Newbies guide to testing Canon DSLRs

[hugo drax]

Newbies guide to DSLR

 

1. Ruler pictures, First I recommend taking pictures of the rulers

using centerfocus. to test the focus (should be sharp in the center)

 

2. Newspaper pictures, tape a newspaper and take pictures of it.

(should be very sharp at 100% view)

repeat both tests at 5,10,20,40,60 feet

then repeat in poor lighting conditions

 

3. Lenscap (PIXEL TEST), take 30 seconds and then a 1 minute exposure

at iso 100 and 400 with the lens and zoom in 100% and see if you see

any defects like red or blue pixels

 

4. CMOS DUST TEST. set camera to f/22 then take a picture of the sky

at full daylight. no dots should appear or you have a dirty sensor.

 

5. Advanced test(optional) Purchase a Gretag Macbeth color checker

and a Barco Reference Calibrator V monitor take a picture of the

Macbeth color checker, then view the image on the barco (warm up

monitor for 30minutes then make sure it has been calibrated) the

colors should match exactly as the target.

 

If your camera passes the 4 basic tests you have a good defect free

body.

if it passes # 5 you have a reference grade body.

 

 

"The King"

[JosvanEekelen]

Hmmm, looks more like a tester's guide to DSLRs. Newbies probably start by taking pictures, not realising the risks they run.

 

BTW, do these tests only apply to Canon?

[michael_winkels1]

ok.

[hugo drax]

You are correct, either Canon or Nikon. The test apply to either body.

[spencer b]

This is nothin'. You should see the mess he's making on The Leica Forum.

[andrew robertson]

For the cost of item '5' you could buy two more DSLRs and a bevy of lenses!

[david_hargreaves]

How does he test his film (frame by frame checking for unusual grain patterns or scratches) before shooting with the Leica? :->

[dogbert]

Did you fix your problem with weekend photography? http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=009UEp

[kris]

<i>How does he test his film (frame by frame checking for unusual grain patterns or scratches) before shooting with the Leica?</i>

<p>

LOL

<p>

King, you need to show with your photos that you've got the talent and skill in photography before writing this kind of posting. Oh, BTW I'm not a good photographer either so don't use my photos as point of reference for good photos. Instead have a look at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=321228">Daniel Bayer</a> or <a target="_blank" href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=375587">Rene Asmussen</a>

[andrew robertson]

Leica King = Jay?

[gerry_szarek]

First newbies should borrow a tripod, use mirror lockup, AND the self timer for tests 1 and 2. In defense of Leica King, he is correct that 1 and 2 tests need to be run, if the camera fails on these 2 tests you will never get a good picture using autofocus.

 

Test 3 and 4 are usefull only for landscape and astrophotography.

 

5 is purely for geeks, but also can be done cheaply with a Gretag Macbeth Color checker (a small one) and Imagtest by www.normankoren.com (uses a computer negating the need for the $2000 monitor).

 

BTW I have never done test 3, 4, OR 5 and yes I do astrophotography. I also don't think he is Jay, no sense of humour.

 

Gerry