Hello to all! This is my first post in this forum. I am fairly new to photography but very eager to learn to gain experience and one of the best ways to do that is to learn from others. These are some recent photos of my wife and I please feel free to provide C&C as you see fit. Thanks for looking!

It's frequently asked what camera to take when visiting a European city. The content equivalent of Surapon's kitbag http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=18013.0 is often mentioned, but on short trips I just throw my SX50 into my suitcase. Over the weekend I flew to Rome on the dreaded Ryanair, which allows only 10 kg of small suitcase as hand luggage or pay an an exorbitant fee for the hold. Here are samples of using it at 24mm, 100mm, 600mm and 1200mm, in order (all reduced to 1200 pixels width). OK, they are not particularly wonderful photos, but they are great for the memory. My favourite is the gull overlooking the city, with the round dome of the Pantheon just to its left. The tiny sensor with its 5.6x crop factor gives a great depth of field so the bird, which was quite close, to be sharp as well as the Pantheon in the very far distance.

Don´t know which is the right board for this post about my all new flight-photo-blog.
All shots are taken with the EOS 5DII and III under an octocopter.
You will find my blog at: http://flugblog.lannert.net

I am in the process of deciding which prime to get, for the time being, to use for wildlife. I have my mind set on the 300 f2.8 IS II, but I was wondering: What's the difference, practical and theoretical, between this lens and, say, the 400 f2.8, the 500 f4 , the 600 f4? The obvious answer would be the different focal lengths and, of course, price tag. But is there anything else that is significant, as far as the differences between them are concerned?! ??? :

Hi all,

I am going to be in NYC for a few days, soon. I just might happen to wander into a few stores like B&H and Adorama to look around ( ) . Any of you have any helpful hints? I know I will be like a kid in candyland until I calm down. There is nothing specific that I need but lots I want like a 70-200 f/2.8 ii or a 300 f/2.8 ii (notice I did not say lots that I can afford). Thanks.

Dear Friends :
Here are my gears for 14 Hrs. at Grand Canyon and 5 days and 3 nights at Las Vegas. Yes, My wife get the great price 3 stars hotel at the strip, " The Excalibur" for $ 31 US Dollars per night, And 14 Hrs, Tour by Big Bus from the hotel to South Rim at Grand Canyon, Plus 2 Hrs Tour around South Rim by Jeep , Plus Lunch Box, Museum Cost and I-Max Movie about Grand Canyon = $ 179 US Dollars Each ( Start from Hotel at 5:30 AM).
Well, I will miss the Sun Rise and Sun Set at Grand Canyon in this Trip, If So Great, May be Next Trip I will stay at South Rim, Or Bryce , Or Zion National Park in2-3 Night-----Yes, May be next trip.

Yes, This will be My First time in Grand Canyon ( 11/11-14/ 2013)= My Dream in my Life to recorded the Pictures and See the Most Wonderful Scenery in the World, But Not the Last Time. Next Trip, I will let my Wife spend money at the strip and stay in Las Vegas, And I will go to take the Photos of Sun rise/ Sun Set at Grand Canyon alone----Ha, Ha, Ha.---Yes, That will be a great Idea, She Make money, And I make the Photos.
Enjoy.
Surapon

I've got a colleague at work who is looking to upgrade from the 550D and the choice is pretty much between the 70D and the 7D. A 7D2 even if released tomorrow appears out of question because going by the current Canon pricing, it is likely to be out of budget.

Her question to me, and I put this question to you guys for help is, whether there is any reason to buy the 7D over the newer 70D?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Cheers ... J.R.

I know this horse has been beaten over and over but I can't seem to remember ever seeing a side by side comparison of using cheaper filters vs not using them.

I believe in using them (cheaper filters) if you are NOT a professional and want a little extra protection for your glass. Kind of like the discussion I have with people who ask me what kind of paint gun (I paint cars for a living professionally) they should buy when they want to do paint work at home. My SATA NR 4000 is a $700.00 paint gun that I use daily and my paycheck depends on it.

Do I recommend to the average person that they spend $700 on a gun they will only use only once or twice? No. I recommend the Harbor Freight SATA-copy HVLP gun they have for $60.00.

Will the $60.00 paint gun work? Yes and it will produce a fantastic finish. Will it hold up professionally? Probably not as well as the real SATA. Does that make it junk? Not at all, it has a place and will do it's job just fine.

This also is not a discussion on putting a $20 filter on a $1700 L-class lens. If you are going to put a filter on it, buy a good one, not a cheap one. But for the average to really good lens, the average filter will do just fine.

The cheap filters have a place in photography as do the expensive ones. I put an inexpensive Hoya filter on my EF 70-300L IS USM and did 6 shots of 3 different objects, 1 with the filter and 1 without. Random, handheld, so it could be equivalent to normal shooting as it can be.

I was surprised by the results. The crops are close to 100% and are very tight to show fine detail. Can you tell a difference? Yup. Will it kill a photo? Nope. I doubt in an average print you would really be able to tell them apart.

I was thinking of buying a second hand 450d with 18-55 is stm lens for $300, less than 5k shutter count, with a genuine battery grip and batteries.
Just for fun, to leave around and do some time lapses when I'm on holidays without worrying about it too much, anyone else still using their 450d?
And I was tossing up between getting the 450d kit or just spending a few hundred more for a 5d classic.. hmm.. thoughts?

I used to use the venerable 100-400 for wildlife and bird shots. After I bought the 70-200 f2.8 II I started to use that, coupled with the 2x III extender, for the same purposes. I had read mostly negative reviews about extenders, but, to my amazement, the images I get out of this combo are nothing short of astonishing. IQ is equal, or even superior, to the one produced by the 100-400. Autofocus speed, however, takes a hit, which is visible. Still, that to me seems to be a bit faster than the autofocus speed on the 100-400. I'm tempted to use the combo, instead of the 100-400, now, but its weight discourages me to do that, if I'm shooting without a tripod. What do you guys think?

Hi all,
Was curious if anyone saw any patents or info that might imply some of the L classic primes might have an update in the pipeline.

For instance, maybe adding IS to the 135 f/2? Or correcting some of the focusing issues some have with the 50 f/1.2 (I don't have personal experience with this)?

We have some of the consumer lenses coming out with IS and all new optics, and while the L primes are fantastic, one might wonder if they could be even better with new designs (as we have seen quality improvement with new designs of L zoom lenses and consumer primes).

So anyone see any hints of updates of the classic L primes, or no? Just curious Note these updates might include IS, increased sharpness or focusing, etc...

Gentlemen ... need some help:

While capturing some video footage of our brand new offshore rig, my Manfrotto 055CXPRO4 (with 5D MK III + 16-35 L II on it) had a very bad fall, (got flung out over 10 feet from a 6 foot height), due to an oversight on my part ... camera has a couple of tiny scratches and the B+W XS-Pro filter is totally cracked ... I broke the filter glass with a small Plier, as the filter has a dent which did not allow me to remove it - basically stuck and I had to continue shooting or miss the footage ... anyway that's for another thread ... please refer to the images below to see the broken tripod leg (its the last tube on the tripod) ... I can still use it if I insert it back and lock it down, but I prefer that it is replaced ... anyway, I checked the net for a replacement leg and found the attached pdf in Manfrotto website, but I cannot figure out which part is the correct one ... does anyone know which part I should be ordering?
Appreciate your help as I've got an important vacation coming soon and I really want my favorite tripod working like it used to a few hours ago.

somehow reminds me of...

Hello everybody!

So after some posts to pal up with this form, please let me introduce myself...

My name is Maximilian and like a lot of other forum members before I am a long time reader and finally decided to join and to be an active part of this forum – as far as possible.

First of all, I want to thank all of you, who are willing to share their experience and knowledge and are really helpful and nice and over all patient to all of the inquiring people here.
THANKS A LOT!!!

Now let me tell you a little bit about me and my passion about photography:
I was born and I live in Germany. I got into contact with photography because of my father who was taking a lot of pictures and also did filming (8 mm).
He possessed a Canon FTb and a Canon AE-1 and so the seed was set.

My brother was really deep into photography: He bought a T90 and I was really impressed. He also installed a darkroom in our basement. I joined him very often and I still remember the smell of acetic acid and the other subtances there and did some b&w work there as well.

But it took me some more years until 1991 when I bought my own first film camera:
a Nikon F-601 (Yes, I joined the dark side ) and some lenses.
At this time I didn't belive in the AF technology with drives inside the lens. And I also didn't recognize something called USM.
After some years of using that gear, I decided, that film was not convenient enough for me and the equipment was too big. So I quit photography for almost 10 years and started again in 2006 with a Fuji E900 P&S, when I thought, that digital photography was now acceptable for me especially concerning trigger delay.

In 2009 when my first son was born I decided to buy my first DSLR and I ended up with Canon again
As neuroanatomist said: “Try to AF a toddler with a P&S.” You will fail too often.

And by this time I came across canonrumors.com. So a really long time reader.
But after some bad experiences with missbehavior and trolls in internet fora I refused to be an active part.

But here the attitude is much better – at least most of the time.

So now I take a lot of pictures of my family. I like animal, zoo and wildlife photography, that's why I post here. And I am also interested in other genres.
I'm not so much into PP, and I try to reduce it to the nessesary: White balance, exposure correction and reframing.

I will post some of my picures below or link them here, so you can see what I do.

Once again thank you all for sharing all of your experience and knowledge and I hope I can give something back to this community.

Yours,
Maximilian


Here are some birds:
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=1280.msg333802#msg333802

and some b&w:
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=18003.0
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=5895.msg333806#msg333806

and some macro:
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=299.msg333809#msg333809
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=442.msg333811#msg333811

The logic of the market says that one day there will be a full frame Canon camera over 36 megapixels. However, so far there is no information on when this will happen, and what features this camera will have. It can be noticed that the Canon lens releases lately are prepared to extract the clarity of many megapixel cameras. Perhaps the scarcity of high quality lenses caused Nikon D800E was not a sales success, as some people imagined.

someone had recently posted a question asking "why it is so difficult to print." Or something like that. There were some interesting replies and I want re - read the post.
Cant find it!
Can someone pls help?
thx

I've had the 24-105 for about a year and a half now. It came as the kit lens for my 5D Mk III. My copy is a very good one, tack sharp and quite fast, as far as I seem to notice. 3 months ago I bought the 24-70 II. It is an outstanding lens, as far as AF response and sharpness are concerned. I think it's better than the 24-105. That being said, is it possible that the 24-105 can still be useful? If I keep it, and don't sell it, to what uses, if any, can the 24-105 be put? Is there anything that I can do with the 24-105 that I can't do with the 24-70 II?!

Found interesting info on Sony 7R image quality vs. 5Dm3, Nikon D800E and Pentax 645D with 100% comparison crops at different ISOs at imagine -resource:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/camera-reviews/sony/a7r
Very interesting to see comparison of Canon 5D M3 with Sony a7R at ISO 3200 both low contrast high details shorts and for high contrast ones.

Hello there I am new to this forum and I m planning buying a cheap canon DC for dad as birthday present, the budget is probably somewhere near 200-300 USD, just wondering which one is good for full-auto mode and manual function to some extents..

Thanks in advancd.

.
This appeared in yesterday's, The Wall Street Journal. Since items often can't be accessed there, I've copied the whole piece to read here:

Phones Imperil Fancy Cameras
Shipments of High-End Models Are Falling as Mobile Devices Gain in Popularity

By
Juro Osawa
Updated Nov. 7, 2013 7:41 p.m. ET

Declining sales of high-end cameras and lenses are raising an alarming question for companies like Canon Inc. and Nikon Corp: Could the proliferation of camera-enabled, app-heavy smartphones be crushing not only the simple point-and-shoot, but premium models as well?

This year, shipments of what's called "interchangeable-lens cameras"—high-end models that let users swap out different lenses—are diving suddenly after years of robust growth. Most of those are digital single-lens reflex, or DSLR, cameras—the bulky models used by professional photographers and enthusiasts.

Research firm IDC expects shipments of such cameras to fall 9.1% to 17.4 million units from 19.1 million units last year.

...

Truncated by mod - if a subscription is required for access to the article, reposting the full text here is a violation of WSJ's copyright. Here is the link to the original article:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304672404579183643696236868?tesla=y

Hi all

So I currently use an xsi and have the kit lens, 35 2.0, 50 1.8 and the 85 1.8. Unfortunately, I've found the 35 not wide enough and the 85 too long for most of my needs. While I love the 85, I'm not terribly pleased with the 35. At this point, I'm looking for the convenience of a zoom. I've been eyeing the 17-55 2.8 as a one lens solution for most of my needs. though my wish list is long, my funds are short, so I need to sell the two lenses to buy the 17-55.
Anyone here familiar with Canadian pricing on used lenses? I'm trying to get $400 for the 85 and 300 for the 35. Is this a reasonable expectation? Remember, theses lenses are significantly more expensive new in canada than in the states. Any thoughts or advice? I've never sold any lenses before.

Thanks all, cheers.

I am curious if others are having any issues with the output levels on their 600 flashes? Specifically, when using remote lights in Manual and on camera in ETTL? What is happening is that he off camera lights, even if set to a specific output level, are firing at different levels each time. If a 3rd party remote trigger like a pocketwizard is used the output stabilizes a set level though. This is using Gr mode on the Master flash on a 5D Mk3. It just seems like the Master is still transmitting scene information to the off camera lights even though they ought to be locked in to a output setting. I've had 3 people ask me about this happening to them, and I am at a loss as to what's going on.

Thanks!

Eric

C'mon Canon, let's see the AE-1D!

Warley Place, Brentwood, Essex. 30ft or so tree. 7 shots vertically at 70mm on a 70-300L on a 6D


7 Shot Stitch (vertical) by petach123 (Peter Tachauer), on Flickr