R" and a smaller one with the "RP".

Once, tiny cameras were really sexy , and all of them could only load one film cartridge ;):

Minox_Riga_with_Minostigmat_3,5_F=15_lens.jpg
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Canon appears to have confirmed IBIS is on the roadmap

Quite substantial development in digital stabilization would be needed, though. The current digital IS systems stabilize movement only between subsequent video frames. You just can not digitally eliminate motion blur during a single exposure. You just can't. The only way to do this would be to divide the exposure to multiple sub-exposures, and to those sub-images use automatic alignment, perspective correction and stacking.

That’s not the only way. You could run deconvolve algorithms. However they’d be no better, and probably quite a bit worse, than if done on a dedicated computer.

But I agree, the ability to keep a subject roughly in the same part of the frame from one shot to the next is completely different than stabilizing an individual frame. The digital IS canon uses won’t reduce blue induced by camera shake in a given frame.
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Interview: Canon execs talk EOS RP with Imaging Resource

I do somewhat agree on the EVF, but really don't see any difference in noise if I use the 6DII in Live-View of full-DSLR mode, so I guess the latter is not significant maybe because for view mode, not all of the pixels are utilized unlike with a long exposure which collects information from the whole sensor so there is a definite increase of noise there.
I am just thinking about heat noise/ hotpixels, as using mirrorless always makes the camera hot or at least warm at extended use, I am thinking though no my significant it will result in more noise.

But frankly speaking the new RF lens potential is attractive, it becomes a hard choice between better RF lens which cost an arm and a leg for a complete new set of lens plus the new camera or just upgrade to the next dslr model. I still prefer ovf so if use adapter with the R seems counter intuitive to me
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The manual for the Canon EOS RP is now available for your reading pleasure

It does not support 1080 at ~24FPS only at ~30FPS - according to a just released hand-on preview by Jared Polin at Froknowsphoto.com (search it on youtube). He makes it clear that (even though it's a 30 minute video) the video is not a review of the camera but a preview only. He is disappointed by Canon's continued designed-constraints in their video capabilities in their EOS DSLR and SLR (mirrorless) cameras. But his impression of the feel, use, and stills capabilities of the camera are very good. With video capability more designed for the "mom & pop shooters capturing the kiddos" (my paraphrase) rather than as a second ("B", or even "C") body for serious video shooters.

Jared and many other youtubers just does not know how Canon cameras work. If you switch over to PAL you get 25 and 50 fps, see at 6:44
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Canon EOS RP body price confirmed at $1299 USD, and we’re very happy about it

Off Topic Question: Are there other taxes besides VAT? In the U.S. there is no VAT yet. Some states charge sales tax, some don't. Then some localities also add sales tax. I'm just curious about how that works. Unfortunately, I can see a VAT in our future, on top of everything else.

Most products and services only have VAT. Depending on country, there are typically several VAT classes (eg. in Finland necessities like food, drugs, and transit have a lower VAT rate). Things that generate negative externalities may have additional taxes besides VAT (in Finland this includes fuel, tobacco, and alcohol).
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Which rechargeable AA batteries for Speedlights?

I use several dozen Eneloops and have done so for years. They are so reliable and long life that I can't see the point of buying cheaper "me-too" cells.,

They do not last forever though and you won't necessarily know of a cell failure until its too late.

For that reason I have four of the Maha 9000 chargers / testers. Just the normal charging process will highlight a faulty cell and show that screen as "High". Just chuck it away.

I also do a thorough refresh on every cell every few months using the Maha units special features. Each cell takes about 2 days so thats why I have 4 of the chargers :- )

Pete
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When do you actually use face detection AF?

I don’t use it for professional work for still images. I do use it professionally for video and it’s outstanding! Video is only a small part of my work, but I rely on it for 80% if what I do.

For stills, I only use it to chase my children, or shoot family because it’s only one shot AF and movement means missed images. I make up for that by taking lots of images (unprofessional for paid work). But it works very well. I constantly move the user controllable guide over the face I want to focus on to ‘help’ the system. That’s all I have to do. Then the eyes are in focus a shockingly high percentage of the time (with f1.8-1.4).

I hope to use it professionally once it’s available in Servo AF.
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what equipment is best suited to my needs

Yup! It seems that many people are in agreement on letting this new Rtech launched by the canon mature. After today's canon announcements, I think it's clear that the canon, from now on, will bet on the Rtech. For me, EF L lenses are expensive and, from what I was seeing, RF L it's impossible to reach. Does the difference in image quality really justify the money? Or could be a good option to opt for the EF L lenses and bet on an R or RP body later? I am not rich and I also do not make a living with photography, so I am wondering if it will be worth the price difference to pay for RF Lenses. I was thinking about starting with a 24-70 F2.8 L .. What do you think ???
In your situation, I'd get the RP with the EF adapter. "L" lenses differ in that they have a better build, and have better quality at wide apertures.

There are several decent consumer grade non L lenses that can get you going, you can often find used 24-105L lenses at attractive prices as well. I'm holding off on RF lenses for now, I have some excellent EF L lenses and don't see a reason to switch to RF. I would not switch in any event as long as I also have a 5D MK IV, but I may decide to put it up for sale.

Right now, a cheap ~$100 50mm f/2.5 macro lives on my R, it might also make a cheap but decent lens for a RP as a starter.
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A YouTube Channel is coming to Canon Rumors

So we’re going to remain cutting edge here at Canon Rumors and be one of the first to get a YouTube channel.
It’s long overdue, but it has taken a long time to come up with a concept that isn’t just more of the same, as others already do such an amazing job on the platform.
We hope to launch in April/May of this year.
You can head over the channel and subscribe so you’re ready as soon as we get going.
 

Continue reading...


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Canon to announce at least 6 new RF lenses next week

Okay, so a quick warning upfront: There's some friday morning maths coming up, so I'll gladly admit to beeing wrong if you can point out a mistake in my thoughts.

I'm hardly demanding it be always-on. EVERY special setting of the camera has cases where it provides poor results.
With Canon, features don't become available just because they're easy to implement and usefull for some people though. So if there are a lot of possible issues with a feature, or not many people would use it often, it's just not present in Caon cameras. It would just clutter up the menu for little benefit to the larger market. Or why else are so many Magic Lantern features not present by default? For example, a RAW Histrogramm, Focus Trap release, Focus Peaking, AF Focus Stacking, and so on, have been available there for a long time. But most people get about without them, so some features have been added only recently to some mirrorless models, or are still missing (I'd love a RAW Histogramm).

It's a good example, but a custom chip can often do calculations FAR faster than a general-purpose PC.
Yeah, you're right. Its what allows smartphones to handle 4K Video - And it still took Canon quite a while to adapt that, despite it beeing widely available technology. I image a hardware solution for content based image alignment is going to be a good deal more tricky than that. But that's again confusing the topic. I thought we're talking about blur caused by camera motion - which the camera can detect through sensors without having too look to deep into the image content. As they can obviously do that already with video frames, it surely could be done for stacks of still too.

I gave examples of moonrise, but also say just say a nighttime view of the Alps: Milky Way over the Matterhorn, say, a 10 second hand-held exposure at 15mm. [...] I grant the outside 10% margin may be unusable, with too few photos in the stack to give a low-noise approximation, but the main 80% of the image could be both utterly rock solid and no noise [...] That may be true in many or most cases today, but I don't see a rule of physics that would make it so. Happy to learn I'm wrong though if you can think of something specific.
Okay, so I'm mainly drawing info from this resource here: https://jonrista.com/the-astrophotographers-guide/astrophotography-basics/snr/

Based on that, I'm under the impression that an image is composed of signal and noise. Noise comes from different sources: The subject (shot noise), the sensor (dark current noise) and the camera circuitry (read noise). Apart from the read noise, these values all increase proportionally to the exposure time. The ratio between the signal and the sum of noise sources is called signal to noise ratio (SNR) and expresses, how visible the signal is, compared to the noise. So you want you SNR to be as high as possible. For weak sources of signal (low light), a single long exposure is likely to yield a better SNR than many short exposures.

Lets define some variables:
r = stops of image stabilization
n = number of subexposures = 2^r
t = total exposure time [seconds]
t/n = exposure time per subexposure [seconds]
s = signal per time [electrons/second]
dc = darc current per time [electrons/second]
rn = read noise [electrons]

Ignoring the difference between sky and object signal that the linked side makes, I get this formula for SNR:

SNRstack = (n * t/n * s) / sqrt( n * (t/n * s + t/n * dc + rn^2) )
=> SNRstack = t * s / sqrt( t * s + t * dc + n * (rn^2) )

For a regular exposure without stacking, n is 1 so the SNR becomes:

SNRsingle = t * s / sqrt( t * s + t * dc + rn^2 )

To find out, how much higher the SNR of single exposure image is, in comparison to a stack of multiple ones, we can devide the second term by the first one:

SNRrel(t, n, dc, rn) = SNRsingle / SNRstack = sqrt( t * s + t * dc + n * (rn^2) ) / sqrt( t * s + t * dc + rn^2 )

According to the linked page, rn = 3 e- and dc = 0.02 e-/s are decent values to assume for an average modern ILC.

SNRrel(t, n, 0.02, 3) = sqrt( t * s + t * 0.02 + n * 9 ) / sqrt( t * s + t * 0.02 + 9 )

That leaves exposure time and number of desired stops of stabilization. Looking at 2 stops, 3 stops and 5 stops and 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 second exposure times I get these four formulas, which now only depend on signal (now called x), so how bright you subject is:

0.1 second 2 stops = ( 0.1*x + 0.1*0.02 + 2^2 * 9)^(1/2) / ( 0.1*x + 0.1*0.02 + 9)^(1/2)
0.1 second 3 stops = ( 0.1*x + 0.1*0.02 + 2^3 * 9)^(1/2) / ( 0.1*x + 0.1*0.02 + 9)^(1/2)
0.1 second 5 stops = ( 0.1*x + 0.1*0.02 + 2^5 * 9)^(1/2) / ( 0.1*x + 0.1*0.02 + 9)^(1/2)

1 second 2 stops = ( x + 0.02 + 2^2 * 9)^(1/2) / ( x + 0.02 + 9)^(1/2)
1 second 3 stops = ( x + 0.02 + 2^3 * 9)^(1/2) / ( x + 0.02 + 9)^(1/2)
1 second 5 stops = ( x + 0.02 + 2^5 * 9)^(1/2) / ( x + 0.02 + 9)^(1/2)

10 second 2 stops = ( 10*x + 10*0.02 + 2^2 * 9)^(1/2) / ( 10*x + 10*0.02 + 9)^(1/2)
10 second 3 stops = ( 10*x + 10*0.02 + 2^3 * 9)^(1/2) / ( 10*x + 10*0.02 + 9)^(1/2)
10 second 5 stops = ( 10*x + 10*0.02 + 2^5 * 9)^(1/2) / ( 10*x + 10*0.02 + 9)^(1/2)

100 second 2 stops = ( 100 *x + 100 *0.02 + 2^2 * 9)^(1/2) / ( 100 *x + 10*0.02 + 9)^(1/2)
100 second 3 stops = ( 100 *x + 100 *0.02 + 2^3 * 9)^(1/2) / ( 100 *x + 10*0.02 + 9)^(1/2)
100 second 5 stops = ( 100 *x + 100 *0.02 + 2^5 * 9)^(1/2) / ( 100 *x + 10*0.02 + 9)^(1/2)

0_1 seconds.png1 seconds.png10 seconds.png100 seconds.png

Graphs created with https://rechneronline.de/funktionsgraphen/

y axis and x axis are the same scale on all four. Each image shows the graphs for each set of exposure times, which vary only in the number of stops of image stabilization (Or, duration of subexposures if you prefer that). y axis is the ratio between SNR of a single exposure image and a stack of 32 (green), 8 (red) or 4 (blue) images. If this is high, a single exposure will look much cleaner than a stack of multiple shorter ones. The x axis is the subject's signal strength (brigthness).

From the first two graphs, I conclude that for very low light subjects such as your milky way example, stacking multiple short exposures will always result in a visibly more noisy image than just taking one longer one. So this "digital image stablization" would be a tradeoff between noise and blur. For bright subjects or long exposure times, the difference probably becomes small enough to call the result equivalent in terms of noise, meaning the stabilized verision will look better as it is less blurry. Unfortunatley I have not idea, how the subject brightness in electrons per second translates to brightness as we know it. For example, if a subjects emits 200 e-/s, what exposure time would result in a good exposure for that?

So take my analysis with a mountain of salt. And keep in mind that I may have screwed up the calculation and am just talking fancy BS here. But it was fun, and on occasion I'll try to experiment with some actual images. After all, the technique here doesn't have to be applied in camera. As mentioned, there are many software solutions for aligning and stacking out there.
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