Threads

Ripley · Mar 13, 2014

I shot a play a few weeks ago and my 70-200mmii/5Diii performed admirably, but I found myself wanting a little more reach in the outer aisles of the theater. I've been thinking about getting a teleconverter for awhile but I'm not sure which one to get. I'm leaning towards the 1.4x because I don't think I really need a ton more reach (no wildlife, just events), I don't want to sacrifice much IQ if any at all, and I don't really like the thought of giving up two stops. It's hard to resist the extra reach of the 2x though seeing as how they cost the same price! The IQ penalty is probably my primary consideration but I've read varying testimonies regarding the 1.4 versus the 2x.

What's your advice based on your experience with both? I did a few forum searches and didn't find any threads that had the input I was looking for... please post up a link if you know of one. Thanks in advance for your input!

Rienzphotoz · Mar 13, 2014

Sonalpharumors reports the following rumor with a SR5 rating (i.e. "almost certainly correct!")

(SR5) New Full Frame E-mount cameras to be launched within the next 5-6 months (likely at Photokina).
I can confirm via multiple trusted sources that Sony will launch new Full Frame E-mount cameras within the next 5-6 months. I guess it means they will be launched right before the Photokina September show. NONE(!) of them will be a replacement of the current A7 and A7r models. All we know for sure about these new models is that they will have an advanced hybrid AF system similar to what we got inside the newly announced Sony A6000.

The surprises: I can already tell you that there will be many more cameras in the months to come (RX and Alpha and E-mount). I am working on those rumors right now….be patient

http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr5-new-full-frame-e-mount-cameras-to-be-launched-within-the-next-5-6-months-likely-at-photokina/

That is a very interesting development, coz the a6000 auto focus system has received a lot of praise from pretty much every photographer who got their hands on it ... and from what I've seen on youtube videos, it does seem to be awesome ... and to have it on a full frame camera (which might be priced modestly) is even more awesome ... exciting times.

wickidwombat · Mar 13, 2014

Hi there Sydney area pros etc,

My Wife has a collection that has been selected as one of the feature artists in the upcoming Head On Photo festival in Sydney http://www.headon.com.au/

she will be exhibiting in one of the main galleries and we are currently in china but are based in perth, she was planning on using a perth printer she uses regularly but then has to transport 30 or so large prints to sydney to exhibit

so I was thinking its probably better to just send the images to sydney and have them printed there so looking for the absolute best most reliable pro print house there is in sydney. Its all low key mix of colour and black and white, will need to be on high end fine art paper I guess.

so give us your recommendations please

sorry can't post the images as they are politically sensitive and NSFW and she would not allow me to put them up here

revup67 · Mar 13, 2014

Outside of shelling out 6800 USD for a 1DX, I am curious if any of you have found a good work around for the lack of Exposure control in Manual Mode on the 5D Mark III. I've been reading up on Magic Lantern but don't see (at this point) a way to override and offer control of this feature.

This frustration comes when shooting Birds which are back lit. Av mode is great when DOF control is needed which is almost always especially if a bird is at close range and positioned diagonal or any position other than horizontal. Tv Mode is excellent of course if a bird is in flight or in motion so that you can determine the shutter speed yet both fall short of what each others' mode doesn't have yet they both offer Exposure compensation. Manual Mode is therefore the best choice to get your DOF and Shutter selection however there's no control of Exposure Compensation for back lit subjects. Evaluative Mode seems the best for metering especially when choosing AF Expansion Mode for in flight tracking. Oddly, I've found that Exposure can be utilized in M mode if using bracketing but why take 3 shots to get one and add all those shutter counts to the camera? I only shoot in RAW and can correct some of this in Light Room but then the image suffers from graininess when EV is at 0 in M mode.

Perhaps some of you may have your own techniques which I'd be very interested in learning. Looking forward to any suggestions or thoughts on this and my searches here in the forum don't show much on previous threads regarding this issue.

Thanks in advance

verysimplejason · Mar 12, 2014

It's now available. It's time to get a Samyang 14mm. The good thing is it's cheap! ;D

http://shashinki.com/shop/samyang-filter-holder-14mm-aspherical-lens-p-19301.html?osCsid=a9b89a89d01790a4d2c68afe332d4e58

drjlo · Mar 12, 2014

is when you see it right before root canal :'(

IMG_20140312_132615a by drjlo1, on Flickr

Renaissance · Mar 12, 2014

Hello,

I was wondering what canon's refurbished sales was like last year around Spring/Easter time?

I know they had 20% off during the Thanksgiving - Christmas season, are there any big sales
that usually come up early in 2013?

axtstern · Mar 12, 2014

Suggestion One:

Cosplay Convention ..... Level: Canon Ninja

ajfotofilmagem · Mar 12, 2014

Where is the Samyang 10mm F2.8? A prototype was exhibited at Photokina 2012 and later reformulations of the lens hood, it was announced that it would be shipped to stores in March 2014. The BH site showed Samyang 10mm F2.8 as "new release" and price not available yet, and now it's gone from the site. :-[

mackguyver · Mar 12, 2014

I was shooting an equestrian event last week when a woman climbed into one of the "media only" areas and she had a Nikon D4 and 70-200 f/2.8 VR. She asked me if I her camera settings were correct and said that she had no idea what she was doing and had been "roped" into shooting and handed the camera. Interestingly, it was in Manual mode and just needed some ISO and shutter speed adjustments to match the Manual exposure settings I was using (which were required by the horrible mid-day lighting). It took me a bit to figure out the odd way Nikon makes you hold buttons and turn dial to adjust, but I figured it out. She proceeded to smoke my pathetic 6 FPS frame rate (I think my 5DIII cried :'(), but her exposure was perfect

. I'm still scratching my head to figure out #1, who would "hand" someone that kind of gear and #2 how she ever got it in Manual mode (maybe she had another photog help her at another obstacle?)

Also, I now I understand why people complain about Nikon's ergonomics. I'm sure you get used to it, but it sure seems overly complicated to change such basic settings. And don't ask me what happened when I tried to help her zoom to the right focal length

Canon Rumors · Mar 12, 2014

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<p>DXOMark has completed their review of the Samyang (Rokinon/Bowers) 24mm f/1.4 for Canon. The lens gets a pretty good review, especially when you consider the <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/868732-REG/Samyang_SY24M_C_24mm_f_1_4_ED_AS.html/bi/2466/kbid/3296" target="_blank">very good price of $669</a>. When compared the Canon of the same focal length and aperture, you’re paying an <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/590449-USA/Canon_2750B002_EF_24mm_f_1_4L_II.html/b/2466/kbid/3296" target="_blank">additional $1100 for AF and a better performance wide open</a>.</p>
<p><strong>From DXOMark

</strong><em>“Although the Samyang is a phenomenal performer, when stopped its sharpness wide open doesn’t match that of rival high-speed designs. Given the modest pricing it will no doubt continue to be a popular model but it would be all the more attractive with the addition of automatic aperture control and perhaps AF-assist (though it’s often unreliable without experience). There’s another, often overlooked benefit from the inclusion of data transmission – EXIF data stored in Raw files could be used by third-party software suppliers to apply lens corrections. Future updates such as these would seem likely but for now the Canon mount version is overshadowed by the better performing rivals.” <strong><a href="http://www.dxomark.com/Reviews/Samyang-24mm-F1.4-lens-review-Best-24mm-lens-for-Canon-full-frame-EOS-users" target="_blank">Read the full review</a></strong></em><strong>

</strong></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/868732-REG/Samyang_SY24M_C_24mm_f_1_4_ED_AS.html/bi/2466/kbid/3296" target="_blank">Samyang 24mm f/1.4 $669</a> | <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/590449-USA/Canon_2750B002_EF_24mm_f_1_4L_II.html/b/2466/kbid/3296" target="_blank">Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II $1749</a></strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">c</span>r</strong></p>

Ivan Muller · Mar 12, 2014

Made in a small Karoo town called Murraysburg.

More images here at : http://thelazytravelphotographer.blogspot.com/2014/03/welcome-to-murraysburg.html

Ivan Muller · Mar 12, 2014

Called, Murraysburg. more here at:

http://thelazytravelphotographer.blogspot.com/2014/03/welcome-to-murraysburg.html

Canon Rumors · Mar 12, 2014

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More Canon lens patents have shown up. This time we get some macro patents that also include hybrid IS. We’ve been told that the <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/112541-USA/Canon_2539A007_Telephoto_EF_180mm_f_3_5L.html/bi/2466/kbid/3296" target="_blank">180mm f/3.5L macro</a> is on its way out, and this could be the direction Canon takes it.</p>
<p>A few other focal lengths also appear in the patent as well such as 200mm & 300mm versions with hybrid IS.</p>
<p>The information below is a Google translation.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Patent Publication No. 2014-41224</strong>
<ul>
<li><span>Publication date 2014.3.6</span></li>
<li><span>Filing date 2012.8.22</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Example 1</strong>
<ul>
<li><span>Zoom ratio 1.37</span></li>
<li><span>Focal length f = 180.03-167.06-131.08mm</span></li>
<li><span>Fno (3.6-4.8-5.8 actual aperture). 3.6-3.3-2.59</span></li>
<li><span>Half angle ω = 6.85-7.38-9.37 °</span></li>
<li><span>Image height 21.64mm</span></li>
<li><span>The overall length of the lens 228.39mm</span></li>
<li><span>BF 68.14mm</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Example 2</strong>
<ul>
<li><span>Zoom ratio 1.58</span></li>
<li><span>Focal length f = 198.49-164.7-125.48mm</span></li>
<li><span>Fno (3.6-4.8-5.8 actual aperture). 3.6-2.99-2.28</span></li>
<li><span>Half angle ω = 6.22-7.48-9.78 °</span></li>
<li><span>Image height 21.64mm</span></li>
<li><span>The overall length of the lens 231.65mm</span></li>
<li><span>BF 71.4mm</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Example 3</strong>
<ul>
<li><span>Zoom ratio 1.92</span></li>
<li><span>Focal length f = 289.97-213.39-151.33mm</span></li>
<li><span>Fno (3.6-4.8-5.8 actual aperture). 3.6-2.65-2.21</span></li>
<li><span>Half angle ω = 4.27-5.79-8.14 °</span></li>
<li><span>Image height 21.64mm</span></li>
<li><span>The overall length of the lens 294.36mm</span></li>
<li><span>BF 68.05mm</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Canon patents</strong>
<ul>
<li><span>Inner focus</span></li>
<li><span>(Part of the fourth lens group) antivibration</span></li>
<li><span>Supports Shifutobure (???)</span></li>
<li><span>Floating</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Source: [<a href="http://egami.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2014-03-12" target="_blank">EG</a>]</p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">c</span>r</strong></p>

WLaputka · Mar 11, 2014

Recently finished a film I directedthat was shot with an array of Canon glass from various generations. Mounted to a Red Epic, it was interesting to see both the range and the consistent quality that the Canon glass offered over years of development.

Here's the link to the film:

https://vimeo.com/88612175

Here's the list of glass that was used:

28-70 2.8
100mm 2.8 Macro L Series
85mm 1.2 L Series G2
400mm 5.6 L Series

gjones5252 · Mar 11, 2014

BH has a promo going on to get a new a7r $300 off when you give them any camera. I have an old point and shoot sitting around, and they will give me the money for it. Also the 55/1.8 is dropped down to 798.
I could get a hi MP camera for a pretty darn good deal, for street and portrait photos. This is super tempting. I have been waiting for a 7d2 to switch from cr1 to cr2/3. Hoping it would be a high megapixel camera. I know some people hate the high megapixels but i would love it! I am super tempted by this a great all around carry camera. I would never leave my 5d's at home for any paid video/photo event. But for all that other stuff? travel? street? fun? it would be so nice to have this.
Any advice on waiting for a hiMP canon(even if it was large body i would still stick with canon)?
From what i understand this zeiss 55 is sharp as it gets and pairs beautifully with this body.
also side note i have thought about waiting for the 501.4 art to come out in ef mount.(but this is no means a small setup with a 5d.

by the way asked my wife for advice- she related it to the boots she just got, so i turn to CR.

GuyF · Mar 11, 2014

Just a quick question on behalf of a work colleague. I should say I'm very sceptical, but anyway.....

He uses a 5D3 and 70-200mm f2.8 mk2 to shoot football matches. Normally he would keep things at f2.8 (thanks to the near-constant Scottish gloom) and let the camera do the rest. Whilst pretty happy with those results, for whatever reason decided to go fully manual and constantly juggle aperture and shutter speed to suit. Auto ISO is not used. He claims (RAW) exposures need next to no tweaking regarding over/under exposure. Now here's the thing, he says images appear sharper as a result of using manual exposure compared to Av priority.

I said I doubted things being sharper unless he's just using an "on average" faster shutter speed thus reducing any shake. He's been taking football pics for years and should know the minimum shutter speed he can get away with and seems quite convinced of the improvement.

So, sharper images when using manual exposure - is he just fooling himself? The obvious thing is for him to set up a test chart and do an Av priority shot compared to a manual exposure one. Personally, I ain't buying it.

Any thoughts?

Glennard · Mar 11, 2014

need help guys, this will be my first purchase on expensive glass. B&H and Adorama both have deals on Tamron 24-70mm.
Adorama deal: Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Lens for Canon EOS - U.S.A. Warranty - Bundle - with New Leaf 3 Year (Drops & Spills) Warranty, Lowepro Lens Exchange 100AW Black, Hoya Alpha 82MM UV Filter = $1,224.00 (with $100 rebate)
B&H deal: Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 DI VC USD Lens WITH 4% rewards = $1,299.00 (with $100 rebate).

thanks everyone, i might purchase the lens tomorrow or definitely sometime this week.

JohnDizzo15 · Mar 11, 2014

I just received a 70D in the mail yesterday for my buddy who has asked me to put it through it's paces for the next two weeks and share my findings.

While I already knew that the dual pixel tech was going to be decently quick, I am still very surprised by how well it is performing so far. I find that it is much more consistently quick even in less than ideal lighting conditions than both my x100s and xe-2.

The lenses I have tested so far are the 24II, 35 IS, 50L, and 135. All have been consistently quick which is quite amazing (to me at least).

IQ is still less than desirable when bumping up ISO to 1600+ as expected so nothing to write home about there. But the real gem here is the dual pixel technology. Finally experiencing it for myself, I am now beyong excited to get an updated full frame body with the feature as it will be nothing short of stunning. Dual pixel, in conjunction with a hybrid vf + full frame sensor would make me soil myself.

stonerobertc · Mar 11, 2014

Does anyone know if it is possible to use both the Speedlite radio transmitter and the Speedlite optical transmitter at the same time with one camera by using a PC terminal and an extra shoe or something like that? I have a 5DMkIII and an optical transmitter with several flashes. Considering purchasing the new radio Speedlites. Any idea if both transmitters could somehow be connected to a camera at the same time and if they would work together so that you could mix radio and optical slave flashes without having to use the 600EX-RT as optical?

J.R. · Mar 11, 2014

Anyone using the Honl flash gel filters? How do you rate the performance?

I'm thinking of ordering these from BH. It will be of great help if you could guide me with what accessories to buy with it (the speed strap is a given) - I'm going to be using these on 600 RTs.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Best regards ... J.R.

Canon Rumors · Mar 11, 2014

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<p>A few bits of information about the possible replacement to the EOS 7D are trickling in, although there’s nothing I would call concrete.</p>
<p>We’re told again that the camera is being tested with some kind of a “hybrid viewfinder”, no details were given. Although, it’s possible the feature doesn’t make it into the production camera. A brand new image sensor will appear in the camera, with a resolution just under 25mp.</p>
<p>The camera will have dual memory card slots, CF and SD. Retaining CF is a big deal and will make a lot of people happy.</p>
<p>The camera is said to have the most features at the software level of any Canon DSLR ever, though there were no examples of what could possibly be new. I do agree this camera will have to be extremely feature rich to be successful.</p>
<p>It doesn’t feel like the hype machine has started yet, so I do not think the camera is “around the corner”.</p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">c</span>r</strong></p>

Canon Rumors · Mar 11, 2014

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<p>Roger at LensRentals.com has completed his comparison of the <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5574981434&toolid=10001&campid=5337238466&customid=&icep_item=141091727885&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">Canon EF 24-105 f/4L IS</a> and the <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1009621-REG/sigma_635_101_24_105mm_f4_dg_os.html/bi/2466/kbid/3296" target="_blank">Sigma 24-105 f/4 DG OS</a>.</p>
<p>Lots of people ask us which lens to buy and we usually say get the one for the best price, which for the last few months has been the Canon variant. While the Sigma is a very good lens, it’s not head and shoulders above the Canon by most accounts, if at all.</p>
<p><strong>Says Roger

</strong><em>“Sigma has made a very nice zoom here at a very good price. It’s obviously not going to create the stir that occurred with their 35mm f/1.4 or 18-35 f/1.8 lenses, but it’s a nice addition to their lineup.</em></p>
<p><em>Canon shooters who have a 24-105 f/4 IS have no reason to change based on optics as long as the promotional pricing remains in effect. The Sigma and Canon 24-105s are nearly identical. Similarly the Nikon 24-120 has been available on discount lately, so I don’t see a big motivation for Nikon shooters to change, either.</em></p>
<p><em>Of course, if the pricing changes I wouldn’t hesitate to buy the Sigma instead of the name brands. If nothing else, I think the presence of the Sigma will keep Canon and Nikon prices reasonable.</em></p>
<p><em>I expect as this lens is released in other mounts it will be quite popular. There’s a reason Canon has sold about 3 gazillion 24-105s. It’s a very good lens with a very useful range. The Sigma will be available for Sony shooters next month and may be the best option in that mount.” <strong><a href="http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2014/03/a-24-105-comparison" target="_blank">Read the full review</a></strong></em></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5574981434&toolid=10001&campid=5337238466&customid=&icep_item=141091727885&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">Canon EF 24-105 f/4L IS $682</a> | <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1009621-REG/sigma_635_101_24_105mm_f4_dg_os.html/bi/2466/kbid/3296" target="_blank">Sigma 24-105 f/4 DG OS $899</a></strong><em><strong>

</strong></em></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">c</span>r</strong></p>

J.R. · Mar 11, 2014

Thom Hogan has completed his review of the A7 / A7R. This bit of his review stands out for me -

Image Quality: Okay, we are now in one area where I know I’m going to get a lot of blowback: image quality. The number one thing I heard the fanboys all rejoicing about when the A7r was announced was this: “Yes! D800E quality in a smaller, lighter, less expensive body.” No, the A7r produces less than D800E quality in a less expensive body. If you want a free lunch, I suggest you try the local rescue mission.

The difference isn’t actually easy to describe because it involves what’s going on behind the covers. But let me lay out the basics: the D800E will shoot 14-bit raw files with no underlying artifacts and fully recoverable data. The A7r will shoot 11-bit raw files with potential posterization issues in the data. The same is true of the A7 versus a D610, too.

Let’s start with the 11-bit thing. Sony always uses compression in storing raw files. The way they do that is quite clever. They slice each pixel row into 32 pixel blocks. In a Bayer sensor, that means two colors, each with 16 data points). For each 16 pixels of a color, Sony looks at the minimum and maximum pixel values for each and stores that. For the other 14 pixels they store a 7-bit value that is offset from the minimum value. In essence, they get 32 pixel values stored in 16 bytes, when normally 11-bit storage for that data should take 44 bytes.

This is not lossless compression. It is highly lossy. Nor is it visually lossless. That’s because when you have an extreme set of values in the 32-pixel block (e.g. sun peaking out from behind tree edge), you get posterization of data. Don’t believe me? See this article, which describes it better than I can in the limited space of a review. Indeed, every A7/A7r owner should probably have a copy of RawDigger so that they can understand exactly where the issues in their raw files lay. Even Nikon’s optional visually lossless compression scheme does a better job at this, as it hides its posterization only in very bright values that our eyes just don’t resolve.

This factor alone means that the A7r is not equivalent to a D800E. Sorry fanboys, but those of us who want high performance cameras actually want real performance, not a simulation. (I should point out that this compression scheme is used in most Sony cameras now, including the RX1, which is where I first noticed it.)

Coupled with other issues (see Shutter Slap, below), the A7r simply doesn’t match my D800E in optimal collection of raw data. Remember, I used to write a column called Optimal Data, and that’s my mantra when shooting: collect optimal data.

Full review here ... http://www.sansmirror.com/cameras/a-note-about-camera-reviews/sony-nex-camera-reviews/sony-a7-and-a7r-review.html

So basically ... no, I'm not considering the A7R any longer. 8)

twdi · Mar 11, 2014

I also wander, most 1.4 lenses are not very sharp at 1.4 and need to stop down to get sharp.

Why should I then consider such an expensive 1.4 lens, when a 2.8 variant (like the 24-70 2.8) has the same IQ at 2.8?