As usual, this depends on your shooting style. Assuming your 300$ budget to be strict, these are some options:

• Canon S-series
• Canon SX-series (the compact line)
• Canon G-series (although they normally are a bit pricier, g15 goes for 400$)
• EOS-M

Then the competition:

• Panasonic TZ-series
• Sony HX-series (compact models)
• Olympus XZ-series
• Olympus TG-X series (waterproof)
• FujiFilm X10 or X20

Well, those are the main suggestions. If you have used a rangefinder camera before, I would steer you towards FujiFilms excellent X10 or X20. And take your time to weigh the pros and cons.

BTW, the Olympus TG-X series is not the most common option here, but they do have bright lenses, and can be used virtally anywhere... (I've used mine filming myself and my daughter going down a water slide, try to do that with a SLR...)

I am happy with my Fotodiox pro adapter for OM lenses. If outside of the US, Fotodiox have Amazon stores and will mail direct if ordered from there.

It does depend what lens you want to adapt, as previous response.

I bought the non-IS about a year ago, after the Sigma (100-300 f4) that I was using lost autofocus and repair parts were unavailable. Of course I would have gotten the IS2 if I could afford it, but I could not and the non-IS was a thousand bucks less. Very happy with the lens, no complaints, and the high ISO on the 5D3 is so good that I can just bump up ISO in place of using IS. (I also use a tripod often, which of course negates the need for IS).

I find it tack sharp and it is interesting to see people here say it is actually sharper than the IS version 1. Makes me glad I got the non-IS new instead of getting an IS1 used. But of course if money is not an issue than by all means you should get the IS2. For me the main advantage of the IS2 would not be the IS, but rather the closer minimum focusing distance.

At the Horseshoe Bend, Paghe , Arizona

Just the sample of the 6 th. day trip at ARIZONA,, National Park , at Page , Horseshoe Bend----Super dangerous to the Photographers who want the Perfect Photos and lost 4 Lifes in past 5 Years---Not Me, I love my life---Ha, Ha, Ha---And I forget to bring Nonopod too, just for stick the camera out of canyon wall/ cliff, and get the perfected pictures.

It will be fine. I used the "street price" program for my 300 f/2.8 ii and it came in at a great price from an authorized dealer without a hitch.

No better start Stephen

Can't help you with comparisons but over six years ago I paid a 40% premium to get a ten year old Mk1 compared to a brand new Mk2. I made comparisons at the time I purchased it and had no regrets then and still no regrets. Now its 16+ years old and still as good as ever.

Hi there, old post but worth posting.

Some quick tips:

Camera on manual
f16 or as close as you can get
Expose for the above
Focus below (either on manual focus or AF, you can pre-focus and re-compose, or select the lower AF points)
If you don't have a lot of light in the water you'll need strobes to bring in detail and even things out, and in this instance you generally need a LOT of light due to the wide angle. I use 2 older DS125's (now 160's) and they are usually on close to full power for over/unders.

I don't suggest Rainx. Spit works (spit on it before you get in, wipe it around and let it dry). Lasts 30 minutes or so with good results. Or slice a potato and wipe it around before getting in.

Lyle

I was happy to see that Pocketwizard has finally released a firmware update (Beta) to make the Pocketwizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 for Canon fully compatible with my 1DX (as well as the 6D and 70D). (see www.pocketwizard.com left side of the page). I'm planning to download the firmware updates and give them a try later this week.

In the meantime, I am wondering if anyone has already downloaded and tested the firmware update with the 1DX?
If so:
1. Do you get full compatibility with the AC3 controller as well?
2. What's the fastest Hypersync shutter speed you have been able to obtain?
3. Any problems identified?

I look forward to hearing from the community and to trying it out myself.

ScottyP said:

Is white balance tricky underwater? Does it have a WB setting for that?

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Briefly, yes. Light underwater is quite different from on the surface and varies with factors such as depth and water conditions, among other things.

Professional shooters use things like fancy filters to compensate. The D30 has a generic underwater setting that does pretty well for casual shooting so it's reasonable to assume any new Canon underwater point-and-shoot would also include a setting like this.

mackguyver said:

LOL, and if you do find it, please see how far you can take the "No limit" on my AMEX B&H would be a good place to start ;D

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B&H take cash, too. Although in my experience it takes a surprising number of B&H employees to count the money and fill out the IRS paperwork when you walk in and pay for a 600/4L IS II with a stack of Benjamins. 8)

bseitz234 said:

Hannes said:

EF-S prime in the range 20-24mm
EF-S 50-150 f2.8 IS
200mm f2.8 IS
100-300 f4 IS
A replacement to the 22-55mm would be nice, it is a very handy focal range. 20-50 f4 IS would be ideal and would make a killer holiday lens

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Oh how I would love an EF-S 22mm 1.4. Or even 1.8. That would be awesome. I just can't justify the cost of the 24L, but if there were an EF-S version for $500 or $600 I'd be all over it.

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I lusted after a fast lens in that range for APS-C for a long time, and the 24L was too expensive for what it offered. So I decided to go full frame. I have the 35/1.4, but even the 35/2 will give you better angle of view and depth of field than a 22/1.4.

My read was that the supposed camera has a fixed - not interchangeable - lens. If the curved sensor design allows Sony to make small, high quality, fixed lens cameras for less, that seems like an interesting value proposition.

I have a Pentax 55/2 on my S1A. It is arguably better than my OM 50/1.4, and certainly better than either of the Canon 50s I have bought. I think that the only EF mount that may possibly compare would be a Zeiss.

Although my copy is M42 screw mount, it's also available with the 1975 onwards K-mount
http://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/SMC-Pentax-K-50mm-F2-Lens.html

There's a line that says "Announced March 2013".

That makes it _so_ authoritative. :

gigabellone said:

I use one on a Canon 6D, and i think it's a stellar performer. Maybe i'm not as picky as other fellow forumers, but my copy didn't need AFMA, and the AF is accurate, though not fast. Bear in mind that i always take photographs of static subjects, and that i always use the central focus point.

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I even did a shoot with AI Servo enabled on the 5D MkII and the keeper rate was excellent! All wide angle shots in the following series were shot like this:

http://www.mrsfotografie.nl/auto-motorsport/assen-tt-city-racing/

C said:

surapon said:

Thank you, Sir, Dear friend Mr. mrsfotografie.
Ha, Ha, Ha----Nor The Great--But The most Crazy amazing Surapon, and 8 MM Fish eye Len on Canon 1DS MK I.
Have a great week end, Sir.
Surapon

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Thousand thanks, my dear Friend Mr. mrsfotografie..
Your great words will make my days.
Surapon

Having used digital SLRs since 2005 (5D, 5D Mk II, two 1D Mk IVs, and a 1D X), I had never experienced a completely black image until late last year. In November, while shooting at Mission San Diego, I experienced one! It was on my 1D X, with a reliable flash card and in very good available light.

The image contained all of the shooting data as if it had been one of the images of the same subject both before and after the blank one? There was no fault/error code at all! So, I feel your pain! That happened at around 800 shutter actuations and has not occurred in the 3,000+ shots since.

I spoke with Canon Irvine about the experience when they performed a clean and check on my 1D X in February. Nothing was noted during the check and all has been well since. I guess the old saying "Truth is stranger than fiction" might actually apply here!

Intersting hackwork. I'm curious how long they'll last, these tubes are quite fragile and dust or grime on them won't do much good. Also, I'd advise to be very careful modifying a flash. Speedlites often intentionally keep the capacitor charged when turned off in order to preserve battery life. Even with the batteries removed and the test button pressed, it is possible that enough charge remain to get an unpleasent shock. I also am not a big fan of having the electrodes so easily accessible and almost shorted by the backplate... there is enough voltage on a flash tube to spark across quite a gap.

For other DIYers out there, i've found that page quite intersting as far as flashes go. Mainly the safety tips, makes you respect those small strobes.

http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/strbfaq.htm

No apologies needed, thank you for your interest in the topic. The only reason I've asked about the IS sound is to know how loud is the good fully functional copy of 100L is. I've heard it should make only very little noise. I'm sure patients don't really care about that sound, while they are having surgery in their mouth.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'll be getting 100L and a crop body. Not sure about flash though, I may get the newest Canon MR14-EX ii ($550) or a used MR14-EX i ($400).

Vivid Color said:

Perio said:

It's always like that let me ask you a question. I've heard that normally functioning 100L should not make any sound while IS is working. Is that true? Does your copy make any sound when you try to focus? Thanks!

Vivid Color said:

Perio said:

Thanks for all your suggestions, guys! I talked to current residents today, and most of them use crop Nikon bodies with Nikon 105 micro/macro lens and a macro ring flash. Sorry for a silly question, but would 100mm L macro lens fit into a Canon's crop body, like 7d or 70d?

Please let me know if anybody has a good copy of 100L.

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Yes, you may put a 100 mm L macro lens on a Canon crop body.

I have a fantastically sharp copy of the 100 mm L macro but it's not for sale.

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First, I apologize for not getting back to you sooner. My copy of the 100L does make a very small sound when focusing. Whether this is the motor used for focusing or the IS, I really don't know. Would a patient hear this? Possibly to probably given their hearing. But, I would say it's a sound that isn't nearly as loud or as high pitched as the sounds of other dental equipment.

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Chuck Alaimo said:

But also, why would they put any effort into rebranding a mid-level flash if it didn't have RT? Just leave it as...

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Why the MR-14EX II then? Very minor changes, no RT master capability.

Chuck Alaimo said:

...unless they have a RT hotshoe adaptor on the way too...

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I'd certainly love to integrate monolights into the RT system. Not sure we'll ever see one, though. If we do, it'll be after a 4x0EX-RT and it will be priced such that the RT receiver plus a cheap 3rd party flash will cost more than the 4x0-RT model.

great photos. i would love to visit either silverstone or spa someday for photographing f1 racing. :'(

The issue with SD card speeds is that the 5D MK III does not support UHS-1, and most new cards base their speed ratings on UHS-1, which has a bus that it 2X faster. Cut those speeds in half.

The big issue that many are fooled by is that SD card speeds are based on a new totally blank card. As long as the cells in the card are blank, the camera does not have to do the slow block erase function before it can write to them.

In the real world, we use our SD cards, and depending on the size, they get filled with data sooner or later. This coupled with the belief that formatting in camera somehow blanks the card seems to be missed. There are two types of in camera formatting for SD cards, regular formatting which just updates the fat tables to show that files are available to write over (SLOW). The second type, called low level format, actually erases the card and returns it to full speed. I wonder how many use this function more than once. Its very slow to do a low level format of a large card.

So, with a used SD card that has been formatted in camera, the 5D MK III will achieve somewhere between 5 and 10 MB/sec, no matter what that label says, be it 60MB/sec or 100, its going to be 10MB/sec or less.

Once Canon starts supporting UHS-1, the speeds will double, but... that means 10-20MB/sec once you are in the mode of writing over used memory cells.

CF cards don't have that issue.

Not sure of the Species, but it might be an Aussie

ahsanford said:

61 responses, everyone, nice work!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s_thankyou.aspx?sm=Ws7JK%252bcabzvEcxXxJcXkq45j8D7iDKRGz0nakT9q9A0%253d

Thanks for the perspective. We have a pretty healthy split between the four camps. I know we 61 voices are not Canon's market (not remotely), but do you think there's merit in a 'skinny digital back' just for the LCD?

For those stuck with a style of LCD they do not prefer, would you pay a typical Canon markup price for an add-on like a grip or wireless speedlite transmitter (let's say $300) to have the option to dismount your current LCD 'module' for one with the functionality you prefer? Let's presume is was quick-connect-like and could be changed out in a matter of seconds (like a lens).

Would you own more than one and change them out based on what you are shooting?

I'm not trying to start a Kickstarter here -- I'm just curious how much value people would see in fundamentally changing their camera body in this way.

- A

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I would say there is much more merit to a wired or wireless LCD that can tilt/swivel and offers touch controls, is inexpensive, and can be connected either by hotshoe or has a 1/4-20 female hole.
When I have tried to use live view without a tripod, the awkward positioning of the camera makes it difficult to maintain stability. Additionally, using touch interface means holding it with one hand. It's okay to navigate through menus, but can you imagine holding a semipro dSLR with a reasonably heavy lens away from your face with one hand, and touching the screen to focus?
On the other hand, if it could be connected via a flash bracket sort of thing, so you could comfortably grip the camera and yet it stays in front of you, can be taken off if necessary- that would allow a lot of flexibility. And hey, we wouldn't even need to depend on Canon for that.

P.S. Before someone jumps in with "it's already been done"- note WIRED (to reduce lag), TOUCHSCREEN (mimics camera controls), and INEXPENSIVE (so mere mortals can afford it, not just moviemakers).