Posts

Skulker · Dec 5, 2013

scyrene said:
neuroanatomist said:

scyrene said:

I also find stacking the extenders can produce usable images if I can't get closer, although this is manual focus only and works best with support.

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Just a side note on this, you cannot stack the Canon 1.4xIII and 2xIII extenders together, unless you use a small (e.g. 12mm) extension tube between them. The MkII extenders can be stacked, and 1.4xIII can be mounted behind a 2xII.

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Interesting! I have a 1.4xIII and a 2xII. Does using an extension tube make any difference to function, e.g. losing infinity focus?

I've taken shots of the moon with stacked 1.4x and 2x converters separated with a 12mm extension and a 300mm f2.8. I used live view. But of course the moon is moving quite fast with that sort of magnification.

I think infinity focus may depend on the manufacture of the lens. Clearly it should theoretically loose infinity focus, and I haven't looked to see why it worked for me.

With a good stable tripod or rest this combination can work.

Scarpz13 · Dec 5, 2013

Ruined said:
Scarpz13 said:

Hi Everyone one… going to be fortunate enough to have a little commission/Christmas bonus money left over after taking care of all the gifts for the wife & kiddies, family and friends….

Haven't added to my lens collection since about this time last year; and will have around $1000 or so to spend. Considering the lenses I already have, my first inclination was to pick up a 100L Macro, since none of my lenses are macro. Then I considered the 135L because I don't have a long range prime, and like everyone, I like fast glass.

But as my kids are getting older and into dance recitals and indoor sports, plays, etc… the 135L might be good, but I am considering on of the new Tamron 2.8 zooms. I used to own a 17-50 Tammy for my 60D and found it was great… and I know Dustin from TWI has posted some great reviews here on the Tamron lenses.

I know everyone is going to say the Canon is better, but I'm not in place to spend 2K+ on a lens, at least not without taking away from more important things- I feel guilty enough as it is not spending all my extra money on the kids!

I appreciate any thoughts- and I am a bit concerned that I am more likely to get a "bad copy" of a Tamron, but I think it may be the best value right now. In Toronto they are on sale everywhere… $1000 or so for the 24-70 and $1300ish for the 70-200

thanks!

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I have heard the Tamron 24-70 is pretty darn good, but have heard much less good things about the 70-200. Given Canon's fantastic telephoto selection, I would recommend staying with Canon in this focal length range.

In any case, the Canon lenses do offer more reliable performance even though they may lack features and be more expensive at times.

I can vouch that the 100mm f/2.8L Macro is an amazing lens you might want to consider. If you have the slightest inclination towards Macro, it is the perfect lens to start with in that category; good working distance, excellent IQ, and much more compact than the 180mm macro. In addition, by flipping a switch it becomes a portrait lens w/ IS, plus some of the best edge-to-edge sharpness you have ever seen. So it is an extremely versatile lens that will let you take close ups (I use it for ring shots) as well as highly detailed portraits that ooze expression.

Another lens in this pricerange you may want to consider is the 70-200 f/4L IS or 70-300 f/4-5.6L IS. If you are not getting paid to take pictures, I'd actually advise to skip the 70-200 f/2.8 - it is just so darn heavy and huge that for a photographer doing things for fun it may actually dissuade you from usage! I have one, and it does give excellent results, but you really need to have a secondary lens to use that does not weigh a ton for non-pro events. So, before you go the 70-200 2.8 route, make sure you handle it in the store and that is a weight/size you are comfortable handling all the time, on hiking trips, outings, etc.

Regarding the 70-200 f/4L IS and 70-300 f/4-5.6L IS, I actually prefer the latter because I already have a 70-200 2.8 and the former is too close in focal length. The 70-200 f/4, while lighter, is too long for some venues - while the 70-300L's compact length allows you to get into certain places where the 70-200 f/4 would be banned. The extra reach on the 70-300 is nice, too, and unlike the non-L 70-300 lenses the 70-300L is extremely sharp throughout the whole range!

The 135L is a nice lens, but I believe we will see it trumped by a non-L IS prime in 2014 for half the price, much like we saw with the 35mm f/2 IS trumping the 35mm f/1.4L this year. Also consider with the 135mm focal length, Image Stabilization is very much desired due to the longer focal length - a lot of times you may need 1/100 or 1/60 shutter speed, and without IS you may be doomed to motion blur handheld with the 135L. Again, a non-L IS prime that will likely arrive next year will fix this for much less money while retaining the superior optics if the 35mm f/2 IS is any indication.

So my recommendations - 100L Macro or 70-300L.

Thanks Ruined!
I already have the 70-200 F4 IS, and I agree... the 2.8L IS is probably too big for what I need. the F4 is more than sufficient for taking photos of my kids playing outside at the park, etc... where most of my long range photos are taken.
I had been leaning towards the 100L Macro before your post, as I do prefer the IS it has over the 135L, and the versatility it brings to my kit (being able to do some macro work which I would like to try, and also a sharp portrait lens!)

thanks for taking the time to respond.

WPJ · Dec 5, 2013

I could but not at that distance, the pocket wizards work in the uhf ultra high frequency which is line of sight, being it was an open area it will travel further than if it was blocked by a building at that distance.

Methodical · Dec 5, 2013

POTN and Fred Miranda. I've only sold 2x tc on craiglist.

entlassen · Dec 5, 2013

I'm scouting around for newer products and might have found a decent compromise:
http://flashhavoc.com/yn-622n-tx-first-image-emerges/

It looks like Yongnuo is going to release a newer version of their old YN-622C sometime later this month or early next year. The unit is called the YN-622C-TX and acts only as a transmitter which interacts with the existing YN-622C transceivers. The link above does show "Remote Shutter Release" as one of its new features, which the old YN-622C doesn't have.

So it seems to me the setup would be:
YN-622C on camera hotshoe
Speedlight on YN-622C
YN-622C-TX acting as the transmitter remote
(Nothing connected to camera's 3-pin)

It seems this would resolve the following:
1) ETTL - Check
2) Camera hotshoe isn't taken up in such a way that you can't mount a flash - Check
3) No extra receiver needed for remote shutter - Check
4) No cord needed to connect receiver to camera pins - Check
5) Remote shutter release functionality - Check

This system still wouldn't leverage the RT radio functionality that's already built into one's 600EX-RT, but it seems like the cleanest one I've seen so far.

J.R. · Dec 4, 2013

jasonsim said:
I have both for the time being. I got the 600mm first because I thought everything was shifting to full frame and was looking to replace an 800mm. Like others have said, for birding, I think the 600mm II + 1.4x III is the best option. If the birds are stationary, then the 600mm II + 2x III will also work nicely (super sharp). This is not a lens you want to travel that far with though, since it is big volume wise. Also hiking around with it is cumbersome at least for me. So that is something to consider. I mainly use the 600mm II on a sturdy tripod and a full gimbal head.

The 500mm is lighter on paper, but in my hands it does not feel that much lighter. It is however, much smaller in volume. So would be much easier to take on a plain or even to hike around with. Still not sure I want to hike around with it much. If you think you might be sticking with a crop sensor body (7D, 70D and maybe the next 1.6x body) then I might suggest you strongly consider the 500mm. If not for the slight weight savings and size differences, then for the price difference. The 500mm + 1.4x on a 7D is more than enough focal length for birding.

I also have the 300mm f/2.8L IS II and would choose to use that, if I am going to be hiking around looking for subjects to photograph. I'd use it without hesitation with the 2x III. It is much lighter than either the 500mm and 600mm and it is super sharp even with the 2x III on it.

Don't know, if that helps you any. You might even consider a nice used 800mm f/5.6L IS that can be had for around $8500 these days.

Best of luck with your decision. If you decide on a 500mm II, I might have one for you .

Kind regards,
Jason S.

Thanks Jason, I would readily buy a used lens but given the fact that I'm in India, it is not an option. The superteles don't come up for resale all that many times. Buying from the US isn't such a great idea because imports attract a customs duty of 30%. A new super tell lens, in India, turns out to be the same if not cheaper.

Carrying the lens in the wild... I'd take a couple of sherpas for that instead of breaking my back with either supertele.

I'll go for the 600 next. The 300 should be here within a week.

BozillaNZ · Dec 4, 2013

24-70 II is the most satisfying lens to use after the 70-200 II. Every time I look at the photos taken by it I am amazed by the color rendition and smooth bokeh it gives (no need to mention sharpness, it is the sharpest lens I've used), at the same time offers good mobility. No IS might be a shame but it depends on your intended use.

Tripod landscape? This lens has it. f2.8 portait? Yes can be done. General workaround in day time? No problem.

Only ultra low light no flash situation and no moving people calls for IS.

Also regards to sigma F2 zoom, I don't think it would be feasible. Look at their 24-105 F4, it's already 880g. Their 18-35 F1.8 cropper is 810g. Canon's 24-70 II is lighter than both at 800g. Even if they somehow manages to come up a 24-70 F2, the weight alone would be a show stopper. Just look at how much weight gain a lens gets when it is merely 1 stop faster. And 1.5kg for a standard zoom? no thanks!

CarlTN · Dec 4, 2013

candyman said:
CarlTN said:

candyman said:

CarlTN said:

candyman said:

I paid 1179 euro (that is around 1605 US dollar). And that was discount! Now it is around 1350 euro.
If it would be about prices I prefer to live in the US. Live would be 25 to 50% cheaper.

Click to expand...

What country are you in?

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The Netherlands

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Ahh. Well at least you have plenty of beautiful women over there!

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You think so? Unfortunatley not enough in high-tech. So I don't have the pleasure during my 9 hour working day. While I travel about 3 hours a day by car, I am looking more at cars that pass me or I pass them to get a glimp of those beautiful women ;D

Haha, sounds like fun! I love cars too; at least they can't reject you, unless of course you don't have a key to open the door and fire up the engine! Well, the ladies I've seen were pictures on the web, and they didn't have any clothes on. I assume they're mostly around Amsterdam. I bet you could make decent money taking their pictures (because somebody sure does take their pictures)! I mentioned them because I've never seen one of these pictures of a lady from your country, that was not a perfect 10!! At least my idea of a perfect 10...They also seem like they would be nice people. The women in my country are mean all too often! Maybe it's all my fault? haha...no doubt I'm partly to blame.

pelebel · Dec 4, 2013

The way you describe it, it reminds me when I've had sand in an IS lens. Had to send it to service, and it came back a lot better.

Random Orbits · Dec 4, 2013

entlassen said:
rs said:

I don't understand your aversion to a unit which sits with the camera and plugs into the remote port of the body?

Click to expand...

I'm just trying to figure out what my options are. As I mentioned previously, the competition (Nikon side) offer products that have neither of those disadvantages; they have RF solutions that don't need a wire, and they don't have a brick that needs to hog up the hot shoe, preventing you from mounting a flash unit. I'm a bit surprised that there are no similar products on the Canon side, and that all the 3rd party solutions I've seen exhibit both disadvantages. I mean I suppose you can have the brick off the hot shoe but dangling from the wire off the 3-pin port side, but that seems super ghetto and dangerous.

Have you thought about why Canon solutions use a cable? Canon's port is on the side; if you mounted something like the Nikon solution at the port, then it would interfere with the L-bracket. The wire allows you snake it through the L-bracket.

You could get a cold shoe that mounts to the L-bracket if you'd prefer not dangling it off the side but the Hahnel is not heavy at all.

brad-man · Dec 3, 2013

Oops. My bad. The 2541 is a Mountaineer, not a Traveler. And definitely yes, the 2541EX will be quite a bit wider than the mountaineer. It's even wider than my 3542XLS, which is pretty damn large.

scrup · Dec 3, 2013

Did this sneak up on CR.

Surprised they couldn't see this coming 1 week out.

Time to get some more sources from the motherland.

jrista · Dec 3, 2013

Fleetie said:
Would it kill them to let us see it?

It may not yet have been processed to such a degree that it could be made public. Remember, ISON just transited the sun a couple days ago, and it only reached peak visibility on the 26th of November. Given that these guys are on the ISS, I figure it could be a while before they get the chance to do proper processing and put it up online.

KyleSTL · Dec 3, 2013

OK, looks like I'm going to get an sensor brush, a pack of green swabs and VDust Plus. Thanks for the help.

dcm · Dec 3, 2013

Forgot to mention that with a second similar light I easily get 12+ ev without putting them too close to the target. Depending on the lens (f1.4), this pushed the shutter speed to less than 1/4000. The extra light can be helpful with the aperture sharpness test to help overcome slow shutter speeds at small apertures (f22+).

Drizzt321 · Dec 3, 2013

Looks like it's a classic 6x6cm folder, cool! Those are lots of fun. http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Dacora_I

Also, the Kodacolor (correct spelling) has come in various flavors over the years (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodacolor_%28still_photography%29), so it depends on which one you have. Although, I suspect if it's been sitting there for decades without decent storage, it'll be...interesting. Either awesome weirdness, completely crappy worthless, or somehow working just fine.

As for instructions, the Butkus page seems to be for a similar model, although not the exact same. Most folders are pretty similar in operation to each other, so it should be close enough.

I'd first check that the lens doesn't have a lot of model or other stuff gunking it up, and then check the operation of the shutter. You can trigger the shutter while holding the back door open so you can see through it, as well as the shutter blades. While you are doing that (use bulb mode or simply hold the shutter lever open after hitting the release) check the aperture by changing it while looking through the lens. It may still be fine, but you might need to get (or do it yourself) re-grease/oil the shutter and/or aperture blades since it's likely been sitting there for decades.

Last, you'll need to be able to estimate exposure well, use a pocket cam to get the exposure, or get a light meter. Along with that, learn Zone Focusing http://digital-photography-school.com/ultimate-guide-to-zone-focusing-for-candid-street-photography and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_focus are good starters.

And don't get discouraged when your first couple of rolls aren't at all what you thought you'd get. I've shot a few dozen rolls through mine and I'm still learning it's sweet spots.

AvTvM · Dec 3, 2013

lw said:
I have put a summary of EOS M2 features and my own take on my EOS M blog
http://eos-m.net/news/eos-m2-announced-official/

excellent, thanks!

the following bit of information is of specific interest:

AF Speed: The good news is that it appears the AF speed has been increased by a factor of 2.3x over the current M model that has V 2.0 firmware installed as highlighted in the quote below.

AlanF · Dec 3, 2013

It would be fun to test an SX50 body adapted so it would fit on to a 300mm f/2.8 to give an effective fov of 1675mm or, in terms of pixel size 1200mm. Using the sharpest Canon lens at f/2.8, instead of the f/6.5 of the SX50 zoom (which has a true focal length of 215mm) might give some interesting insights.

Rienzphotoz · Dec 3, 2013

neuroanatomist said:
entlassen said:

I see this warning in the item description for (A) on B&H's site:

This filter ring's outside diameter is slightly larger than the actual thread size, and because of this you may be unable to attach the lens manufacturer's bayonet-mounted lens hood to the lens while using this filter. This is dependent on your specific lens and how thick the front rim of the lens is; with thinner, low-profile lenses usually being affected more.

Click to expand...

Does this lens hood problem affect the 82mm XS-Pro on the 24-70 f/2.8 II? And is this a problem with the 77mm XS-Pro on the 70-200 f/2.8 II?

Click to expand...

2) Ignore the 'warning'. I've got XS-Pro filters in many sizes, no issues with hoods.

+1

docholliday · Dec 3, 2013

Jens said:
@Mt Spokane Photography: great, I'm expecting to hear back from a few repair centres next week.

@docholliday: Thanks a bunch, really like you approach!

Regarding the 90deg usb cord, Is it correct that the 5d mark2 needs a "right" version?

I'm not sure on the 5 series...on the 1-Series, it's the LEFT angle Mini-USB for the cable to go downward. Look at the Mini-USB port, if the bigger part of the port is towards the FRONT of the camera (towards the lens mount), it'll be the LEFT for down. If it's towards the back (towards the screen), it'll be the RIGHT for down.

I paid the extra for the "High-Flex" version of the cable, but also have one of the "Low Pro" ones around as a spare. The company is really good, good support too. I had a cable go bad on me and they promptly sent me a replacement without any headaches. They'll also cut specific sized cables with whatever ends you need on it.

privatebydesign · Dec 3, 2013

People are not selling their 5D MkIII's and D800's in the numbers they are selling 5D MkII's. Ebay is the place for old RRS stuff.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=RRS&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.XRRS+b5&_nkw=RRS+b5&_sacat=0

Mt Spokane Photography · Dec 3, 2013

There are ways altitude can cause issues, but not the kind of altitudes you are discussing. In extreme high altitudes, outgassing of silicones, lubes, plastics and the like can redeposit themselves where they care not wanted. You do not want them to deposit on your sensor or lens elements. That's why special modifications are made for equipment going into space. Part of my job used to be making sure that components used in spacecraft met outgassing specs.

Moisture is the enemy, rapid temperature change from warm humid to cold is the worst, since moisture condenses inside your camera. Taking a very cold camera into a moist warm room will condense moisture on the outside of the camera and lens where it is much less likely to be a problem.

Mt Spokane Photography · Dec 3, 2013

unfocused said:
I've purchased three refurbished lenses. I am not a fanatic about calibration however, so I'm probably not the one to ask, but I've found them to be identical quality to lenses I've bought new.

I'm not sure, however, that this statement is correct: "Canon refurb stock to my knowledge is generally customer returns in the 30 day period or dealer demos."

I've always been curious as to where the stock really comes from, since I can't imagine that they can all come from customer and dealer returns. Especially because, during sales it's not uncommon for Canon to "restock" the store. How can you "restock" a store with returned items on such a consistent basis?

Now that CanonPriceWatch carries the number available in stock for each lens, I find this even more unlikely. For example, they currently show more than 500 40mm pancake lenses in stock. I seriously doubt that the majority of those lenses would be from customer returns. I strongly suspect that many of these lenses were never sold or spent any time out in the "wild."

While its possible that new lenses are reboxed and sold, the quantity of lenses that are sold is very large, Canon might produce a million a year of some lens models. If even 1% of those are returned, that's 10,000 lenses.
When you add up all the cameras and lenses shipped to Best Buy, Walmart, Costco, Sams, Amazon, Newegg, and a thousand other camera stores, the numbers really add up.

mrkim · Dec 2, 2013

neuroanatomist said:
That's the usual reason to avoid stacking filters, yes. Other than possible vignetting, it may not make a noticeable difference in IQ with good filters.

Thanks for the clarification and all your help, Neuro!

Don Haines · Dec 2, 2013

Cory said:
Don Haines said:

You care nothing for continuous shooting yet want to shoot sports? If you get a 70D try the burst mode on an action shot.... like your daughter serving a volleyball... When you capture that perfect shot where the volleyball deforms as your daughter hits it you may change your mind... So much action happens faster than a human can react... you anticipate and time the burst around the expected instant you wish to capture.... This is something that you can't do with a lesser camera.

Click to expand...

Maybe you're right and maybe the same is true for some other features not used because I never had them. It shall be done - the order happens tomorrow morning.

I didn't realize how useful it was until I got into bird photography...

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