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curtisnull · Dec 20, 2012

You might try squaretrade.com. I have used them for cell phone warranties before and they were great.

Kernuak · Dec 20, 2012

Enrico said:
And another thing worth pointing out (that you praobably knew) is that the DOF - Depth of Field gets alot narrower on a FF like 5D3 than on a crop body.

Actually, that's only true if you have the same field of view, because then you are either using a longer focal length or are closer than if you were using a crop sensor camera. If you are standing in the same place with the same lens (which is likely in a gym/sports arena), then full frame actually has greater depth of field.

Axilrod · Dec 20, 2012

I've seen these sold as a cinema kit that usually contains:
21mm
28mm
35mm
50mm
85mm

I'd personally go:
21mm f/2.8
25mm f/2
35mm f/2
50mm f/2
85mm f/1.4
100mm f/2

I have the 21, 50 and 100 and absolutely love them. But I've heard the 25mm is one of the most impressive out of all of them, definitely worth looking at but may be a little close to 21mm for you. The 35mm f/1.4 has better bokeh than the 35mm f/2, but the f/2 is as sharp or sharper, really stellar lens. I think the Sigma 35 may be worth looking at at this point though.

If you're on a budget, I'd say the 21, 35, 50 and 85 would be a good starting point.

Drizzt321 · Dec 20, 2012

lexonio said:
It's awesome that you can assign the preview DOF button a function to change to AI Servo, but even when you perss it the camera remains in One Shot Mode. Is there a convenient way to immediately switch not only to the Servo, but also to a burst shooting mode?

Thanks!

You have to hold down the DOF preview button to stay in AI-Servo. If you press and release it'll go back to One Shot.

And you can stay in burst mode in both, just change your setting to one of the burst mode settings, that's independent of the AF mode.

mingyuansung · Dec 20, 2012

I have to say that a new update L lens within one or two year range of the current model is too fast. I just ordered Mark II yesterday and see this rumor. Of course I can sell it when a new model announced like I am selling my mark I right now. But if I have to do it within 2 years, of course I do not feel good. The good thing is it is only a rumor. We never know when until it ship. I know businessman are way smarter than I am. If you have to take pictures, buy the current model now.

tortilla · Dec 20, 2012

curby said:
How does the noise compare on something like a 60D with 17-55/2.8 IS, vs. a 6D with 24-70/4 IS? If the 6D has to go up in ISO to compensate for the smaller aperture, will the resulting noise generally be more or less than the crop body at a lower ISO? How about a 7D instead of a 60D? In short, how does the low light benefit of going FF compare to the loss of a stop in aperture?

I'm pretty much in the same situation like you and I compared test images from dpreview.com between 7D and 5D MK II. It all depends on if you shoot in raw or JPG. At low ISO the 5D MK II is in raw about one stop better than the 7D. With JPG it's about 2 stops better, the 5D MK III even 3 stops (I suppose comparing 60D and 6D will have similar results).

So in terms of noise, when you shoot raw and you'll loose one stop because of a slower FF-lens - then it doesn't matter if you shoot FF or crop. You'll gain one stop through the sensor and loose one through the lens.

But FF has still the advantage of being sharper (depending on factors like lens-quality, aperture etc). Then there are the differenes in DoF and focal length between Crop and FF, which can be a plus or a disadvantage depending on the situation. Generall disadvantages of FF are weight and cost (that said, the 6d body is by the way even lighter then the 7d body).

Brendon · Dec 20, 2012

kirispupis said:
Question about strobes - do I need them for snorkeling? My assumption was they are only really necessary for diving - for snorkeling there is enough light from above the water.

If you are interested in nothing but snorkeling, I have had good luck with my Sony TX20 without a housing at all. Just make sure that you clean and oil the orings before you go and NEVER take the camera to the beach as a grain of sand will kill it. Unfortunately, this is true with any underwater camera. It was definitely nerve wracking the first time I tried it but even free diving ~10 feet I didn't have any issues and the camera has a built in red filter that helps if the sun is behind a cloud. Biggest problem is that the touch screen doesn't work under water.

Stewart - All great advice and love the clown fish pics!

Dec 20, 2012

Thanks!

bornshooter · Dec 20, 2012

bornshooter said:
sharon by Lseriesglass, on Flickr

sharon by Lseriesglass, on Flickr

This one is the models favourite

sharon by Lseriesglass, on Flickr

Hillsilly · Dec 20, 2012

TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II
40mm f/2.8 STM Pancake
100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
135mm f/2.0L USM
600mm f/4L IS II USM

bycostello · Dec 20, 2012

infared said:
LOL!!!!!
It is only camera of the year if it works for you and YOUR photographic needs.

+1

bycostello · Dec 19, 2012

i could only tell the pen...

wickidwombat · Dec 19, 2012

the sigma is going to be getting another update based on the rumour mill
and if its anything like the quality coming from them at the moment it will be super sweet
I'm thinking i'd love it for runway shooting I use the 70-200 at the moment but would love to try out
the new siggy for this the extra reach would be really good and for runway a good zoom is really helpfull

Rocky · Dec 19, 2012

Hillsilly said:
You can currently pick up a Nikon D600 Digital Camera with a 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR Lens and other accessories for $1996. If you take the normal sale price of the lens ($597) and accessories ($174) away, you could say that the underlying price of the camera is $1225.

Getting very close to your $1,000 mark.

Another recent example is that B&H Photo is selling the Canon Rebel T4i w/18-55 IS kit for $649 . Minus the lens ($100 already highly discounted as a kit lens. Stand alone price is $199), that make the T4i body worth $549. Add $200 for the FF sensor, another $250 for larger body, mirror, shutter etc. That will make it $999 for a cheap FF body. Granted it will not be full of features. But it is doable.

Badger · Dec 19, 2012

Decided to do a bit of experimenting with my new 6D and the EOS app on an iPhone 5. I set my camera up on a tripod out by the bird feeder then came inside to try to get some shots of some birds feeding.

Caveat, I'm not one for reading instructions first so I jumped in assuming I would figure it out.

It seemed to me that the live view on my phone sometimes would freeze so I had to go with what I was seeing outside vs. what was on my phone. It also seemed that when I took a picture, using the app, the camera might have spent time sending the picture back to the camera or thinking because, again, the view on the phone would freeze for a while so it was hard to tell if the camera was actually taking pictures every time I pushed the button (turns out it was). Oh, one more thing, there is no audio cue or sound to let you know that you have actually taken a picture so sometimes I would push the button multiple times trying to make sure I don't miss a shot only to find out later I took 5 pictures.

I will be playing with this feature more as time goes on. Will report back if I learn something I missed.

Mt Spokane Photography · Dec 19, 2012

Chris_prophotographic said:
Works fine sharp as a tack from 2M to infinity just something is telling it to not go under 2M (switch is effectively stuck in that position even thought it moves!)

Likely that a mechanical liinkage is broken, but it can be other parts as well. As long as its a mechanical part, the price should not be excessive. It involves a lot of labor to tear down a lens and reassemble it. Hopefully, they would also give it a re-alignment and adjust for any decentering or AF accuracy. Thats a time consuming process as well.

Sith Zombie · Dec 19, 2012

Ok thanks, guess I'll leave the wifi for now :-[

m8547 · Dec 19, 2012

I know version 1 is known for flare, but I'm not convinced that version II is much better. One of the only reviews I can find for the II is from Ken Rockwell, and the flare picture he has for that is just as bad or worse than the version I. I'd like to see a side-by-side comparison or hear from someone with first-hand experience before I spend the extra $150 on the new one. I'm sure it's better (or they wouldn't advertise it that way), but is it noticeable or significant?

If you get the 11-16 II, let me know how it works out for you! In the mean time, I'll keep waiting to see if a used version I becomes available.

This is my favorite website for finding dark places in the US:
http://www.jshine.net/astronomy/dark_sky/

Green or darker is typically good, but it can take a lot of driving to get somewhere dark enough. Where I am right now, the nearest green zone is about 2 hours away, and that's not even spectacular. The nearest blue zone is about 3.5 hours away. Getting to light gray is 4.5 hours minimum, and there is no dark gray zone east of Nebraska!

Here's a shot of the Milky Way in a green light pollution zone on a very clear night. It was taken with my 18-55 IS II at 18mm, 30s, ISO1600 on my T3i.

IMG_3113.jpg by m8547, on Flickr
I think it's not bad, though it is pushed to the limit in terms of ISO, noise, and exposure time (rotation of the earth). I think a barn door tracker is the way to go since I can't afford a full frame camera with better noise performance and because ultra wide lenses don't get much faster.

I did a series of shorter exposures that night hoping to stack them, but that didn't really work the way I expected. For some reason I was thinking they would add and make a brighter picture with less noise, but most of the faint detail in the shorter exposures was just lost in the noise. Maybe I'm just not doing the stacking right.

Kernuak · Dec 19, 2012

Overture said:
Thank you all for the help so far!
I think getting I'll be getting a Cokin ND kit someday due to the cheaper price compared to Lee's..
How have your experiences been with these?

While the Cokin holders are fine, I would recommend the Hi-Tec filters, rather than Cokin, as they don't have the same issues with colour cast aren't much more expensive.

Dec 19, 2012

No! Don't flash it back yet!

pm'd

MintMark · Dec 19, 2012

I understand that the lens always focuses with the aperture wide open, so when you use a f/2.8 lens and shoot a picture at f/5.6 the aperture is open at f/2.8 for focusing and then closes to f/5.6 when the picture is taken.

The 6d centre point is cross type at f/5.6 and vertical line sensitive at f/2.8.

I think in the dark room there are several scenarios...

You can shoot with a f/5.6 lens and AF can lock on to features using the cross type centre point.
You can shoot with a f/4.0 lens and it uses the same centre point, but more light means it can lock onto less distinct features.
You can shoot with a f/2.8 lens and the centre point also has higher precision if there are vertical line features... you'll get more accurate focusing.
You can shoot with a f/2.0 lens and there is even more light, so it can lock onto even less distinct features.

I think there are two factors at work. The maximum aperture of the lens determines how much light is available to the AF system and more light helps it to lock on to harder targets. It can also allow some AF systems to achieve higher precision, as neuro explained.

Dec 19, 2012

[dh] said:
I'm considering getting the recently released Canon 24mm 2.8 IS prime, and was wondering if anyone has experience with this lens that they can share. I'm mostly planning on using this lens for landscapes, so the IS doesn't seem super-compelling but I'm not ready to make the jump in price to the 24L or the T/S.

I love it, and I'm thrilled that Canon is updating their small primes. High quality in a small lens. Easy to carry and fun to use. The old version was very unappealing due to its noisy AF motor. The 24L is too big to carry except when f/1.4 and f/2 are needed. Likewise, the 24TS-E is too bulky to carry unless you need the tilt-shift functions. If you shoot landscape at f/4 and smaller, this lens is perfect. At f/2.8 there is some vignetting, but it's easy to fix (or leave as is if you like it). The IS lets you choose a smaller aperture (if desired) than you otherwise might. And the IS makes for smoother video. Finally, the price of this lens has come down to where it is more reasonable.

vargyropoulos · Dec 19, 2012

I also come from a similar background (mainly a wildlife photographer but recently shooting models as well). I agree with others that the second and third images stand out and draw the viewers attention to the right spot.

my advice will be to invest in a small flash and either a wireless transmitter or long wired cable. My reason behind this is to find a way to put catch-lights on the model's eyes. Even when I shoot wildlife, I try to use the sun for that. but a small off-camera flash will work wonders for fill light

iaind · Dec 19, 2012

It might be the mug version for a single expresso

well_dunno · Dec 19, 2012

hi all,

Dpreview posted their roundup for enthusiast zoom compact cameras today, in case anyone would like to take a look:
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/2367736880/roundup-enthusiast-zoom-compact-cameras

Cheers!

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