a digital photography noob has a question about image quality

[unfocused]

something i could need help with is image backup.

i will not carry a laptop with me.
i only have a small netbook and i am not willing to do image editing during my vacation anyway.

If you have a netbook, I would just buy a small external USB drive. Use the netbook as a transfer device, copying the files from the camera to the external drive. (or you can use a three step process, copying the images to the netbook and then moving them from the netbook to the external drive).

There are two schools of thought on memory cards. Some people buy the biggest cards they can find, so they seldom have to change them and they are sure never to run out of space. Others recommend buying more cards with less capacity, so that if one card goes bad or gets lost, you haven't lost the entire trip's pictures. I lean toward the second category.

 

[BagJunkie]

Hi Jens,

like you, I am new to this forum. A long time reader, first post.

I will not go into details about the differences between those cameras, there's a lot of people here who know them way better than me

I have the 5DIII + 60D (same sensor as 650D). But, I do see a lot of difference in my pictures. Maybe not in well lit daylight pictures. Even compact cameras handle those situations quite well, that's why the companies sell tons of them.

But, here is my theory on why you don't see "any" differences in your pictures; when you open the box & power up the camera & start taking pictures, none of the cameras are set to "neutral" (in lack of better word).
When you hit the shutter, light reaches the sensors. Then the cameras not just records that light (like your analog film would do), but to a large degree "adds a little of this, and maybe even removes a little of that" (this would be the film processing you are used to) when creating the .jpg you ended up printing. It is a bit like not knowing what film you put inside, nor where it was processed & developed.
- I am not saying those images are not worth keeping because of that in camera processing, but it is just not what you (or the camera) saw. It is what the camera ended up with as a final processed image, a lot of times those pictures look great. Sometimes greater then what was actually seen, ie. because of added colours etc..

If you take both cameras, and set them to "neutral" (ie; picture style, auto optimizing, noise reduction ... more?), then take a picture. You will "see more of the sensors" and less of the software inside the camera.
- I don't mean you should turn all of these functions off just to try to create images that are worse than they could be, but a lot of us like to process the images "ourselves" (on the computer at home) instead of in-camera.

I think you'll be happy with either one of the cameras, but for very different reasons.
The cameras you've bought are very capable of creating images, most of todays cameras are


And in the end, maybe it all boils down to interest + time available + what will YOUR actual focus be on the Africa journey? Exploring your surroundings & beeing present with your wife vs creating memories or maybe even art?

 

[Jens Lange]

i think i will keep both cameras.
will give the 650D too my wife.

im not really happy with the 650D viewfinder.
the 5D Mark 3 is much closer to my analog camera in this regard.

i also like the joystick on the 5D Mark 3.

i can shot JPG to one card and RAW to the other. that way i have some kind of backup.
the burst rate will be reduced but that does not bother me.

i also think that later, when i buy more lenses, i may need AFMA.
when im back from the trip i want a fast 85mm lens.
the 70-200mm works perfect but that does not mean other lenses will and AFMA is great.

 

[Northstar]

i think i will keep both cameras.
will give the 650D too my wife.

im not really happy with the 650D viewfinder.
the 5D Mark 3 is much closer to my analog camera in this regard.

i also like the joystick on the 5D Mark 3.

i can shot JPG to one card and RAW to the other. that way i have some kind of backup.
the burst rate will be reduced but that does not bother me.

i also think that later, when i buy more lenses, i may need AFMA.
when im back from the trip i want a fast 85mm lens.
the 70-200mm works perfect but that does not mean other lenses will and AFMA is great.

Very nice! Good for you and have fun on that trip!

 

[wickidwombat]

something i could need help with is image backup.

i will not carry a laptop with me.
i only have a small netbook and i am not willing to do image editing during my vacation anyway.

i am now convinced to shoot JPG and RAW.
but i don´t think i have time (or passion) for image editing on my vacation.

thought i like to have a backup of my SD/CF cards.
what is a good backup device?
something to put the SD/CF cards in and that copys all images onto a harddisk.

i heard there is a good solution from epson (P7000)?
but it´s no longer available.


oh and about the 1.4x teleconverter.
is the canon worth twice as much as a kenko teleconverter (MC PRO 300 DGX 1.4x).
is there a visible difference in image quality?
or anything that makes the kenko worse?

An android tablet with and On the go cable (OTG cable) a compact card reader / usb hub will let you backup cards to USB drives (You cannot do this on the ipads!)

 

[K3nt]

something i could need help with is image backup.

i will not carry a laptop with me.
i only have a small netbook and i am not willing to do image editing during my vacation anyway.

i am now convinced to shoot JPG and RAW.
but i don´t think i have time (or passion) for image editing on my vacation.

thought i like to have a backup of my SD/CF cards.
what is a good backup device?
something to put the SD/CF cards in and that copys all images onto a harddisk.

i heard there is a good solution from epson (P7000)?
but it´s no longer available.


oh and about the 1.4x teleconverter.
is the canon worth twice as much as a kenko teleconverter (MC PRO 300 DGX 1.4x).
is there a visible difference in image quality?
or anything that makes the kenko worse?

An android tablet with and On the go cable (OTG cable) a compact card reader / usb hub will let you backup cards to USB drives (You cannot do this on the ipads!)

Not quite correct. The Camera Connection kit for the iPad + HyperDrive's drive for iPad will do just what you want. There's always a way.