Hello to all. This is my first post here. I have been a lurker for a while. I have set out on a new adventure. I have decided to enter into wedding photography. My wife and I mainly do portraits and some product photography(for about 4 years), although we have done some event photography. My question is: Should I buy a Tamron 70-200 F/2.8 or Rent Canon 70-200mm F/2.8 II IS? I currently have a 40D with a Tamron 17-50 F/2.8 non-VC and 2x - 50mm f/1.8. I will be renting a 7D to supplement us for another body. I have a Rebel XS as just a tote around but this will stay in the vehicle as a very last resort everything went up in smoke backup. My reasoning for the 7D instead of full frame is my current Tammy will fit it. Now back on topic, I was thinking I could make a purchase on the Tamron 70-200 F/2.8 instead of renting and actually have a telephoto in my bag again. I had the Tamrom 70-300 F/4-5.6 VC but traded it in due to a back focusing issue. It worked great for a while but then went on the fritz. So would the Tamron work for a wedding or is the af really to slow? I tried one out at our local camera store and it seemed ok. I have rented the Canon 70-200 F/2.8 non-IS before and the Canon 100mm L Macro. I noticed the difference in af speed. So, what do you guys think, get some glass permanently in the bag or rent until I can layout the money for the Canon monster. I have considered the 70-200 F/4 IS but it is a little out of reach price wise right now.

Hi everyone, long time reader, first time poster.

Firstly, I know how to use the search function and realize this type of thing has been discussed before......

I currently use a 50d and 7d with the following lenses: ef/s 10-22, 24-105L, 100l macro, 70-300L. I use the 50d for the landscape, walk-around type things and do my wildlife and other fast-moving things with the 7d. I am very happy with my coverage and results.

I plan on keeping 2 bodies, but am thinking of replacing the 50d not because there are issues but just because it is pretty much surpassed by a lot of offerings out there.

I really like the metal-type bodies, Like a lot of people, going full frame is appealing, but expensive.

Ideally I would love 5d mk3's, but that is not going to happen. If I was just going to have just one body, I would just get a 5d3, (especially with the new exposure bracketing!!) but the 7d is new and I like it.

With the recent price drop with the advent of the 5d3, the 5d2 however is affordable.

I have read the autofocus on the 5d3 is a lot better than the 5d2, which I expect as it is 4 years newer and costs twice as much.

What I am really after is a FF replacement for my 50d to do what it now does, walk around, landscapes, and inside stuff. It will meet some moving targets, but really thats what I am keeping the 7d for.

So, who here has a 5d2 and can tell me how good the autofocus REALLY is? If it is as good as my old 50d, then I can live with that, especially since if I go FF I will need either the 17-40L or the 16-35L anf the 5d2 + lens combo essentially equals the cost of the 5d3.

I realize the 6d will be out there some time, but by the time it is a well-known commodity i suspect new 5d2's may be hard to find. Plus, it doesn't look like the autofocus on the 6d is any better than the 5d2, and I like the build of the 5d series.

A friend who is a pro photographer is a long time 5d1 user, and just upgraded to the 5d2 due to the price drop. He mainly does studio work, but says he has shot sports of all things the the 5d2 and is happy with its performance.

Any help advice will help, thanks a lot!

I'm wondering, if I use the live view to take pictures, does it helps the shutter life?

i can´t count how often i am asked how is bokeh of lens XY compared to lens XZ wide open.

like "has the 50mm f1.4 better bokeh then the 100mm f2"... "does the 135mm f2 looks smoother then the 85mm f1.8" etc.

is there a website that "tests" bokeh and has "bokeh test scene" it uses for all lenses?
i mean a single motive so that it´s easier to compare the lens bokeh.

i know photozone does it in some reviews.. but a bit more "in-depth" would be nice.
maybe with a way to compare images side by side.

i think there must be something like that on the web?

Does anyone tweak the Picture Style settings in your 7D?

I shoot primarily sports and candids -- people pics of one sort or another. Sometimes I'm looking for a little more saturation and detail, a little extra "pop". My most used lens is the 70-200 f2.8L II with the 17-55 2.8 for close quarters. These lenses are sharp and shooting wide open certainly adds pop, but things can sometimes be a little flat.

I know that shooting RAW eliminates the need to rely on Picture Style, but I'm not always shooting RAW and, RAW or not, prefer to minimize the need for post work.

So, I'm curious to see what others have learned with tweaking in-camera Picture Styles. Do you prefer Canon's default settings or have you found ways to improve them?

Hi,

We were given a pair of $400.00 Pittsburgh Steelers football tickets from a vendor, and we saw a heck of a game recently. I read the rules of the stadium, and it says no video gear, and no "professional lenses", listing 6 inches as the maximum. My EF 70-200 f/2.8L Mk.2 is about 8 inches long if you ignore the end cap and lens cap. The pros on the sidelines all had massive lenses on monopods of course, over half of which were BIG WHITES! (Woo, hoooo!) (At Pirates games, it is usually about 100% big whites.)

I chickened out and didn't bring my camera for this reason. The parking is like 1/2 mile from the stadium and the security check line is always a mile long, and I didn't want to risk a long walk back to the car. (Nor did I want to leave a nice lens in the car.) But with the seats we get, I am SURE that with the 1/4x TC, I could have gotten some really good shots. A guy right in front of us got a Nikon lens in, (NOT large and white) by playing dumb and saying "I don't know how lenses work" when asked if it was a telephoto. I thought I might say it is an insect and flower lens, and I am pressing into game service because it is my only weather-resistant lens". If I don't draw a camera guy at the security booth, maybe I'd be OK?

Does anyone have experience getting long-ish white lenses into NFL stadiums, or Heinz field in particular? I do believe I may be lucky enough to get more of these tickets. ;D

Advice required!
I have some money to spend on gear and am looking to improve my lenses at the short/wide angle range. My current shortish lenses are a Canon 17-40, Canon 24-105, Canon 28mm F2.8 and a Contax-Zeiss 25mm F2.8. I am happy with the 24-105 and the 25mm Contax but am thinking of selling the 28mm and 17-40 to help fund a Nikon 14-24 F2.8. I realise this lens will be entirely manual but that is not an issue to me.
My cameras are a 5d Mk1 and a 1D Mk4, I would be interested in any suggestions for example should I change the 5D for a Mk2 or are there other lenses that might suit?

Here in (hot) Arizona, a few zoos wisely decided to start opening at night on select days during the summer. The famous San Diego Zoo also does this. And Singapore Zoo opened a separate night only wildlife park called Night Safari. I will kick things off, but I would love to see some other photos taken at zoos and wildlife parks during evening hours. On two of these (porcupine and screamer/capybara) I used a small LED pocket flashlight to highlight the animals. All with 5D2.

Porcupine at Arizona Sonora Desert Museum (Tucson, Arizona)
Mountain Lion at San Diego Zoo (San Diego, California)
Grevy Zebra at Phoenix Zoo (Phoenix, Arizona)
Crested Screamer and Capybara at Reid Park Zoo (Tucson, Arizona)

I'm looking to purchase a new point and shoot camera for my mom for Christmas. My mom is 60 years-old, and she knows absolutely nothing about cameras, but I want to purchase her a camera that takes great photos. Here are things to consider:

* She wants an LCD that can be viewed in sunlight....she is always complaining that she can't see the LCD on her current camera in sunlight!
* I have the Canon S100, but my mom tried it and she thinks it is too small for her, so that also rules out the Sony RX100.
* The new camera will be used mostly to take photos at birthdays, holidays, family vacations, and the kids/family dogs running around.
* The new camera needs to have good ISO performance and/or flash performance for different lighting conditions.

Based on these criteria, I've narrowed it down to the G15 and G1X, and I'm leaning toward the G15, because the reviews I've read state the G1X has slow autofocus, which could cause problems when she tries to take photos of the dogs and kids running around.

What do you guys think would be the best camera for my mom?

Thanks

Hi everyone,

I had an engagement shoot today and near the end of it my 70-200 2.8 IS starting having AF trouble.
The closer to INFINITY I would try to focus the more It would struggle.
I couldn't even manual focus to that far.

Then When I got home later it was working fine.
But now it's having the issue again.

Camera repair shops are closed today, so I thought I'd see if anybody has any insight into this issue.
Thanks so much!


OH, and here are a couple from the shoot for those interested.
http://i.imgur.com/eOxV2.jpg

http://www.thephoblographer.com/2012/10/27/first-impressions-canon-6d-and-wi-fi-demo/

This came up last night. Interesting comment on the AF system comparng speed and accuracy to the 7D and MkIII.

Thought his comment on focus/recompose was interesting, re: if you only intend to use te center point, go with the 5d MkII.

Also liked the section about the app and WIFI capabilities.

There's not really a section here for technique advice in the CR forums, so I thought I would just post this here. I know there are plenty of CR members with the experience to help me deal with this situation.

I just signed a new client up for a senior portrait shoot. She's a great kid and has a bright future (I've known her since elementary school). The concern I have doing her portraits is her weight: She's quite heavy. What are some pointers to keep in mind so that I don't accentuate her size? Obviously, I'm not going to be able to turn her into a Heidy, but what can I do to make her look her best? I'm guessing that I need to keep in mind my lens selection (I go from 17-40, 50, and 70-200mm focal ranges) as well as camera angles. What kind of advice do you have for me? Thanks in advance for your helpful suggestions and comments.

During my last trip to Scotland, I was lucky enough to see the Northern Lights. They weren't as bright as in Norway last year, but for so far south, it was a good viewing. I then had to try my hand at some astrophotography of the Milky Way. Not perfect by any means, but probably the best I could get with standard equipment.


Scottish Aurora by Kernuak (avalonlightphotoart.co.uk), on Flickr

Aurora Frame by Kernuak (avalonlightphotoart.co.uk), on Flickr

The Milky Way by Kernuak (avalonlightphotoart.co.uk), on Flickr

I've spent well over four years trying to get a half decent shot of a red squirrel, but after my last trip to Scotland, I have more than I know what to do with. I also managed to photogarph another iconic species, the mountain hare, as well as a treecreeper.


Red Squirrel Eating Hazlenut by Kernuak (avalonlightphotoart.co.uk), on Flickr

Red Squirrel Ambush by Kernuak (avalonlightphotoart.co.uk), on Flickr

Red Squirrel Peek a Boo by Kernuak (avalonlightphotoart.co.uk), on Flickr

Resting Mountain Hare by Kernuak (avalonlightphotoart.co.uk), on Flickr

Roosting Treecreeper by Kernuak (avalonlightphotoart.co.uk), on Flickr

Chipworks recently released an article analysing the CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) processes from a variety of manufacturers, including Nikon, Sony, and Canon. Historically, Canon has used a 0.5 micron (500nm) process for all of their FF sensors since the original 1Ds. In the Canon analysis, they noted that Canon has a 0.18 micron (180 nanometer) fabrication process (possibly what they used for the 120mp APS-H?) that they may begin using for future FF sensors:

[quote author=Chipworks]Canon does have a 0.18 µm generation CIS wafer fab process, featuring a specialized Cu back end of line (BEOL) including light pipes (shown below). It is possible to speculate that Canon may be preparing to refresh its FF CIS line to supply devices for a new FF camera system.[/quote]

A move from their 0.5um process to a 0.18um process for FF CIS manufacture would be a fairly significant move for Canon. The accompanying image figure also seems to indicate a double microlens layer...one above the CFA and one below...which could lead to higher Q.E. The article also mentions the use of "Light Pipes", a term I had not heard before. According to a few papers I've read, lightpipes in CMOS sensor design make use of high refractive index materials and a reflective wall in the optical stack the to improve transmission of light from the color filter/microlens to the photodiode, which exists at the end of a narrow tube where all the readout wiring exists (in a frontside-illuminated design). Seems like a lightpipe is an alternative to using a backside-illuminated design that aims to improve Q.E while avoiding some of the complexities and issues with BSI designs. Additionally, the use of copper interconnects should improve efficiency, allowing lower power usage, and hopefully leading to a lower level of electronic noise (the great bane of Canon these days.)

Seems Canon is most definitely not out of the CMOS Image Sensor design game yet. They seem to have some new tricks up their sleeves, and hopefully they will see the light of day in their next FF camera. Ah, competition is good!

Shooting in Inner Mongolia with pals. Driving over 1200miles, Spend 48hrs Totally, Slept less 4 hrs. Took over 400 pics. Inner Mongo is absolutely hevean for shooting with various differents Landscapes and weather.

I checked out the 6D with a 24-70 II, 70-200 II, and 200 f/2. It actually had a grip attached. Silent shutter is very nice and the camera/lens combination felt okay. They did have the shells of both the 5D3 and 6D and no comparison. The 5D3 and presumably 5D2 are tanks compared to the 6D. It seemed that the fps was noticably slower than my 5D2. I definitely think new 5D2's are better than the 6D unless you can't live without the GPS and wifi.

I got to check out the EF 200-400 f/4L IS 1.4x with a 1Dx in the CPS Lounge at Photoplus 2012. The lens is a little heavy but utterly ridiculous when paired with the 1Dx. The venue was limited but AF is fast and the ability to turn the 1.4x "on and off" by flipping a lever makes going from 200-400 f/4 to 280-560 f/5.6 is simply amazing especially when focus is maintained. The 1Dx kept its 12fps in every mode I tried. I can't speak for image quality but the lens' flexibility is unmatched.

I just noticed that when using a 100mm Macro f2.8L on my 7D, if I start the focusing either from zero or infinity, it seems that AF is impossible with my 7D (it tries to AF but to no avail). My workaround is to turn the focus ring to approximate the focus on my subject, I press the shutter button halfway and the AF locks on. I don't have to start from zero or infinity - I would just make the scene totally out of focus, the 7D cannot autofocus all the way.

With the 5D mk3, the lens focuses as it should (searching for the right focus and then locks on the subject) even if I start from zero or infinity.

I don't know if this is how the lens works for the type of body it is on (FF or APS-C). Has anyone here have a 7D and a 100mm macro f2.8L and experienced the same thing (or differently)? Is there an explanation for this phenomenon?

I am loving this lens on the 5D3. With the 7D I will just add another step when focusing - if this is normal.

Thanks!

I have just ordered the 1Dx. My main focus is wildlife, bird photography specifically, but I also do landscape and some macro. I currently have 1Dmiv and two 7Ds. Which of thoses would you keep as a back up to my new 1Dx. I am leaning towards the 1Div but am open to suggestions. Thanks for your thoughts

Hi,

I was trying out my new 5DM3 late this evening and I notice strange color rendering in the pics. The color seems to change in every progressive shot.

Even more strangely, the problems seems be alleviated by stopping the lens down.

These were clicked with the 50mm lens at f/1.4 in low-speed continuous mode.

I've tried other combos with the 17-40 and the 24-105 on the 5DM3 and the problem is pretty much the same. I've also tried the 50mm on the 7D (again under tungsten light) and even the 7D seems to have a problem, though less so.

Is this normal? Any thoughts would be welcome ... I want to be sure that the camera doesn't have a problem.

PS: I've not yet tried this in daylight and propose to do this tomorrow morning
PPS: I don't rule out user error

my 70-200 is 2 points, and my mark2 is 5...

I have AFMA my 5D3 and 24-70mm f/2.8 using FoCal v1.6. I’m getting variations on the results and wondering if is this normal? I've searched the internet and the FoCal site for comparison but none that I could find except from this forum.

Comments are welcome.

lauren by Lseriesglass, on Flickr