ron c sunshine coast,qld,a

The original poster may have had good intentions but i can see why a flame war starts each time this subject is broached.

<P>The cold hard truth is that way too many canon owners are stupidly arrogant about 'their' brand!

<BR>Face it people -he's right! The other brands are giving entry level users exactly what they want.

<P>Personally i was about to upgrade to the 400D this time round but now i must seriously reconsider.

<BR>They could have added in body image stabilization but chose not to.They could have fixed the silly handgrip but fluffed it.They could have given slightly better high ISO performance with the better microlenses but instead cynically chose to take the low ground of more un-needed megapoxies.

<p> It's sad to see but after several years of class leading performance canon is pretty much taking profits :(

<BR>Hopefully they have some serious improvements in the pipeline because the others are not standing still.

<P>The day somone develops an inexpensive way of adding on-chip noise reduction to CCD chips ,canon's CMOS will be history

It appears to be a simple upgrade featuring nothing more than improved coatings.

<BR>It's unlikely that you'll see much if any difference on your film camera so you could perhaps safely judge this lens based on reports of the 'old' model

I must admit that every BBAR coated lens i've used has been a very decent performer in terms of contrast

As several have said allready the 75-300 models never had the good type ring USM.

<P>In practice the micro usm they do use is slightly faster than the standard DC driven lens but that's about the only advantage it has.

As with all manual lenses adapted to EOS,this one will work and meter correctly -but only in stopped down mode as you've heard.

<BR>Infinity focus is definitely not a problem

 

<P>Set the camera to 'Av'for automatic metering.

<BR>I've not heard much about spot metering ability but presume some EOS bodies would offer it in combination with manual lenses.

 

<P>Overall the results i've seen from the jupiter 9 85/2 show slightly low contrast and definite softness wide open.

Here's an interesting comparison with excellent example shots.

<br>usually i'm one that allways recommends the 85/1.8 but i must admit the 85/1.2L offers a little something extra

<P>Of course one could look at that same photos and say how awsome the 1.8 is nevertheless ;)

These lenses had the pregnant chihuahua look because all the AF electronics + motor + batteries were all in the lens

The T stop question is very relevant.

<P>For example i've seen test examples (with histograms) that show the 85/1.2L to be much brighter over the 85/1.8 than the numbers suggest

<BR>Usually one would suspect super fast lens numbers to be 'fudged' a little but apparently not allways

The 'bargain' adapters are rather well made but don't expect infinity focus to be exact on the distance scale.They build them slightly too thin to be on the safe side

Sand can nearly allways be 'pushed aside' by rapidly turning the focus ring back and forth several times.What happenes is that it get's pushed into the loose grease beside the helicals,where it is then harmless.If it doesn't clear after ten or twenty turns then stop and take it to a canon repair center.

I forgot to say -

<P>If you around south east QLD then definitely try the camera house stores,especially those on the sunshine coast.I've found these shops are especially keen to compete with internet prices when they can.<P>Photocontinental in Brisbane are also very good with pricing

I've bought a few items from B&H (all 2nd hand).

<BR>A few things to be aware of -

<P>These days the import rules are such that anything worth less than au$1000 (including shipping) will get through unmolested by customs duties or GST.<BR>For values over $1000 expect to pay GST and customs 'inspection' fees on top of the shipping costs.

<P>Make absolutally sure that canon australia will accept the international warrantee! I've heard many varying opinions on this point but allmost no hard evidence.In fact there are conflicting stories going round with some claiming they had their overseas purchaced lenses repaired by canon australia under warranty while others say they were refused.Don't believe internet 'fact' on this point! -call canon yourself and ask .

 

<P>Be very carefull when buying off australian ebay.Most new lens sellers are based in hong kong -some even break ebay's rules by claiming to be in australia when they are in fact overseas.

<BR>Very few of these ebay purchased lenses have genuine canon warrantees.This is not particularly a bad thing but it does mean you'll have to ship your lens off overseas for warranty service.The whole point of this is that most of those ebay sellers charge extortionate postage fees-the minimum i've seen is au$50!

<P>I got caught out on this issue myself -in my case it was better to resell the lens on ebay as imperfect rather than waste money trying to claim warranty.

<P>Delivery times from the USA are pretty close to those stated on the B&H website.Maybe shipping by courier is the best choice because they are so quick?

There are allways naysayers who have truckloads of money,but if you want decent image quality without spending $400 ++ on a Pro lens then this sigma is a great choice.

<BR>The Sigma 70-300APO or Canon 100-300 USM are the best of the consumer grade telezooms.

<BR>Pick the canon if you need fast focus for sports,etc or the Sigma if you can use the decent 'macro' ability

There will be a new model rebel this comming autum.

<P>How can i be so sure?

<BR>Because the rebel is now the only entry level model with such a tiny rear screen.They could upgrade it on that feature alone!

<P>Also expect a body shape and button arrangement similar to the 5D and 30D plus picture styles and other minor changes.

<P>The sensor will not be bumped up to 10Mp -that is just silly.

<BR>On the other hand there is definitely a possibility of new technologies being introduced with the rebel.There has been talk for some time about OLED rear displays.Canon is developing them but will only use them once certain performance parameters are met (mostly lifetime issues i think)

<P>I've heard talk of a new type of sensor but nothing remotely official

 

<P><P>One thing i really hope they improve is that shape of the grip.A small camera is all well and good but slightly changing the grip shape and button placement would make it far easier to use for those of us with normal sized hands! !

Those 'preset' type lenses are still being made because they are a viable budget allternative for those that want a tele lens.

<P>Only the 500mm f8 version is available though -the 300/5.5 and 400/6.3 versions are long gone.The 300mm is especially pointless these days because any good consumer telezoom can equal or beat it.

<P>In the 500mm class there is nothing that comes close to a preset lens for price verses performance.They are a definite step up image quality wise from cheapo mirror lenses -even though they are a similar price

Absolutally definitely get another 50/1.8 i say.

<P>You could spend hundreds on the 50/1.4 but you images will only improve a small percentage

<BR>If you put that money towards a better tele lens you would get a major improvment !

Those eyecups are forever falling off!.

<P>The double sided tape idea sounds good.I allways use silicon sealant/glue on mine.If you ever need to remove it,the glue is easy to pull apart and clean up.<P>Of course these solutions may be annoying if you want to swap to the eyepeice cover for self timer photos .Personally i prefer to leave the eyepeice in place and check that the exposure is right after the image is taken

I've worked out a great 'low impact' way of removing spots.I simply take a folded lens cleaning paper *slightly* moistened with cleaning fluid then use it to lift the specs off the sensor one by one.

<P>This worked so well that i only felt the need to do an all-over clean some two and a half years after buying the camera. That's after 30000 shots and hundreds of lens changes (some in very dusty conditions!).

<P>Overall the whole dust thing is a total non issue.If any specs show up in blank areas of the image like blue sky simply clone them out in photoshop.It takes several seconds.

M42 -PB adapters may be available but the other way round is impossible without adding image degrading optics.

<BR>The same with PB lens to nikon cameras -definitely not possible as nikon have one of the longest register distances in the business

In this thread i show a picture comparing the PB lens mount to the Pentax K camera mount.

<BR>Look half way down the page.

<BR>http://oomz.net/mf/viewtopic.php?id=1037

<P>There are also several other solutions discused such as gluing an EOS mount directly on top of the Practica lens mount and even replacing the lens mount entirely.

no one makes one .....yet.

<P>The link you show is the only one i've seen so far,and the only reason it works on both K mount and PB mount is because it uses tapered engagement lugs.I'm prety sure it has no way of actually locking the lens to the camera body.

<P>That said it would certainly be possible for a PB to EOS adapter to be made.I know of some who are looking into moddifying Kmount to EOS adapters but news on that has gone abit quiet.The parts that need to be moddified are the engagement lugs which need more (?) clearance on the PB mount compared to the K mount,and there is an issue with how to do that.It's usually not possible to simply machine them back as this would cut into the spring slots that most lug designs have cut into them.

<P>Of course you could get one custom made but that would work out abit pricey.

Alot of those entry model canon's are similar so even a manual that's not quite right will help to a great extent.I think there are several sites that have some EOS manuals online.

<P>This one springs to mind - http://eosdoc.com/manuals/

<P>If you have no luck i'm sure we could tell you enough to sort most of it out.

Can anybody explain the various formats these lenses were used for?

 

<P>So far i know (er,i think) the C mount has an image circle to suit 16mm or certain TV image tubes.What other formats are there.Is there an easy way to recognise those lenses that would cover a full 35mm frame for example?

Thanks for the writeup Richard!

 

<BR>Interesting info on the customisable focus confirmation chips too.I knew about these but didn't know they could be set for very large aperture lenses.I'll have to get one for my EOS modded FD 85/1.2L i think :):)

 

<P>Richard ,how do you do this? You make no comment on how you actually change the reg distance -<BR>

"Get a precision digital micrometer from ebay (80 bucks or so) and set the darn adapters yourself to the correct registration distance. That's all they do. Do it yourself. You can save yourself alot of money that way as well.

<P>I've heard of some users increasing the effective adapter thickness by adding a shim (usually with M42 adapters because most are made too thin to be on the safe side).If you mean something about reducing the thickness because the lens can't achieve infinity...how do you do that? ? ( a lathe would be nice)

I'm trying to learn abit about older lenses in the hope of using them via

adapters on 35mm cameras.Some websites such as Bjorn Rorslett's show them

being used but don't give any details of their image circles,etc

<P>I realize that some (such as C mounts) can only be used as closeup lenses

but i have no idea about what else is out there.Can anyone fill me in on this

subject?

<BR>I've heard that some film lenses can be used to infinity on 35mm because

the format is similar.If the C mount is around 16mm,what is this larger film

format called (or more properly-how do i recognise a lens of this format)<br>

Thanks