If you are buying the Canon 500mm or 600mm f4L IS II, you can easily use them on a monopod. You can also, with some practice handhold them. If you are considering the version I of those lenses, it becomes a bit more challenging, both due to weight (primarily the 600mm) and because the IS system is much less efficient (2 f-stops instead of the 4 f-stops you get on the version II).

For wildlife and birds I handhold most of the time, unless I am sitting still, waiting for something. I also handhold with the 1.4xIII extender, but that requires practice. When I attach the 2xIII I need the tripod with gimbal head, both because of the 1200mm focal length and because I then only have one center AF point available (1DX and 5DIII).

/Eldar

Nicky93 said:

Very informative group. My question here, other than from what I have seen the release of the 70D is in September and not this month, is whether it is all that much better that I would want to upgrade from the 60D? I was reading up at http://www.squidoo.com/canon-70d-camera-price-and-review and the only wow factor seems to be the autofocusing technology. If I am understanding correctly, the 70D is finally catching up with camcorders.

Is there anything other than this that should make me consider upgrading? Thanks in advance...

Cheers,

Nicholas

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"I was reading up at." Yeah right. You only have one post here. It seems you came justs to plug in your squidoo link, which has been taken down anyway. Don't spam.

I haven't tried any other systems out there, but I have been using the Capture Clip for 6 or 7 months now. It's great and I love it.

My 7D was always a bit too heavy for my camera strap-- and after I got my 5D, I haven't even bothered taking the Canon strap out of the plastic as I've been using the Capture Clip this whole time. It's great for hiking when I can hang it off of my backpack strap. It holds it in secure, yet I can pop off my camera quickly when I need to-- which means that I'm not missing pictures that I may have been too lazy to take if my camera was packed away or just too slow to drop my backpack and get my camera out.

The only real complaints I have about it are minor:
1) If your gear is heavy (5D +70-200) and attached to your belt, you will notice it. It pulls down pretty good, so you need to cinch your belt an extra hole.
2) When you do have a heavy set up on your belt, it tends to torque the capture clip and can push into your hip some depending on how you have it. It's annoying but not bad. However, for longer hikes it might be a problem. Although, for longer hikes I'd be carrying a backpack and have it on the shoulder strap strap. I do notice with V2 they are offering some sort of pad-- that may fix this issue.

Otherwise it's secure and I love it. If I were to buy version 2 now, I might spring for the one with a metal back just because that seems like it'd be more robust for hanging $5K of gear off of it. However, I can't see that tripod screw on the back ever being used. That's why I have an Arca swiss quick release plate, why would I use this clip for that?

So, long story short, if you're a hiker/biker or just traveling with a backpack and your camera on a fairly regular basis, get it. It's great to have your camera right there on your shoulder strap. And, really, even if you aren't toting a backpack around, it's great to have the camera clipped on your belt, especially when changing lenses-- it's a stable 3rd hand to help you out while you're juggling things around.

Alamby....mmmmmmmm

Dylan777 said:

jasonsim said:

Dylan,

Here is a shot taken with the 300mm f/2.8L IS II + 2x III on a 1Dx. It shows some inflight action. I would say this combo is very usable.

If you already have the 70-200mm f/2.8L II, I would recommend getting a 2x III and try it out at 400mm. You will be surprised by it's performance. Faster than a 100-400mm and the IQ is better.

Regards,
Jason

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Wow...that is an amazing photo with x2 TC III Jason. Thanks for sharing. Will take your advise and try out x2 TC III on my 70-200. I heard nothing but "WOW & AMAZING & RAZOR SHARP & LIGHTING AF" about 300mm version II.

This could be my next lens

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Thanks Dylan. It is a really great lens and so is your 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II. Happy shooting!

Second body is a must, along with extra batteries. You cannot go to a paid shoot and have a camera failure. And if it's a wedding, that can be the end of you going pro if word gets out that you did a wedding and your camera failed and the bride and groom got no photos after the failure. I help a professional wedding shooter here in town and together, we show up with 4 bodies. It also makes shooting much easier if you are not switching lenses all the time. We both use the 24-70 on one body, I use the 70-200 on my other body and he will have a 100 on his second body. We will use a macro lens prior to the wedding to shoot the rings and other items, but that's about it.

So, I agree with everybody else.

Matthew

if you like so much the 1dmk2 why not to buy a used 1dmk3 (or a mk2) instead?

If you can't wait to save up to buy the 70-300L, then consider renting it for a specific occasion. That way, you won't end up with a lens you might want to sell and you'll get much better photos than you would from a lens with lower IQ.

I've never bought their photo stuff, but Monoprice is an awesome company to deal with. Superior customer service.

Timothy_Bruce said:

That Sound is normal it is the charging circuit holding the flash capacitor fully charged.
My bet would be the tube.
I have one 430EX with a dead tube that is behaving the same way.
Canon will replace the hole flash head part for about 150€
Is the zoom working properly?

At the moment I am waiting for an replacement tube to arrive from taiwan.
But replacing it yourself is not that easy and requires soldering.

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Thanks to all for your replies.
I mentioned the sound as I have never heard it before - perhaps I wasn't listening! Also the zoom and all other functions appear to be fine except that it won't flash!
I will have to check into repair costs - thinking of getting one of these if the repairs are going to be expensive: Yongnuo YN-568EX II

Mt Spokane Photography said:

The FT QL was my first Canon SLR way back in the 1960's. One of the issues with the old cameras that used 1.3v mercury batteries that are no longer available. I buy and sell a lot of the old cameras.
You can use either FL or FD lenses with the camera, there are tons of 50mm f/1.8 lenses available for under $50, and f/1.4 lenses don't break the bank.

There are few good alternatives, Silver Oxide works ok, but the voltage fluctuations mean potentially inaccurate light meter readings. Air-Cell batteries are expensive and don't last long.

A separate light meter is the best solution.

Its also pretty likely that the shutter speed is no longer accurate, its impractical to do anything about that, just try it and see.

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Thanks for the tips. Yea, I have a lightmeter (Luna Pro FTW!), so I'll just have to see what kind of condition it's in when I get it. 3 weeks or so, and it's been in storage for quite a while from what I understand.

neuroanatomist said:

Policar said:

The Mark III (and I'm assuming 1DX even more so) has good high ISO performance. It's low ISO that suffers. If anything Canon would want to fix that but I don't think they'd want to publicize it since the problem is not really well-documented except in niche communities. (Noisy ADC or somesuch.)

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So why would they want to fix it at all? :

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Maybe they don't. There's not much evidence they care. The gap between Canon and Sony sensors is wider in terms of read noise than quantum efficiency, so there's more room to improve there, but I agree with you there's much less incentive.

There might be more incentive when/if the mythical 3D studio/landscape camera launches, however, in which case Canon might be moved to improve their cameras' read noise without really publicizing that they ever had an issue with it. Probably not, though.

Hi

Can anyone please advice where to buy Canon DSLRs in Iceland? new or used, I don't care.

Additionally would need to be a physical store, preferably.

Thanks for the feedbakc!

pwp said:

In a controlled environment where you are shooting art, why not use the speed of tethering via USB?
Eye-Fi chugs along OK with small JPEG's, but RAW transfer can only be described as glacial.
-PW

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The eye-fi wasn't that bad. I had it directly connected and set to not upload to internet services. I was cropping the previous photos as the new ones were coming through. Not bad, but I will try USB next time. I imagine that the large screen live view will help.

Also by the way, the 100 2.8L IS macro focus ring is is specified at 157 degrees from 1:1 to infinity. Which seems great, but it is geared so that at macro distances the you have better control of focus and at longer distances its super touchy... I think next time I will try a no-macro like 100mm f2 or 135L which have more "focus throw" at the distances i would be working at.

tron said:

I have used my 5D2 with the remote control many times and I have not observed anything wrong.
When I have time I will try the cap experiment.

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I would have said it was all gravy as well had it not been for shooting in portrait..
It took me 18 months to notice it on this particular body.
Rarely do i shoot in bright sunlight unless its as a sunrise/set which wont have the light to my left and above.
I will be contacting Canon for an explanation
1 body fair enough it could be a problem since i got it (doubtful but they would try to get out of it) but 2 bodies same place thats a design fault that although the camera is out of warranty should still require a response and if pushed a resolution for it due it its nature the camera bodies left the factory with this problem and i reckon if the mkiii has the same arrangement its also likely to suffer from this as will any camera body in the range potentially..

Great shots! I remember those places. Merv was fascinating, especially seeing objects in the Museum from 3000 BC.

Here's the pic I was trying to post the other day to illustrate existing light with the 5D3 and 24-105.....

Impressive stuff!

If I was a pro focus puller, I'd be a little concerned

What is this AF you speak of?

Took the 600D, got around half a dozen ok pics towards end, rain came on big time and I wasn't dressed for it, (me or camera)

Reckon I would have had double or triple the keepers to choose from with the 7D. Might go again this weekend but take the 7D and my 100mm f2.0.

Thanks for input folks

interesting..

I agree with bleephotography, but my experience is a 5d3(which replaced my 7d). Its great being able to focus alot faster and more accurately, but when Ive forced a photo in those types of situations, things could be noisy or dark or both. It hasn't really made a large impact to me as an enthusiast, but I could see it being more of a big deal for wedding or event photography.

I think one like the Sony NEX-6 EVF would be great.

The video capability of the 70D is long overdue, and will be muchly appreciated. I find having video capability with DSLR quality is a often-used handy feature. I hope the sound quality will also be an improvement from the 60D.

CamRanger works great. It is well worth the price if you need to remotely control the camera or show larger images to a client for approval without having to shoot tethered to a computer.
Easy to set up and use. Adorama claims to be a sole distributor, but I got it at a local camera dealer. The price was the same ($299.00)

Mt Spokane Photography said:

Still, with no AFMA, I'll be passing it up.

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as every review i saw today mentioned it has AFMA.

I am a 550d shooter looking to upgrade. I primarily shoot stills not video, so my question is pertaining stills only.

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then i guess you best choice will be the 6D or 5D MK3.
i don´t expect huge improvements from the 70D.

going from my 550D to fullframe, was the best thing i could do.