Go to the CF menu, second one, custom controls. Then, go to the one in the right column, at the bottom, called Multi-Controller AF point direct selection. Its default is off, hit it and select AF point direct selection. Now focus the camera and move the Multi controller (joy stick), you can select the AF point with out going in to a menu!

If this has been covered, great, but I just noticed it from a post to something in another thread.


Note, I only use spot AF and have the other modes turned off.

Long time lurker, first time poster. I am in a bit of a quandry what to do and thought I would solicit advice.

I received my Mark III Kit from Adorama last week and finally had time to put it thru it's paces this weekend. Love the camera, but will take quite a while to get up to speed on all the functions- coming from a t2i, it's quite a bit more complicated. I am, however, disappointed in the image quality using the kit lens as compared to several other lenses I own which I also tried on the new body. Don't own any EF lenses below 70 mm, so my comparisons on the Mark III are at the upper focal range end of the kit lens. Compared to my Sigma 70 Macro, Canon 100 2.8L Macro and my Canon 70-300 L lens shows the kit to not be sharp at all in the outer half of the frame, not just the very edges and corners. I would have suspected it to be less sharp than the two macro lenses, but am amazed at the huge difference between it and the 70-300 L. I did tripod based, self timer, multiple focus method tests (including Live view and manual focus) , at multiple apertures, and the 70-300L is razor sharp on the new 5D Mark III all the way to the edge, whereas the 24-105 is almost as sharp in the center, but rapidly drops sharpness about a 1/3rd of the way from the center towards the edge and is poor at the edges. Stopping down to f 11 or 16 improves things a little, but still nowhere near the sharpness I would expect from an L lens. I did remember to turn IS off when on the tripod, as the first tests I did I had left it on, then remembered that might be the culprit, but alas, no improvement. These tests were at two target distances, one my backyard fence at 15-20' and then distant rock outcrops, focused at near infinity. I also put the 24-105 lens on my t2i and compared it to my EF-S 15-85, and it doesn't seem as sharp as that lens either when compared at the same focal lengths, but more apparent at the upper end of the range. All of these comparisons don't jump out at normal magnification but at 100% the difference is obvious.
Also - I am aware of is the issue with DPP high res mode, so these comparisons were done in both fast mode, and also in LR 4.01 RC, which does accept the Mark III raw files.

If anyone else has both the 24-105 and the 70-300L, I would appreciate your thoughts on how yours compare.

I have been lucky thus far in my previous lens purchases, which includes EF-S 10-22, EF-S 60 Macro, Sigma 150 Macro (non-IS), all of which met or exceeded my expectations for sharpness. I've read of people having issues getting a bad lens and strugging with Canon to get it right or getting a new one. I bought this 5D Mark III kit during the fortunate window Adorama had where for the same price I received a SD card, backpack, and a Red Giant software bundle. My question is - what would be the normal process to follow - return the entire kit (ie lens and body), or just the lens, and is Adorama responsible for the lens or do I deal with Canon? I'm at work, so can't attached images showing the problem, but if I get a chance this evening will try to figure out how to post examples, so you can see if the lack of sharpness is normal for this len.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Just curious, is there any way to get your new expensive canon DSLR insured?<P>
Does it fall under homeowners? If you sell any pics (or generate income from it)...would you have to have a business insurance policy for it?<P>
I'm curious...wondering if it is available for such an expensive camera, insuring against things like:
1. Accident (dropped on ground, water)
2. Theft
3. Acts of God (tornado, hurricane hit where it was left)

With this type of investment....I'd be happy to pay a bit of insurance, just in case....also, I'd be wondering what deductible would be...and if it would be new replacement for old?

http://www.pro.sony.eu/biz/lang/en/eu/product/nxcamcorders/nex-fs700e/features

What do you guys think? This seems kind of like a game changer to me. Is this going to force Canon's hand on pricing? The rumored $8000-9000 price tag is certainly higher than much of the 5d3 market, but I would think this would definitely affect the new Canon dslr 4k--and possibly even the C300. Love me some good competition.

I was wondering why the 5DIII came out BEFORE the 1DX camera, while having a similar AF unit...

I'm now wondering if Canon wanted people to figure out the quirks of the AF before releasing these features into their more professional body.

Just idle speculation on my part, lot's of companies do this sort of thing. Usually in reverse though, they take the exotic new technology and put it in top tier expensive equipment, and there the bugs are worked out, then production is ramped up and prices come down, and it trickles down to the more mass market people.

Oh hai!
Long time lurker, first time poster here.
I got to a point where I'll be making a bigger financial (camera-related) decision soon-ish. Me and a good friend of mine are often working on some small personal video projects, however as years pass we're getting closer and closer to the point where we might actually start making some money on it regularly (upto this point it was basically random shoots a couple of times over a year for friends/family).
What we've got together is:
- 60D & 7D as bodies
- Sigma HSM 24-70, Canon 50 1.4 and 70-200L 2.8 IS (the first one) as lenses we own
- about any Samyang lens one can think of available anytime due to working for the company

Now I've been tinkering with the idea of expanding the set so I can do some stuff personally as well (currently we're living a bit apart due to different universities). I was eagerly waiting for the 5D mk III, however the quality/price ratio over the mk II isn't really that amazing.
Now before recommending the GH2 - I'm not a strict-video shooter. I probably take a lot more photos than I make videos. Answering the next probable question - I mainly shoot people and landscapes (I seem to be a fan of wide angles from the Lightroom statistics ), although given a proper lowlight DSLR, I could probably get some orders to shoot concerts as well and actually get paid for that. The only thing I've never considered so far is shooting sports.

Now, with all this talk, I've considered two options -
- getting the mk III with the 24-105 kit (I wasn't a big fan of this lens until I saw it on an imaging fair I attended last week)
- getting the mk II with two lenses

In the end when it comes to lenses I want to get over time I'm pretty much set on 17-40L, 135L, 50 1.4 Sigma and then probably the 24-105L to fill the long gap between 40mm and 135mm. First one would be either 24-105 or 17-40, depending on the kind of deal I can get for either


I absolutely love the handling of the mk III, especially since I'm somewhat used to the 7D one. I haven't tried the mk II much but I felt lost more often. Now, I can live with the 24-105 as the only lens for a while, the only problem is I'm having a really hard time justifying spending additional $$$ for the changes proposed by the mk III. And at the same time, I love the camera >_>


Phew, I tried to not make this look like a wall-o-text, hopefully it doesn't come out that way.
Pardon any grammar mistakes I've made, English isn't exactly close to being my first language

- S.

I currently work on cruise ships so this sees me in all parts of the world. I have a canon 60d with the kit 28-135 lens on it and am looking to upgrade/ progress into the world of better lenses.
My shooting focuses on landscape, architecture, usual travel shots, mostly day but occasional night. In the future I will also shoot some car shows.
Right now I am happy with camera and will keep it for at least a few years as I grow to learn more about the art before progressing to full frame
My thoughts were
10-22 f3.5-4.5
24-105 f4l is usm
100-300L
A prime lens for some night time architecture and video day/night
? 50 1.4L
Would really love some guidance if you think these lenses are the way to go or other suggestions, especially from any pro travel photographers.
I don't have an endless budget but can justify a reasonable expenditure if the result is worth it in terms of quality of the lens.

I just picked up my first ever flash, the 600ex-rt and wanted to know if there are any accessories that are a must to bring the versatility of a Flash. I was thinking a softbox or a diffuser, but to tell the truth i couldn't tell the difference between the two of what they actually do. Also is the wired cord for the hot shoe something i should get, or would I just be wasting my money?

I don't have a studio, nor am i really interested in getting stands or anything, but would like learn more about photography in general by just getting into it.

I'd rather ask Nikon people what Canon lenses they would want, but since I'm here, if Canon made Nikon mount lenses what Nikon lenses would you buy? (if any) Assume that everything else would be the same (price, weight, optical performance, autofocus performance, etc.

I'll start...the only lens that I want from Nikon is the 200-400mm f4, since their's doesn't contain the built in extender and the extra price. I wouldn't mind the extender, but at $11k, I couldn't even consider it.

I just received the 2 600EX's I ordered. Should be getting the new transmitter delivered today . I purchased 2 speedlight brackets that allow me to attach Bowen mount accessories to the speedlights and then mount them on a lightstand. I'm just not sure what size softboxes I should get. I want Octo style boxes. But how large do you think is acceptable? The brackets I picked up are very well made and should hold larger boxes.

I want the larger boxes for full body portraits. Will also be using for head to shoulder portraits as well, both inside and outdoors.

Is there enough power in the 600EX's to use a softbox larger than 48" or is that size to large?
I've also seen both a 32"+ 36" Octobox, which are possibilities.

I dont want to have to sit on top of my subject to see the light.

Some might question why I purchased the 600's instead of full size studio strobes. Well, I love the portability I'm going to have with no power cords needed. Plus I like the fact I'll be able to use the 600EX on my RRS flash bracket attached to my 5D3 and walk around and my wife can use the other on her camera when not doing portraits.

Hey guys and gals,
Here is another video I put together showing how to wireless tether photos from the 5D MKIII to a iPhone, iPad or Laptop.
Canon 5D MKIII: Eye-fi Wireless Tethering to iPad and iPhone

My wife and I shot a wedding yesterday, we brought two 5DII bodies, and one 5DIII body. I didn't bring out the 5DIII until the reception because I didn't want to use it for the critical stuff until I've spent more time with it. For the reception ( private room inside restaurant ) we were using the 85 f/1.2L II, 35 f/1.5L and 50 f/1.4. I lost many good shots because the 5DIII took 2-3 seconds to focus. I tested focusing in the low light with all the lenses, and the results were similar ( well, the 85 was even slower, because that lens is just slow focusing ). For AF, I had "one shot" selected, and the center point with the 4 surrounding points. I couldn't easily do a side by side because I didn't have two of any one lens, but I did switch lenses between the bodies and played around some. The 5DIII was as slow, or possibly even slower than the 5DII to achieve focus. The amout of natural light in the reception was around ISO1600, f/1.4 and 1/60. Oh, and I had a flash on, putting out that red focus assist as well during all this testing! Anyway, just giving people a heads up on what I experienced, and I've seen some others post the same. I've also seen people post results of miraculous AF improvement with the 5DIII...

Sony outs NEX-FS700 cinema camera: does crazy slow-mo now, 4K coming later



Sony stole our hearts with the NEX-FS100, which brought large-sensor filming into the reach of low-budget productions. When we heard rumors of a 4K-capable FS700 model coming for $9,000, known in North America as the NEX-FS700U or in Europe as the NEX-FS700E, we got ready to hand over our kidneys too. Now that the FS700 is official and scheduled to land in June, we're faced with a couple of caveats. The price seems to have shifted slightly to "less than $10,000," but more importantly the camera's 4K superpowers have been delayed until a promised firmware upgrade that will enable a 4K bitstream output from the 3G HD-SDI port to a compatible Sony recorder. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of reasons to get renal right away: The camera can shoot Super Slow Motion of up to 120 frames a second in a 16-second burst, or 240 fps in an 8-second burst. If you need even crazier time-suspension, the FS700 does 960 fps too, so long as you're prepared to sacrifice 1080p. It takes E-mount interchangeable lenses, has built-in ND filters and a packs a Super 35 sensor with 11.6 million pixels -- ready to spring to life once that new firmware arrives. Check out the press release after the break for more specs, including a full list of the 60/50Hz switchable output formats...

I came across the Canon Rumours page by accident as last year I was looking to purchase a 600d and was trying to read reviews about it and found out there may be a new model out early in the new year (2012). The talk of a 600d replacement with a shiny new Digic V processor to replace the tired and old Digic IV that would provide big improvements was enough to make me wait.

However, Canon now seem to be delaying the release of any such camera until at least June as they have released their umpteenth rebate scheme on the 600d which will run until June and each scheme has pushed a possible announcement further back, so I can't see them announcing anything prior to June (other than another rebate scheme).

I thought they may have tried to release soemthing for the Olympics but that now seems unlikely. So I won't be making the jump from compact to DSLR for some time yet as having waited now I don't want to buy a camera with four year old technology in it when I have a compact camera with the same processor. And, if Canon pull the same stunt that they did on the Mkiii of charging stupid money for updating a 3 year old model I won't be buying the 650d either. Perhaps Sony will be a game changer as they could offer similar products at a better price now that Canon seem to be in rip off mode.

There are too many alternatives to DSLR coming forward for consumers whose manufacturers operate in a more competitve world and therefore a more realistic pricing point to get wedded to a DSLR, particularly as they can produce excellent photos and they appear to offer many of the benefits.

I have ready many of the comments posted on the forums regarding the 5Dmkiii and generally people seem okay to be paying a lot more money for that over the Mkii. I find this really strange when for most all other consumer electronics (which is what it seems it is) people want a better spec for less money, for example, your pc or tv. You would not expect to pay more for a new pc to replace your 3 year old one just because it had a better spec.

It only seems to be in the rarified environment of DSLRs that peole will pay a lot more for a few improvements that were 3 years in the making, Canon must surely love this and Nikon seem to have cottoned on now. Surely some of those improvements (even the ISO) were delivered just by a better processor. In the compact camera market consumers expect improvements in quality with reducing prices otherwise people won't buy the products.

If you disagree then I am sure I can sell you a 1mp digital camera or a pentium processor pc for less than half it's original retail price.

On FF is the 85 f/1.2 L II worth the premium over the f/1.8? I know the 1.2 is an L lens and has better build quality, but Photozone indicates the 1.8 is a better value along with having faster focus. I'm also not sure about focus-by-wire. I'm trying to build a stable of high quality primes, but don't want to spend the extra money if the difference is minimal for portraits outside of a studio. Thanks!

Hello all, I've been lurking behind the scene ever since the launch of the Mark III and there has been numerous threads about how soft the 5d mark III is. This almost deterred me from purchasing the camera, however, since I sold my old Xsi in anticipation of purchasing this camera I was camera-less and had to take the chance. I can say for sure that I couldn't be any happier with its performance. Below is a sample of how sharp the camera can be with the kit lens.



100% Crop

I went into a ritz camera today (Portland OR) to just play with a D800 if they had one, just to compare how it feels in my hands to my 5d3. I was talking with the sales rep and he told me that the D800 was special order only and that the 5d3 won't be released for another 3 weeks.

I smiled. I had my 5d3 with me. The sales guys were in awe!

Kinda made my day. But I have to ask... Really?? How can they not know the camera is out?! I felt like I was in a twilight zone and had some futuristic piece of technology that shouldnt even exist yet.

I just purchased a 18 month old Canon 16-35mm II from a user with good feedback on fredmiranda.com. When it arrived I was playing around with it and the hood seemed loose, it made a rattling noise, but I was rushed and didn't get to really look at it much. The next day I took the hood off and it still rattled! Everything past the focus ring is loose, including the threads for a filter. Luckily the glass doesn't move with this piece so image quality is still fine.

I contacted the seller and he send me $150 to cover repairs. My question is...how much is this thing going to cost to get fixed? I mostly worry about the weatherproofing being affected but I do think it needs fixed. I leave on trip to California (Sequoia and Death Valley) in 2 weeks and need to get this figured out.

Thanks.

I am currently using a 7d for bird in flight photography. I get unacceptable levels of noise when I crop the photograph when the ISO is 400 and above (even at 200 it isn’t great). I’m using a 100-400mm lens. Should I send in the camera for service? Should I upgrade to a used 1d mark IV? Or wait until the 7d replacement comes out? Price range is 3,500.00 give or take an or leg. I shoot raw (max) and use LR4 for initial processing which is where I see the noise.

Hi all,

Came across below at : http://www.the-digital-picture.com/News/News-Post.aspx?News=2190

"B&H has apparently been told by Canon that the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens expected initial shipment date of 4/17/12 is not going to be met. No new delivery date has been provided. (thanks Jacob)"

Cheers!

The link above has been updated with the following info after I posted: "A CPS rep has indicated that July is now the expected 24-70 L II arrival month. (thanks Dan)"

Hi All,

I'm getting nearer to making a purchase decision around my next EOS body. Obviously the 5D Mark III is the flavour of the month, and I've tried it out a couple of times at camera shops and been very impressed. However, the price is very high (US$4200) for this body in New Zealand, so I'm considering the following used alternatives:

1DS Mark III - the previous 'big daddy' of the range. A mint condition used 1dsIII is a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than a new 5D Mark III. It's only 1fps slower than the 5D, but has better shutter response and weather sealing. Does its image quality hold up well against the 5D? And could you use its 5fps for sports/action photography, within reason?

1D Mark III - For the price of a new 5D Mark III, I could buy TWO of these second hand, plus a nice quality prime. Obviously it's a crop body, but with the right lenses I'm sure it wouldn't matter too much, would it? How high would you say you can crank up the ISO before it becomes unusable? I'm used to being limited to ISO800 on my 40D, and wouldn't mind having access to another stop.

5D Mark II + 7D - This is another option that's being thrown around a lot these days. 5D for resolution and image quality, and the 7D for action. I could buy both bodies brand new and still have change left over, compared with the price of the 5D Mark III. Has anyone opted for this combination over the 5D Mark III?

I shoot a wide range of subjects, from sports to landscapes to families and weddings. Good weatherproofing is important to me (been caught in the rain too many times) - video is not. It's quite possible that the only camera that will suit my needs is the 5D Mark III (I can't afford the 1DX), but I'm interested to hear whether any of these others might be worthy options.

Thanks

So I have £3.5k to spend on upgrading to a new body.

Choice was originally to go straight for the 5D MKIII because I think it is pretty much the perfect camera they are currently selling for £3000 in the UK body only.

Question is a fairly low actuation second hand 1Ds MKIII is around £2500.

So what do you think the 1Ds with extra pro features (extra weather sealing etc) and 1 less FPS or the 5D MKIII.

Or save £500 and get some more glass. (been after an 85mm)

Currently shoot on a 40D because I haven't seen a massive improvement to upgrade it to any of the newer bodies and don't need to print bigger than A3 and most of my stuff is for newspapers so the res has been fine. 50D wasn't a good upgrade. I was keen on the 7D but I have mastered the shortcomings of the 40Ds AF and IQ in the 7D didn't seem much better apart from the much much better high ISO quality and the AF was amazing but like I said i get the shots I need and didn't get many more keepers from the 7D. I also felt that the 7D was slightly noisier at ISO100-200 and shoot a lot in this range. But didn't feel the need to spend £1500 on the upgrade when I didn't feel it added much to my 40D. I also wanted the 5D MKII but again the AF put me off having the same as the 40D although the IQ is amazing the other shortcomings didn't fit my need I need an all-round fairly quick camera. Again wasn't worth the £2500 upgrade and if it had the benefit of the better AF I would take it. The 60D is a massive disappointment so not even a choice.

So basically been waiting for the perfect affordable camera which has arrived.

I want to upgrade to FF and the 1Ds was out of my budget until recently, and now the 5D MKIII has been supercharged and is basically a full frame 40D with much better AF, ISO and IQ in my budget I was like perfect. Until I was looking around and saw the 1Ds at this price point.

My 40D is seriously ready for retirement it needs a big service and replacement shutter as it is about 140,000 actuations. Don't really want to spend any money on it.

In relation to what I shoot. A bit of everything professionally - Weddings, motorsport, automotive and advertising photography mainly. But also shoot a fair amount of fine art photography.

But for personal usage I shoot pretty much everything so looking for an all round camera. I shoot with a grip atm but like taking it off for street photography and generally chuck it in the bag less weight etc.

Lenses -
EFs 17-55mm 2.8 IS
EFs 10-22mm
EF 70-200mm 2.8 IS
EF 50mm 1.4
EF 100mm 2.8 Macro
EF 2x extender MKII

Will be selling the 17-55 and the 10-22 for FF equivalents. If i got the 5D I would buy the lens kit with the 24-105mm for the saving.

So what you guys think!??

Thanks for the help in advance

Heres a few shots.


Royal Opera House, London by tom_scott88, on Flickr


Women, St. Pauls, Millennium bridge, London by tom_scott88, on Flickr


Couple, Covent Garden by tom_scott88, on Flickr


Conison Water Feb 2011 by tom_scott88, on Flickr


BMW Z4M Coupe by tom_scott88, on Flickr


IMG_5504colour by tom_scott88, on Flickr


IMG_9407 by tom_scott88, on Flickr


320si BTCC by tom_scott88, on Flickr


M3 by tom_scott88, on Flickr