If you don't really need the extra 100mm, the 70-300mm L is the better lens. If you do need the extra reach, the 100-400mm is the way to go. For birds, you almost always need the reach. I'd go with the 100-400mm.

Most (but not all) of my shots in my Flickr Birds and Wildlife sets are with the 7D and 100-400mm (you'll see a couple with the 7D and 70-300 DO in there, too).

If you think the 7D will fit your needs then I would just get one. I bought mine about two years ago and was very hesitant because there were all kinds of rumors that the 7D mark II was coming out within the year. As it turns out that never happened and in the mean time I've gotten a lot of pictures that I either wouldn't have before or would have had to be lucky to get. It's a fantastic camera and you won't regret it.

7D if you're more of a sports/bird photographer. If you're a landscape fanatic, 60D should be better. The swivel screen is very useful to take those super awkward shots and if you're creative enough to take advantage of it.

not all sigmas have weak AF however I have heard on this particular model it was particularly fragile, these lenses sell dirt cheap second hand, I've seen them sell for 200 to 300 bucks which on paper is pretty good
if the AF didnt break

Much thanks!

The camera should have an fast AF, for photographing birds and jets. But I see, it would be worth saving more money to buy an 5DIII, Keep working with my old (non IS 70-200 2.8L). Today my limiting factor is the grain/noise of my 7D, maybe it gets better with a new body. Later I can still buy a new 70-200 lens for the 5DIII.

From wide to tele:

Zeiss Distagon T* 21mm f/2.8 ZE Lens for Canon EF
Voigtlander 40mm f/2.0 Ultron SL II Aspherical Lens for Canon
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II

Can I do 3 more, in addition to the must-haves mentioned above?
Here they are, from the most to least desirable:

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II
Canon Telephoto EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro
Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye

i can't see it having a sensor any bigger than the present FF sensors. The lenses won't have a big enough image circle otherwise.

well, if i was watching THAT, i might have missed it too. wow, what a capture(in more ways than one)

Get a different copy if possible - it should not be squeaky

I seem to have a thing for Cookham and the River Thames. A couple of autumnal shots from the (overcast part of) the weekend:


Cookham Weir by RCARCARCA, on Flickr

EXIF: Canon 7D, 15 - 85mm at 85mm, 1/1000 sec, f5.6, ISO 400


IMG_0448.jpg by RCARCARCA, on Flickr

EXIF: As above, except 44mm, 1/250 sec, f5.0


River Thames below Cookham Lock by RCARCARCA, on Flickr

EXIF: As above, except 22mm, 1/80 sec, f11.0

Cheers

Richard

I tried many photo sites: flirck, photo bucket, smug etc...but the one I like the most is Phanfare. For $29 a year, they have great display options and other features.


http://dylanphotography.phanfare.com/5775527

http://dylanphotography.phanfare.com/2012/

hello, has anyone had the front barrel loose on their 16-35?
it has a little play, not sure if i should worry about it or let it go, would it affect the weather sealing?
maybe its normal? i have the lens a bit less than a year, and i just notice it.
any thoughts would be greatly apreciated it!

Do you need one shot?

I know we are all used to using it. But with good quality AF points, many people use AI servo even for things like portraits.

If you are shooting someting like the 85 1.2 wide open for a portrait, for example, the depth of field might me 3-4 inces.

Between you swaying a bit and your subject swaying a bit, that can put teh focus on the ear instead of the eye (I know I miss focus almost 50% of teh time in fashion trying to shoot that way.)

Given all of the tunable parameters and points for servo, maybe that is the better overall choice? Allow it to lock and maintain focus. Then switch bewteen spot,, expanded, tracking, etc. depening on what you shoot?

You can also change the priorities too. Focus as highest priority for portraits, others for sports, etc.

Michael

neuroanatomist said:

neuroanatomist said:

I believe that the AI Servo parameters (tracking speed, focus priority, etc.) can be registered, but not the AF mode itself - that seems to be what the manual indicates. It states, "Convenient when you want to change the AF characteristics duringAI Servo AF, not to AI Servo AF. However, I haven't tried it yet.

Click to expand...

Ok, I just tried it, and no, Switch to Registered AF Function does not change you from One Shot to AI Servo.

Still, that combination combined with the one-button press-and-hold change to AI Servo would do it, i.e. assign the registered AF function to the DoF Preview button and use that for a one-touch change from single AF point selection to 61-point auto selection, and then press and hold the M.Fn2 button to change from One Shot to Servo. Obviously, that's only possible on the 1D X with the M.Fn2 button right next to the DOF Preview button.

Still, I currently have C2 assigned as One Shot with single point selection, and C3 as AI Servo with 61-point selection, and I can rapidly switch since I have the M.Fn1 button assigned to Switch to Custom Shooting Mode. That's better for me, because in Servo mode I also want a higher minimum shutter speed setting.

Click to expand...

oops, ok - I think I stand corrected - for some reason I remember the body only as being $1500 - but that must have been a thing of the past. Thanks guys for the clarification.

Okay. I'm sorry I posted the information about this new book.



Thanks,
Drew

Rofflesaurrr said:

So I took most of your advice and rented the 24-70 and 70-200. The gear should be here on Thursday. Wedding is on Saturday.

Also, I'm not just showing up as a guest with a camera. He specifically asked me if I could help. There's also some times when the other photographer won't be able to be in 2 places at once. I'm definitely not pro, or claiming to be. He can't afford to hire a real wedding photographer, so I'm doing what I can. I'm a fan of available light photographs, so we're hoping I can get some good shots that wouldn't be possible with her crop body, slow lenses, and flash.

I'll report back after the wedding with samples for you guys to critique lol. Thanks for the advice!

Click to expand...

5D III + 24-70 II and 70-200 f2.8 IS II = "SUPER COMBO"

If the locations are well lit, the gear you rented will do just fine. I'm not sure you will need flash, but it's better to have one on hand.

Since you are Nikon shooter in the past, make sure you give yourself plenty of times to play with 5D III - get to know all settings and button locations.

Stay away from "Green" & "P" mode...have fun and post some pics

Stu007 said:

Has anyone seen any meaningful reviews of the 1DX for wedding photography? I've searched high and low and found very few. So, I left my own on Amazon to chronicle my experience with it in weddings http://www.amazon.com/Canon-EOS-1D-18-1MP-Digital-Camera/product-reviews/B005Y3T1AI/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1 . If there are any wedding photographers out there, I'd love to compare notes. My review starts out rosy, then gets more nitpicky as I encounter different lighting and contrast scenarios. It's a great camera, but with some caveats. After reading Rouse's review and many others, I think weddings present their own unique challenges that are entirely different from sports/action photography.

Click to expand...

Hi - I've been using the 1DX for wedding photography for the past few weeks. I did a bit of a write up on my blog if you are interested:

http://www.kevinmullinsphotography.co.uk/for-photographers/canon-1dx-wedding-photography.html

Cheers

Kevin

acafinecon said:

Does Nikon still make better bodies?

Click to expand...

Yes, but * Ken Rockwell * recons that if his public image is too much identified with Nikon it'll hurt his business, so he keeps on testing Canon stuff and making occasional public noises about it. You know Canon is in trouble if they receive pity reviews.

The result: Even on Canon sites his name * Ken Rockwell * gets mentioned a lot, so I'm sure the * Ken Rockwell * site rises in the Google pageranking - when you search for xyz Canon _review_, * Ken Rockwell * will be still at the top even if * Ken Rockwell * doesn't even bother to read the manual when testing gear on the * Ken Rockwell * site.

Btw: here's his site: http://www.kenrockwell.com/

... I hope he buys me a free Canon 5d3 now

friedmud said:

Hey - let me ask another question: What is your favorite Nikon forum?

I tried Nikonrumors.com.... but I don't really like it (doesn't have the same community feel as canonrumors and the site is not as well put together). Is there a good Nikon community somewhere?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I mainly read CR and FredMiranda; I hear NikonCafe is good but I haven't gotten around to reading it myself.

NikonRumors is terrible; definitely stay away from those forums. They have maybe 2-3 active members and none of them know what they're doing. I still read and post around here because of how much better the forums are here, so that gives you an idea of how bad the NR forums are.

Edit: just checked out NikonCafe, and it doesn't look like there are as many people posting there as there are on FredMiranda, so I would just stick to that. Check out the Nikon Manual Focus thread on FM; it has enough content to be its own forum! All of their genre forums are fantastic (landscape, sports, etc); many well-known pros post there, and it's great to be able to talk to them. A few of them even shoot Nikon! check out Trenchmonkey's posts for maximum envy ;D

looks very cool! I would like to see this.

Just finished this new collaboration. Shot over the course of this past September with a 5D MKiii. For the full project, click on the link below:

http://lkfilms.com/?page_id=1507

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Enjoy,

Woodruff

I'd go with the 400 2.8. I shoot wildlife & birds and loathe the loss of sharpness a non prime with or without extender would bring. If reach is the thing 400, 500 and 600 primes are the best.

I had the Siggy 17-70. It's a funny bird. It's mid FL's are decent but it's widest and tele ends are super corner soft and if you really want a great lens other than the 15-85 go for the 17-55 like the rest said. It like the 10-22 is 'L' like in many ways. Another great crop walk around is the Sigma 17-50. Sharp end to end. If you like Primes, try the 40 pancake, best on a FF but you might like the equivalent 64mm length. It didn't work for me on my 7D but you might like it. Best bang for the buck in Canon's lineup iyam.

I enjoyed my Samyang 14mm for a couple shots at the zoo today. It takes a little getting used to MF without focus confirmation but I'm happy I get the benefits from the precision matte focus screen in my 5DmkII. I found it's easiest to focus wide open, then stop down (like canon AF works).

Because in several reviews it was mentioned that infinity was not at the infinity focus mark, I did a quick test to confirm this and happy to report my focus scale is OK! I also noticed the infinity mark on my my focus scale is in a different position and has a leader, other than the one on Photozone. Looks like Samyang does silent updates

Shooting into the sun there was significant lens flare shooting wide open, but it immediately disappeared when slightly stopping down the diaphragm. I kinda like this sun burst effect though.

Sun shot and focus test:

First shot: at infinity, f/2.8
Second shot: at ~1m, f/2.8

As said before, the lens flare disappeared when stopping down.

All in all, great colors and I love the creative potential for this lens.

RAKAMRAK said:

Looks like if I can get hold of a good copy of Sigma 70-200 OS, it will pretty wonderful. But have to cross the hurdle called Sigma QC....

Click to expand...

It might be just a marketing response to what Sigma itself must realize is a perception that they lack QC, BUT they did recently make a big deal about addressing that. They re-released this lens in an "updated" form less than 2 years after releasing the last version. And to much accompanying hoop-la about a new system of QC.

I wish Sigma could get its crap together and be what they could be. Sigma could really be the one 3rd party/2nd tier outfit that advances to the 1st tier Canon/Nikon/(Sony?) level. (I'd include Pentax and Oly on 1st tier if they had more DSLR market share) Sigma makes their own cameras, not just lenses. It is a large company. They should/could be much better thought-of than a company like Tamron, Tokina, etc., but for now they remain lumped in together with 3rd party outfits on that level. If they really can get a handle on QC, and then convince everyone that they have done so, then they could be a catalyst that pushes Canon and Nikon to innovate faster while keeping a check on prices too.