The beauty of CF cards.

I've been learning a little more each day. Yesterday the skies opened up and the angels began to sing.

I've been disappointed in the buffer on the 5D3 as it seemed very shallow and slow to write files to the cards.

I don't make money from my hobby. So I thought I would see the difference it makes to remove the SD card and shoot with just the CF card.

The results? WOW!!!! I can hold the shutter button down for what seems like an eternity. In fact, I never hit a point that required me to stop shooting and wait for the camera to catch up. That was shooting in the largest RAW file size the camera makes! I never hit the red light that tells one to wait on the camera to finish writing.

It didn't speed up the framerate, of course, but it did instill a huge amount of confidence in the camera as my primary for shooting sports and birds.

This is a great discovery for me personally. Now I see why the 1DX Mark II has that CFast slot.

The next iterations of the 7D (Mark II) and the 70D (Mark II) would really benefit from at least a CF card or better yet... CFAST

Canon Talks 250mp APS-H Image Sensor at ISSCC

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Canon is once again talking about their 250mp image sensor that <a href="http://www.canonrumors.com/canon-develops-aps-h-size-cmos-sensor-with-approximately-250-megapixels/" target="_blank">they showcased at the Canon EXPO</a> back in September. This time, they’ve presented a paper at the ISSCC 2016 Conference (All About Sensors).</p>
<p><a href="http://harvestimaging.com/blog/?p=1536" target="_blank">Harvest Imaging</a> has this to say about what Canon presented:</p>
<blockquote><p>Hirofumi Totsuka of Canon presented a 250 Mpixel APS-H size imager : 1.5 um pixel pitch (4 sharing) made in 0.13 um technology node.   The device is consuming 1.97 W at full resolution 5fps.  An interesting build-in feature of this sensor is the following :  ALL pixel signals are converted by column SS-ADCs with a single ramp, but in front of the ADC, each column has its own PGA that can be switched to 4x or 1x gain, depending on the signal level.  So when the pixels are sampled, a first check is done to look whether the signal is above or below a particular reference level, and then the right gain of the PGA is set to 1x or 4x.  Simple method, but I think that the issues pop up in the reconstruction of the signal at the cross-over point between the two settings of the PGA.</p></blockquote>
<p>This sensor does not mean that the APS-H sensor size is returning. We imagine that whenever the 250mp sensor comes to market, it will be in a full frame application.</p>
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Canon C500 Mark II at NAB [CR2]

HTML:
We’re told Canon will let us know something at NAB 2016 in Las Vegas about the Cinema EOS C500 Mark II, though there may not be an official announcement.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.canonrumors.com/whats-next-for-cinema-eos/">We reported back in 2014</a> that Canon was gearing up to develop an “A” camera to compete with current market leader ARRI, and that the C500 replacement would like fill that spot.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.canonrumors.com/eos-c500-mark-ii-going-higher-than-4k-cr1/">We first reported back in April of 2015</a> that Canon was going to go above 4K in the Cinema EOS C500 replacement, and that such camera would be announced in mid 2016. Canon themselves confirmed this by letting the world know at Canon EXPO in September that they were <a href="http://www.canonrumors.com/canon-developing-8k-cinema-eos-camera-120mp-dslr-8k-display/">working on an 8K Cinema EOS camera.</a></p>
<p>We expect to hear a lot more about the Cinema EOS lineup in the coming weeks.</p>
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Checking for blown highlights on a 5DM3?

I'm pretty new to the 5DM3 and want to be able to look on the screen before taking a photo to see areas that are blown out.

1. Is there a built in zebra feature for doing this?
2. Is the histogram the better way of doing this?
3. If using the color histogram and it seems there is too much red, what does that mean? What options do you have to cut back on a color in a composition? Is there a way to make adjustments to cut back on colors or do you just need to make adjustments to your composition?

Thanks.

24-70 f/2.8 II vs. f/4 IS

So I have a 24-70 f/2.8 II, and I'm thinking of selling it to get a 24-70 f/4 IS. My camera is a 6D. I want to make sure I won't regret the decision to trade.

Reasons for trading:
  • I want lighter weight (about 200g lighter) for hiking
  • IS
  • Cheaper
  • Macro would be good for flowers
Compared to the 24-105, the 24-70 f/4 IS is better for me because:
  • 18 point sun stars
  • Newer design with possibly slightly higher build quality and better image quality
  • More modern IS (1 stop better)
  • Macro
  • Already have 100mm+ covered if I bring the 100-400 ii
Downsides of the trade:
  • Lose 1 stop
  • Slightly worse image quality (sharpness and micro contrast is a bit worse on test charts, but the Imatest numbers are close)

I mostly do landscapes, and I don't usually carry a tripod, so it seems like I could benefit more from IS than from f/2.8. It would also be great to have something lighter and cheaper. I can afford the f/2.8 version since I own one, but I can always find other things to use the money for.

How much will I miss f/2.8? Honestly I haven't used the lens that much, but I don't take as many photos in the winter, and I've only owned this setup since the middle of last year. It seems like 70mm f/2.8 is not quite enough bokeh for outdoor portraits where you don't want to see a distracting background, but I haven't had a chance to try that much since I don't do many portraits. It seems like a f/1.4 prime or a 135mm f/2 would be better for that kind of thing. Or I could use my 100-400 ii as long as I take portraits from really far away.

I also like to do night sky photos of the milky way. I've mainly used my Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 for that so far. Is there anything comparable to the 24-70 f/2.8 ii around 24mm and f/2.8 or faster without much coma?

  • Locked
Ken Rockwell lens photographs

Does anyone know what set up (camera, lens, f-stop, etc.) Ken Rockwell uses to take his rather stunning lens photographs? I saw where he talked about it a couple years ago, and now that I've got good equip, I can't find it. If I remember correctly, think he uses medium format, though. :( What's the best way to reproduce that quality and depth of field with Canon? (I've got a 6D and Sig 50A, for instance). I love the depth of field and sharpness, even on the internet.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/lenses/images/11-24mm/D3S_2106-1200.jpg

Patent: Canon CN-E 24-70mm f/2.8

HTML:
<p>We’re getting closer to NAB 2016 in Las Vegas, and the cinema related patents are starting to roll out. The most recent is for a <a href="http://egami.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2016-02-11" target="_blank">CN-E 24-70mm f/2.8</a> lens</p>
<p>Patent Publication No. 2016-14816 (Google Translated)</p>
<ul>
<li>Published 2016.1.28</li>
<li>Filing date 2014.7.3</li>
<li>Zoom ratio 3.00</li>
<li>Focal length 24.00 48.00 72.00</li>
<li>F-number 2.80 2.80 2.80</li>
<li>Half angle of 32.94 17.95 12.19</li>
<li>Image height 15.55 15.55 15.55</li>
<li>The total lens length 241.06 241.06 241.06</li>
<li>BF 49.16 49.16 49.16</li>
</ul>
<p>We expect to see at least 2 new lenses from Canon for NAB 2016, as well as more information about the 8K replacement to the Cinema EOS C500 camera.</p>
<p>More to come on NAB in the near future…</p>
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Sigma Teasing New Faster Than f/2.8 Zoom?

HTML:
<p>The Sigma Austria Facebook page is teasing a new lens to be unveiled on February 23, 2016. By the shape of the outline, it looks like they may be teasing a telephoto zoom lens faster than f/2.8.</p>
<p>If you have more information than that, please let us know.</p>
<p>The world is waiting for Sigma to release an 85mm f/1.4 Art series lens, and it looks like we’ll have to wait a little while longer.</p>
<p><em>Thanks Alexander</em></p>
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Global Big Day - 14th May

I thought this topic might interest CR members considering the most popular threads within this area are bird related.
I’ve arranged the day off work and I’ll be heading out from sunrise to sunset to try and obtain the “magic 100 species” from 5 locations around Dubai, last year the UAE recorded 51 species by 6am, not bad considering that sunrise is 5.43am on the 14th May this year!!
I’ve prepared a word document with 100 lines for my entries, I’m hoping to see my sheet completed by the end of the day.

Spotters are requested to register on eBird and to submit your lists there, Cornell Lab’s of Ornithology recorded well over 5,000 species in one day last year and they hope to smash that record this year.
I’m really looking forward to my own big day out and I’m excited to see how my list measures up to my expectations at the end of the day.

Here’s a link to the main page and their Facebook page.

http://ebird.org/content/ebird/globalbigday/

eBird https://www.facebook.com/events/830486043697755/

Cheers
Stewart 8)

UPDATED: eBird contacted me with the 2016 official date.

Canon Lenses Dominate The Sidelines As The New EOS-1D X Mark II Makes Its Debut At The Big Game

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<strong>MELVILLE, N.Y.</strong> – On February 7<sup>th</sup>, the top sports photographers from across the country gathered in the San Francisco Bay Area to cover the Big Game between the teams from Carolina and Denver. With more than 70 percent* of the photographers in the San Francisco stadium using Canon EOS DSLR cameras and EF lenses, Canon’s iconic white lenses filled the sidelines from the opening kickoff to the final whistle.</p>
<p>“Seeing such a large number of the country’s most talented sports photographers choosing Canon equipment to photograph the country’s biggest sporting event of the year is always such a humbling honor for Canon. Their iconic images of the game will be seen by millions of people around the world for years to come, and this drives Canon to ensure both our products and support live up to the requirements and expectations of our loyal customers,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A., Inc.</p>
<p><!--more--></p>
<p>Veteran sports photographers and Canon Explorers of Light Peter Read Miller and Damian Strohmeyer were on the sidelines using the brand-new EOS-1D X Mark II DSLR Camera, the first public use of the camera in the U.S. since being announced to the public on February 1. “The EOS-1D X Mark II is a marked improvement in file quality, and the performance was huge at higher ISO,” said Strohmeyer. “This camera is a big step up!”</p>
<p>A full complement of friendly and knowledgeable staff from Canon Professional Services (CPS), a fixture at major sporting events throughout the year, were on site at the stadium for the entire weekend providing comprehensive equipment maintenance, extensive equipment loans and expert technical support to the major photo agencies and individual photographers covering the game. “The equipment loan from CPS really gave us some opportunities for our coverage we wouldn’t have otherwise,” said Carlos Avila Gonzalez, photo/video journalist for the San Francisco Chronicle. “When an event as large and globally renowned as this is in your area, you have to step up to deliver the kind of work that keeps readers and viewers engaged and constantly seeing your publication as the go-to source for visual content. Canon’s help with equipment allowed us to provide that kind of coverage.”</p>
<p>Canon Professional Services will be proudly attending to photographers at over 32 events this year including major sporting, auto racing, Hollywood, and political events throughout the year.</p>
<p>In addition to the lenses on the sideline, Canon’s line of HD broadcast lenses were also used extensively to help deliver the game to more than 110 million television viewers.</p>
<p>For more information about CPS: <a href="http://www.cps.usa.canon.com/" target="_blank">http://www.cps.usa.canon.com/</a></p>
<p>For more information about the EOS-1D X Mark II DSLR camera: <a href="http://usa.canon.com/EOS1DXMarkII" target="_self">http://usa.canon.com/EOS1DXMarkII</a></p>
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Patent: EF-S 18-100mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

HTML:
A strange patent for an EF-S 18-100mm f/3.5-5.6 IS optical formula has appeared. I don’t imagine this patent is for a product we’re actually going to see, just something not that obvious in the design.</p>
<p>Patent Publication No. 2016-1224 (Google Translated)</p>
<ul>
<li>Published 2016.1.7</li>
<li>Filing date 2014.6.11</li>
<li>Focal length 18.59 47.22 94.99</li>
<li>F-number 3.60 4.92 5.88</li>
<li>Half angle of view (degrees) 36.31 16.14 8.18</li>
<li>Image height 13.66 13.66 13.66</li>
<li>The total lens length 137.78 158.04 178.30</li>
<li>BF 35.39 52.79 64.61</li>
</ul>
<p>Looking at the length of the lens, this doesn’t appear to be a compact design for a special DSLR either. We have seen patents for zoom lenses in the past that just seem to randomly end at 100mm.</p>
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Hummingbirds from Colombia

Here are a few of the amazing hummingbirds I photographed in Colombia last month...

Rainbow-bearded%20Thornbill%20-%2001.jpg

Rainbow-bearded Thornbill

Blue-throated%20Starfrontlet%20-%2001.jpg

Blue-throated Starfrontlet

Black-backed%20Thornbill%20-%2013.jpg

Black-backed Thornbill

White-tailed%20Starfrontlet%20-%2004.jpg

White-tailed Starfrontlet

White-tailed%20Hillstar%20-%2002.jpg

White-tailed Hillstar

Empress%20Brilliant%20-%2008.jpg

Empress Brilliant

Great%20Sapphirewing%20-%2008.jpg

Great Sapphirewing

Buffy%20Helmetcrest%20-%2003.jpg

Buffy Helmetcrest

If enyone wants to read a little trip report from my trip please see -
http://www.glennbartley.com/naturephotography/articles/Gallery%20-%20Colombia2016.html

My hands on with the 1DXII

I was invited to a Canon arrangement today and got to try out a beta-version of the camera. Naturally, there were more people than me there, so it was not exactly a scientific test. But I got to check out a few things. I did not have the time to check out how the camera was set up.

Silent shutter: Since a lot of people wonder what that will sound like, I can confirm that it is more silent than the 1DX, but more noisy than the 5DS/DSR.

The AF tracking in video looks very impressive. It locks on and tracks through in difficult terrain. I am not too interested in that, but it looked impressive. It might be that the 4k frame grab will be tempting though.

I was allowed to use one of my own memory cards and bring some files home. Not the most interesting environment to shoot in, but I wanted to check high ISO performance and see what they had done to shadow noise. The samples below are JPEG straight from the camera, only adjusted to fit the size restrictions of CR.

First is ISO409600 (useless as expected)

Attachments

  • A87I9635.jpg
    A87I9635.jpg
    3.6 MB · Views: 894

Mirror slap on 7DII and just one lens

I tested some of my lenses over the weekend to see if they need recalibrating on my 5DIII and 7DII. It was a simple test of comparing AF with live view of an iso12233 chart, with the centre rings just resolvable. To my surprise, all were fine except one of my two 100-400mm IIs. In live view it was sharper than the other lens but in one-shot it was bad. However, with mirror lock up or silent shooting it sharpened up. The shutter speed was slow.

Has anyone else experienced observable mirror slap with the 7DII? And, why does it happen with just one particular lens?

Canon 1Dx (including II) and Wireless File Transmitters WFT-E6B and WFT-E8B

I have a 1Dx and have a 1DXii on pre-order and was prompted to think about wireless file transfer as a means to do some real time review on larger screens in the field. Then it got confusing!

I am really struggling to find out what the differences are between the E6B and the E8B (and what does the "B" stand for?). In particular:

1. Are they interchangeable between the 1Dx and 1Dxii? So far I have been told by Canon dealers that they are, and are not, interchangeable between those camera bodies.

2. Are there any significant technical differences between the E6 and E8 other than 1) above?

Searched this forum and google with no success. Canon UK don't know and their website information is *cough cough* "sparse" to say the least.

Have also tried a 3rd party wireless transmitter but decided I want to go the Canon route.

Thanks for reading

Michael.

Optical Quality Assurance by LensRentals.com

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Roger over at LensRentals.com has written great article on optical quality assurance and what goes into making sure you get a lens that works as intended.</p>
<blockquote><p>After we published a number of posts about copy-to-copy variation, people were quick to say that this company or that needs to ‘just’ improve quality control. I totally agree but realize most people don’t have a clue what ‘improving quality control’ would really look like. I think they have some vague idea of hiring a guy named Joe to sit at the end of the assembly line, check all the lenses, and reject all the bad ones. Optical quality control for lenses is way, way more complicated than that.</p>
<p>Before we start, let’s get a couple of things out of the way.</p>
<ol>
<li> If you expect that the lens you buy has the exact same MTF that the manufacturer published, then don’t read this. You’ve got too much reeducation to do.</li>
<li> If you ever say, “for that kind of money I expect perfect” please don’t read further. Perfect doesn’t exist. For $20,000 and up you can get pretty close. For $2,000 you should be able to get reasonably close.</li>
</ol>
<p>On the other hand, a reasonably expensive lens should have reasonable quality control and minimal copy-to-copy variation.  We know it can be done; some manufacturers are already doing it. Others totally suck. But when they suck, sticking Joe at the end of the assembly line won’t really fix things. If you want to read this pretty long article, I’ll explain why, and also explain some of what can be done. <a href="http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2016/02/optical-quality-assurance" target="_blank">Read the full article</a></p></blockquote>
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"Budget" Wildlife Lens Option

With tax season upon us (in the U.S. at least), I'm looking to have a budget for some new photography gear. One thing I would really like to due is acquire a lens to pair with my 7D2 for wildlife shooting while I'm out hiking. My current practice is to rent the 100-400mkII when I go on a big trip that might see some wildlife, but I would like to add a permanent member to my collection for any wildlife that might show up during my every day hikes and when I'm out on landscape shoots.

I technically can afford the 100-400mkII, but it would max out my budget and I wouldn't be able to get anything else. That said, I've narrowed down my options to 3 possibilities, primarily based on usability for wildlife or other subjects and IQ as based off of tests over at The Digital Picture. I do plan to rent all three of these items to test them during one of the coming up weekends, but I also wanted to get the thoughts and opinions from folks here who may have actually used the items in the field.

  • 300 f/4L IS +/- 1.4t.c.
    • 300mm could be good for larger/closer animals
    • Based on TDP, IQ seems excellent and still pretty good after adding 1.4t.c.
    • Could still rent the t.c. for big trips as 300mm likely will satisfy my casual wildlife interests.
  • 400 f/5.6L +/- 1.4t.c
    • IQ is just about on par with the zoom @ 400mm, but it is likely too long for a wide variety of situations
    • Cheap enough that I could buy the t.c. with the lens if I wanted more reach.
  • 200 f/2.8L +/- 2.0t.c (I realize this is kind of an oddball thought)
    • 200mm f/2.8 is great for indoor sports, as a landscape telephoto and more, plus the IQ seems solid.
    • Adding the 2.0t.c. seems to take a decent IQ hit, but I have up to 3 different focal lengths with the 2 t.c.'s
    • Even with buying the t.c. it's the cheapest option.

I know that relying on teleconverters has it's own risks and concerns when in the field, but as wildlife is generally a secondary goal while I'm out, I'm comfortable dealing with whatever option is "stuck" on the camera at the time. I'm more interested in just having an option that I own so I can get used to it and know what I'm working with.

Thanks, in advance, for any thoughts or ideas. (I'm also open to other options, keeping in mind my budget.)

Another Mention of an EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III

HTML:
We’ve received another mention of an EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III. We’re told the announcement for the lens could come at any time, as the lens is “done”.</p>
<p>We have no firm announcement date, as that is always a difficult thing to nail down with lenses. With the arrival of the EOS-1D X Mark II, it makes sense that a new L lens would follow relatively quickly.</p>
<p>We do not expect to see it for the CP+ show at the end of this month.</p>
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Broken weather sealing rubber gasket on 70-200 2.8 IS II

Hey everyone, after photographing the cross country skiing world cup in Norway the past 3 days I got home and I noticed the black rubber weather sealing gasket on the mount of my 70-200 broke as well as the one on my 24mm 1.4 ii.

Has anyone had this problem before and sent it in to canon for repair? if yes how much did the repair cost? I shoot most of my sports/adventure photography in rain or snow so not fixing it is out of the question as I need all the weather sealing I can get with my 1dx and lenses but I'm just curious if any of you could tell me what kind of cost I could expect for this kind of repair.

Hopefully it isn't too much as I just had a very expensive 2000 euro repair to fix my camera and lens last week :(

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