I just noticed today that in addition to the pictures being very soft my mark III Large jpg files are maximum 5MB (most are around 4MB) ??? I don't shoot in jpeg usually, so i didn't notice it before...I looked at my old Mark II files and jpegs are bigger?? It just does not make sense..The manual says it should be around 7MB...I am not sure if it make a difference or anything...Just strange...they are still 3840x5760...

Does anybody else has this issue?

thank you

Please someone explain why is the metering under exposing 2/3 or more. Is this a design issue? To get the histogram away from the left corner I need to go +2/3'or more on almost all shots. Not that it disturbs me much but I just wonder. The 40D did not have that.
BTW has someone noticed that when looking into that huge VF you can see the mirror straight under the frame view? There is a lot of camera to be seen through this VF, no wonder the light fall off on the VF would influence the exposure ;D

Thanks for your comments.

Is it just me or is my 16-35mm II lens pretty hideously awful on the borders when viewed at 100%? This is the first time I've shot my lens on a full frame, and the borders/corners look extremely distorted/not sharp compared to a reference image on photozone.de. Should I send it in to Canon?

My lens: http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/7360/mg0607.jpg
Photozone's lens: http://photozone.smugmug.com/photos/532740702_syfbi-O.jpg
More Photozone samples: http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/435-canon_1635_28_5d?start=2

Note: My aperture on that shot was f6.3, and the shot was taken on a tripod.

Finally purchased this 3500 dollar camera from Adorama friday. Says it will ship on monday and I should receive it by Thursday at the latest. Hopefully it's a purchase that I won't regret. I dont get paid for photography but I've found relief in it. Maybe one day I can get paid from another passion of mine. Everyone got the 'soft' issues worked out right? Hopefully I have no issues with mine

I'm currently thinking of divesting my 50mm f/1.4 for a higher quality lens. The 28-300mm covers a lot of lenses, and is great for travel but i need something with a lower f/ value for low light and nice bokah.

I do take a lot of portraiture, and the 50mm is great for that. I'm also considering the 85mm f/1.2 L II USM, and the 50mm f/1.2L...

I'm going on a three week trip in china and japan and am thinking of upgrading before then...

Whats your take?

I was looking at Dolgin Engineering chargers on B&H and couldn't figure out something...

Can anyone tell who buys these $300 to $600+ chargers, and more importantly why?

While I'm sure they can charge quickly and maintain battery health, you can buy a lot of batteries and cheap chargers for the same money. So where do they make sense?

Thanks

I am curious if there is anyone with a strong sentiment in support or against any of the following ways to hit 400mm for use on a 7D to capture action. My thoughts are to consider the following

Option 1: EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
Option 2: EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM and a 2x iii extender
Option 3: EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM

The images will be printed and some will be enlarged for retail so sharpness is key. I know there are better cameras but I don't have the budget to upgrade both (though I will be going after a FF in the next 12 months). I am trying to convince myself to invest in the 70-200mm (so I can used it elsewhere) but I am not sure what to expect regarding sharpness and autofocus speed with a 2x extender at 400mm. Also if the 400mm 5.6 prime blows the other 2 away i would consider that route as well, but prefer zoom. 400mm is my only non-negotiable as my subjects are an average 80-100m away.

Thanks in advance for the help!

I'm still in the 30 day window with Amazon. Should I return the 5d III and wait until this is resolved.
Thanks

Mods please delete

I´m looking for an windeangle lens (less than 15mm, zoom or fixed focal length) for my second camerabody (Eos 60D). My old 2.8 17-35mmL has crashed. I read some tests, but afterwards I was more confused that I have been before reading these tests. There seems to be no lens that is good...
Can anyone who owns the Eos 60D give me some advice? I´d spent not more than 1300 Dollars
Tokina? But which one? Canon? :-\

Much thanks

I was shooting the XS, then I switched to the 5d2, and I like it, but I can tell right away that it ain't coming even close to medium format resolution, especially after cropping.

So, do you think canon might release something FF in the 30 mpix range in the next year or two? ???

so for those who saw my footage of nyc shot with 5DMark III... this one groove a little bit more with postprod colored & sharpen image

Salon auto sport 2012 // Expoze.tv

I've got a 430ex2 which is absolutely sufficient for almost everything I do. The only thing I miss is flash exposure bracketing which marketing has cut (thanks, Canon!). And it's not weather sealed... thus I'm wondering:

Recently I was shooting in the rain with remote flash. Since I need the IR sensor to be visible I cannot wrap the flash in a plastic bag. What happens if the 430ex2 gets wet? Does it just stop to operate until dry again? Does it take lasting damage? Any techniques to reduce the risk?

Thanks for sharing your experiences...

Hi everyone,

This is my first post, although I've been lurking on this forum for quite a while now. I've been planning to buy my first DSLR for a few months now, initially I was waiting for the 650D or 70D to be released, but with the release of the 5D3 and the drop in price of the 5D2 I'm thinking that there may be another option for my first purchase.

I travel a lot so I plan to shoot a lot of travel pictures, plus some landscapes and portraits. I don't plan to do any kind of sports or kids pictures, so capturing fast action is not a priority for me.

I can afford to put quite a lot of money in this, so I'd rather buy equipment that I can grow into rather than buying something cheap now and then figuring I need something better one year from now and losing money on the resale. I don't want to waste money either by buying something that I'll never exploit to its full potential.

My first option would be to get the 60D, or its successor (either the 650D or the 70D depending on how Canon positions them in the range). I'd get the body only, and buy the 17-55 f/2.8 to go with it. I live in Hong Kong, and the current price for those would be around 2000 US$. Later on I'd probably get the 10-22 for panoramas, plus maybe a 70-200L if I feel the need for it (probably the f/4,not sure about IS or not).

The new option I've been thinking about would be getting the 5D2 kit, which has dropped a lot in price recently, and can be found for 2700$. 700$ extra is no small amount, but I figure it's a small price to pay for the increased IQ and this way I don't have to go through the process of building up a crop lens collection to potentially have to sell it all down the line if I go full frame later on. My understanding is that the build quality of the 24-105 f/4L is much better than the 17-55, and that the increased low light ability of the 5D2 would more than make up for the lost stop, and that similarly i'd get as narrow a depth of field with f/4 on FF than with f/2.8 on a crop. The weather sealing would be a big plus in Hong Kong as well. With regards to the other lenses, the 17-40 f/4L can be found for the same price as the 10-22, and I'd get the same 70-200L than for the crop if I need it (provided I can live with the reduced range on a FF).

The only downsides I've found for the 5D2 compared to the 60D are the focus system (although I've read that the center point is excellent, so it should cope with my non-fast action photography), the reduced fps (similarly not a big deal for me) and the extra bulk (could be an issue with the traveling).

I am now asking myself a few questions. First of all, even though I can afford it, would I be way over my head by investing 2700$ for my first DSLR? I've been assuming all along that it wouldn't make much sense to just go with the 60D kit lens as I'd probably quickly need something better, but reading lens reviews it is easy to convince myself that I need more and more. I'm also wondering how future proof getting the 5D2 would be: if Canon was to come up with an entry level FF later on, could it be more suited for my needs than the 5D2 is? Basically I'm not sure how Canon could come up with something better than the 5D2 yet inferior to the 5D3 for a price similar to the 5D2... I'm also wondering about the upcoming 650D and 70D, and how the balance may tilt in their direction if they prove to be much better than the 60D.

Thanks in advance for your advice, and for bringing up anything I have not thought of.

http://www.canonrumors.com/2012/01/tokina-at-x-11-16-f2-8-pro-dx-%E2%85%A1-lens-announced/

... I'm waiting for this one, has anyone heard anything new since the announcement? I'm wondering if the prediction "late July 2012" is still valid and if Tokina announcements are to be trusted at all. Looking at the latest Canon delays, I don't want to wait until July 2013 - in this case, I'd rather get another model...

I don't know if this is implemented in more expensive bodies than my 60d - but htp doubles the iso and applies a non-linear curve so that highlights get more resolution while the shadows are compressed. In good light, I used to use it all the time at the beginning ("why not?"), but then discovered that the darks get so little resolution that raising them in postprocessing introduces noise or banding.

Nowadays, I'm using it on shots that have very bright highlights that I don't want to blow - like an animal's fur with the sun behind it or white flowers when shooting a macro of an insect on them. I've read some about htp elsewhere, but I have to admit the only people with a clue seem to be around here... thus the questions:

* Why does htp raise the iso value - does htp increase dynamic range (it doesn't exchange the sensor behind your back...)? Or is it just a convenience that saves you heavy underexposing and thus you are able to see the result on the camera screen and not only later after postprocessing?

* Do you use htp at all? If yes, what for?

I'm wondering because htp is the only camera gimmick that is applied to raw, too - so it might be something to it after all...

EDIT: I Bought the camera!

Hi everybody!

I've been a frequent reader at this forum for a while now, but I never posted myself.

First out, I'm an amateur so I don't make any money off of my hobby.

I bought my first DSLR back in November 2006, a Canon 400D, and it's been with my up until this day (50k+ actuations).
I initially had the kit lens which I was pleased with up until it broke during a trip to Cambodia.
I later bought a replacement lens in South Korea, without really doing any research (I hadn't found this site at the time).

I ended up getting the Sigma 24-60 F2.8 DG EX which really opened up my eyes to photography in general and shallow DOF and low-ligh photography in particular. I got so hooked that I bought the Sigma 50mm F1.4 DG EX half a year later.

Now I feel that the body really is limiting me, since I LOVE shallow DOF and low-light photography (often combined). E.g. in-door portraits, pictures of food in candle-lit conditions etc.

Also, FF would be really awesome in order to get "more" out of my lenses in terms of FOV. Since the kit lens i had was 17-55mm it would be the equivalent if 17*1,6=27mm on a FF. My Sigma is 24mm, and on FF I would therefore achieve wider FOV than I ever had on the 400D before

I initially planned on getting the 600D, and then the 60D but I have realized that those will not really benefit me the way I want, since shallow DOF and low-light are my priorities. I never use my flash anymore. Sure, they have way better NR etc, but when doing an updrade after 5+ years, I want to take the leap.

So, the important questions (now that you've got my background):
How big of a revolution will this upgrade be, in terms of IQ, AF and well... pretty much every aspect?
I mean, it's a lot of money for me (I'm going to buy a used)

Currently anything above ISO 400 on my 400D pretty much ruins the picture, but I "have" to use 1600 in order to even be able to capture pictures in low-light, hence the upgrade. ISO 3200 looks great on the 5D MK II, so I really want that

This became a very long post, but I would really want to hear some thoughts... I'm thinking of upgrading within 1-2 months. Has anyone done the same journey? Will the lenses be a good combination with the 5DMKII?

My two current lenses are supposed to work with FF, so I will keep them

Btw, i could just get the 5D MK I and probably get way better IQ very cheaply, but I would like to experiment with video as well

Johan

I managed to get my mitts on another NINE cameras this weekend and have posted the results along with the previous 15 on one page. A big wide monitor is ideal to look at the whole picture.

Now, not only are there the usual suspects from Canon; 5D2, 5D3, 7D, 60D, 50D, 40D, etc. The G1 X has been added to the PowerShot group.

There are now the new Nikon D4 (seriously dark), and D800 along with previous D5100 and D90.

Also new to the comparison are Pentax medium format 645D, APS-C sensored K5, K01 mirrorless, and even the tiny Pentax Q.
Also Sony A900 full frame SLR and Panasonic G1X four-thirds class camera.

All are pushed +4EV using my usual procedure.

http://a2bart.com/tech/tech.htm


I handled a really neat little Olympus OM D but only a pre-production model so I couldn't get files from it. It did fit the hand nicely and featured plenty of dedicated controls on a squarish body with a bit of a retro look. The grip and extra battery (separate units) made nice additions to the basic body.

So, I've had the chance to play with a LOT of cameras this weekend, learned a few things and shook up my imaging world a little more. For instance, have you seriously looked at the Pentax K5?... What a control-freak's ultimate camera. It may not get used like the workhorses like the 5D3 are but it has a lot of things that would appeal to the creative shooter.
Pocketable Pentax Q puts out impressive images for such a tiny little unit too and it sure is "cute." A couple more lenses for it would be nice.

Unfortunately I forgot to get files from the new Fuji X-Pro 1. DANG.

I DID remember to order my next new imaging tool though. (for delivery sometimes later this year)

Well, I don't mean to do a whole whack of reviews here, just notify those who are interested in dark frame noise tests that there's a bunch more to look at now.
It'll still take me a while to post the whole-sensor reduced images to show larger scale noise patterns but some of them are pretty interesting and may reveal a few things going on inside some cameras for those with a serious tech interest.

Do you think that the new 5D Mark III's will be recalled? Meaning that everyone who has bought them till now will have to return them for a refund/credit and wait some time till the fixed up model comes out?

Does anyone know of a service which can remove the low pass / AA filters from a 5D Mark III? Reviews welcome.

I've had the camera for 2 weeks and just completed a fresh Micro AF adjustments usuing Focal this morning. About 5 hours later I took a few shots using the 580 EX II and the camera worked fine. Then the camera lost all my micro AF settings and would not auto-focus. The top LCD switches back and forth between M Focus and One shot. I've tried 3 different lenses and all micro adjust info was lost and none would auto-focus. I tried all AF modes and turning Microadjust on and off.

After Turning the camera on and off serveral times it's now working and has restored the AF settings but did not restore them to the setting I had this morning. It restored it back to an earlier setting.

Anyone have this happen?

I am deciding to stay with Canon, after much thought (not too much actually). I use the 17-40L on my 5d2, which is pretty decent. I want to upgrade to a sharper lens, but don't look forward to losing: 1) Autofocus 2) zoom range or 3) ability to use filters. Maybe that's why, even at $699 on sale, I have not bought the Tokina 16-28.

The Zeiss glass (especially 21/2.8 Distagon) is supposedly a phenomenal lens. The 18mm is rated very highly, too. I know, I know, I can rent these and try them out. If I rented a wide angle, it would only be one i didn't already have or really plan to buy. Maybe I can rent the Zeiss 18mm since finding a 21mm used for under $1,300 seems impossible.

The Tokina is most in line to what I need, at least on paper. But with limited sample photos and reviews, the decision becomes much less clear. I believe it is probably very similar in IQ to the 17-40 I already own. I know the distortion control is very good on the tokina, but i need sharpness across the frame!! Please share your experiences, if any. Thanks

Although I'm not in the market for a 5DmkIII, I've been reading with interest about the recent issues with light leaks and that body. That got me thinking about my 50mm f/1.4, a lens that I bought fairly soon after getting my first DSLR a few years ago. At the time, I was perplexed why I would carefully aim the AF, but at wide apertures, the area in focus was slightly different than where I had placed that little red dot. Not always, but sometimes. I thought I was doing something wrong. So, my remedy at the time was to take 10-12 clicks of the same exact comp whenever I was shooting that wide, particularly portraits of my two boys. I found that I was able to get some keepers in there somewhere.

Fast forward to 2012. Now that I have my 5DmkII, and have vastly improved my knowledge of the problem, I'm able to remedy the situation. And not with microfocusing, either. The problem I've come across in this lens isn't inaccurate AF, but inconsistently accurate AF. Had I the knowledge that I do now back when it was still under warranty, I might have sent it back asking for a different one. That may or may not have made a difference; what I'm reading is that this problem is likely model wide. How I've remedied the situation is to turn off the AF, turn on the image preview, and zoom in where I was to focus. From there, I can just spin that little black ring into position. The last time I did kid portraits, the results were amazing. I didn't have one shot where I said, "Dang, that's a nice pose. Too bad I can't use it because his eyes are out of focus." And this was a fairly active 4 y/o boy. It's not a perfect solution, but one that works for me.

So, all of that to say, these companies sometimes put out really good products that either have quirks or design flaws. I guess it's up to you to decide which one yours is. I've learned to live with the problems in my 50mm f/1.4. It is otherwise outstanding glass, especially when you consider the price. Since I can't return it, and I'm not willing to fork out money for a 50mm f/1.2 L, I've decided to just stick with it. It's become a lens I have on there all the time when I'm just out shooting. Like anything else, you have to know your gear, with all of the strengths and limitations it might have.

I've had my Mark III for ~2 weeks and it seems that there is already a very heated issue on the light leak present inside the body somewhere that's connected to the top screen.

Now I started to notice something else that's going on in my view finder, I don't think there's much press on it yet because well the cameras are very new to everyone and people aren't usually obsessed with cleaning like I am; but I've found that there were dust particles that I could not reach with any of my cleaning solutions.. I've tried using a blower, lenspen, microfiber just about all the tools made for careful cleaning and there are still a ton of dust that doesn't budge at all. I initially thought it was me being a little too careful but some of the dust visibly seem to be behind a piece of glass around 1 ~ 2 millimeter thin and some even beyond. Has anyone else seen/has this issue? Is it likely that this is related to the light leak problem? Am I doing something wrong here?

For your consideration, I have one lens - the kit lens - which after I put it on the first day never really gave my camera the chance to get any sort of dust through the mount of the camera.

Canon you better set things right with a recall or something :C

Hey Photogs,

Just wondering if anyone has ever taken any online photography courses with institutes such as NY Institute of Photography or the Institute of Photography, etc (or others, if so, which ones). If so, please tell me of your experiences and input/feebacks. Thanks!