Mirrorless Cameras (MILC) and Lenses

[LunarMist]

You can get the M1 Ultra (20 CPU cores, 48 video cores) with 64GB RAM and 1TB SSD for $4000, 2TB SSD for $4400, or 4TB SSD for $5000. I think most people will find that adequate for several years. There are 6x Thunderbowls in the Ultra version.
I don't know what can be done about the SSD(s). The sales verbiage indicated that storage is not user upgradable, but does that mean not removable, i.e., soldered or are proprietary cards used which are just difficult to access?

 

[Handruin]

I'd assume for now it's not user changeable given how apple does things. It's likely soldered onto the board but maybe we'll be surprised.

 

[Mercutio]

It's individual ICs soldered to the board if it's anything like the M1 iMac I opened up. They're serious about it not being upgradeable.

 

[Handruin]

I can kind of give them a pass regarding the unified memory configuration and it not being user expandable but the storage not being user expandable is definitely in line with the anti-consumer stuff.

 

[Mercutio]

Since we're not in any way on topic right now, from what I've been seeing, it looks like the power draw on next-generation nVidia cards is going to be 400 - 600W with at least a provision for 800(!) watt single cards. That's mind boggling. Apparently nVidia and AMD have traded places as far as the efficiency vs brute force approach goes. AMD is going to be using stackable chiplets with fast interconnects and nVidia just has huge single-die GPUs.

Considering the power costs of using something like that, even if that's a peak value and not normal operation, it's hard to justify that kind of hardware, especially since nothing in a gaming space is going to touch what Lovelace or RDNA3 will offer anyway.

 

[LunarMist]

Photography is rapidly gravitating to the new MACs. Nobody wants a bulky and power hogging PC except IT and gamers. 600W videocard draw is ridiculous.

 

[jtr1962]

How do you even cool something like that? That's a space heater. Air cooling isn't going to work at those power levels.

 

[LunarMist]

Maybe they have a blowhole. LOL Imagine if you live in country with little to no A/C.

 

[Mercutio]

Photography is rapidly gravitating to the new MACs. Nobody wants a bulky and power hogging PC except IT and gamers. 600W videocard draw is ridiculous.

Sure, but plenty of people also don't want to deal with having RAM and storage that can't be changed. I wouldn't want to be limited to Thunderbolt for every single thing I want to do.

 

[Handruin]

How do you even cool something like that? That's a space heater. Air cooling isn't going to work at those power levels.

I doubt my current PC case could even manage 600-800W of thermals without the other components adding to it. That's a ridiculous amount of heat for any card.

 

[LunarMist]

That is not to mention the load on a UPS.

 

[LunarMist]

FW 1.5.2 is out for the R5 and R6.

Firmware Version 1.5.2 incorporates the following enhancement:
1. Enhances the stability of Eye Detection.
2. Enhances AutoFocus tracking when shooting moving subjects.

Firmware Version 1.5.2 is for cameras with firmware up to Version 1.5.1. If the camera's firmware is already Version 1.5.2, it is not necessary to update the firmware.

Preparations for a firmware update:
After the downloaded compressed file (.zip) is extracted, a firmware folder is created.

*Extracting the downloaded file:
Right-click the zip file, and then select Extract All to extract the file.

In the folder you downloaded are the firmware ( EOSR6152.FIR / file size: 48,445,648 bytes) and instructions on the firmware update procedures (a PDF file in five languages: Japanese, English, French, Spanish, and Simplified Chinese). Before starting the firmware update operations, please be sure to check the procedure in accordance with the instruction.

(The following is the history of past firmware updates.)
Changes in version 1.5.1:
1. Fixes an issue that in rare instances, the camera may become inoperable when shooting in the Servo AF setting while operating the <AF-ON> button.

 

[Mercutio]

Ok so I tried the update and NOW my R6 is acting up. It created a problem I wasn't having at all on 1.5. Goddammitsomuch.

It's easy enough to deal with but up to now, I've never had to.

 

[LunarMist]

Oh, no! Sorry I posted it. What is the issue now?

 

[Mercutio]

Oh, no! Sorry I posted it. What is the issue now?

Unless I'm using Eye-AF, my focal point moves to the lower left-hand corner after some period of time. I can reset it, but it takes about 10 seconds each time. Eye-AF seems fine, but I'm have a sort of Chosen Family gathering this weekend, and I'm taking a lot of group photos and wide shots rather than my usual full body or portraits. I'm also seeing more focus hunting on my primes than I remember being necessary.

 

[LunarMist]

I don't get it. Are you using one/both of the rear buttons to engage AF or are using the shutter button to AF?

 

[Mercutio]

I don't get it. Are you using one/both of the rear buttons to engage AF or are using the shutter button to AF?

I have AF-On engaging Eye AF and * set to select focus mode. If I'm using anything other than Eye-AF, after a few pictures (~20 - 50), the camera parks the focus point on the bottom left (single point) or left-hand side (wide focus) of the focus area. The fix seems to be to switch the camera on and off, hit focus select and then click the joystick to re-center it. It's unresponsive to joystick movement before that. It was not doing that before this update.

I already emailed Canon about it.

 

[LunarMist]

Why is AF always on? It's not an iPHOne.

 

[Mercutio]

Why is AF always on? It's not an iPHOne.

My subjects generally aren't sitting still and posing nicely, LM. Especially if they've had some drinks, or if they're dancing. Especially especially if they're dancing.

I spend most of my time in FV mode, which I think is new to the RF-mount Canons. I'd rather stay in that and alternate shooting parameters with a few button presses than potentially miss a shot under full manual or in traditional aperture or shutter priority.

For those who haven't tried, Canon Mirrorless cameras do have a really nifty focus meter when autofocus is off or a full manual lens is mounted. It's easy to shoot manual, but the AF is more or less instant on all the lenses I typically carry. Unless it's screwing up because of a bad firmware update.

On an unrelated note, it appears that the Mac Studio has two internal SSD connectors for some sort of proprietary SSDs. The proprietary SSDs for the Mac Pro don't work in it, but they do have the same pinout. Hopefully someone will release an adapter so they can work with standard drives, but at least there is some sort of possible option to make that system less awful.

 

[LunarMist]

I found the IFixits video on the MAC disassembly.

 

[Mercutio]

The Mac Studio does outpace a consumer Alder Lake i7 and is approximately on par with a three year old Threadripper in terms of CPU performance, but is absolutely smoked by the new fastest Threadripper Pro. The biggest guys have approximately 3x(!) the multicore performance and seem comparable on basis of price, with a 64GB workstation with 64 threads and a modest workstation GPU costing around $6000. I suppose at this point the real question is whether or not Apple will improve their designs year over year or let things sit for a year or two between iterations.

Canon had me factory reset my camera. Didn't help. I suppose that means I have a buggy update.

 

[LunarMist]

On which image processing software is the MAC 3x slower? It seems to me that most of the mainstream programs don't scale too well at higher core counts either PC or MAC.

You can install an older firmware via methods found on the internets, though Canons are not designed for that. Perhaps you can rent another body to see if behaves the same way to rule out hardware issues.

 

[Mercutio]

On which image processing software is the MAC 3x slower? It seems to me that most of the mainstream programs don't scale too well at higher core counts either PC or MAC.

We are talking about a general purpose CPU benchmark in this case. The M1 Ultra doesn't quite live up to an Alder Lake i9 on single core scores or a Threadripper 3990X for multicore but it's somewhere close-ish for both.

One of the nice things about having large numbers of cores is the ability to do several things at once, which might not be a huge issue for you but definitely is an issue for me, at least until I hit the point that I have several things involving my GPU at the same time. I've found the various Topaz applications don't like it when I'm running Resolve Studio at the same time, for example.

 

[LunarMist]

The studio is very good for the Adobe and other imaging programs, not necessarily general computing. The fact that the whole system including a good GPU fits in 8 lbs. and ~400W is quite impressive. From what I read, the key to performance is the natively coded programs for M1. Quite a few have to run in emulation or aren't so fast as they could be. I think that is a reason for me to wait a while as nativity software improves/increases. Building a 25-30lb. PC tower with a 1000W PSU and associated multi-UPS setups is less appealing with age.

 

[Mercutio]

Canon wants me to send in my R6. I downgraded the firmware to 1.4 instead. My issue went away. I suppose that if it returns after the next major firmware revision, I will ship it back, but it's definitely a disappointment. From my back and forth with Canon, it doesn't seem to be a common issue.

I have the Tamron 150 - 600 lens for the weekend. I'm going to Chicago, taking friends to what I'm guessing will be a very, very cold Cubs game where I'll hopefully be able to give it a workout. The only plus side for me is that Wrigley Field is close to Boystown, which is a fun place for a night out even if it is just barely above freezing. At least there's no snow today.

 

[LunarMist]

Try it without the always on AF, i.e., don't let FOMO interfere with your technical and artistic development. (It's not an Iphone or secuirty camera.)
Most photographers turn that off due to the funky AF behaviours. Use some combination of buttons on the back and/or C functions to select different AF modes such as single point and face/head/Chevy detection. There are camera settings files on the interwebs that can be downloaded (such as for sports) and you can start from there.

 

[Mercutio]

Eye/Body detection AF is ironically the thing that was actually working correctly. It's when I switched to one of the single point, zone or plane AF modes that I'd lose control.

The controls on my R6 are set up so AF-ON switches to whichever Eye AF mode I have set and AE Lock focuses for whichever of the standard AF modes. One of the front buttons lets me toggle between standard AF modes, the joystick moves or centers the focus point and the shutter button is only mapped to shutter. I really only do manual if I'm shooting a landscape or a planned portrait. I think that's a pretty standard setup.

One thing that I really found that I liked the long lens for is capturing architectural detail. I was able to get some neat pictures from the 17th floor of the hotel I visited this weekend. I've always thought that architecture photography is the domain of wide lenses.

 

[LunarMist]

Ideally you should be relatively close to a subject at high magnification unless in a vacuum, e.g., space.

 

[Mercutio]

I was having a good time looking at building details that generally aren't visible from street level. It was fun to see how many tall buildings have gargoyles, for example. Or that some random skyscraper has a basketball hoop on the roof.

LM, the specs on the Z-mount 800/6.3 look like exactly the kind of thing you'd be in to, and it's $10k cheaper and 1kg lighter than the closest RF mount equivalent. That seems like a slam dunk for the wildlife crowd.

 

[LunarMist]

800mm is usually good for smaller species like little birds, but often too long for wildlife in general. A 600/4 is a better choice and works great with the dedicated TCs. A 600/4.5 or f/5 PF would have been just perfect, but the sports people demand f/4 and don't like the PF bokhes. I would be more than happy with ANY MILS 500/4 — DO, POF, or not.

 

[Mercutio]

What exactly do you normally shoot? I figured you are doing travel/wildlife photos.

 

[LunarMist]

I do wildlife and landscape, but not travel. Travel photography typically consists of people with mini cameras/lenses/tripods traipsing in or through cities. In the old days Leica M series cameras were popular for the purpose and now it is mostly S*ny.

 

[Mercutio]

I respect the landscape people but the only time I'm going to be up early enough to be out for those dawn shots is when I've already been up all night. My weekends tend to run to 3 or 4AM as it is but sunrises are asking too much. Landscapes are also frustrating because someone can take the best shot in the entire world and the general reaction will be "Hey, can I make that my desktop wallpaper?"

Canonrumors seems to think the R7 is going to have a Digic X processor and a 32MP cropped sensor, which would probably give it the same or better AF as the R6. That sounds to me like a pretty sweet replacement for a 70D.

 

[LunarMist]

Do you have a 70D? I have most of the xxD bodies, but only used them occasionally for reach only with a 500/4 or 600/4 and usually a 1.4x.
The 90D was the best of them. An improved 32MP sensor would indeed be nice, but probably too late for my purposes.

 

[Mercutio]

The R7 specs according to CanonRumors: 32MP APS-C DPAF, 15/30fps shutter, IBIS, 2x SDcard, 4k60, 1080p120. No word on cost or what the actual processor or sensor will be, official announcement in the next few weeks.

There's a lot to like there, especially if it's priced about where the R body is right now.

 

[LunarMist]

2x SD?

 

[Mercutio]

2x SD?

CFExpress cards are awfully expensive. The type Bs aren't as galling, but even those cost 5x what the SD equivalent does. For the rest of SF, these are the equivalent of nVMe (1.5GB/sec+ transfer rates) vs basically HDD speeds. UHS2 SD cards usually top out around 200MB/sec writes if you have a good one.

I shoot until I fill up a pair of 250GB cards and then replace them. Costs me $40 - 50 every few months. Very seldom am I moving so much data that I think of the memory card as a bottleneck, although I might be cursing the time it takes for Resolve Studio to import whatever giant chunk of video I'm about to drop on it.

 

[LunarMist]

The costs are about the same. For example a good 128GB SDxC UHS-II (half duplex 312) card is about $150-200 and so is a 128GB CFe (Type B) card. IME the CFe card is much faster in the R5, clearing the buffer about twice as fast. The fastest UHS-I cards write at about a third of the fastest UHS-II and the buffer is consequently super slow to clear. Even with the best UHS-II cards the R7 would hit the buffer at ~10FPS or less. If you use Sony you know what I mean about the limitations of UHS-II. And UHS-I is simply unacceptable for any kind of heavy action, which will be a common R7 usage.

Many of the R7 users will already have R5 or R3 bodies and use CFe cards. I can only assume there is some cost/space saving or differentiation motivation for eliminating CFe, but surely that will criticized compared to the R5 configuration. The R10 is the camera that should use SD cards yet of course it only has one slot anyway.

 

[Mercutio]

I had to figure out why my experiences vis a vis SD Cards wasn't lining up with LM's last post. I've been buying Sandisk Extreme cards that I thought were UHS-II, but it turns out that SanDisk has a proprietary enhanced data transfer protocol that comes into play when you use one of a small number of SanDisk readers and its UHS-I cards. I've just been hitting the "order again" button on Amazon for ages and it turns out my reader of choice really can get 170 or 200MB/sec from one.

Also, yes I did know that SanDisk is owned by WD, but I had some bad experiences with fake Lexar cards not long after it got bought out in 2018 so those SanDisk cards have been my go-to for quite a while now.

 

[LunarMist]

UHS-I with the A2 is much faster in reads, but not much in writes and I don't think the cameras can use that mode.
Is there any new info from Canon? IIRC with FW v 1.30 or 1.40 the R5 was really slow even with the A2 cards. Are you seeing a differnce in sustained camera writes between UHS-I Extrema cards with and without A2?