TotoEC said:

rpt said:

Funkmobile said:

Did you cover over the viewfinder the entire time?

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Yes, that is the third thing I did when I got consistent results. I forgot about it when I posted earlier...

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All the time while the test was conducted, except when acquiring the target after moving from 25x or 50x the focal distance, or when I tested it at 5' and 10' prefered shooting distance for portrait.

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Ok. So you could try this:
Set the MA values for Wide and Telephoto as suggested by FoCal. Then take a set of pictures each at 24mm, 50mm and 70mm. Each set would consist of two photos. Both taken of the same target at the same distance. One imaged thru the viewfinder and the other imaged with live view. You may change the distance of the target for the three focal lengths. If the pair looks equally in focus, that MA setting is good. If not, it is not. If both extremes are good and the 50 is not I think you should replace the lens. If one of the extremes is good and the other two are bad, you need to run FoCal again and then repeat this test.

My 100-400L is in the shop and when it comes back I am going to run this exact test on it. Hope this helps.

Caveat: I have never used a Sigma 50 f/1.4, so I can't say anything about it. I do use the Canon 50mm F/1.4, though, and it suits my needs just fine. I've had to learn a few things about it through trial and error, and so will anybody who uses it for any length of time. Although many beginners start out with it (it's a cheap-ish prime with excellent IQ), many of them also get frustrated with it because of it's finnicky nature. Learn how it autofocuses. Know that sharpness is ok-but-not-great at f/1.4, but gets really, really good when you get into the f/2-f/8 range. Microadjust if you have the ability to, and learn how it responds to you and your camera body. Once you do that, I think you won't want another 50 (unless it's the 50L, of course). It's by far the lens that I own that has the biggest bang-for-the-buck value, and I own two L lenses.

So rent the 135 for a few days to see what you think. All in all, though, I think you answered your own questions in your opening post. It sounds like the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS isn't for you. You're looking for an acceptable alternative, and that alternative just might be the 135mm f/2 L.

DCM1024 said:

DB said:

PackLight said:

Daniel Flather said:

What did this guy do when it was 36 exposures a roll?

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He probably never shot film.
With the new Canon DSLR's you can set your camera to P "pro" mode and go right to work with little or no experience.

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P = Program Mode on Canon DSLR cameras. The P for Professional is an urban myth. Just read the manual.

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Um - I'm pretty sure the P = Pro comment was intended to be sarcastic.

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Sure, but perpetuates a myth that it is. Google it - you'll be surprised that 80%+ still believe that it stands for Pro. That's the problem with misinformation, it becomes a double hermeneutic.

edit: sarcasm works only when everyone knows it is sarcasm, people come to CR for factual info, when they see a comment like that, many will assume it to be true, because most do not bother to read their manuals, thus they see a throw away line and believe it - they then tell their friends and others that P is the Professional mode and word of mouth does the rest - hence it becomes a misinformed self-fulfilling prophecy and hence most people tell others on blogs etc. (see Google for instance). What starts out as a sarcastic line becomes regurgitated fact...unfortunately.

Your opening statement mentioned you were interested in everything, including zoos (which is my particular photo interest). If you like cats, the best wild cat facility in the world by far is Le Parc Des Felins in Nesle, France. It is about an hour east of Paris. They have 26 species of cats (plus numerous subspecies) in huge natural enclosures. The lion and tiger exhibits (of which there are multiple) are between 1-2 acres each.

The best zoo in England, if you happen to be in the area, is Chester Zoo. The town of Chester is also somewhat photogenic and has an ancient Roman wall that you can walk along.

I have not been to Berlin Zoo, but it is reported to have the most diverse animal collection in the world (although quality of enclosures seems to not be top notch).

Dylan777 said:

I use to have 5-6 lenses in my bag and now just 3 most use.

1. 24-70 II - it's on my camera most of time - indoor
2. 70-200 f2.8 IS II - when kids running around front yard & Portrait shots
3. 16-35 II - landscape

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THIS

Actually, I was really hoping Canon would have put an EOS 1D X window decal in the box, like Apple does. *sigh*

the pocketwizard has no af assist beam either and i have shot low light weddings and parties and had no problems yet

Kernuak said:

There are other justfications for the 135 f/2. The wider aperture will be better for indoor sports and it also makes a useful landscape lens for longer viewpoints (although you do already have a 70-200). Also, if you're tracking sideways, the 5D MkII will cope better, as the focal distance won't change so quickly.

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Excellent. I'll clip this out and show it to the wife. Her son also plays basketball and will be featured more in that sport. It's imperative that we get the appropriate glass to use in a fast-moving sport that takes place in a dimly lit gym.

ahsanford said:

@jocau: will try that. Good tip.

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You're welcome.

preppyak said:

drjlo said:

Ironically, I have been thinking Sony is looking better and better, especially with the finally-NEX-I-can-live-with NEX6 and A99. Sony is bound to release a scaled-down full frame body to compete with 6D and D600, and the price is likely going to be much nicer.

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And they still have weak lens selection for both lineups. The NEX line barely has 10 lenses, and that says nothing of whether they are any good. Same is true of A-mount, especially if we are talking for full-frame; the cheap primes just really aren't there. You have to go third-party in many cases.

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Although they did have nice cheap crop primes, a £120 RRP 35mm 1.8 and a £100 RRp 50mm 1.8 but only worked on crop were loverly lenses although they were extremely plasticity and had terrible polygonal apertures :s

lauren by Lseriesglass, on Flickr

@Daniel Flather: this is a good one! ;-)
@Drizzt321: Thanks. I know it is a difficult question, I just wondered what might come according to your ideas....

I've travelled with both the 55-250 and the Sigma 100-300 f4. I now take just the 55-250. Why?

- Gaining 55-99 is more valuable than the relatively subtle difference between 250-300, even with a standard zoom - particularly when with others one doesn't always want to change lenses.
- Weight
- Size
- Weight again
- 55-250 IQ is absolutely adequate
- Rarely needed the f4 of the 100-300
- IS on the 55-250 was useful
- 58mm circular polarisers are cheaper
- Weight and size again

Hope that helps.

While higher DR is good, and Nikon is clearly better than Canon at this, Canon's DR is still very good. For me noise is a bigger issue for ruining digial photos. I will aways be happy to have more MP in a new sensor as long as the noise is the same or better that current sensors. PC's are also getting more powerful, a HP Z820 can have dual Xeon CPU's with 512GB Quad Channel Ram and can have a high end Quadro and Tesla cards (NVIDIA Maximus) that are
supported by LR4 and CS6. Quadro and Tesla slam GeForce, Radeon and FirePro with Adobe solutions at the moment. The only issue is the cost of such a system.

DJD said:

Love your picture. I've been thinking of getting a 100-400 for my 7D. How do you like yours?..

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Thanks Doug

I really like it, and there's nothing else out there like it. I'd love to find something in this range that's affordable to try on my Nikon gear but so far I don't see that option.

It's not TOO heavy, the slide zoom takes a bit to get used to but once you do it's very quick for things like running animals and even birds and bugs in flight; I could use more practice.
I was getting some decent images from it with my older bodies but it didn't really shine for faster work until I put it on a 7D. After I got used to the AF system, or at least got better with it, it's been quite amazing with that lens. I've been getting bang-on AF using servo tracking for small subjects using spot-AF. Not easy to keep single spot AF point on target but I've found the assist/group AF doesn't tend to work as well for my shooting with busy backgrounds. But that's just me and the 7D..
AF performance on a 5D3 or 1Dx should be really good. On 40D, 60D and even 350D it worked quite well too, just not up to fast tracking like the 7D (or other fast bodies.)

The lens is really sharp up to 200mm then gradually softens towards 400mm. Not much, mind you, it's still quite decent and I'm often shooting with it at the long end.
Bokeh can be rough in transition zones with fine detail like grass or branches but acceptable otherwise.
CA isn't bad and easily corrected.
The IS could be improved for handheld static subjects but at least it helps. I'm usually panning with it so IS is of limited value. Surprisingly, with birds in brush or clutter I'm often manually focusing too with decent results.

It's definitely great for bird close-ups at typical backyard distances, wildlife, even some kinds of landscape shots. I tried a few long range shots with a 40D and 1.4 extender on it but the AF missed a bit and subject (running fox in evening light) was not in sharp focus. Longer range work tends to require fast and pricey 600mm glass.

OTOH, some say the 70-200 f/2.8 L IS II with a 1.4x or 2x extender (latest versions) works pretty well too if you already have that lens. I haven't tried it to compare since I only have the 1.4x v2 and already had the 100-400mm.

So, it's not an ideal lens, but it covers an extremely useful range and performs pretty well optically and AF.
If you can find a used one in good shape and good price I think you might enjoy what it can do for providing a new perspective.

I came here to post the same question as the OP, so thought I'd bump and see if anything has changed in the past 5 months and maybe there are some 3rd party filters available now?

Failing that I can cut my own but does anyone have ideas on a fluorescent correction filter kit and a place to buy one that ships internationally? Just looking at a few places locally (Australia) they only seem to stock the 'artistic' filters.

Really nice

Ryan708 said:

Z said:

The 24-105 f/4.

At a glance the f/4 figure will seem like a downgrade from the f/2.8 of the 17-55, but the short answer is the full frame sensor will more than compensate for the smaller max aperture.

Neuro will probably be along in a mo to explain exactly why. The technical details escape me

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Haha, good call. Neuro's thoughts are exactly why I want to move to FF. I want an L class standard lens with IS, and an L class ultrawide, thats not too horrible on distortion. Thinking of 17-40 (when not an UWA will be a standard on 60d backup) and a 24-105L. Waiting on some reviews of the 6d before I choose a body. Id love a 5DMkIII but that won't be happening :-/

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I would go with a 5D II over the 6D. It's cheaper and still an excellent camera.

http://www.photowarehouse.co.nz/tamron-sp-af-70-200-f2-8-di-vc-usd-canon?ref=pricespy

The Photo Warehouse (A somewhat big retailer in New Zealand) has listed the 70-200mm VC for 1978 NZD, roughly 1600 USD.

Maybe the price is an estimation of their own, if not, then we know now how much its gonna hurt our pockets... too much.

mirekti said:

I don't really understand these gels, bags. I mean, if one put them in the bag that is not airtight and it's humid outside of the bag, silica bag will collect as much humidity it can and than you end up in a humid environment again, right?

For me it only makes sense to use it in airtight boxes or zipped bags, correct me if I'm wrong.

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True. There's not a lot of air movement into and out of a closed camera bag, though, so it will take a while to saturate.

Personally, I use desiccant packs - but only with the gear stored in Storm cases (which are airtight).

jonathan7007 said:

Canon suggested I try using the AF-Focus button and that's interesting work-around, but I would try to assign the "M-Fn" button to that task, because it's near the shutter and it uses the index finger. Faster reaction than jamming my thumb up by my cheekbone to find that AF-Focus button among the three that are there.

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Depending on the body, the AF-ON button is a slightly different size or separated more from the other two. Since you mention M.Fn button I assume you've got a 5DIII. AF + Metering start cannot be mapped to the M.Fn button, only to the AF-ON or AE Lock buttons (or the shutter half press, of course), or to the AF Stop button if you're using a supertele lens.

But back-button AF is probably the best solution if you want to focus-recompose. Once you start using it, it becomes automatic, and the only time it's an issue is when you hand your camera to someone else (but the 5DIII has the green square mode, which will cancel out back-button AF).

dr croubie said:

RLPhoto said:

Its not the camera but the Fleshy, breathing Device behind it is what counts.

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CameraSatan standing over your shoulder?

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Do you mean Nikon? ;D

I don't know. I really don't see anything interesting there. It's yet another small sensor camera. I don't care how pretty it is and how fast it's AF is or whatever.

Oh, just wanted to add that while you might at times feel awkward as "that photographer guy" (and if you are using off-camera flash, you're guaranteed to stand out from the shutterbugs), but then you can grow into becoming "that guy who takes awesome photos" with people begging you to do it - it's all up to you!