Hi,

I would like to step up my portrait photography - and maybe even have a little home photography business.

I have a limited space (my living room - about 20 square meters) and would like to purchase quality, small, lighting for portraits. The whole setup needs to be totally collapsible, and easy to setup /dismantle - so I can pull it out, do my thing, and put it away. I was thinking of LEDS on stands ? Can anyone guide me here to some kind of kit ?
Any feedback is appreciated.

I am considering getting a 24-70 f4 to replace my 5 year old 24-105 to use on a 5D3. has any one got one and are you pleased with it.

After our wedding in late September 2012, my wife and I spent over a week, and driving some 300 miles in the US SW. After viewing so many fantastic photos in this forum, I knew we had too much to see with too little time. I did manage to drag my bride out of bed early one morning to make the trek from Green River, Utah to make it yo Canyonlands National Park to see and shoot the sunrise there. We arrived early, or so I thought, but the place was packed. I was lucky enough to squeeze into a spot toward the right end to get several shots.

I now know that next time, we will stay in Moab, and I can go to the Arch myself even earlier to try for an even better vantage point.

Hi All,

After nearly 10years of providing rc aerial imagery services, I often get asked what its like to do what we do. So I made up a video of our latest trip.

The flight footage was shot with a 5dmkiii

http://youtu.be/fifwWucje2s

Hope you enjoy.
Thank you
Bill

Not sure if this is the best area of the forum to put this topic under, but oh well here goes.


I will be going to the Gand Tetons and Yellowstone later this summer, and I am looking to upgrade my tripod. I have (almost) set my mind on the Manfrotto 190xprob. However, I need a head. When researching, I found some people saying that ball heads were best for landscape photography, while others said that with ball heads, its nearly impossible to keep the horizon level without a hotshoe bubble level, so pan/tilt heads were ideal. Advice?

Review of http://www.kirkphoto.com/Kirk_Security_Strap.html

Background, I haven't used the popular BlackRapid strap or other variants. My issue with the BlackRapid is that you have to screw something to the bottom which precludes easy Swiss-Arca plate usage. I know many got around that by using a SA clamp, but the setup seems kludgy to me. Additionally the BlackRapid solution seems over engineered to me. As an engineer I would opt for a simpler design, the swivel buckle, screw in attachment and such looks like too much, never mind adding a Swiss-Arca clamp, which also makes it much more expensive by the way.

Enter the Kirk Security Strap which had the features I wanted on paper.



A built in clamp. A strap which attaches directly to the clamp. Minimal failure points and foo. How does it stack up?

The claim to fame of the BlackRapid is rapid shooting. Important to professional event shooters, less to me, but as it turns out I suspect that is more marketing than reality. As it is the Kirk has zero issues with rapid deployment. Instead of sliding the camera along the strap, a move that seems error prone, with the Kirk you can simply raise the camera to eye level without readjusting anything. It just folds more or less in half with the padded part staying in place. When done drop it back down, zero fuss. Frankly it seems like LESS fuss than the BlackRapid, but as I say I haven't used that one.

Second, how does it 'sit' when by your side? It comes from the factory with the clamp knob toward you. This is a neat feature, what it means is that because the clamp naturally lines the camera up in a particular orientation (front-back) the knob is always there giving some standoff distance between the camera and you. Keeps the back of the camera from knocking into you. Cool.

Third it has a rail on the bottom for quick mounting on a SA system.

Fourth I'm not a walking advertisement. No logos blasted over it, the unit is extremely lightweight and low profile.

That's the good. The less good is that the strap isn't a super deluxe item. Fine by me, actually perfect for me, I don't want some overdone solution. Just a simple strap thank you. If you don't like it, it can be easily replaced at any rate.

Also with the default strap it wants to go over one shoulder (at least for me), not across your chest to the other shoulder. Again my preferred approach, I like being able to quickly take it on or off. If you prefer across the chest then replacing the strap with a longer version will do it for you.

That's my take.

TELL ME WHY!

Custom WB test between 5D Mark II, 5D Mark III:
- Same studio strobe light
- Same Exposure/ISO
- Same Lens
- Same CF Card (swapped between bodies)
-Shooting RAW images
-ZERO processing in ACR or Lr

Essentially, all I am changing is the body. I manually meter, shoot with an Expodisc, perform a custom WB, and repeat to make certain that my exposure and WB are as precise as possible. Trade the lens with expo disc still attached, swap the CF card and do the exact same thing.

Results: WB "As Shot"
- 5D Mark II: Temp 5500 Tint -6
- 5D Mark III: Temp 6050 Tint +4

That's a variance of +550 kelvin and +10 Tint variance!
(I have RAW files if anyone wants to download & evaluate)
I called Canon Professional Services and spoke to a Tech- they argued that the sensor is so new & different that this is normal. I said that color temperature is NOT subjective (and noted that my 1DS Mark II Color Temp is almost the same as the Mark II) and that I had performed the above tests leaving no room for error. They still argued that this is normal, cited all the new sensor capabilities... but said that they would test the body if I wanted to send it in.

I hope others read this and add their test results because I feel like I am alone in this issue.

The standard lens requirement for shooting events/weddings seem to be a combination of 24-70/28 and 70-200/2.8, I read both are nailed to a pro's camera 90% of the time (though I have problems doing the maths )

A lens with a larger aperture afaik has three advantages: better af on some bodies, better subject isolation/creativity (just one eye in focus) and last not least a "fast" lens is required for "low light" shots.

My question rose when I read the great book "Captured by the Light" by David Ziser who - believe it or not - writes that f4 to f5.6 (for convenience or added safety) is his bread and butter setting for posed candid wedding flash shots, and he used the 5d2 at that time.

Question: So according to this f2.8 is more important for available light and movement shots, but if that was case with the 5d2, I'm confused why still seems to be still valid with the 6d even though it's about 1 stop better ... either f2.8 was borderline in the past, or f2.8 - 1stop = f4 would be sufficient now - or am I missing something here?

Disclaimer: Please forgive slight traces of irony, this ia a real question because I don't entirely understand the issue, it's great people get whatever gear they like for any purpose they want.

Hi, I recently started getting into bird photography. I have been using a Canon 550d and a Canon 100-400 in center point AI servo mode. I have had fairly good luck, but I find the AF to be a little sluggish and it tends to hunt quite a bit when trying to focus on birds in trees. To be fair the birds are only filling the center point of the frame. That said I am considering getting the 7d given its renown AF performance, but in my research I have read a lot of people stating that even with the 7d they mostly use center point AI servo mode. I have read that some people use center point with AF expansion, but it has the tendency to lock on to a leaf or something at the worst times.

So my question is, is it really worth it for me to upgrade to the 7D for bird photography? Obviously aside from AF I would gain a faster FPS and build quality, but the unless the AF is much better the IQ will stay the same since the 550D and 7D share the same sensor. I don't mind getting the 7D if it will drastically improve AF performance, but otherwise I have been planning to get a 5DII or 6D for improved portraits and landscapes.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

All,
Starting point -- I have three bodies: 5Dmk3, 5Dmk2, and a 30D, which I rarely use. I do this for a living.

I see no new bodies coming soon and don't like the sound of (and the reviews of) the 6D. My desire to get more flexibility and back-up in my bodies was accelerated yesterday when I discovered that my 5Dmk2 shoe doesn't work! I have an evening charity event I am shooting Saturday night and was testing everything. There are few rental opportunities in my area but I was lucky to find a mk2 I can rent for flash backup.

I am interested in opinions of the trade-offs for a third FF body between another Mk2, a 1DIIIs, and I guess I'd have to consider another (used?) 5Dmk3.

I should say I am disappointed with the focus ability of the Mk3 in certain conditions so am leery of adding another Mk3. Canon can't duplicate the conditions in which I see difficulties in their repair facilities; Canon and I have gone around and around on this already. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth about the variability of the Mk3 bodies.

The 1DmkIIIs would be used for product work, food, landscape, portraits, architecture, tripod work in general, when I have the luxury of lower ISO. At or lower than 400 is my guess, and often using lighting. I think I would want to shoot high-speed-sync in some real estate or architectural work to balance windows (HDR still problematic for this in some conditions.) Further, I read that the skin tones are good on this sensor. Would shoot this body tethered a lot.

Did I read about focus problems on some of these?

I *don't* get asked to shoot sports.

I get the "old technology" epithet, but we used to buy a couple of used Hasselblads and their lenses and use those for YEARS in billing good day rates. And in a couple of years there may be another Canon to consider. I have to say that the lack of extra DR in the Mk3's low ISOs (over the Mk2) was a big disappointment.

This sounds like a lot of complaining but I am willing to work with the gear as it is... just find the right mix for me. I have never used a 1D.

Thoughts?

jonathan7007

I currently have the following lenses and looking for advice on "what's next"...welcome thoughts of the group

Canon EF-S 10-22mm
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Canon EF 24-105 f/4
Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC

The Tamron lens is an OK lens but I am finding limitations from an image quality perspective. I typically use the 24-105 as more of my everyday lens now that I have a started to become a stronger photographer.

So what do folks think I should consider next? My problem with choosing is that I love taking portrait shots but landscape is a lot of what I shoot as well.

So what say you wise ones?

Please let me know if there is a way for me to change some of these, I haven't found it though

• Remove or extend the login timeout, I constantly have to keep logging in unlike every other forum I've been on
• Get rid of the "somebody posted while you were typing" thing, which requires you to hit submit again. It's never or rarely relevant and is just annoying. Nobody does this anymore
• Combine forums or repurpose. The categories/forums doesn't make sense, seems like there's duplication and there's other forums that could be added.

Thanks

Dear 5D3 users,

Canon has offered us a new Firmware update for 5D3 and we need to ask them to include Digital Video Crop mode why?

As a wildlife video and photography aficionado I am always interested in having more reach to obtain finer details of the critters that are not so comfortable with my presence in their surroundings. The standard solution to this legendary problem is to use super-telephotos but this is not always the best solution for all. Some of the inconveniences of these special lenses are weight, size, and cost.

For videographers using DSLR cameras with huge megapixel sensors now there is a new and better solution to get more reach. Unfortunately the lack of understanding of this technology has kept many people from WANTING and requesting (from canon) such extra-reach solution.

Fortunately this technology was implemented in the Canon t3i (EOS 600D) so now you can find many videos in
Vimeo that show the capabilities of this technology.

t3i w/ 100mm Macro + 3x Zoom: T3i w/ 100mm Macro + 3x Zoom on Vimeo
Canon T3i / 600D Macro Test with 3x-10x Zoom Feature: Canon T3i / 600D Macro Test with 3x-10x Zoom Feature on Vimeo

The t3i has an 18 MP sensor of 5184 pix by 3456 pix. It is important to understand that this sensor is much larger than the pixel size (resolution) of HD video which is only a 1920 x 1080. So to make HD video with these huge sensors they implement a system of under-sampling to reduce the resolution of the sensor to the resolution required by video. But what if we only used the center portion of the sensor to make HD video of 1920 x 1080? Well this is what the new technology calls Cropped Digital Video which was first implemented in D4 and D800 Nikon cameras and also the Panasonic GH2.

So if we look at the numbers and only use the 1920 pixels the ratio between the original 5184 by 1920 represents a 2.7 crop factor or an approximate magnification of 2.7X. This means that if you used a EF 300 mm f/4 lens and applied this video crop factor you would be obtaining an equivalent magnification of an 810 mm lens at f/4! (300 X 2.7 = 810 mm). I addition since this camera is and APC cropped model, there is an additional 1.6 X magnification (as compared to a full frame camera) giving a total reach of 1296 mm.

I assume that this cropped video implementation could be done through a firmware update so I ask everyone of you who are interested in this technology to request canon for such upgrade. I own a 5D mark III and a 7D only dream of having this kind of feature in my camera.

Here are other discussion about this subject:
Why no crop mode on 5d mkiii 1dx http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=6308.0

5DMK3 Video Zoom
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=5279.0

Looking for recommendation for a 15mm f2.8 lens?

hello,

i am new to this forum and digital photography.
i was using a canon film camera since the 1980s, until now.
never cared much for digital.
for the few photos i took a year my film camera was good enough.

but im a pensioner now and will go on a 8 weeks trip to south africa this year.
so i decided to go digital.

i bought a 5D Mark3 and a 650D at amazon.
now i have 24 days left to decide if i keep the 5D Mark3 or the 650D

what puzzles me is that the image quality is, as far as i can tell, exactly the same.
i bought a epson R3000 printer and when i print the files i can hardly see any difference.

i know why the 5D Mark3 is more expensive (better build, more functions, FF sensor etc.) but i thought there would be a visible difference in image quality?

sorry if this is a stupid question. as i wrote im totally new to digital cameras.

i just wonder that i get the same image quality in a 700 euro camera and in a 2800 euro camera.
i see bigger differences when i change from one film type to another on my analog camera.

I don't really know much about MTF charts, but I've never seen one that looks like this:

I just wanted to know if anyone here shoots along with other 5d3 users and has allot of experience setting several 5d3s up for a multi camera shoot,

A friend and myself are about to shoot a bar mitzvah and want to using he multicam features in Adobe premiere, i wonder if anyone can share tricks to set up a multicast session, we plan to use a bunch of flash and SD cards (auto swap mode) unless anyone suggests other wise, i assume ALL-i compression but e have hit walls with tacky obstacles while recording video already, for example some videos are only 1 mins long while others are 5, i have no idea why the camera stops the video recording but i do get the 4 GB limit etc from time to time saying the camera split the files up .

any advise appreciated and thanks in advance

Hello,…always looking for people’s opinions, especially when it comes to buying new gear.
For a long time I have had an itch to pick up a Canon 24mm f1.4L II for my FF, but it is a pricey one. I would like to do some static star shots and trails also, as well as have a nice fast wide prime for indoor and landscape. Until the funds materialize,does anyone have any positive experiences with the 28mm f1.8?

So here's my setup. 5d Mk3, Alien Bees and PW Plus II triggers.

I'm see the black band as discussed here previously when trying to sync at 1/200th. Yes, it goes away at 1/160th.

I'm thinking of selling the pocketwizards and getting the Paul Buff Cybersync Transmitter/Receiver pair. Does anyone know
if these triggers suffer the banding problem?

I have a pair of the cactus triggers which I haven't tried yet. I rarely use them because the batteries always seem to be dead.

Any experience with these is appreciated.

We're seeing a very interesting explosion of capable and affordable after market alternatives to the genuine article. Yonguo, phottix, oloong, and triopo come to mind, all in fierce competition with each other -- all are playing leap frog as regards feature sets. Phottix is combining Nikon and Canon capabilities in one unit, I presume to cut mfg cost. The more Canon-oriented Yonguo just announced an on-board radio receiver/trigger in their very affordable (560 iii) manual gun. Oloong is said to be producing a full-featured flagship clone this year, and triopo just announced another HSS gun competing directly with Yonguo's newest 568 HSS capable gun.

With the chinese guns, speedliters can affordably fill an apollo orb or a parabolic umbrealla, for example, with three or even six ETTL/HSS guns without breaking the bank. Yonguo in particular has an aparently large market share and reasonable reputation for acceptable reliability, from what I can tell. Their "flagship" HSS/ETTL capable gun is presently $170.

Yonguo appears to be the chinese gun of choice for canon users, or at least they are the emerging darling. with such fierce competition it wouldn't surprise me if they produce a 568 mark ii soon, by adding the radio recever of their model 560 iii. Its an interesting show to watch, with HSS, ETTL, and integrated radio trigger capabilities appearing in the after market. And with Canon themselves asserting true radio control with their new flagship system, the days of Pocket Wizards or other expensive radio ad-ons (for speedlites), appear to be numbered.

Frankly I'm tempted not to invest any further in the Canon guns, but just keep my 580ex ii and invest in a bunch of Yonguo guns and tranceivers. The capability you get per dollar is astonishing, and the affordable reduncancy mitigates the reliability risk. Sadly I expect Canon's next move will be some sort of digital key authorization mechanism to lock down the hot-shoe ETTL and HSS communications, preventing the chinese from reverse-engineering their stuff and selling at 1/4 the cost.

Forgive the ignorance but what is the ITR AF feature in the Canon 1DX all about?Is it true that if it is turned on,it slows down the auto-focusing of the camera a bit?And lastly,when is it best to use this feature and when is it better not to use it?
Thanks in advance.

I am look at a longer lens for wildlife and I need help picking out a lens.
Here I the options I see so far
1-70-200 already have but if I add an extender
2-100-400
3-400 5.6.

I don't know if I would miss the extra versatility of the 100-400 over the 400 5.6. And I am hesitant of a extender setup because I have heard image quality can be pretty bad.
I mostly looking at elk, deer, foxes from a pretty good distance.
Does anyone have any recommendations?

Saw a western guy shooting with a 1DX on the streets of Bangkok the other day. This is not something you see every day, the 5D Mark II and III are a much more common sight. Reason I am posting this is for those concerned about bringing their best gear to this amazing part of the world. I almost did not notice it was a 1DX, I just registered in my subconscious a guy with a camera, then my old brain slowly told me there was an black body L lens and it was attached to a 1DX. I know quite a lot of the pro photographers in this part of the world so I paid a little more attention as I hurried on by to my next appointment. The guy was taking street shots and looked like a tourist (was it CR guy?! haha ;-) ) But my point is not to worry, unless you really know cameras (like people on CR do) then most people would not even have noticed anything other than a guy with a camera, a regular sight in most tourist spots in Asia. In fact, some would probably think something that big has to be seriously old (aren't cameras getting smaller for the average Joe?!).