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What lens(es) should I consider for next purchase?

I know it depends on what kind of photography I do... but I am open to and like to explore new areas. I just sold my 100-400L since it did not give me a whole lot more reach/ sharp images as can my 70-200mk.ii with a 2x mk.iii, I would like some reach but the good lenses are very pricey. I like Macro/General people pics/citi scapes/landscapes etc.

I already have the 17-40, 70-200, 50 1.8 mk.ii, 180L. I got the 17-40 after selling a good copy 24-105L, while I like the extra width, I feel the corners are so mushy and distortion very noticable at the corners that I do not use that extra width... should I wait for the 24-70mk.ii or get the 16-35mk.ii ? I love the 70-200. I use it the most.

My budget is about $3500. I am a hobbyist, and would probably re-sell the lenses after I get bored with them since I do not make money off the hobby...

Are there new avenues / lenses I should explore? What would you guys do?

Depth of Field, composition and thinking it through...

We all love it. For the most part, big blurred background, we're all "guilty" of doing it. And we always will be.


But find yourself flipping through the countless greatest image makers of all time, portraits, street, sport, fine art, and more, and the vast majority of it is with lots of depth of field (like f/5.6, f/8, f/11 and smaller like f/22).

Now, simply because one did things one way, doesn't mean we have to as well. BUT, I'm finding that it's a far greater challenge, and a far greater pay off, to KNOW WHEN to use small apertures and know when to use big ones.

Composition is far more difficult when you need to think about what is in the background and the foreground. If you can simply blur the background out completely then it hardly matters in most cases. And that's fine. As I said, I do this too. And in many cases it's very cool, and is pleasing for subject separation.


However, having said this, some of the greatest photographers of the past, AND of our present time, often use lots of depth of field. We NEED context in many photos.


This year, I have started to stop down far more often in many situations, to show more context. To gain more depth. To show MORE. It has made composition harder in many cases, but has also paid off.




Let's see your deeper depth of field portraits, group shots, candid moments, whatever. I'll dig out a few. Let's say.... f/5.6 or beyond. :)


This one was from last year, it's on medium format film, a photo of my girlfriend as we walked around, I was testing a new (at that time anyway) camera for me, the Mamiya 645.


This is f/16




kirsten at sunny f/16 by Sandy Phimester, on Flickr

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Canon PowerShot G12 Digital Camera

I have got discount "Free Extra Battery with Canon PowerShot G12 Digital Camera Plus Free Shipping"
Don't know if it's a good deal or not.

Don't know if it will work for anyone else.

Here is the links of website if someone wants to visit:

http://www.ezcouponsearch.com/Best-Buy-Coupons_cm_3065.aspx

Help me in finding the best deal for Canon Camera. Thanks in advance for helping.

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5d III - Number of Shutter Actuations?

On the previous 5D bodies there was not a reliable way to get the count for the number of shutter actuations over the life of the camera. Well, there is an app that I believe works for the Mark II but it's accuracy has been questioned by some.

Anyway, is there a new way with the 5D III to get the number of clicks? Ideally something within the camera itself or maybe with an app like EOS Utility?

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Other Quick 1DX vs.s 5D Mark III comparisons

The auto focus in the 1DX is much faster. The shutter is super fast. I actually like it more than the 1D Mark IV. The 5D Mark III seems to struggle a bit in lower light or objects with little contrast, but the 1D X has been hitting those.

The downside is that the two do not expose and meter the same. The 1D X looks wrong. It isn't metering the same as the 5D Mark III and I actually think, compared to the 1D4 and 5D3, it is slightly underexposing. Auto ISO in manual mode gives different ISO values on the two cameras, the lower being on the 1D X and thus it does look a tad underexposed. More into that later.

I will next compare outdoor shots again with plenty of light of a church.

So far other than the 1D body and the faster shutter and burst rate, I really don't see much advantage over the 5D3. The ISO performance by my indoor examples are not significant enough. They are super close up through 10,000 or 12,800. The landscape shots really weren't different enough among the 1DX, 5D3, and 1D4 to really say any difference there, other than the pleasing extra detail present in the 1D X images.

I'll do two more tests. The normal shooting situation of a church, and then some action/sports. Those will really be the true tests, so stay tuned.

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1D X ISO Shots

I took several ISO shots with the 1D X indoors, in fluorescent light. I did 6400, 10000, 12800, 25600, and 51200. I then cropped the mug I was shooting at ISO 51200 and did no NR, and then 80% NR in Camera RAW. I then show the whole scene at 80% NR in Camera RAW.

I will post the 5D3 and 1D4 images next.

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Niece and grandniece (candid)

You're welcome to comment/critique anything you feel helpful, but this candid upload is mostly for fun. It's official: I've got the cutest grandniece in CR Forums. ;D


Niece and grandniece by Rick.Scheibner, on Flickr

EXIF:
Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.4
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/2000)
Aperture f/2.0
Focal Length 50 mm
ISO Speed 250
Exposure Bias 0 EV

Light source: Eastern Oregon evening sun camera right, subjects in shade.

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Canon 55-250mm IS -- problem accepting 58mm filters/hood...

Hey all -- first post. Thanks for the forum...

I recently purchased a Canon T3i (I've had an EOS XS and an SX30is in the past). It came with the 18-55mm IS lens. I purchased a lightly used 55-250mm IS from a reputable reseller. I also got a small assortment of filters, a wide angle, and a 2x tele. My problem is, the 55-250mm will not accept these filters. It seems the threads in the lens are too big (as in, bigger than 58mm -- the filters fit LOOSELY and likely to just fall out). All these filters fit with ZERO problem in my 18-55mm. The threads in the 55-250mm look fine, not ruined/cross threaded. I've found one other thread online where someone complains of a similar issue:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1029&message=34025535&changemode=1

One other thing I see is that the 18-55mm lens seems to have more threads (they go further into the barrel).

Anyone know if this is an issue that comes up somewhat commonly? I have contacted the seller on this issue, but trying gather information as I wait for a response.

Thanks for any help.

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20mm/2.8USM hood question

Hello, newbie here.... quick question

I had a 20mm/2.8 USM and hood that got stolen with some other photo gear.

I liked the lens, so naturally I replaced it. Problem is, the new hood wont stay in place, no matter what.

The hood is the Canon one, not aftermarket. You align the dots, give it all of 1/4 inch of twist and its "on".

I tried another Canon hood, thinking I had a bad hood. Same thing.

So now my mind is playing tricks on me. I seem to recall that the hood had that familiar "click" and locked in place when mounted. Am I going nuts, or did something change? I used my first 20mm a fair amount, but just about never took the hood off, and neither did it ever fall off. On the new lens and hood combination, the hood rotates darn near on its own, cuts off the corners when doing so, then just falls off the lens. Hanging my 5d2 from my side and walking about with the lens and hood, will result in the hood falling off.

Any help, greatly appreciated!~~

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New Tilt-Shifts in 2013? [CR1]

HTML:
<div name="googleone_share_1" style="position:relative;z-index:5;float: right; /*margin: 70px 0 0 0;*/ top:70px; right:120px; width:0;"><g:plusone size="tall" count="1" href="http://www.canonrumors.com/2012/07/new-tilt-shifts-in-2013-cr1/"></g:plusone></div><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin:0 0 70px 70px;"><a class="tm_button" rel="&style=normal&b=2" href="http://www.canonrumors.com/2012/07/new-tilt-shifts-in-2013-cr1/"></a></div>
<strong>New Tilt-Shift lenses in 2013?


</strong>The 45mm and 90mm tilt-shifts have been on the replacement cycle for a while now, probably since the day after the 17mm and latest 24mm tilt-shifts were announced a few years ago.</p>
<p>Apparently we’re going to see a new 45mm and 90mm tilt-shift announced in 2013. Both of the lenses will receive the “L” treatment and the updated movement mechanisms. I would like to see the lock knobs built a bit better, I found them to be unreliable in the rental world and they are quite an expensive repair.</p>
<p>Also coming in 2013?  A new “specialist lens”. I’m not completely sure what would be considered a specialist lens, although a new macro would probably fit the bill.</p>
<p>Source: [<a href="http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/Canon_new_lenses.html" target="_blank">NL</a>]</p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">c</span>r</strong></p>

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When does the age of a pro lens influence the price? or does it?

I recently saw a 400 f2.8 for sale, but it had a UN06 date code, which is a 6/1999 manufacture date. The price was in line with much newer lenses, but towards the low side.

Is there a point where the age influences the pricing a bit? Yeah, the glass doesn't "wear out", but there are parts inside that may. Could the lens mount could be replaced to conceal brassing from use?

What is the expected service life of the IS portion? I suspect there is no way anyone outside of CPS would know the "on" time of the IS unit.

The rubber seals?

Lots of "touch up" paint?

Or, is it just buy one and hope it lasts.....

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Canon 1dx Wedding Review

This is my first post here, but given the lack of 1dx wedding reviews all over the net I felt it needed to be done. I am a FT pro with 6 years experience in weddings.

Lenses used:
35 1.4
85 1.2
70-200 2.8 IS II
24-70 2.8

First for foremost, i used the 35 and 85 on this camera all most 95% of the night. I had NO error 80 or any errors what-so-ever.

5dIII vs 1dx for weddings:
Having shot with both camera bodys now I can say that other than the slight high ISO improvement and some AF changes I noticed very little difference that justifies spending 2x as much. However its a 1D and I want the best so I have it.

Auto focus:
I have to say I am somewhat disappointed! I still had problems locking on focus during the reception. I found myself using the 580 ex II flash just for the AF assist. Its defiantly not bad at all, but its not the final "master of auto focus." I have to say the Black focus points really suck. I didn't think it would be a problem or that I would really care about that. Once the lights went all the way down for the dancing I was constantly lighting up the focus points just to see which one was on. Now, about a few things I liked (and a lot) about the auto focus. Later in the night I started using the Al Servo full automatic AF. I have to say, it was really really good! Like amazing. It literally tracked their faces, and stayed on key. I played with a few different AF modes in the menu, but mostly just used the general one. I was wow'd by this. I also used the AF mode where the camera selected the AF point out of a small group of them. I got 20% more keepers at 1.2/1.4/1.8. A+ for al servo, auto AF. F for the black af points.

ISO:
I used up to ISO 12,800 without worry. I shot a few things higher than that. Including 25,600 shots. A+ in all. up to ISO 1600 shows no issues to me.

Body:
Its heavier than my 1dIII. By enough i really noticed it over the course of the day. The 5D mark III seemed so easy to shoot with all day and my 1dIII never bothers me. This was heavy!

Battery:
Lasted about 3,000 pictures. I'm happy.

Video: I did a few video shots on it. They came out awesome! (I'm not a video guy but i like to play with my gadgets) I have no real technical comments to make on this other than it took me too long to figure out how to turn it on.

That M-fn button:
I hate it. I have never used the button in that spot on any canon body. I hate having to use it to start the video recording and especially hate it to change AF modes. Maybe you can change this in the menu, but i haven't gotten that far yet.

I hope this helps. I'll get around to posting some pics too, but for now I hope this information is helpful. This is of course my opinion on the 1dx.

Voigtlander Color Skopar 20mm f/3.5 SL-II

I'm really enjoying this little pancake
the electronic aperture control is awesome and AF confirm is quite snappy even though its a MF lens
and i love the 20mm focal length on full frame too
focus ring is super smooth and even i can see it being a really nice video lens too

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Need some Photoshop/Editing help

So, I'm having some trouble, specifically getting rid of the stray hairs around this guys neck and ears. So first photo is original, 2nd is after I fixed the bags under his eyes (I think it's decent, not gonna win awards, but decent), but the big issue is trying to get the 3rd one correct. Any tips, tricks, help, or is it just not possible without doing a crap done of pixel by pixel editing and actually really knowing what I'm doing?

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Rokinon 35 f1.4 for video

I'm a filmmaker about to upgrade to DSLR. When it comes to glass, I've heard that variable-aperture zooms are a no-no for video. I'm thinking my best bet is to start with a solid prime (but what do I know?)

I've been eyeing the Rokinon (Samyang) 35mm f1.4 for its build quility, image quality, and onboard aperture adjustment. Good investment for a first lens? Or other lens suggestions?

Thanks!

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