I recently upgraded to a 5DMK3 from a non-weather sealed T2i, which is especially nice here in the Seattle area as we just entered the rainy season (no, its not always raining here ).

My questions to those of you who do have weather sealed gear and go out in the drizzle/rain/snow whatever are..

1) Do you protect your gear any further with covers, bags, etc?
2) When its wet, especially in places like the viewfinder area, how do you dry it out before next use?
3) Anything else I should know before getting over the jitters of using my expensive gear in the weather?

Thanks!

Discuss the review of the Canon EF 8-15 f/4L Fisheye

Hello All,

Im hoping you can help, I had to shoot a conference for a very big client last week, and my set up was a 5D3 with my only flash a 430EXII my lens was a 24mm or a 70-200, anyway to my complete surprise the camera had a terrible time focusing, even with the assist beam firing, it would take on occasion more then 2-3 seconds to lock focus and then that meant sometimes it was too late, it was almost like having a different camera in my hand, the lighting was quite dull, as you can imagine a dim lit Hotel Lobby, but no way I thought would be a problem, I do not at all remember my 5D2 being as bad with the same flash,

I think I have read somewhere that the assist beam on these old flashes don't work so well with the new AF points on the 5D3 etc, I use middle point,

does anyone know about this, and had the same problem, the camera is a dream when left alone with decent light, but terrible when attached to a 430EXII,

sorry if there are other threads about this I may have missed,

Regards

Louis

Geez... how long is it going to take for Canon to officially announce the 200-400 1.4X lens' availability.

They did massive demoing and testing at the Olympics, and I think most of us thought that the release would imminent or soon follow. What happened??

As yet, no announcements, and no pricing. WTF??!!

I am looking to buy that lens to replace my 100-400L. I want it, I need it, and Canon damn sure better hurry up and supply it!

Anybody have some inside info?

Hi guys,
I decided to upgrade all my lenses to “L”. Early this week, I sold my last non-L 50mm f1.4 on CL for $290. That wasn’t an easy decision, but I did it.

I currently have 16-35 II, 24-70 II and 70-200 f2.8 IS II (5D III body). As you can see, I’m pretty much covered from 16 to 200mm at 2.8 straight. It’s time to add a prime to my bag.

Question is which prime? I’m leaning toward to 50L or 35L – my feeling right now is 55% on 50L and 45% on 35L.

So, which prime will deliver best sharpness at wide open for portrait general shooting & portrait? Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Dylan

Hi all,

Before I bought the 7D, I had a 50D, and all my lenses focused perfectly with that camera body.

I recently updated the firmware on my 7D to 2.0.3. Was running 2.0 before (with no obvious issues).
Right away after updating I noticed that the AF had become very unreliable. It had a hard time locking and was hunting way more than before.

Especially with my f/1.4 lenses, a Sigma 85/1.4 and Canon 50/1.4, the AF is way off. The camera indicates that focus has been locked, but when I view the picture it is often very front focused. Sometimes though (about 10-20% of the time), the focus is spot on as it should be.
I also have a Canon 100/2.8 USM Macro and a Sigma 17-50/2.8 OS that show the same behaviour.

Actually, my only lenses that focus as they should right now are my Sigma 120-300/2.8 OS and Tokina 11-16/2.8.

I've tried using all the different AF-options, but nothing seems to help. I've reset the camera settings, done a hard reset, cleaned all connections between body and lenses.. Nothing has helped. It really seems like FW 2.0.3 is the bad guy here.

Has anyone else noticed this? It's driving me insane at the moment..

Hello comrades! Just came back from morning walk. L'vov. Canon 60D + 18-55 (old, from Canon 350D).
Here are my photos. I would be happy to see yours city mornings here!

Has anyone who's experienced shadow banding issues with their 7D tried the version 2 firmware to see if it made any improvement over version 1 firmware in this regard?

I was considering trying it but had some concerns the v2 firmware raw files might also play differently with older software I'm still using, or more correctly, might no longer play at all.

None of the other changes in v2 firmware for the 7D are of any use to me so I have no point in upgrading and possibly breaking my post-processing workflow just to test this and it's too much like work to try hack back to the earlier version.


When I had my 5D2 it seemed to have more pronounced midtone banding (e.g. blue sky) using v1 firmware.
After the v2 firmware updates the midtone banding on my particular 5D2 camera was rarely noticeable, altho shadow areas are still an issue of course.


FWIW, the only reason I keep the 7D is because its works great on my 100-400mm L zoom and gives me great reach for birding and wildlife while also providing a more reliable AF system than any other crop body I've used on that lens.

Hi there

I recently got YONGNUO MC-36R/C3 Wireless Timer Remote, it works fine. However, the only thing i dont like about it is that there is no ON/OFF switch on the remote, which runs out the batteries.

I thought no need for batteries when connecting the remote to the camera, it turns out you need to put the batteries into the remote! Is that the case with you? or there is a way to use the remote with no batteries if it is connected to the camera?

Thanks

Hey, I'm looking at some old canon fd bodies, for a film class I'm doing.
I'd like to know what some good fd primes would be.
I'd like to stay under 1000 for the total, and I'm going to get an fd to ef adapter, so I can use them mf.
I'd like a fast 50, a short telephoto, and maybe a wideangle and an ultrawide

I need some advice on panning techniques please:

1. Do I need an image-stabilized lens for panning (I tried panning with the 135/2 with less than desirable success)
2. What would be the appropriate shutter settings compared to the speed of the subject

I used AF servo, Mode 1 and 2 for tangentially moving subjects across the plane, the camera could focus well but I got either motion blur on the subject or not enough blur in the background depending on shutter speed.
Thanks for any help!

Hi everyone,

my question is ,

does anyone know what Canon "does" when they take both the body and lens for calibration?

I sent in my 24-70II since I noticed that it's not as sharp as my friend's copy (we bought them one week apart). I also mentioned that it's back focusing and that I've tried using AFMA but haven't got it right and would appreciate if that can be looked at too. To my surprise I was told that AFMA "shouldn't be used" except for "special" cases. I said, that I've been doing it all the time with all my bodies and lenses. After I sent a complaint to the person in charge of after sales/ warranty, I got a call saying that the "bad focus" is because I set AFMA and that it's stored in the ROM of the Lens.. My first words "Bull $hit" I couldn't help myself. It was obvious the person talking wasn't technical. I asked, so you mean to tell me that if I set AFMA for the 24-70II on my 1DX those settings are stored on the lens.. Reply.. YES.. .. I explained why this was complete Bull$hit.!! by asking "so that means, I can't use this lens on my other camera bodies.. SILENCE..

Long story short.. I was asked to send my my 1dx which they just "reset" ALL my AFMA settings and they re-flashed the ROM on both the 1dx and 24-70II and asked me to "retry".

I just finished testing using lensalign, (didn't feel like using focal pro). my manual testing resulted in (-4,-4).. Same as what I got with Focal Pro on the first day I got the 24-70II.

Any thoughts.. the CPS guy I spoke to wasn't very helpful.. He kept insisting that I should use the multicontroller/joystick to "SELECT the focus point"

you can imagine my frustration explaining DOF and that the little red square that's on the object tells me where I focused, and that object isn't sharp, hence SOMETHING is wrong. I asked him, do you take photos, he replied yes, I said I'm sorry but you're no photographer.. kinda mean, but I couldn't help it!!!!

Ok Rant over!!!!!!

My Camera Shop called me and 30 days after I put in a Pre-order, I got my 24-70L ii

My first shot was to compare sharpness with my 70-200 mk.ii. While the 70-200 does seem sharper (it's been AFMA's but not the 24-70 so I can let that slide... however with a test shot with both at 70mm, I was not prepared with the difference in framing... it is more than noticably different... I realize that there is some variation in difference lens models but I always thought 70mm should give me a similar framing regardless of the lens I used within a small tolerance... but this to me is huge. Is this to be expeced?

Attached are the shots at 70mm form the 24-70 ii and the 70-200 ii
F3.2
ISO100
Spot metered
AF Center

Question : I am mostly ignorant about video matters, can someone explain the interest of a 1DC camera versus a C300/C500 dedicated video camera?

No irony here, just an honest question, I don't understand the advantage of a DSLR for pro video.

Here are a few shots I got on Monday night that you all might like. We don't get to see them very often this far south so this was kinda fun to get out at night and shot. These were all taken with my 5dmkiii with the 24-70 2.8L at 24mm iso640. Please post some more Aurora shots to share.


30 sec, f11


16 sec, f2.8


10 sec, f2.8

Hey everyone, have not posted to much here on the forums but I visit everyday. Back in March I picked up my Rebel T3i and of course the 50 1.8. This past Sunday I did my first actual portrait photoshoot with a friend. If you have a minute take a look and let me know what you think. Hopefully I am allowed to link to outside websites? It is my Flickr account. I noticed some mistakes that I made after the fact but anxious to hear what everyone has to say. Thank for your time!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/logan_hickle/sets/72157631742148688/

I have been lucky to save up for almost all the lenses I want within the last several years. I currently have the following - MP-E 65, 100L macro, TS-E 17, TS-E 24, TS-E 90, 16-35 2.8 II, 24-105, 8-15 fisheye, and 70-200/2.8 II. For the most part I have all of the tripods, lighting, and other things I desire. My one big hole is a telephoto.

As one of my biggest joys is bird and wildlife photography, this is a big hole. Ever since I started in photography it has been my desire to have a good telephoto, but right now the best I can do is a 2x III extender on my 70-200/2.8 II. It does a decent job and I sold my 100-400 because the combo was very comparable, but now I would like something a bit better.

I am mainly looking for something to photograph birds and mammals that I come across. I am not a true birder, but I do like photographing them and have learned to do a decent job with the equipment I have right now so I am reaching the point where equipment will make a big difference.

I have done a great deal of research for some time, but being ever cautious I thought I would ask for opinions on my choice to make sure it is a wise one - as we are dealing with a lot of money.

First, $7k is about my maximum. Even that will be extremely difficult and will likely mean no photography purchases for the next year. I will have to seriously beg my better half and I am unlikely to be able to do something like this for many years afterwards.

Weight and bulk are concerns and are not. Most of my photography is local, so I have the ability to carry something large. However, we do travel somewhere interesting each year and sometimes that place has decent wildlife. Next year we are going to Australia, where it would be nice to use it. However if the lens is too large to take, then I'll be OK.

Note that this will be for a 5D3. I used to own a 7D but was not happy with the image quality so I sold it when I bought the 5D3.

The following are options I have considered.

600 II, 500 II, 800/5.6, 400 2.8 II - These are all above my budget
200-400/1.4x - Doesn't actually exist and will certainly be above my budget
Used 600 I - Strongly considered this, but the thing is so huge. I handhold most of my bird shots now. Won't happen with this one.
Used 400 2.8 I - This lens does not handle extenders well
Used 500 I - Smaller than the 600, but used prices are not much less. This is a tough one, but I think my choice is the better way to go.
Used 300/2.8 - A much cheaper choice, but in this case I believe the 300/2.8 II is the best choice.

The following are reasons why I am leaning towards the 300/2.8 II.
- I am a sucker for new things. Call me overcautious, but I prefer to have the latest and greatest.
- Optically it looks amazing. Looking at these charts it appears to compete well with the 500/4 I - http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=117&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=1&API=1&LensComp=739&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=2&APIComp=1
- It handles extenders very well - even a 2x. I am sure AF will take a good hit, but I'll have a decent 600/5.6 that will be sharper and likely have better AF than my existing 70-200/2.8 II + 2x.
- It's smaller - making hand holding much easier and I can take it on vacation as necessary

Does this sound logical, or am I overlooking something?


Below are some examples of the photos I have taken so far.

The Successful Hunter by CalevPhoto, on Flickr


Getting Ready by CalevPhoto, on Flickr

It's probably one of the most underrated lenses around. It gets vastly outsold by its very-slightly-cheaper little sister the EF 85/1.8, the macros 100 f/2.8 L and non-L, and its bigger brother the 135/2.0 L. Now that the 24/28mm primes have been replaced it's also probably one of the oldest designs. But it's the fastest around in its focal length, it's perfectly usable wide-open, frankly it doesn't even need updating (although if it did receive an update, even just new coatings and whatever better quality glass has been invented in the last 20 years, and a circular aperture, it would be as amazing as the 135/2L. Maybe that's why it's not being updated.).

It also works rather nicely with Extension Tubes for Macro work:

(clicky linky for 100% biggy)

World Wide Web interest in "canon" as compared to "nikon" has been dropping since 2004. At some point, one would hope, Canon would do something to re-energize their brand:
http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=canon,%20nikon

Thanks,
Drew

So….my lens lineup got all jumbled and rearranged when I went from the 7D to the 5D3. I had this setup:

10-22
35 f/2
50 1.4
24-70 2.8 L
70-200 f/4


I now have:
17-35 Tamron (love it)
40 Flapjack
24-70 2.8 L
70-200 f/4

Funny how the two niches I am spending most of my time and actually making money from these days don't have lenses represented in that lineup.

I'm missing a low light prime (50/85/100)
Dedicated Macro (EF 100 2.8 or Tamron 90 SP Di 2.8)

It's hard for me to pick up a FL too close to the 40 because the 5D3 does so well in low light but I'd like something with more and better blades. The 85 1.8 vs 100 f/2 conundrum is swirling in my head as well as the Macro need and not wanting a redundant or similar FL with these two lenses. I've had a 85 before but that was with a T2i. Will I experience it in a different light? And I don't mean focal length but sharpness; center and corner, CA etc.

I've been using the 24-70 and 70-200 for portraiture (group/family outdoors)
and a Lensbaby Macro kit for …Macro.

Do you see the need for me to get a sub 2.8 lens? I WILL be getting a dedicated Macro but will it be fast enough for portraiture? I know it's sharp enough

Thanks in advance for your thoughts y'all.

I am looking at Canon's 85mm f/1.2L and the 85mm f/1.8. I am amazed at the difference in price between these two lens as I read great reviews for both. I am planning to buy one of the two, mainly to be used for indoor sports, i.e. basketball, volleyball, hockey, etc. mated to a 5d Mark III. I currently use a 70-200 f/2.8L II for this, but I would like a tad more speed (so I can reduce the ISO and noise) and bokeh in my images. Most shots are taken between about 90-140mm. I can get closer to the court if need be. I read an article a few months ago (can't find it now) in which the reviewer felt that the 1.2 version did not focus as quickly as the 1.8 which made it worse for indoor sports. This was an eye opener to me and couldn't believe that a $400 lens would focus faster than a $2,000 lens. Does anyone out there have experience with one or both of these lens? If so, can you give me some input on how you feel it would do for what I plan to use it for. Thanks in advance.

Hi,

I have noticed something strange. 1DX, GP-E1, 70-200 II with 2X.

I had the camera at a 45 degree angle, so half way between landscape and portrait, the IS system was making noisy and I was unable to auto focus.
I switched the camera off , back on again --> everything fine, up to about an hour later when I was pointing upward to take a shot of a bird high in tree.

It looks like that at certain angles ~ 45 degrees the GP-E1 gets confused.

I tried without the GP-E1 and I am unable to reproduce the "problem"

My questions:
1) has anybody had the same problem?
2) is the GP-E1 info used for IS?


This is a minor problem, just switch camera off on and it is solved. I am just curious?

Regards,

Ben

Puts me in mind of Flanders & Swann: The big six-wheeler scarlet-painted London transport diesel-engined 97-horsepower omnibus. Except they were talking about the older version and I suspect the engine is a little more powerful now!


London Bus on the Strand by RCARCARCA, on Flickr

EXIF: 5Diii, 24 - 105mm @ 50mm, 1/40 sec, f5.6, ISO5000


London Bus on the Strand by RCARCARCA, on Flickr

EXIF: as above except 55mm, 1/50 sec


London Bus on the Strand by RCARCARCA, on Flickr

EXIF: as above except 105mm, 1/100 sec

When cabbies try to pass me before they overtakes,
I sticks me flippin' hand out and I jams on all me brakes.

Enjoy!

Richard