Hey everyone,

My first post here, been reading and researching a lot and I really can't make up my mind, so I thought I'd throw the question out there and see what the response is.

I want to replace my kit 18-135mm IS lens with something that is better quality optically. Ever since I bought my 100mm L Macro, I've been spoiled by the sharpness, even for portraits and short telephoto shots.

I've been looking at lots of different lenses to upgrade to, since I will be selling the 18-135 shortly to help fund the new purchase. I've been looking at the following lenses:

1. Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
2. Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
3. Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
4. Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

Outside of macro shooting, which is so far my favorite, I want to get into street and short range photography, as well as landscape (not as often though). My current camera is a 60D, so I realize that the first option will be the tightest on the short end since it isn't so wide on a crop sensor. That's why I was looking at the other three. From your guys' experience, which would be the best all around lens? Or heck, should I be looking at prime lenses? I've been thinking of getting the new 40mm pancake just to see what a standard prime would be like since it's pretty cheap.

Help me out!

Thanks

I'm going to invest in some Primes for my 5D3. 24L, 50L & 85L to be specific.


Just wondering, what is everyone experience with filming with Prime L lenses?

As the topic reads.

Just seen Usain Bolt win the 200 meters, he ran over to the crowd and got a pro photographers 1DX and 24-70 started taking pictures of Yohan Blake and the crowd before handing it back.

Just shows who a winner really is.

Guess the US boys wont see this due to the poor NBC coverage - shame.

My 24-105 F4 L just started to creep. At 24 mm it holds strong but as oon as it is zoomed out even the lightest it will creep to about 50mm. The lens was purchased in January. Is this normal? Is something like this covered under warranty?

I believe the 1D X does not have a headphone jack, so how are those with them monitoring sound on the videos they do? (no comments about external recorders please)

I realise that video may not be the primary function of the 1D X but it is a function.

Thanks.

Just a quick question. Is the Hahnel Giga T Pro II 2.4GHz compatible with the 1Dx? Anyone use this combination or try it? Thanks...

I have the cash, I want full frame very badly. I don't need that much camera as I'm not professional but 2900 for 7k shutter sounds like a good deal. There's a big camera sale coming this weekend locally I wonder if they might have 5d2s cheaper? Obviously the 5d3 is a heck of a lot more camera than 5d2(5d2 im sure would be amazing) and heck the rumored 6d might be more than 5d2(5d2 still prolly way awesome?). I just don't want to miss a potential good deal, unless you guys think prices on 5d3 an 5d2 may drop a bit after a potential 6d comes out? I have a 40d and 50d with a few efs lenses but I don't mind selling them, I would sell the 17-55 and 40d most likely. I can be very impulsive so I'm looking for grounded people to give me better advice. And if I go with 5d2 I want to buy the kit new. Thanks everyone I know I'm not the first one to make a thread like this!!

Good Morning,

I have the following lenses for my 60D:

Tokinon 17-55 (2.8)
Canon 50 (1.8)
Sigma 85 (1.4)

I was curious on a few things (i've used google but haven't found a centralized easy read on these questions):

1. What is the main purpose of filters etc. for lenses
2. Will adding a filter, etc., help bring clarity/sharpness to my focused images in video mode?
3. How best should they be applied (indoor vs. outdoor)

Best,

Jason

Later this evening or tomorrow I will post footage showing that my video footage looks soft on my Canon 60D. Even compared to the same model the video looks soft relative to video clips on Vimeo & YouTube of other users.

I use:

Tokina 17-55 (2.8)
Canon 50 (1.8)
Sigma 85 (1.4)

Regardless of the lens i use my images seem "soft" and not "sharp/clear" I could try correcting it in post production but doubt that would be the issue.

thoughts/experiences/comments?

Best,

Jason! ;D

Hi,

I just bought a new Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens. The problem is that i must microadjust at +20 ( using 7D in camera feature) to get sharp images when the subject is over 2 m from the lens. when i focus under that distance say... 1m the lvl must be on 0 to get sharp images.

Is this normal? or i received a copy with focus problems???

br,

Nik

Does anyone have some reliable (proper) downloadable link to get the shutter count on the new 5D Mark III using Mac?

Not sure if this is normal but i picked up my new 5D2 yesterday, threw on my 70-200 after the battery had charged up and started taking pics.

The shutter sounds alot 'heavier' than the ones on my previous Canon camera's which is fine, but right at the end of process it almost sounds like the shutter is groaning if that makes any sense ? First noise when button is pressed is the clunk and immediately following that is the slight 'groan' ???

Is this how the shutter is supposed to sound or should I look at taking it back as the store offers a 14 day exchange period ?

Hey all im renting the 600 EXRT for some group family shots this weekend so tested it out on my dog. this is all just on camera trying to bounce it different ways. Any tips would be great i really dont have much idea what i am doing. i have the 5d Mark iii. Also why would there not be a built in transmitter in the mark iii to the 600 ex? technology is definitely there to have the flash off the camera and release it without having to buy a $150 transmitter.

I am a wedding photographer and have two 5D mark IIIs, a 70-200 f/2.8L IS II, a 50mm 1.2L, a 24mm 1.4L, a 100mm f/2.8L IS and three 600ex-rt flashes. I have more than what I need to take amazing pictures in almost any situation but I after I buy something I find myself looking to the next thing to buy. I don't know what is wrong with me it is like a disease. I know I am crazy and should just be content with what I have. So if you were in my situation and you were going to buy something new would you sell one of the 5D3s and get a 1DX or would you buy the 85mm 1.2? I am a little afraid the 85mm 1.2 will be a little slow focusing at receptions similar to the 50mm 1.2. I just don't understand that my 70-200 and 24mm are able to focus really well in almost no light but the 50mm is very slow and unreliable. If the 85mm is anything like the 50mm in that regard it may change my decision. I would love to use it for portraits and almost always shoot at very large apertures. As a matter of fact I love a shallow DOF so much that I usually shoot two or three Brenizer method images each wedding to get the effect of f/0.5 or f/0.6.

Anyone have any experience with their lens for video? I'm interested particularly because of the price point.

So my 24 1.4L II arrived from B&H this afternoon. Having rented the lens last week and been blown away with its performance, I knew what it was capable of in "real world" shooting situations:


Untitled by Nοah Fence, on Flickr

Though, being my first L lens and all, I decided to conduct an impromptu "formal" test just to see the differences between it and my 28mm 1.8 under relatively controlled conditions. Suffice it to say, my jaw hit the floor and I had to mop up the drool. Let me preface this by saying that I'm not a pixel peeper, gearhead, or test chart shooter. The following results are 100% crops from the original images, representing about 50% of the frame (this means the edges of the test shots are actually mid-frame). Shot on a 5D Mark II, center AF point. No processing other than crop and jpeg compression. The 28 1.8 image was 1/3 stop underexposed, since I was geeking out so much over my new 24mm that I forgot 1.8 is actually 2/3 stop slower.

Canon 28 1.8 @ f/1.8:
ISO 100 1/50


Canon 24 1.4 II @ f/1.4:
ISO 100 1/60


My only regret is that I didn't spring for one of these babies sooner!

After waiting MONTHS my ST-E3-RT has come in from B&H, meanwhile I've been using 3 600RT's on a 5DMKII.

• Now with the complete package I'm completely flabbergasted and happy with how well these work.
  
• The ST-E3-RT is much smaller than I expected, it doesn't add much of any weight to the camera and I'm glad to not have a monster heavy flash up there!
  
• I like that the display is horizontal - easy to access and tweak while shooting
  
• It was an issue to know which of my flashes was the master, with the ST-E3 it's obvious
  
• I don't miss the focus assist light at all. Your milage may vary, but for me that was never very useful anyhow (doesn't help in full darkness, and takes too long in partial)
  
• I still have my 580 which is the flash I throw up there when I just want a shoe mounted flash (not often hopefully, just a little fill when outside)
  
• Of course it works flawlessly
  

Knee jerk reaction you see to the Canon RF system is along the lines of too expensive. My take is sure you can get cheaper setups, but find one that is this minimalistic, feature filled, and reliable. I'm not paying an assistant so putting out a little more for a tiny kit I can put in a small bag pays for itself, and it always works.

Hi all,

Just wanted some opinions and thoughts from either 7D owners or people probably in the same boat as me, who are unsure if they should upgrade to a 7D now or wait until after photokina, in case a new camera comes out?

I have a 500D now, however I've out grown it and looking for a more versatile camera.
Thanks for our comments!

Hey how can i record video and have it show up live on the macbook screen at the same time. I tried to do it through both HDMI and USB but it wouldn't recognize the camera on my macbook pro through imovie or premiere. I want to record and be able to see whats happening on the bigger macbook screen, live.

Hi, I am new here! I've been browsing the forum for a few hours now but not many of you (if any!) still use EOS 5D. I do, for quite a few years now (I love it and it's still enough for me). I am a lover of daylight and have never been in need for a flash. Now I am and decided to buy one--thinking of the future possibility of upgrading camera body and creating a flash system. I read many reviews by people complaining on 580EX II exposure issues (rather the only other lamp I'm considering) and, on the other hand, many people love this lamp (mainly because of it's GN and master-ability). Anyways my question is: will 5D work with 600EX-RT? As far as I know it should (both devices use E-TTL II, the one limitation I learned so far is the limited number of flash groups that can be controlled by 5D connected to the 600ex but this won't be an issue for me now) -- if I mount the flash on a hot shoe or connect it to the body with OC-E3 off-camera shoe cord, but this seems limiting. So what about ST-E3-RT plus SR-N3 cable? Will this work? (I read 2nd curtain won't work wirelessly) Or maybe there is another way of connecting body to flash (inside, in a small studio) so that the total newbie to the strobists' world could learn lighting without being too much limited by the setup/gear? Thanks!

So I totally love my new 5D miii, but I have noticed that there are certain situations that I really miss a built in flash. I only really use it for extreme backlight portraits, as I normally much prefer natural light, but in certain cases flash is indispensable. I was just on vacation and I was shooting some family stuff on the beach with a sunset in the background and it was killing me not to have a built-in. My Aunt kept wanting to use my "fancy" camera instead of here nikon d5000, but I had to concede to her that since she had a flash her camera was better off for that situation. I was able to get a bracketed shot of my mom (attached) but it was lees than ideal in this situation (I made her stand very still).

That being said, I started looking at extremely light, extremely small, speed light/flash options. Portability is of the highest order here, because I will only use it in these situations if I have it, and I always pack very light. I want it to basically be a replacement for a built in flash. The best option I can find so far (I've only looked at canon flashes, but am open to 3rd party) is the 270exII. It seems small and light, has ETTL-II, has a remote release (handy, I guess) and can even be used as a slave (I imagine that I would have to buy another flash to be the master though because I assume that functionality is not built into the 5d mmiii). the only little thing I see missing is IR focus assist and radio transmitter slave mode. I would like to have those features as well, but not at the cost of a lot of extra size.

Thanks in advance for your expert knowledge and help...

I'm trying to find a fast prime for my 60D that fits within the normal focal length. Right now I have a 50mm f/1.4, but it's too long for indoors use, which is going to be my main purpose for using a fast prime. I'm still keeping it for portraits, but I'd like something a good deal wider.

A 24mm would be ideal (closest to the 35mm EFL), but I can't find one on my budget that has gotten decent reviews. It seems that fast primes only start to get good around 30mm onwards.

Anyway, I've pretty much narrowed it down to the two lenses in the subject. Any opinions? Whichever one I choose, I'll be using it in situations that would require shooting wide open.

I'm also considering the Canon 28mm f/1.8, but consensus seems to be that it's pretty soft wide open.

I know, the least exciting type of post, but I would be very grateful for any advice on what to bring and what to leave behind.

This summer I had planned on going out with a pro-photographer, but he was unable to secure the permits in time. So, my wife and I are heading to Europe in a few weeks. We will be hitting London, France and Brussels.

My current kit:

5Dm3
24-105L
70-200L IS II
14L II
50L
100L IS

I will be carrying whatever kit I bring in a Lowepro Flipside 400AW.

I was thinking about taking the 50, the 70-200, 14, a monopod and one flash. The first two lenses are my favorite walk around combo. Any advice would be very welcome. Also: should I look into a second battery (I don't have a the optional grip)?