Posts

mrsfotografie · Aug 30, 2013

mackguyver said:
kirispupis said:

My only quib with the review is I disagree that you really need a 1D-X to properly use this lens. I have always been a believe that glass is more important than camera bodies and I am sure I could make great use of this lens on my 5D3. I currently have no desire to buy either the 1D-X or the 6D but will evaluate the 1D-X's and 5D3's successors.

Now I just have to convince my wife on this lens...

Click to expand...

I agree completely about the 1DX vs. 5DIII. I think he's overstating things a lot other than high ISO shooting.

I also have to convince my (long-suffering) wife on this purchase but found a good combo this weekend for a slower moving critter this weekend:

I started with the 400mm f/5.6 + 1.4x III on my 5D Mark III - (560mm f/9):
...

Took off the 1.4x as he swam towards me (400m f/5.6 - didn't have time to shift to f/11!):
...
400mm f/5.6
...
400mm f/5.6
...

While also shooting with my 5DMII and the 70-200 f/2.8 IS II + 1.4x III:
98mm f/11 without the extender
...
and with the extender - 140mm f/11
...

Sure, it's less convenient, and but the IQ is as good / almost as good and it's a LOT cheaper. Someday I'll persuade the wife. Maybe I'll tell her that I will be able to stay further away from alligators

And a lot more portable too, something to consider! I sold a Sigma 150-500 in favor of a Canon 100-400 and found that to be so handholdable that I haven't used (or missed) my monopod since.

The bigger the lens, the less mobile you (I) may be.

balaji · Aug 30, 2013

Thanks ForumMuppet.

Should I leave both the Batteries in the BG or 1 at a time, if I have both in the BG, camera uses them at the same time (sharing though) and added weight.

wickidwombat · Aug 29, 2013

pwp said:
I have a 135 f/2, it's a nice sharp copy which needed +9 AFMA on all my bodies to become stellar. But I hardly use it, reaching more often for the 70-200 f/2.8isII.

Just now I realised why...no tripod collar. I shoot well over 50% portrait orientation, often on a monopod. If there was a tripod collar for the 135 f/2 I know I'd use it almost daily.

A quick web search including eBay revealed nothing...does anyone know if this item is exists?

-PW

its a light lens why not just use an L bracket on your body?
thats what I do anyway

Zv · Aug 29, 2013

Lots of pictures of boxes but no actual 70D images!

Update - I went to a local camera store during my lunch break to play about with the 70D. The LV AF is amazingly fast, you just touch the screen to focus and it's instant and accurate. The ergonomics are similar to the 7D but everything is smaller. It's like a mini 7D in a way. Feels solid and the grip is similar to the 7D too, glad they got rid of the 60D grip, yuk!

Only played about with it for a few minutes but it seems like a well rounded solidly built little APS-C with very good, sharp images with good color rendition.

brianleighty · Aug 29, 2013

bradfordswood said:
That is a great deal on the 35.

I took the rented 18-35 on a trip to Chicago and shot roughly 500 pictures, 300 of which were keepers. I haven't processed any of them yet, as I'm waiting for Lightroom to release a lens correction profile.

My copy seemed to hunt a little, especially in low light. Keep in mind I shoot on a 60d, so not the greatest autofocus to begin with. I did like the range a lot; I have a 17-40L so this was pretty close in terms of focal lengths.

I've been thinking a lot about switching to full frame, and thought maybe this lens would convince me to stay with crop. No conclusion so far. I wanted to love this lens, and I still could, but I won't know for sure until I get a chance to process all my shots.

You know Bryan mentioned that it CAN be mounted on full frame, just has a ton of vignetting at the wide end. Curious how well it would do but it's still an interesting lens if the outer quality isn't too bad. Heck the 35 2.0 canon is aweful on the outside on full frame and if it was for the focusing on it it wouldn't be too bad

macroman1 · Aug 29, 2013

Hi iGotta

Check this photostream - some awesome shots of motorsports, military aircraft in flight etc. Almost exclusively 120-300 (pre-Sport, from the dates), several with 1.4x and even 2x.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/damoblack/with/9604600100/

He's obviously very good at handling this big beast!

Cheers

macroman1 · Aug 29, 2013

Hi Markus

Yes, most of Damo's shots are with the 120-300. You can see it in the Tags most of the time, and can also click on Additional Info: Show more - he's good at completing that, which includes basic settings.

And a correction to my post: of course it's the 120-300 pre-Sport (+1.4x) that I'm renting. I already have the 120-400! Sorry for any confusion - Doh!

Cheers

Maxaperture · Aug 29, 2013

takesome1 said:
What the 300mm will not do for you, that the 500mm will, is give you decent IQ at 700mm with a 1.4x attached.

That is my only issue.

takesome1 said:
Since you say your interest changed to equine, I think the 300mm will be the choice for you. You did say the 500mm sits in the corner and gathers dust. It appears that "serious" bird photographer does not apply.

Indeed, no longer serious about the birds, hence my consideration and want for opinions.

Thanks to you all, so many great replies, it seems the 300 is a real champion.

Aug 29, 2013

bitm2007 said:
Hi Guy's

The lens arrived today. It is front heavy but not as much as I feared it might be. Have tested it on a tripod without a collar in bright still conditions today and am pleased with the image quality. Expect the genuine Canon collar, that arrives tomorrow will be beneficial in more testing conditions however.

The biggest surprise was the color. I was expecting white, it's about 15 to 20% grey. I was initially worried, but have done some research and seems to be normal.

It's actually whiter than the older white lenses. The MkII superteles, MkIII extenders and the 70-300L have the 'new' white paint, less beige than the old one.

Chosenbydestiny · Aug 29, 2013

Happy birthday ^^ But yeah, like said above you can try looking for an alternative to Canon's repair department. You might even find someone who fixes lenses on Craigslist or get a recommendation from a local shop.

PhotographiesND · Aug 29, 2013

Big DEAL : All L lenses will be black and no more white.

I hope than it is more than just that...

LANA · Aug 29, 2013

Here is a site have some info about T4i and T5i, if you are interested, check out the details

Valvebounce · Aug 29, 2013

Hi Paul.
Thanks for the tips, had looked at LCE before but had forgotten them, hadn't seen ffordes, useful resources, another source of limited usefulness is CEX, they sometimes have gear at good prices with warranty. Web site is the limiting factor on usefulness IMHO.
I'm fairly certain one of these lenses is going to join my arsenal, the seriously nice glass comment was aimed at 24-70 white! However reading another post it seems that is not a good focal range for crop, I did wonder.

Cheers Graham.

Ivan Muller · Aug 29, 2013

Famateur said:
@Ivan: As a first pass, I tend to agree with others that the images were kinda "blah", like I was looking for the punchline. Then, as I got to looking at the detail of them, it reminded me of times I've been in the deep woods hunting elk and notice things that later in photos just don't look that interesting but still capture the memory. It makes sense that these pictures for you are more documentary and less about images with a "wow" factor. I appreciate that from my own experience.

For example, in the first image, I notice the new life growing up through the dead wood. This image captures the memory (if that's what caught your eye). The second image shows an interesting repeating pattern that would be uncommon and something to catch the eye and want to remember. The last image I actually like aesthetically because it shows a brilliant contrast between the gray, weathered exterior and the rich rust/brown interior of the decaying log. Cool.

Astute point about often benefiting more from advice about a "bad" photo than from praise of a "good" photo. I might just learn more by posting some of my "bad" photos...

@VerySimpleJason: Great idea! What an excellent way to take otherwise ordinary (looking) photos and create art. Maybe I can resurrect some of my own "blah" snapshots.

@Sporgon: Brilliant observation. I'll bet in less flat light that these same images would have more impact (although I understand that "impact" is not the OP's intention). Add some depth with more angular light, and these photos would probably shed most of the "blah" initial impression.

@anybody: This thread made me think about interest and closeness. I often hear people say, "If your photos aren't interesting, get closer." (If someone famous said that, forgive my ignorance of the source. ) It occurs to me that what makes this true so often (and maybe the primary draw into the world of close-ups and macro photography) is that we walk around every day with most everything at arm's or leg's length (or further). Go in close, and ordinary, everyday things suddenly become interesting. Why? For me, it's because I see things (textures, shapes, colors) that I may have had no idea were even there.

Anyway, fun stuff...and interesting thread (at least to me).

thanks! you have said it very well. Sometimes the 'wow' photos tire quickly and the softer photos outlast them..think of a portrait of a kid or anyone with a huge grin on their face..as a personal image of family or friends it will work and of course never become tiresome...but for the rest of us that don't know the person the photographs where the smile is more gentle or just a straight level gaze are the ones with staying power, the ones that grow on you...and if well done where the character is revealed...

Halfrack · Aug 29, 2013

20 second exposure - no noise - H4D-50

Zoomed in on previous image. Amazing the level of detail.

Shooting anything that moves is a 100% Canon gig. If you can it to sit still, MF will give you amazing results.

YZF197 · Aug 28, 2013

the G series won't invade into M series aps-c size sensor territory.

it's ironic how us consumers/semi pro's seem to know it all about what canon should do, but canon doesn't seem to care since it sells rebels like starbucks coffee.

it seems like canon just has a metric ton of old tech they need to sell off and will wait until the last moment to make a comeback.

anyway the only thing that caught my eye is the 9.3 FPS, i have no idea how useful the AF system is but that alone would be killer for soccer moms shooting sports.

i'll stick to my OLD kodak Z915 superzoom for point and shoot crap. my 7D still does the real work.

Chuck Alaimo · Aug 28, 2013

Apop said:
Hey all, what would you think as a backup camera, the 6d or 7d.
Does anyone know if the GPS in the 6d works on remote locations (gps devices can sometimes struggle getting alocation).

Most reviews I could find were kind of bashing the 6d autofocus performance.
I am only interested in It's center point performance, if it's capable of focussing with decent speed and accuracy and able to track subjects when I keep the point in them.

Any thoughts on the combo's would be much appreciated,

Goal: wildlife
Primary body : 1dmkiv in case of the 6d, or 5dIII in case of the 7d
lenses : 70-200 / 300
tc's : 1.4/2.0

for what you are doing, I'd say go with the 5d3/7d combo. For my purposes the 6d works great (i have the 5d3/6d combo. I can't really speak to the servo mode on the 6d though, for anything that requires tracking like that I use the mk3. both the mk3 and the 6d have a much better servo mode, and if your shooting wildlife that will be handy.

the 1dmk4 --- I have never owned one, but when I was close to enough $$$ for my mk3 I asked about the mk3 vs the 1dmk4..nobody said grab the 1d4...

dgatwood · Aug 28, 2013

gferdinandsen said:
I am looking at getting a 60Da. Does anyone have experience with it, or even 20Da? According to some reviews on Amazon, it can shoot regular photo's in Daylight, is this true? Thanks

Only if you use an IR cut filter on your lens. Otherwise, you'll get... well....

http://www.tutorial9.net/downloads/101-absolutely-breathtaking-infrared-photographs/#3

Edit: Another example:

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/hoya-uv---ir-cut-filter-review-20088

Scroll down to the washed-out greyscale photo.

FTb-n · Aug 28, 2013

The Canon S100 is a great little camera and surprisingly clean at 1600 for a P&S. But, if action is the priority, then DSLT is the only answer. I'd look at a refurbished T4i, T3i, or T2i through Canon's refubish store.

ajfotofilmagem · Aug 28, 2013

pwp said:
...But for your current dilemma? Just ship it. It will be fine. Alternatively, rent a refrigerated truck...

I loved the refrigerated truck, I want one for me too. ;D Seriously, photographers used film in temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius for a few hours without major problems. The worst would leave him in a black car with closed windows parked in the summer sun, which could reach over 60 degrees celsius.

thgmuffin · Aug 28, 2013

Janbo Makimbo said:
thgmuffin said:

insanitybeard said:

thgmuffin said:

The best alternative to the 5D3 would be the 6D and 7D!

6D for still imagery, low light af, full frame advantages. Basically the best all rounder.
7D for sports, moving subjects, optical flash, crop factor.

Click to expand...

I have considered going this route, the only thing is I would prefer to have all the features in one body (obviously the 5D III does not have a built in flash), I prefer to keep weight and bulk down but it sure is an option!

Click to expand...

Not being able to trigger slave flashes is also a pain... :-\ 7D can do it via onboard flash (optically) but 6D can't...

Anyway I still shoot with my T2i (almost identical in terms of image performance to 7D) when I need something lighter and that "extra reach" that APSC gives you. Plus I only own one telephoto lens (55-250).

Click to expand...

Good luck...... Canon do not put pop up flashes in any of their FF cameras, I use an ST-E3 to trigger my 600ex-rts and I also have a 550ex and a 580ex ii if I would ever need to do optical off camera flash.

Going to buy a RF603 and a few Yongnuo 560 III! Radio triggering FTW!

Alvaromphoto · Aug 28, 2013

Hi , i have a canon 600D with a 1year and 2 months , almost 15000 shots .
And today i repair when i take a long exposure for a star trail , a lot of dead pixels shows up
like 7-8 dead pixels , what i do ? i have a extended warranty of 3 years , i go to the shop and i gonna back my money or give me a new body ? new kit ?

Can you help me answer this?

Have a nice day , Alvaromphoto

mrsfotografie · Aug 28, 2013

infared said:
mrsfotografie said:

We've been here before, but I'll throw the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 into this discussion just for the hell of it. It is my quality 50mm, and it's nice that it shares the 77mm filter thread woth most of my other lenses. For travel I have a 50 mm f/1.8 Mk I. These are my workarounds considering the current offerings of Canon 50's.

Click to expand...

I am a fan and own the Sigma 50mm f/1.4....guess we got lucky and got good copies... Love this lens....BUT...it could be that with Sigma's new commitment to the craft we may see an Art series 50mm and if it is anything like the Art 35mm f/1.4...I think I would be all over that!!!!!!!
Canon has a lot..but it just doesn't have it all.

I'm thankful to say that I've an excellent copy