Hi All,
Seeing as it's the first of March and the Samyang UK facebook site said it would launch it in March 2013:
Has anyone seen any update on that or any prerelease preview?
I have two Samyang Lens and I'm pretty happy with them
Do people expect Samyang could produce a good TS-E Lens?
I've never seen a Sigma or Tamron or Tokina TS-E. Maybe that's because they are a specialised and not mass market object.

Really nice. Took me a little while to find the animal in the third photo.

Sorry about that, I'm new here. Thanks for the heads up.

Mine is also a Mainecoon...or else a Siberian...I don't know...he seems to have the "M" on his forehead.

I use an Acratech and it's fabulous, locks solid, doubles up as a casual gimble head (maybe not for super teles, but fine for the 70-200 2.8 IS II
http://acratech.net/product.php?productid=76 I have it on a 3 legged thing Brian I think, saving for a nice gitzo too, and the acratech wil be going on that. If you like panorams the acratech has a facility for you to reverse the head and use the ball head like a levelling base. Unsure why these aren't more popular, it's the only ball head I've had where the tension facility actually works.

I use Sunwayfoto plates, I have the 5D3 dedicated L plate and normal plate, fantastic, about as good as it needs to be, can't see the difference between them and the more expensive brands.

I also use one of their mini clamps on a Joby sling strap and they are superb, not too pricey either, about £25 ($40) and terrific quality well up to weight of 5d3 and big 70-200.

Marsu42 said:

stoneysnapper said:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/02/28/Satechi-introduces-iOS-Bluetooth-4-Smart-Trigger-for-Canon-cameras

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Why would I want to use this if Magic Lantern does it for zero cost?

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I was thinking the same thing. If you need to add a piece to it, why not just buy an intervalometer.

According to TDP, the 24 prime wins in IQ.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=246&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=0&API=2&LensComp=100&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=2&APIComp=0

Most 17-40 users use it stopped down significantly for landscapes. I would think that the 24 prime would be a more versatile lens if you want to use it for other uses too (i.e. environmental portraits). You can always crop, but you can't go wider, so it really depends on how much you shoot near 17mm.

Snow has been awesome and beautiful via my 135, even though we don't get it as often down here. I know you'll love yours!

Menace said:

As a rule of thumb, the more post from you higher the camera body assigned to your status. From memory, 7d is about 300+ posts, 6d after about 450 posts etc. 1Dx after 1000

Some of the experienced guys have thousands of posts and may have a more accurate idea

Cheers

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Better yet, read the posts, they are here to give users information.

CanNotYet said:

The answer is: fast and accurate Autofocus, that is sensitive and do not hunt in bad light.
For a P&S, this will be the thing making or breaking the pictures.

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It does make sense. Will pay more attention to that part of the reviews than I've been doing so far. Thanks!

CanNotYet said:

But my (admittedly biased) view of wives in general, they value responsiveness, simplicity and end IQ.

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Sounds like my wife, too, so now we have a little larger sample with less bias

I agree, Magic Lantern has been extremely helpful for video. Focus peaking is about the only way you're going to get decent results from run and gun setups without an external monitor. Focus peaking puts red and yellow pixels along the edges of whatever is sharpest in the scene. Be warned, Magic Lantern has a ton of tools, so jumping right in to using it can be intimidating. It also has the ability to override the settings you make in the normal canon menus, so don't be discouraged if it keeps changing your shutter speed/iso, etc. You just need to find the right magic lantern menu to adjust those things

viggen61 said:

awinphoto said:

edit... keep in mind, iphoto cannot import raw files from the camera, only jpegs, BUT you will physically see the raw pictures previews.... That will tell you the cord is or isnt working the way it's supposed to.

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Actually, newer versions of iPhoto handle RAW just fine, as the RAW support is built into MacOS X, not the application.

That said, iPhoto is probably not the best app to make RAW adjustments in. Apple's Aperture or Lightoom would be much better suited for that.

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Good to note... I have the previous version, i think 09, and that doesn't import raw... Normally I use iphoto for friends and family photos or when I'm done working on clients photos... iphoto works with apple TV and such, so it's easier for me to show clients pictures big on my TV screen than computer monitor... Thanks for clarifying tho.

My new 70-200 is plus 2 @ 70 and plus 18 @ 200. It is go ing to Canon

I hope you fed them well. They look hungry.

The first time I photographed surfing was back in 2007 at the 4th Odyssey Waves National Surfing Competition. Photos of which can be found at the following links

http://paolo1701.multiply.com/photos/album/48/ABCD_Beach_Calicoan_Island

http://paolo1701.multiply.com/photos/album/49/Surfing_Day_Zero

Fast forward to the 7th Odyssey Waves National Surfing Competition that was held last week at Guiuan, Eastern Samar from October 6-9, 2011.

For those unfamiliar where Guiuan, Eastern Samar is located click http://g.co/maps/6be3s The nearest major commercial airport is located in Tacloban City on Leyte Island. Travel distance from the airport to the surf site is 175km of which 170km is paved concrete roads. Guiuan has its own airport that would cut down road travel to 20km.

I have yet to visit other surf sites but the highlights of this place are the beautiful rock formation to the north, sandy white beaches and very few people living on the beach. Making this your private surf site.


7th Odyssey Waves National Surfing Competition by alabang, on Flickr

Settings: 1/1000 ƒ/8 ISO640 700mm

duydaniel said:

make sure the connectors between lens and body are clean or do you have the latest firmware update?
One is coming out this April to address slow focus issue

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Connections are clean - checked them again but camera and grip were purchased new.
Latest firmware in the camera too.

The focus isn't slow - it's non-existant.
Only way round it is to take the camera from your eye, release the shutter button and try again.

neuroanatomist said:

You want the center soft, too, try the 50/1.0L.

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You ain't kiddin'.

Last time I was at Tempe Camera (the local pro camera shop), they had a mint-condition 50 f/1.0L on consignment. Just for giggles, I mounted it to my 5DIII. Wide open, it's a coke bottle.

I don't remember what they were asking for it, but it was pretty reasonable -- in line with the going rate. I keep thinking that, if they still have it the next time I'm there, I'll offer them an insultingly low amount for it...and then I remember that it's probably not even worth as much as the 50 f/1.2L lens to me. Realistically, the lens has no use beyond the giggle factor of seeing the meter read 1.0.

Cheers,

b&

smokin!

A little surprised. But then again, Samsung are marching towards worldwide domination in all things electrical from phones, to tvs to whitegoods. I'd heard that their camera division was coming under increased pressure. What better way to stand out? Give the people what they want. I wonder what their lenses are like?

I love this lens. This is my very first lens. It has its weaknesses but it should not stop you from taking good pictures.

Marsu42 said:

dmosier said:

I know this probably sounds like a minor quibble, but I can't stand that I have to hold down a button with my thumb while turning a dial to change my f/stop on the T3i. To me it is worth the extra cash just to get the better form of the 60D body.

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Same here, I'd never want to use a camera body w/o back wheel since I often change exposure compensation and currently try to shoot full m more often - both a pita on a Rebel-style camera.

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Yeah the non-Rebel Canon UI is so much more friendly to use. I love the UI on the xxD,7x,5x and now startign with 1DX 1 series UI a ton, way more than Rebel or Nikon UI.

Radiating said:

It seems Zeiss's new 55mm f/1.4 lens which promises to be as sharp as current Canon 50mm lenses are at f/5.6 wide open is making a lot of news (50mm lenses tend to fall far behind other primes for image quality, delivering what 24mm and 85mm primes deliver wide open at f/4.0). In my own quest for a great 50mm prime I've looked at every 50mm prime thats ef compatible or ef adaptable made since 1970 and all deliever this mediocre image quality (though being 55mm is likely key in allowing the iq).

So Zeiss has cracked the high quality normal prime mystery that has eluded all other manufactures for decades.

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Well, I'm not sure it is as astounding as it may sound. A diffraction-limited lens at f/5.6 pumps out 123lp/mm of spatial resolution at the sensor. Theoretically, a diffraction-limited f/1.4 lens could pump out 494lp/mm of spatial resolution at the sensor! That is a monster difference, and indicates that even Zeiss' 55mm f/1.4 lens is extremely aberration-limited wide open.

There is also the difference in goals. Canon's 50mm primes, particularly the EF 50mm f/1.2 L, are designed to produce softer focus. The 50/1.2 is explicitly designed to retain a certain amount of spherical aberration as it produces very nice boke blur circles and a soft glow around OOF elements near the plane of focus when the lens is used wide open. People who are looking for a lens like that buy the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 explicitly for that purpose...pixel-level sharpness isn't a concern in such a context.

If you want extreme sharpness, you would probably be better served stopping any one of these lenses, Canon or Zeiss, down to f/2.8, where spatial resolution should be approaching it's highest, and DOF will still be fairly thin (and more manageable, allowing you to get your whole subject in focus and nicely sharp...which is kind of the antithesis of why you would use an ultra-fast lens in the first place). If you stop down like that, you might as well look into the new EF 24-70 f/2.8 L II, and use it at 50/2.8. It sports an MTF that neither the EF 50/1.2 nor the Distagon T 55/1.4 can touch, and would pound out far better sharpness wide open than you would know what to do with. ;D

You have to be very careful if buying one used!! The early 105mm models are not compatible with Canon DSLR's and are definitely not good deals, since the aperture cannot be controlled, and you get a error 99.
I had to pay Sigma over $100 to fix mine with a updated chip so that it was actually EF compatible.
The lens is very sharp, just like all macros, but AF is very slow, so its not useful for some non macro photography.

Hey guys, so I just recently got the 6D (I was going for the MIII but the built in WiFi made it for me). I have a couple thousand left.

The only lens I have so far is the 50mm 1.4. I want to get a new lens and I'm leaning either wide-angle or portrait. Plus I need a new tripod as well.

In terms of lens these are what I want in order of most wanted to least:
1. Zeiss 21mm
2. Canon 135mm
3. Samyang/Rokinon 14mm

Tripod I want:
RRS TVC-23 + BH-40 LR


Why I want a wide-angle lens is because I am going to many trips to take a lot of landscape + astrophotography. Also landscape shots are easier for me to come by (Minnesota) than getting people infront of the camera.

Reason for Portrait lens is because I really do want to start working on my portrait as that is where the money will come from later on, plus its interesting.

Reason for RRS TVC-23 is because I heard it is pretty much the best, and I cheap'd out last time and got an okay tripod (Velbon dv-7000) which did me good but I kept finding small aggravating things with it (plus no vertical position).

Basically the SMART choice would be Samyang + Canon + RRS
but I don't know if that's the RIGHT choice.

**oh btw...I'm happy for the people who got the Refurb discount this week, but my god I was waiting for this sale for three weeks and by the time i got the email they were sold out *raise fists/gently*

risc32 said:

For the corner sharpness i'd just look at the charts Roger at lensrentals has posted a few times with the sigma in the mix. I really like all the great reviewers out there, but somethings can really only be learned while tested in mass, and Roger gets it done better than anyone. He's in a unique position owning and testing hundreds of camera bodies and lenses on high end equipment. The sigma is the real deal.

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Well said...