dSLR thread

[e_dawg]

Very nice... the 135/2 L is almost a legend. I'm not surprised by the technical quality of the pics. But more than that, they are good photos artistically too.

 

[Handruin]

Gorgeous, fantastic lens. Though I'm sure I couldn't do as well with it. Just out of curiosity, who do you trust to take pictures of you?

My girlfriend took the pictures of me. She's a natural with any camera; she's done a lot with photography in the past and I trust her with it.

 

[udaman]

Hilariously bad 5D MkII?

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1032&thread=28549167&page=1

:roflmao:

Here is the latest correct information about the upcoming 5D MkII. Don't bother arguing because this information is 105% accurate. Here we go.
- Will be announced Monday, September 8, 2008
- MSRP: $2,399.95 (SSP: $2,199.95), body only
- 16MP FF sensor
- 6 FPS
- Max ISO 25,600 (for what it's worth...it's more for marketing)
- Full weather sealing
- VGA-resolution display (from same supplier Sony uses for their new Handycams, except in 4:3 aspect ratio here)
- Pop-up flash
- Anti-dust features
- NO Live View
- NO pro AF from 1D (although all points are cross-type)
- NO video mode whatsoever (silliest rumor I've ever heard)
- NO compatibility with EF-S lenses (physically impossible anyway)
- NO electronic crop mode for faster shot rate
- NO HDMI-out
- NO UDMA CF support

As you can see, it's by no means ground-breaking. It's not going to out-do the Nikon D700 in performance or features (although overall IQ will be very close or indistinguishable). But it will be significantly cheaper. It's aimed at the more "manual" shooter.
Original 5D will continue to be sold at $1,799.95 (SSP) without any rebates until stock is depleted.
Canon won't have a revolutionary product for almost another year from now.

My friend is an elf and his boss gets early information and shipments in order to prepare for the holiday season.

"significantly cheaper"...and you get what for a measly $600 less (just a 20% lower price, lol)...what a joke if this is true; hella lot less capable camera is what you get, 5D MkII prWnd???

If they were to sell this 5DMkII @$1.2k and drop the D40 to $900, the 450D to $700, XS to $500 then they'd be competitive instead of follow the leaders they are now.

"- NO compatibility with EF-S lenses (physically impossible anyway) "

D700 will do the same as D3, works at lower res. crop factor 1.5x lenses, what's up with Canon, Nikon can do the 'physically impossible'?

Lens mount • Nikon F mount with AF coupling and AF contacts
• No field of view crop (full-frame)
• When using DX lenses / DX mode 1.5x FOV crop Usable lenses • DX AF Nikkor: All functions supported
• Type G or D AF Nikkor: All functions supported (PC Micro-Nikkors do not support some functions)
• Other AF Nikkor: All functions supported except 3D Color Matrix Metering II. Lenses for F3AF not supported. IX Nikkor lenses not supported.
• AI-P Nikkor: All functions supported except autofocus and 3D Color Matrix Metering II
• Non-CPU AI Nikkor: Can be used in exposure modes A and M; electronic rangefinder can be used if maximum aperture is f/5.6 or faster; Color Matrix Metering and aperture value display supported if user provides lens data

Think Canon's going to announce a full line of updated T/S lenses to compete with Nikon's superior offerings? Think not.


Hmmm, more on the Hassie 50MP sensor...now if only these 6μ pixel size sensors can be done in a dSLR, how would it compare to Sony's upcoming A900 24MP sensor? Imagine economy of scale, could see these in a FF dSLR in the lower price ranges...in just a few years (wishful thinking, but still).

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0807/08070902kodaksensor.asp

 

[Stereodude]

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1032&thread=28549167&page=1

:roflmao:
"significantly cheaper"...and you get what for a measly $600 less (just a 20% lower price, lol)...what a joke if this is true; hella lot less capable camera is what you get, 5D MkII prWnd???

If they were to sell this 5DMkII @$1.2k and drop the D40 to $900, the 450D to $700, XS to $500 then they'd be competitive instead of follow the leaders they are now.

"- NO compatibility with EF-S lenses (physically impossible anyway) "

D700 will do the same as D3, works at lower res. crop factor 1.5x lenses, what's up with Canon, Nikon can do the 'physically impossible'?

Do you bother to think before you post, or is this just the stream of thoughts going through your mind?

The specs look fine to me. Who cares about LiveView? It's a substantial upgrade from the 5D, for not much more money.

The mirror on a FF camera will hit the back of a lot of the EF-S lenses. That's why it's impossible.

And, not everyone cares about T/S lenses.

 

[Handruin]

I agree, the specs look fine for it (if they are real). The 5D mkii is not what I want, but for what it is, it's fine and a decent upgrade for less than the original 5D. I don't care about LiveView either. I've had my camera since last October and with strange coincidence I only tried the live view for the first time today...and I don't think I'll use it for anything else in the future.

What's the real world market on T/S lenses? Are they that popular where canon needs to update them to compete with Nikon?

 

[ddrueding]

That 5D II looks fine to me. I will miss the LiveView, but the one I don't understand is this:

- NO pro AF from 1D (although all points are cross-type)

Can anyone clarify?

 

[Tannin]

You are going to pay even the slightest attention to a random blow-in on DPR? Pffft!

Tilt/shift lenses, Doug, are very important indeed ..... but to a very small number of photographers. Real specialty stuff. Canon have had three of them available practically forever, and at a surprisibglt low price. They sell in small numbers only and I'd imagine that Canon only bother with them because they like to cover all the bases - it's this sort of attention to the little nooks and crannies of the pro market that has made Canon what it is. Nikon, as part of its recent campaign to re-establish itself as a genuine alternative in the pro market, has announced a new T/S lens (or is it more than one - I can't remember). One imagines that they will also anounce a super-macro one day soon. They have spent an absolute fortune on catch-up lens design in the last few years, so why would they stop now?

 

[Handruin]

It sounds like what I expected, the T/S are important to some, but are a small part of the market. I didn't mean to imply they weren't important at all, but rather they are a limited market of people using them (which Canon might see right now as a loss in profit to spend time updating them compared to other areas).

It makes sense that Nikon would be pushing to get their lenses up to date to be a real consideration and I have to say it seems to be working for some if not many. Maybe this will drive Canon to updating or improving certain products, much like the T/S lenses some day.

At the end of the day I'm happy with what I have and I know no matter Canon or Nikon equipment, the limiting factor in creating better photos is certainly me.

 

[Tea]

at a surprisibglt low price

Not one of the world's great proof readers, our mate Tannin.

 

[Tea]

And, frankly, as a typist, he sucks.

 

[Stereodude]

And, frankly, as a typist, he sucks.

And apparently doesn't use a browser with a built in spell checker either.

 

[Tea]

I just checked with him. Appparently, "surprisibglt" is indeed the correct spelling. Tannin says that any fool should know that there only one right way to spell "surprisibglt", and it always has one "g" and two "i"s. Personally, I think he is making it all up to cover his mistake. My mother, who was pretty smart, always taught me to spell it the modern way, which is of course "surprisibgjt".

 

[Gilbo]

Tilt/shift lenses, Doug, are very important indeed ..... but to a very small number of photographers. Real specialty stuff. Canon have had three of them available practically forever, and at a surprisibglt low price. They sell in small numbers only and I'd imagine that Canon only bother with them because they like to cover all the bases - it's this sort of attention to the little nooks and crannies of the pro market that has made Canon what it is. Nikon, as part of its recent campaign to re-establish itself as a genuine alternative in the pro market, has announced a new T/S lens (or is it more than one - I can't remember).

They've announced a full set of three now, all targeted to the Canon equivalents. The 45mm f/2.8 & the 85mm f/2.8 will be available in August, the 24mm f/3.5 has available since Jan.

I haven't really seen any serious comparisons. I've heard talk that the Nikon 24mm is better than the Canon, but I think it's mostly 'the next new thing' forum idiocy. The Canon is very good, except at extreme shifts, but building a wide tilt shift that is good at extreme shifts is extremely difficult. I predict most serious comparisons will find the Nikon has similar difficulties.

 

[udaman]

They've announced a full set of three now, all targeted to the Canon equivalents. The 45mm f/2.8 & the 85mm f/2.8 will be available in August, the 24mm f/3.5 has available since Jan.

I haven't really seen any serious comparisons. I've heard talk that the Nikon 24mm is better than the Canon, but I think it's mostly 'the next new thing' forum idiocy. The Canon is very good, except at extreme shifts, but building a wide tilt shift that is good at extreme shifts is extremely difficult. I predict most serious comparisons will find the Nikon has similar difficulties.

Initial testing by the dutch (de?) site says otherwise, clearly a superior lens by any measure. If you look at the spec's for the Nikon, it's using more elements, more distortion correcting elements/flare reducing coatings, compared to Canon's 1991 design. The Nikon is longer as a consequence of using more elements in their more advanced design...costs a lot more too, better be good . Nikon also does closer focus on all of their 3 T/S lenses, higher magnification for near macro capability.

Suggest you read all the reviews on the Canon 24mm TS-E I have, it's only good at closed down aperture, F3.5 is pretty poor quality no matter how much shift/tilt you do with the Canon, it's going to be worse at maximum T/S on either lens...YMMV.

Will see if I can get you some links . Well, besides the point the D700 is a far better body than any 5DMkII upgrade, makes for better images in capable knowledgeable hands .

 

[Stereodude]

Well, besides the point the D700 is a far better body than any 5DMkII upgrade, makes for better images in capable knowledgeable hands .

Pretty bold statements for someone who hasn't handled either camera, and is forming his opinion on one of then based solely on rumors posted on a dpreview forum.

 

[Tea]

Let's see in we can follow the logic here. You have a problem with a lens that you have never used and never owned insofar as it is said by some random website not to be very good at doing something that no person in their right mind would want to do anyway? OK so far? Good.

Only good stopped down? Dujh! Maybe I should let you into a little secret here: people mainly buy tilt-shift lenses because they want to increase their effective depth of field - in other words, 99% of the time, the TS-E lenses are used at f/11 to f/22. That's what they are for.

Are the new Nikon ones going to be better? Well, I certainly hope so - when you turn up to the birthday party 15 years late, it's wise to bring along a darn good present!

Afterthought - tell you what, why don't you ask someone who actually owns one? Lunar is quite likely to, and I know that Tannin does, a 24mm one as it happens. He seems to rather like it.

 

[Handruin]

...when you turn up to the birthday party 15 years late, it's wise to bring along a darn good present!

You couldn't have said it any better Tea.

 

[Gilbo]

Initial testing by the dutch (de?) site says otherwise, clearly a superior lens by any measure. If you look at the spec's for the Nikon, it's using more elements, more distortion correcting elements/flare reducing coatings, compared to Canon's 1991 design. The Nikon is longer as a consequence of using more elements in their more advanced design...costs a lot more too, better be good . Nikon also does closer focus on all of their 3 T/S lenses, higher magnification for near macro capability.

Suggest you read all the reviews on the Canon 24mm TS-E I have, it's only good at closed down aperture, F3.5 is pretty poor quality no matter how much shift/tilt you do with the Canon, it's going to be worse at maximum T/S on either lens...YMMV.

Will see if I can get you some links . Well, besides the point the D700 is a far better body than any 5DMkII upgrade, makes for better images in capable knowledgeable hands .

I've read a lot of reviews, few of which offer any useful information other than the anecdotal musings of random photo forum people who probably don't even own cameras --let alone the lens they're discussing--, seeing as how much time they manage to spend arguing about silly things.

Michael Reichmann owns both the Nikon & the Canon and he found them indistinguishable.

As to how it compares to the Canon 24 TS/E lens which I've been using for some years, I simply can't say with any certainty. But anecdotally I can confirm that they appear equal in quality, and so depending on which camera platform you own, you now have an appropriate choice.

Now Michael Reichmann's anecdote is one I'll trust over most other reports... Of course, he's always seemed more sensible to me than the internet, as an audience, deserves, but such is life. Can I see the difference in a print? In any medium in which I would display the photograph? No, well then why would I worry myself any more than I already have? It's possible his evaluation is superficial, in fact I know it is, but I'm not going to think to hard about it. If I have a Canon body, I'll get the Canon; if I have a Nikon, I'll stick with the Nikon.

 

[Tea]

Gilbo, is plain good sense even allowed in this thread? You could get in trouble for writing that stuff.

 

[udaman]

Plain good sense the orangutan says, lol...the irony of that. Lotta plain good sense Oz being the world leader in exporting greenhouse gas causing dirty fuel like coal…ta? If only real life were so simple. Plain sense is relative and cannot be applied uniformly to the very broad scope of user applications for photography… ie. YMMV.

That being said, is this plain good sense, *if* Tannin were the founder of the revolutionary low cost 4k true HD camcorder, company he owns called Red One Inc; would he not also be developing a 'plain good sense' workflow in close coordination with leading edge, for the masses technogeek, Apple Computer Inc; just as Academy Award Winning Editor/Legend Walter Murch switched from Avid/Windows, to Apple Final Cut Pro software to lead the way for higher ‘quality’ broader perspective, innovative moving making for the future…the future is now?

If Tannin were the founder of Oakley sunglasses company, and an avid amateur photographer/cameraman, would not Tannin be one of less than 20 that possessed this monster Canon 1200mm F5.6L USM lens:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/find/newsLetter/Mother-of-All-L-Lenses.jsp

Timwit alert, scantily clan little Asian thangs as photographed by “Robert” on this blog ‘fondling’ the 1200mm 5.6---really NSFW with the Taliban looking over your shoulders. I wouldn’t mind giving model “Ying” some of my yang, lol.

http://www.pbase.com/robert/image/67739895

http://www.pbase.com/robert/1200mm



...as well would not Tannin have this adapted 1Ds MkII attached to the Nikkor 1200-1700mm MF zoom (cause it has a much closer minimum focusing range, than the Canon beast )?

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/zoomsMF/12001700mm.htm (click on the linked pg to the Reuters story of this beast for reference to Canon body adaptation)

Dropping back to more sane reality distortion field here, as LM has pointed out before, and adapter will allow some Nikkor lenses to be used with Canon bodies. In the case of this new **superior** Nikkor 24mm PC-E, with much trouble/hassle you could also use one on a Canon body…but would you want to? Just buy the superior D700, for which the Nikkor is designed to work with . Gilbo wants to paint all users as having the same needs/sensibilities as his own. Doesn’t work that way, ask Ken Rockwell, lol.

For my sensibilities, I do not want to go through the hassle of doing PP ad nauseum. The more than is done automatically, accurately for me, the better (CA incamera adjust for some Nikkor lenses on the newer highend Nikon bodies) I do not want to use PP DOF ‘stacking’ software, or other 'corrective' measures requiring yet more time…if you are really a fanatic about technology, maybe you** don’t mind spending the extra time, I’d rather have the camera focus and expose perfectly every time, on what I want, allowing me full amount of time to do the creative composition/framing to get *the shot I want*, not what Gilbo is comfortable with. I don’t care what Gilbo is comfortable with, what he’ll put up with as far as IQ, that’s his preference, his bias…NOT mine. Same with LM saying the Canon 200 or was it the 300mm 2.8L was somehow lacking in ultimate image IQ, yet as typical, he knows what parameters he is talking about, but gives absolutely no indication what those parameters are in a simple one line sentence reply...useless post, IMHO.

As far as anecdotal internet mental masturbating, I’ll go with someone who has infinitely more experience with lenses in the form of Borgk, hardkor…read this thread on nikongear*dot*com and tell me he’s not, how well built is the 24mm PC-E and D3...find out .

Recommending Gilbo at least, read the entire thread here by Bjørn:

http://nikongear.com/smf/index.php?topic=8408.0


Read his home page, long intro to his site, on lens testing .

You will note Gilbo, while he doesn’t say it specifically with reference to the Nikkor 24mm PC-E, Bjørn at his site, noting other Nikkor lenses that have the new Nikon Nano coating, he thinks it helps…anecdotal from someone with probably more experience with lenses for 2+ decades, including view cameras, than 95% people posting on the net.

http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_spec.html

http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_surv.html#rating



=======================================

Some more anecdotal Nikkor 24mm PC-E reviews. But as LM would tell you, all the photo lens testing sites out there on the net, when they post formal reviews of this lens, will not tell you if you would be happy or not with the limitations of these lenses, you extrapolate based on your own reading, knowledge, and preferences, methods of use, your own needs, and then take a best guess as to how the lens will perform for you.

Below we have someone saying the Canon TS-E just blows for CA and sharpness…same person might find the Nikkor ‘superior’, ‘minor improvement’ over the Canon, or of little added benefit for the much higher purchase price. All subjective areas Gilbo is speaking of and hence, the term/colloquial phrase ‘plain sense’ is not plainly practical to speak in terms of :roflmao:



http://reviews.photographyreview.com/blog/shift-lenses-and-nikon-ts-e-2435-first-impressions/

The good news is that optical performance is very high. Having used the Canon 24/3.5L T/S and the Olympus 24/3.5 shift (but not owning either at the moment) I suggest the following: the Nikon offering appears to be the best yet available in the 24mm tilt/shift realm. Congratulations Nikon! Color fringing is very well controlled (and completely eliminated by Capture NX 2), flare control is excellent, and color and detail rendition are high. However, when fully shifted horizontally, even at f/11, sharpness is slightly disappointing and dark corners remain, but in context performance is outstanding when compared to the Canon and Olympus offerings.

A tilt/shift lens offers 4 major advantages over a conventional lens:

1. Sharpness front-to-back—this allows sharpness from close up to distance without stopping down, by changing where the plane of focus falls; this is the tilt capability.
2. Selective blur—tilting the lens to deliberately blur areas away from the point of interest.
3. Perspective control—shifting the lens allows the camera to stay level (or more level than otherwise) so that parallel lines do not converge as happens when the camera is pointed up
4. Stitching—By taking 3 frames, one center, one shifted fully left and one shifted fully right, higher resolution images can be formed by combining the images into a single frame (in an image editor)

Figure 2: 19 megapixel stitched image (Nikon D3 + Nikon TS-E 24mm f/3.5)

http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=25315&st=20

from post #35, p2 ^^^:

I've owned four or five different copies of the TS-E 24mm f3.5L. The sharpness is okay (but not great) but the CA is brutally bad - probably the worst of any lens I've owned.

Did this user use the lens on FF bodies or crop? Did this user have the lens wide open, which is something I’ll be doing regularly for my uses (will obviously stop down when ever possible). You will note that even with a D3, in some lighting situations…more light than in situations I’ll be using the lens, even the higher ISO capabilities and DR of the D3 will not preclude using the lens at max fully opened aperture…nuff said or do I need to be more ‘plain and simple’ to explain that your uses are not my uses, your ‘acceptable’ IQ is not my acceptable(strongly desired in the absence of boatloads of money and time to play with the best of the best) IQ. No 24mm T/S lens is going to have the same very high IQ as the Nikkor or Canon 85/90mm FL…would be nice, but really not ‘plain and simple’ practicality.



===========================

1st impressions by:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lenses/nikon_24_pc.shtml

Image Quality

I have not had the 24mm PC-E long enough to do any formal testing or comparisons. But have shot some hundreds of frames on location and made exhibition size and quality prints from it, and I can say that this lens does not disappoint in any way. Resolution is first class, as is mechanical construction.

^^^So how was this lens used to come up with that impression?
=====================

Anecdotal, but here we have a user who wants/needed for particular use (work around possible, stacking images not an option for me?).

http://www.pbase.com/vonmayr/image/98012279

http://nikongear.com/smf/index.php?topic=8408.100

Here's an example of where the lens was very close to the ground (about 4 inches) and the horizon is in focus (using f22). What was sacrificed in this image was sharpness on the sides (this is cropped) which was irrelevant due to the specific needs of this image. Lots of tilt required to get this shot, but I concur with Bjorn's general point - too close to the subject and 8 degrees isn't enough. Enjoy!

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/cameras/lenses/Nikon_PC-E_24mm.html

Three Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass elements provide superior sharpness and colour correction by effectively minimizing chromatic aberration, while three aspherical lens elements minimize various types of lens aberration. In addition to the Nikon Super Integrated coating that delivers superior colour reproduction, Nikon’s exclusive Nano Crystal Coat helps to virtually eliminate any remaining instances of ghosting and flare.

To further control the image, users can quickly adjust aperture with a stop-down button, or with the aperture ring. These same characteristics also make the 24mm PC lens a great choice for close-up macro work, with a minimum focusing distance of 0.7 feet and the ability to fine tune focus with perspective control.

Closer minimum distance of 0.7 feet may be of little importance to Gilbo, and what of it? For others this maybe a strong selling point, even if the IQ is not so great, nor enough desired DOF for a single shot @min. focus distance & required wider apertures?

 

[Gilbo]

Bjorn Rorslett is a very poor choice of individuals to select to compare Nikon & Canon glass. He is not exactly a big user of Canon gear. Michael Reichmann is. For comparisons of various Nikon glass --all within the Nikon family-- I would consider Bjorn Rorslett's opinion to be one of the best available. In this context, it is not as valuable.

And yes, Michael Reichmann thinks the resolution of the new Nikon PC lens is first-class. He also likes the Canon a great deal. They're both fantastic lenses despite all the noise from the once-Canon-fanboys that are now-Nikon-fanboys, because they can't look past the next press release, needing every justification they can grasp to explain how they flip-flop every 2-3 years.


The real point of my post, if you care, was that all this quibbling over silly minutiae is a waste of time for anyone who actually enjoys taking pictures. Good glass is very nice --I value it myself a great deal (hence I own a 31mm f/1.8 & 77mm f/1.8 and use them whenever I find myself in a suitable situation), but there is a limit to how much you need to talk about good glass or research it. Or how much attention you should pay to the guy who says he's owned 4 copies of a Canon PC-E and that he felt the CA when it was shifted made his prints unusable. I don't know if he has a reputation worth respecting but my default impression of him is that he sits outside his garage shooting tree branches against bright skies! The big question is who actually uses these lenses, and who spends most of their time jerking off to them... The internet is chock full of commentators who will give you ear fulls about stuff they've never used and stuff they aren't equipped to evaluate. I just can't help suggest that everyone should take such whinnying with a grain of salt.

It's unlikely there will be any useful objective comparisons of either lens unfortunately. Most lens review sites don't have the methodology to review shift lenses. If Hubsand does a review, I might actually read it, but I doubt you'll see anything from SLR Gear, DP Review, or Photozone --not anything useful anyway. These are hard lenses to use, and hard lenses to comment on cogently.

 

[Handruin]

These photos weren't intended to be anything special, I just thought it was a cute capture of Zelda while she was laying in the doorway.

 

[ddrueding]

That is with the 135/2? I like the third one best...

 

[Handruin]

Yeah it was with the 135/2. I'm trying to leave it on for a while and see how it makes me move around more for different types of images. I was on my way out when I noticed her laying on her back so I stopped to take some pictures.

 

[ddrueding]

Nice. I'm totally enjoying the 10-22. I'm finding that it is the best, most expressive lens I have...unless the object it too far away. And by too far I mean more than a couple feet away for most things and about 20 feet away for large buildings. But other than that, I love it.

 

[ddrueding]

Nice. I'm totally enjoying the 10-22. I'm finding that it is the best, most expressive lens I have...unless the object it too far away. And by too far I mean more than a couple feet away for most things and about 20 feet away for large buildings. But other than that, I love it.

 

[udaman]

BTW, if you're interested in the A710is, I have a New In Box A710is I could make available, bought as a backup of my current A710 in case it breaks. I'm using my Olympus E-510 as my main travel camera these days, and it doesn't seem as worthwhile to have a spare A710 around just in case when it's no longer my primary camera.

The A720is CHDK hack still has a ways to go before it's usable, and the sensor is a little noisier than the A710's due to the higher pixel density.

Is it usable now? A number of Canon Dig III cameras now have the hack available, but how useful are then on lesser cameras, say the thin PowerShot line 700IS and what not, never designed for RAW output, nor manual focusing, etc. Sure CHDK would work for a A series, as those are just intentionally dumbed down firmware versions of the more expensive G series.

Also, anyone tried coding their own scrips ?

http://lifehacker.com/387380/turn-your-point+and+shoot-into-a-super+camera

Sure would like to get a hack for ISO3200 on the newer Rebels

 

[Handruin]

I had fun photographing a little frog this weekend.



Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 135 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV




Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 135 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV

 

[ddrueding]

Gotta love a helpful (or at least immobile) subject...

I like the top composition better.

 

[e_dawg]

Is it usable now? A number of Canon Dig III cameras now have the hack available, but how useful are then on lesser cameras, say the thin PowerShot line 700IS and what not, never designed for RAW output, nor manual focusing, etc. Sure CHDK would work for a A series, as those are just intentionally dumbed down firmware versions of the more expensive G series.

Not sure what cameras work now and how well, but I've heard that they have cracked the DiGIC III processor and got CHDK working on most Canon PowerShot models, including the compact SDxx0IS series.

 

[e_dawg]

In other news, Adobe released Lightroom 2 today with some nice enhancements. I think I may adopt LR2 as one of my main photo applications now that it has local adjustment capability a la Capture NX and Viveza.

 

[udaman]

Link I gave in prior post has link to list of all models where the CHDK has either working mostly correctly or less so on others. I'd still rather just go with the Pana LX-3 if like Gilbo said, it only had a wider range zoom. 24-60mm wouldn't be an ideal general use cam if you could only take one PnS with you to Bejiing (not that you could get one in time any way ).

As the only known SF member to be at the Olympics in Bejiing next week, e_dawg can look forward to possible 'dirty' Olympics.

Beijing mulls emergency green plan for Games
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-07/28/content_6880332.htm

Pre-Games Beijing haunted by growing weather concerns
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-07/28/content_6883736.htm

Hope you can send some same day pix from where ever you are, if not too tired .

w00t, only took less than 2 years here, to surpass my 3yr total of posts on SR (not counting <100 for the years before the big Eugene 'mistake'). Though I think I'd need many more to hit 1k...probably get hit by lightning or be banned before then

 

[ddrueding]

If it is anywhere near as bad in Beijing as it was when I was there, even pictures from the bleachers will be hazy; 30m+ is about as far as you could go and get a clear shot.

 

[Gilbo]

In other news, Adobe released Lightroom 2 today with some nice enhancements. I think I may adopt LR2 as one of my main photo applications now that it has local adjustment capability a la Capture NX and Viveza.

What about its network support? I keep the majority of my library on a separate server. So far as I can tell neither Bridge nor Lightroom deal well with that. Drives me crazy, especially when all my Linux applications like KPhotoAlbum have such efficient and relatively magical network transparency...

P.S. KPhotoAlbum is the best metadata management annotation program I've found for Photo work. Everything else seems ridiculously slow. Now that it has IPTC & XMP support (via Exiv2), I'm going to try to integrate it back into my workflow. It's not the prettiest program, but it's makes keywording so friggin' fast & easy that it's worth looking at its ugly mug.

Link I gave in prior post has link to list of all models where the CHDK has either working mostly correctly or less so on others. I'd still rather just go with the Pana LX-3 if like Gilbo said, it only had a wider range zoom. 24-60mm wouldn't be an ideal general use cam if you could only take one PnS with you to Bejiing (not that you could get one in time any way ).

I don't think you're going to find many other digi-cams with a lens that's wider than 24mm-equivalent. In fact there's only ever been one other camera wider, the Kodak V705. It had two lenses, one of which was a 23mm-equivalent prime.

Panasonic's LX-series has been leading the pack in terms of wide-angle lenses throughout the lifetime of the line.

 

[e_dawg]

Not sure about the network support, but I just ordered a Buffalo LinkStation Pro Duo NAS so I guess I will find out soon enough.

BTW, I did some extensive photo editing the night before using LR2, and I have to say that especially the local adjustment feature is not ready for prime time. It bogs down a lot after some heavy duty masking & local adjustments and it exhibits erratic behaviour with the selection brush.

As for the LX3 and CHDK compatible P&S discussion, there's no way I would even think of using a P&S for anything but emergency situations going to Beijing for the Olympics as it's almost a trip of a lifetime for me. It's going to be a dSLR all the way.

Until recently, I already had decided on bringing my E-3 + 50-200/2.8-3.5 as my main setup for the games, with probably the 11-22/2.8-3.5 as my walkaround / scenic lens. With the E-3 exhibiting underwhelming AF reliability and performance in challenging situations, it's no longer a lock to be the all-important single body I bring with me.

 

[e_dawg]

Not sure about the network support, but I just ordered a Buffalo LinkStation Pro Duo NAS so I guess I will find out soon enough.

BTW, I did some extensive photo editing the night before using LR2, and I have to say that especially the local adjustment feature is not ready for prime time. It bogs down a lot after some heavy duty masking & local adjustments and it exhibits erratic behaviour with the selection brush.

As for the LX3 and CHDK compatible P&S discussion, there's no way I would even think of using a P&S for anything but emergency situations going to Beijing for the Olympics as it's almost a trip of a lifetime for me. It's going to be a dSLR all the way.

Until recently, I already had decided on bringing my E-3 + 50-200/2.8-3.5 as my main setup for the games, with probably the 11-22/2.8-3.5 as my walkaround / scenic lens. With the E-3 exhibiting underwhelming AF reliability and performance in challenging situations, it's no longer a lock to be the all-important single body I bring with me.

 

[ddrueding]

After my Russia trip, I will never again be carrying only one body to something important. I will have two bodies, likely one with the 10-22 and the other with the 75-300 as the default configuration, swapping primes and a midrange zoom into the one least likely to be useful for a situation.

 

[udaman]

No new posts in 17 hours? WTF?

Aren't you to blame for that ? So is Tannin over in Bejiing w/e_dawg for the Olympics, choking on the smog/haze? Ah well, good enough; then maybe Tannin will miss this post and not start on the superior Canon sensors .

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/XSI/XSIA.HTM

This review kind of points up the lack of usefulness in this type of 'review'. Using subjective results rather than standardized methodology.

Since it's all one page review, I'll just quote the offending parts :

The shutter sound is different, but still includes a lot of whirring and stomping, instead of a nice, simple click-click. Some might prefer the winding sound, but to me it draws too much attention.

Ah those wonderfully silent mirror mechanisms that send Blue Heron's flying beyond the road you're trying to shoot them from in the cold of the snowy winter. Sure would be nice to have a 'silent' mode on XSi. (the video clip, seems for the XSi the recording mic is closer/higher gain or something is different as you hear more/louder 'background' noise).

I think the most astonishing thing about the Canon Rebel XSi is its capabilities at ISO 1,600. Most users would be able to set the camera to ISO 1,600 and shoot in all settings, especially if the largest they intend to print is an 8x10-inch photo. As such, here is my usual ISO 1,600 comparison table. The twist is that it's comparing the $900 XSi to the $1,800 Nikon D300, the only other 12-megapixel digital SLR camera in our databank with a comparable sensor size.

I think the most astonishing thing about the XSi is the lack of ISO3200 setting if ISO1600 is so great! When will someone hack the firmware and allow for an ISO3200 setting?

You'll note that in comparison with various other sensors, they make no mention of what lenses are being used for comparison, aperture setting, as this can make a huge difference...never mind the other camera user adjustable settings that can affect IQ. This is almost as bad as a Ken Rockwell review...almost .

One more comparison. This time the $900 XTi with its APS-C sensor goes up against two $3,000 full-frame digital SLRs, an $1,800 APS-C model -- all 12-megapixel sensors -- and its 10-megapixel predecessor. The lines inside these letters usually do not show up on cameras with resolutions lower than 12 megapixels, as you can see in the XTi shot top right. The top row shows ISO 100 shots, and the bottom row has ISO 1,600 shots from each camera, and all are remarkably similar. Interestingly, the Rebel XTi's ISO 100 shot shows more sharpening artifacts than the ISO 1,600 shot, yet there's more detail in the ISO 1,600 shot. The Canon 5D looks better than most, but also shows more evidence of sharpening at both settings. The two Nikons do well with the larger letters, but reveal very few lines in the smaller letters, like the L and G in Lager. Ultimately, again the Canon XSi really does well against these larger, more expensive cameras, so you can expect plenty of detail in your images.

The small thumbnails accompanying this quote, do little help determine anything, IMHO. "looks better...but shows more sharpening/artifacts? Umm, the images are too small to get any idea of what the author is talking about. Perhaps some thin red arrows pointing out areas? I see what might be considered (image is too small to tell) a 'ghostly' halo around the letters in the 5D images, but that could just be my poor eyesight playing tricks on me .

At least dpreview attemps to use the sharpest lenses they have sitting around to do these tests with, though even so, would depend on different lenses being used on different manufacturers bodies. Unless you're comparing bodies that use the same lenses like Pentax/Leica, you aren't going to have equal comparisons of the sensors alone.

Put some of the D700's best/sharpest lenses, full-frame designed, on that body and then let me see a test shot comparison with the inexpensive kit lens that comes with the XSi, which 'sensor' then will show up being superior @ISO100 or 1600, which sensor gives the user ISO 6400 or higher? Better yet let us see a top notch Nikon FF lens on the 1.5x sensor D300 @ISO3200 as compared to the XSi @1600. Too many lower light situations, and some brighter light levels where I would want a higher shutter speed option; when I would, and could use that extra ISO3200 or 6400 setting.

 

[ddrueding]

I need more than 8GB of RAM; Photoshop is kicking my butt.

 

[LunarMist]

Why? Does PS even use 8GB in Windows?