How do you respond to the following compliment: Hey, that's a nice photo, you must have an expensive camera. It's a compliment in that they like your photo enough to comment on it, but it seems like they are giving all the credit to the equipment used and none to the person behind it.

Here are some examples:

I've been shooting a variety of photos with 7d 5dii and iii and the 7d while a good tracking and focusing camera, has not lived up to my expectations of improving reach because the files don't stand up to any cropping because of high noise and what I think is just poor iso performance. Even uncropped files look fuzzy. I've included files from DPP of clouds (since they are at infinity focus to take poor focusing out of equation), but virtually all the photos show the same graininess and I think that is keeping them from attaining sharpness, really at any iso. The metadata should be right nest to the photos to show the iso and other information.
So is this normal or outside of normal for a 7d, and what should I do bought the camera about 6 months ago.

Tridacna maxima on left and Tridacna crocea on right. Taken with a SX20IS F2.8, 1/60, ISO 80 cropped


T3i EF100 F2.8 macro at F2.8, ISO 800, 1/200 sec


Neocaridina species shrimp these are freshwater shrimp T3i EF100 F2.8 macro at F5.6, ISO 100, 1/200 sec cropped w flash


Sparkling Gourami FW T3i EF100 F2.8 macro at F5.6, ISO 100, 1/200 sec cropped w flash


Potter's wrasse SW T3i EF100 F2.8 macro at F5.6, ISO 800, 1/200 sec cropped


Royal Gramma SW T3i EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II at 55mm, F11, ISO 400, 1/40 sec cropped


FW snail Nerita species T3i EF100 F2.8 macro at F4, ISO 1600, 1/160 sec cropped


Dwarf Cichlids FW Apistograma cacatuoides in front Mikrogeophagus remirezi in back
T3i EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM at 55mm F2.8, ISO 800, 1/250 sec cropped


FW catfish Corydorus aeneus in front Cheatostoma species in back T3i EF-S 55-250mm f/3.5-5.6 at 250mm F5.6, ISO 400, 1/125 sec cropped


Regal Tang SW T3i EF100 F2.8 macro at F2.8, ISO 800, 1/500 sec cropped


Green Chromis SW T3i EF100 F2.8 macro at F2.8, ISO 800, 1/250 sec cropped


Canary Wrasse SW T3i EF100 F2.8 macro at F2.8, ISO 400, 1/250 sec cropped

And assorted coral shots

T3i EF100 F2.8 macro at F4, ISO 800, 1/125 sec cropped


T3i EF100 F2.8 macro at F4, ISO 400, 1/40 sec cropped


T3i EF100 F2.8 macro at F4, ISO 800, 1/40 sec cropped


T3i EF100 F2.8 macro at F4, ISO 400, 1/20 sec cropped


T3i, EF 50 f/1.4 at F8, ISO 400, 1/40 sec

Word of advice... don't test the build quality by tossing your 1D X off a speeding golf cart...




I'm sure Canon will repair at no charge as a reward for me finding the weak spot : Still works fine, but not exactly weather sealed anymore.

Digital Rev have a head to head shootout video:

http://www.digitalrev.com/article/canon-eos-1dx-vs-nikon/MzcyODcxMTc_A

Saw this posted on DPReview today in their forums. The seller has good feedback, however the warranty looks like it could be an issue. It says Canon USA warranty at one point in the description, yet in another part it says no manufactured warranty. Are they even making money off of these?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-III-22-3MP-Digital-SLR-Camera-Body-/300768503539?forcev4exp=true

Hope you like it. I am privileged to pick up my 5D3 on Monday afternoon.
So seeing this, I am fascinated already...Can't wait to try it out 8)

http://www.uncagethesoul.com/night-photography/best-canon-night-camera/

Hope it wasn't posted before. No intention to post obsolete topics.

Cheers, Pedro

P.S. I hope the learning curve, as I am upgrading from a 30D, won't be too steep.

Here's my
http://www.flickr.com/photos/guatitamasluz/

I bought my 5D MK III in early June. I haven't shot a ton of stuff yet - maybe about 2000 frames over 7 or 8 sessions. But in 3 or 4 of those sessions, AF just quit. I use back button focus and at some point in the session, I hit the AF button and....nothing. No lens movement, no light, no beep, zippo. These situations have all been in good light conditions. The only way I cleared the system and reestablished AF functionality was to power off the camera and then power back on. I don't typically shoot time-sensitive stuff like sports or weddings where I have to worry about missing "the" shot. But I'm still concerned about this hiccup. Anyone else seeing this anomaly?

Between the Canon 50 F1.2L and 35 F1.4L lenses,which do you feel would be a better walk-around lens for a Canon 1DX camera?And why?
Thanks.

Hi,

recently i got a Zeiss Flektogon 2.8 "Zebra" version, m42 Mount /w adapter on my eos 1100D.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6188/6071754657_6531f96493_z.jpg

Im really happy with this lense, i got it for cheap and on my APS-C the field of view is quite standard.
I just got one problem and if i set the aperture to 2.8 and twist the focus ring out to the maximum so i can get really close to subjects. The aperture ring starts to shift a little. I wonder why its like that?
I first checked if its perhaps just loose but its not and when i set it to minimum focussing distance there is no way of moving the aperture ring back to 2.8.
I also tried holding the aperture ring in place and then just focussing to minimum distance but that doesnt work. The Focus ring will just block.

Ok i just checked again and it seems the aperture ring moves a little bit when im focussing. Any idea why?


*edit*

I found this online:

Let's start with the f-stop ring set at 2.8 and the focus ring set at infinity. Now I begin to turn the focus ring clockwise, getting closer to the shortest distance of 0.18m. As the focus ring passes the 0.3m mark, it begins to turn the f-stop ring counterclockwise. Ever so slightly. By the time the focus ring is at 0.18m, the f-stop ring has turned to position f/4.
What's more strange is that the aperture blades are still in the fully o

Click to expand...

and the reply:

The lens is really designed to be used with a hand-held exposure meter; probably it was built in the days before through-the-lens metering was available (certainly the case for Exakta). As you move into to close focus, you need to open up the aperture some more to keep the same effective f-stop, so for example an f/2.8 aperture setting on a close focus might only give as much illumination as f/4 would at infinity. If you had a through the lens meter, it would see the reduced illumination, but a hand-held meter simply does not know the distance to the subject or the focal length of the lens, so it can't compenstate. The Flektogon had a built-in mechanical compensation as I remember it. As you focus to shorter distances, it opens the aperture up. Of course, if you start off at f/2.8, it has no where to go, so instead it rotates the aperture ring to at least tell you what its effective aperture really is.

Click to expand...

Experiences? thanks already.

Hi all,

My Mk iii is configured to write large RAW files to the CF card and large JPEG files to the SD card. Yesterday I was happily shooting a wedding when I suddenly got an Error 02 message relative to the SD card (message states "Card cannot be accessed, Reinsert/change card or format card with camera").

I have never experienced this problem before on any of my other cameras, ever. Now two things changes since my last shoot:

1) The SD card is brand new - Sandisk 16GB Extreme 45MB/s, Class 10. It was of course formatted in the camera prior to use.

2) I updated the firmware in the Mk iii from whatever it was when I received the camera back in March (1.0.x) to the latest 1.1.3 version.

Sandisk cards are very reliable in my experience, however I accept that I may possibly have a lemon in this instance.

My other lingering doubt is whether it is the firmware update which may be related to this issue, with this specific card?

Any similar experiences or thoughts would be most welcome. Thanks in advance.

When I was shopping at the cruise terminal of SP, the salesman at the other side of the display window asked me to give him a quick shot. He then showed this photo to his fellow workers and said that he is going to be a star someday. I promised to post it on the internet but have no idea where to post so.......... it's here. Hoping that he will see it one day.

Canon X5 (Japanese version of 600D)
Tamron 17 50 non vc

I bought two lenses and I prefer to take most of my shots near or on the mythical sweetspot in regards to aperture. With the presumption of sufficient light, for my 50mm f/1.4 I try to stay between 2.8 and 4.0. For my 24-105mm f/4 I make an effort to approach f/8, but that isn't always an option.

So that raises the aforementioned question. What aperture range is the 100mm and the 70-200 the sharpest? And don't hesitate to tell me that I was wrong about the 50 and 24-105... if indeed I'm way off.

Thanks a bunch.

Hello CR friends

I live in Adelaide, South Australia (have done for 5 years) and I've arranged to go on an interstate holiday for a week with some good friends of mine (we go to the same church and have known each other for 5 years). They are a family of five: dad (44), mum (42), 15yo daughter, 13 yo daughter and 8yo son. I'm 37 (turning 38 next week ) and I have a good friendship with all the family: sort of like a 'fun uncle' to the children, and have a close friendship with both parents. We will be travelling in their 7 (or 8?) seater van, us 3 adults sharing the driving.

We are going to Australia's island state of Tasmania (where I grew up) - which is known for it's beautiful landscapes: particularly mountains & coastlines which are more dramatic than many other parts of Australia. (Tasmania's weather is cooler than South Australia, though by some standards in the world, no part of Australia is VERY cold!) No one in this family has been to Tasmania before, though they have visited some other parts of Australia. I lived in Europe for about a decade before I lived in South Australia. That means I haven't been to many of the places in Tasmania that we hope to visit for years, ie since I got into serious (DSLR) photography several years ago. (I go back annually to visit my family - parents, brothers and their families).

So... my question to you is: what gear would you take, specifically lenses. We will be quite tight for space in the van (though based most of the time at my retired parents' farm). I already have an idea what gear / lenses I will take- but before I spill my beans, I'd like your take on it. The main reason that I'm going is to go as a friend, and also to be their 'unofficial' tour guide (as I did a lot of travelling, walking and sight-seeing around Tasmania when I was in my teens and early 20's). All the family love the outdoors (ie we are hoping to see rainforests, waterfalls, cliffs & coastlines, go up some mountains, possibly see some wildlife, etc). But we'll also do some 'tourist' visiting, eg historical sites, museums, chocolate factory, etc.

My plan is to take quite a few photos while we visit places, see things - and present an online album to the family afterwards as a momento of this special holiday; particularly saying thanks to my friends - the parents - who invited me to join them. The 2 teenage girls are sweet, humble girls - who are not too self-conscious - that is, they are very happy for me to take their photo, but they're not vain (as in, they wouldn't want hundreds of 'posed photos'). Eg if we were at a waterfall and all I did is take photos of them, they would say "Paul... you should take photos of the waterfall, not just of me... I already know what I look like!") The parents really appreciate my photography, they have seen many of the photos I've taken in Europe and in Australia. The 8 year old boy is a bundle of energy and tends to show off at times, a balance between quite demanding of attention, yet he can be sensitive at times too. 8)

The gear I currently have is:
Canon 7D (with 2 batteries)
Canon 350D (with 3 batteries)
Sigma 10-20mm HSM EX
Canon 15-85mm USM IS
Canon 18-55mm
Canon 100mm USM
Canon 70-300mm L USM IS
Several filters (eg 3x CPL, 2xND, 2xUV, etc)
Manfrotto tripod (2 heads: ball head & 3-way)
Nissin Di866mkII pro flash (with 1 set of recharge batteries)
Hahnel wireless timer remote
CF cards: 32GB, 16GB, 2x4GB, 3x1GB (and several smaller)
Lowepro Nova 170AW shoulder bag
Lowepro Slingshot 300 AW '1 strap' backpack

Please don't say "Take it all along" - as this would present a problems for 2 main reasons:
1) There is not going to be much spare room in their van - and it would be both selfish and impractical
2) It would be too cumbersome / awkward for me to take and be changing all my lenses (not to mention other gear) during the time we're 'out and about'.

My main question is... what lenses would you take - and why?
And of the other gear, what would be your selection - and why?

After several posts have been made (I hope several people will present opinions) - I'll share my thoughts and reflections.

Thanks in advance for your comments, thoughts and posts!

Paul

Hey guys I pick up my new mk1 500mm tomorrow and I am wondering what extender to get version 2 or 3 of the 1.4.

I keep seeing an old bus on the road where I live. What do you think?

Night Bus by P A - Photography, on Flickr

A friend asked for some shots for a job interview, he asked for them to be taken in the golden hour. Let me know what you think!! thanks..

Gautier by P A - Photography, on Flickr


Gautier 2 by P A - Photography, on Flickr

http://www.petapixel.com/2012/08/24/leaked-photos-of-fujis-more-affordable-x-e1-mirrorless-camera/





Very pretty looking camera! can't wait to see what the price is

Within the camera/dslr world, based on the rumor sites, Canon-Sony-Nikon seem pretty active.

Nikon Rumors has D600 updates, Sony Alpha Rumors has FF mirrorless and camcorder updates, while Canon Rumors has Canon printers updates? And CR1-rated "EOS 3D" Buzz about low priced FF? No knock of CR, but is it that hard to get Canon info?

Either Canon is really good at keeping secrets, or they are asleep at their wheels.

My sports company has shot the GR Mud run for the past 3 yrs and it has been a lot of fun! Here is my promo images for this year. The idea is to get a shot of them before they go in the mud and then after they do the mud run to see how messy they end up lol! I had to download them from my FB blog since they are on my home computer and not my lappy. Here is where i posted. http://www.facebook.com/Fast.Photo.Pro
Also these are really low res, the real deal is sharp and colorful!

I didn't realize I've qualified for CPS platinum and have been a gold member. Any thoughts on upgrading from Gold to Platinum? The 6 clean and check coupons are the big plus as Canon's service has been great in maintaining my cameras but I'd like to keep my 200 f/2L, 100 f/2.8L Macro, 8-15 f/4L, and 70-200 f/2.8L maintained annually as well. Is the extra $400 cost worth it? Can I rotate my equipment maintenance around the 2 free clean and check I get with Gold?

Hi everyone!
Kinda new here, but I read these rumors every now and then.
So because it's summer, my friend and I decided to work on a small project, being a film.
It's our first time making a short film, so we're still messing around with stuff, but we get really inspired by people like WongfuProductions, Film Riot, FinalCutKing, etc

First things first, camera gear used :
Canon 60D
50mm 1.4
18-200mm 3.5-5.6

More of the film was shot with the 18-200mm, because the 80mm fov from the 50mm just wasnt wide enough, especially for the earlier shots. However, the "hardcore" training bits were shot most with the 50mm
Sexy much?

Anyway, I was wondering if you guys could give me some feedback on what needs to be improved for our upcoming videos? The storyboard was kinda messed up in this one

For this short film, we had no budget and therefore used parks, houses as the set, and lamps as lighting. We do have requests to shoot a dancing documentary and a short music video for a friend dedicated to his gf <3

Any recommendations for lighting (With a budget of no more than $200usd).

Give me your opinions and enjoy our short film "Impossible"!

Remember to watch in 1080P!

http://youtu.be/6GOU237-e3Y?hd=1

Thanks!

So a while ago I bought a sigma 24-60 2.8, for about £150. It's never been hugely sharp, but it let me down massively at a wedding recently. I ran it through a moire based AF test and it's all over the place.
Long story short, it doesn't focus consistently across the zoom (not so much a problem) nor consistently when you are closer/further away from a subject. That's a huge problem; I can't ask everything I take pictures of to stand at exactly 3.5m and hope for the best.

Anyways, I'm looking for a replacement. With this lens and a couple of other cheapies, I can get about £200 trade in and can save a little money to go towards something else.
I've got a 7D, and I've found the 24 to be a little too zoomed for me, but I love the 2.8

Locally, one of my camera shops is selling a 17-40L for £449, and that seems like the best option to me. It's nice and wide and the L glass is always good.

I was wondering if anyone had any good suggestions? I'm not adverse to third party options but if possible I'd like to avoid Sigma.
Thanks,
Elliot

Saw this at the The Digital Picture this morning and found this interesting. Not being able to filter a 17TSE drove me to the 24TSE-ii which is the sharpest lens in my bag given the focal length.

Here is the article link:
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/News/News-Post.aspx?News=2906

I personally doubt whether you'd achieve uniform filtering due to the curvature of the lens.

Between Sandisk and Lexar,who makes better CF Cards?I am actually thinking of the Sandisk Extreme Pro 32 GB or the Lexar Professional 1000 32GB CF Cards.

Thanks.