harryjacksonjr

<p>Robin Smith,<br />I was wary of that when I first bought it, but from what I've seen, and from what I've read, the overall difference in the two is negligible. In fact, you need software and a magnifying glass to see the difference once you've stopped down to F7 or more. <br />I've spoken to colleagues and they say the big difference is shooting sports. The Canon F4 is a better product. With wildlife the nature of the work (pun intended) is there's no difference. But issue here, I don't shoot sports. <br />A bigger issue is that a colleague at work said he'd put it on a sports photographer's website for me. I took it out of the case to take some photos of it and made a big mistake. I touched it, caressed it, spoke softly to it and apologized for thinking something as mundane as another camera body was reason enough to part with her. Then I lay it back down with a promise I'd visit more often. <br> So much for selling equipment. </p>

<p>I'm hearing this a lot.</p>

<p>I own the 500L big lens. I hardly ever use it. In fact, I think I've used it four times. I even have that suitcase carrier and instruction manual.<br> I recently bought the Sigma 100-600 zoom sport f5.6 (I think). I couple that with my 1.4 teleconverter and get great shots and it's not so cumbersome to haul around ... yada, yada. That lens, two other lenses and two camera bodies actually fit in a camera bag that can be an airport carry-on. The 500L can't really travel the way I like to and I refuse to check it through.<br> Now, I'm coveting the 1dxII that's coming out soon. I'm thinking of trying to engineer a trade-in or swap, lens for camera body. <br> I'm wondering if I have the leverage for an even trade, considering that 500 and the subsequent generation is over $10k. <br> Before I start negotiating, has anyone had a similar experience or have even a inkling of what I might expect when I make that offer to a camera shop. I got the lens from B&H, so I might start with them.<br> I already own the 5DIII and a 7D and a respectable array of lenses. As a nature photographer, I'm really coveting that low-light, super-fast and smooth rapid fire. I tried out the original 1dx in my office and fell in love with it, like one more thing I couldn't afford.<br> I don't hate the 500L. I just don't want it to sit around gathering dust when I could put it to use as currency. <br> Any advice?<br> h</p>

<p>You've already decided, but, fyi. I have a 5diii. But the honest, hand to my invisible friend in the sky, I only bought it because I'd banged up my 5dii crawling through rocks, dodging rocks, scratching up the 24-105, etc. etc. Had I known then, what I know now, the 5dii did what I needed it to do when it wasn't broken. Don't get me wrong, the 5Diii is a superior camera. Buying it saved me from the ego-purchase of the 7Dii as my backup. But the 5diii does so much more than I need, it's overkill.<br> I'd compare it to buying Microsoft Word. Most of us write letters, stories and memos. We don't need all that other stuff, but you can't get it otherwise. MSWord6 was plenty, but they stopped supporting it.<br> I had a major, major surprise, though, last year. I took the Lumix fZ1000 for a test drive. That puppy is marvelous! It's not as impressive looking as my main camera, and the 5diii does precision work and longer, telephoto, but the fz1000 does everything I need for everyday hip-shooting. A 400-24mm zoom, 20mp censor, Leica-class glass and clarity that blows away every other camera in it's class -- other than Leica. And $800. I carry that around all the time, now. And my shoulder isn't nearly as sore.<br> <br /><br /></p>

<p>Actually, when it comes to weight. I'm converting a golf cart. I've already modified a wagon. But it makes too much noise.</p>

<p>Thanks. I'm registered. I wonder why I didn't get a notification.</p>

<p>Frankly, sounds like your friends needs a new circle of friends. That being said, if he's really wanting to learn some fine art stuff, start here:<br> http://www.meetup.com/figure-photography/events/229169259/?rv=md1&_af=event&_af_eid=229169259&https=off<br> Otherwise, My suggestion is don't shoot models. One reason is because you'd have to put up with models. There's no money in it unless you move to a fashion center -- NYC, Chicago, LA, Dallas, Houston, Miami -- and throw your dice there. <br> I'd still say, though leave the other circle alone. That brought me down and I'm not even close by.</p>

<p>I got the sports. I'm still trying to find literature on the contemporary. Camera shops stock the sports because it costs more. I bought it because I shoot a lot of birds and I needed something more capable of fast-draw shooting.<br> hj</p>

<p>What's the word on the Sigma 150-600? I've been reading and it seems to review better than the Canon 100-400.<br> A couple of my friends bought them and swear by them. </p>

<p>Thanks. I didn't mention that. 4x6 is standard for events. John, you're not the first to mention the DNP. And Craig, I will put a dedicated flash on whatever I set up. I also have a Lumix Fz1000, but that G12 seems much sturdier for what I'm going to do.<br> I'm going to set this up, then try it out to get the bugs out of it.</p> <p>h</p>

<p>OK. I've done all of the hard core photo stuff -- documentary, wildlife, fashion, etc. -- and I always end up broke several months a year. Therefore, I'm going to go ahead and do the photo equivalent of putting on a red satin mini and standing under a street light.<br> A friend has invited me to do kid photos when she takes her llama and alpaca to fairs and parties. She said I could take photos, instant print them and put them in a cardboard frame and get $10 apiece for them, and shoot as many as 50 to 200 per event. And in the summer I could end up shooting two or three events a week. <br> I'm going to use my G12. But I need a printer that can stand up to that kind of production and any recommendations for how to set this up, or any publications that say how to do this. I need to be ready by spring. <br> Advice is welcome.<br> h</p>

<p>I was eyeing the canon powershot g3x and started looking at comparable cameras. I ran into the FZ1000 Panasonic. I also kept running into reviews that compared the two cameras and generally, the only advantage the g3x had over the FZ1000 was the 200 mm extra zoom. Reviewers, especially those who shot outdoors a lot, liked the FZ1000 more.<br> I bought the FZ1000 mainly because I needed a better backup camera. I had to think hard to realize that the only reason I wanted the g3x was because it was a canon. All my big stuff is canon. But their g-series has nothing to do with the dslrs. Nothing interchangeable except the sd cards. So I as free to stray.<br> My primary fear is that everything I've ever experimented with had softer focus than canons, other than Nikon and Leica. I'm OCD on sharp focus. The FZ1000 actually had excellent sharpness and the photos sharpened well in processing. The controls can be confusing because I've spent the last 45 years shooting canons. <br> The FZ1000 touted its focus speed. It is lightening fast, but for some reason on some shots it either didn't focus or focused on the wrong thing in the scene. I switched to spot meter and that solved that. <br> The other issue that has me a bit concerned, is no matter how I fiddled with styles, white balance or even hail Mary bracketing, the color wasn't precise when I shot flowers. That's one thing the 5diii was really good at you captured what you saw. That may be a factor of shooting in jpeg. I haven't tried the raw, but I'm going to do that today. That's when I realized there were no easy to access exposure controls. I'm going to miss those. The g12 had them right on a knob on top. Too many buttons to push on the FZ1000.<br> Good flash. The zoom isn't nearly as noisy as one reviewer said.<br> The rapid fire capability is spectacular. I don't shoot video, but the 4K video is nice to have if I need it.Especially if I want continuous shooting with the plans to cheat and do a frame capture. Those will be pretty big files. Incidentally, if you're going to use 4K video, get an extra battery and 64k SD card or bigger.<br> An inconvenience: It's not a back-pocket camera. My g12 fit in a coat pocket easily. The FZ1000 is a small dslr or a big pocket camera. But it's light as a feather compared to any canon stuff. I'm going to have to buy a case! Yuck.</p> <p> </p>

<p>Are there drones out there big enough to handle a Mark III? I've been looking for one to accommodate a G12. I'm still not tickled with GoPro quality off the Web.</p>