peter_bury1

Durability-wise, I've had the same 50 f/1.4 for about 9 years and it's still running as well as when I first bought it. It's also had a pretty tough life and and been dragged around 3 continents. I recently sent all my kit to a local service centre for softness/slight FF with some lenses (not the 50 however) and it was given a clean bill of health.

 

Sadly, the lense that DID need repairs to the focus mechanism was my equally old 70-200 f/2.8L (non IS).

Hi Robert,

 

A little off topic here, but I'm thinking of making a similar move - I've been looking at getting rid of all my heavy glass (doesn't go with trips with a growing family) and investing in something more compact and digital. I tried an E-1 recently and was instantly smitten by it.

 

I'd be interested in your experiences of the move to Oly.

 

BTW, if you want, send any reply to my e-mail (in my profile) rather than posting.

 

Cheers

Thanks for all the replies. I guess with the mechanics of most lenses, something pretty major would have to happen for a focus problem - slipped elements and the like.

 

So in the occasional recalibrations done by Canon on EF lenses with the 10D, does anyone know what happens? I'm assuming it's purely electrical (motor tweaking or something).

 

Again - to emphasise - I don't have 10D focus problems and this is NOT a "my £1200 camera's a waste of space" type of question.

 

Just wondering about things.

 

Cheers,

 

Pete

Roland, thanks for the answer.

 

I think I should rephrase my question, though. My DIGITAL focus issue is resolved (one way or another).

 

I'm just curious if anyone has ever had this problem OUTSIDE the digital domain - ie, a lens noticably loosing it's focussing ability and needing a tweak from the Canon (or anyone's) engineers.

 

Pete

I was just wondering ...

 

... has anyone ever had a lens go obviously out of alignment and

need recalibration?

 

The only reason I ask is that I, like some other people here, had

the dreaded 10d focus issue with some of my lenses. The (VERY

helpful) guy at the store suggested the body + lens recalibration

route and mentioned that over time lenses can "drift". I can't say

I've ever heard of this outside of the digital world - but, hey, I

was just curious.

 

Cheers

You may find this interesting ...

 

http://burren.cx/photo/ew83d.html

Hi,

 

Firstly, I don't want to start any flaming in the 10D lobby, but I

picked one up a week ago, took a whole load of shots and noticed the

front-focussing issue! I ran quite a few more tests to confirm this

and took it back to the store.

 

To cut a long(ish) story short, the store agreed there was an issue

andhave sent it back to Canon (yep, 2 of their other 10Ds seemed to

have the same problem) for recalibration.

 

So the question is, for those of you who've had Canon recalibrate a

10D, was it a success?

 

FYI, I'm not a P&S newbie with a new toy - I've been using Canon kit

for about 10 years and know how to focus.

 

Cheers,

 

Pete

A quick thought that occured to me in the middle of a posting ...

 

I don't know about anyone else, but after about a week of owning a

DSLR (standard 1.6x), the view through the lens really does seem to

be a crop rather than magnification - quite different from the

effect of adding a tele-extender ... or maybe I'm just imagining

things.

 

Anyway, if we assume it's a crop, what hapens to the "1/focal

length" guide for hand-holding? Is it safe to assume that when using

a 50mm lens, treat it as such, rather than as an 80mm with regards

to shutter speeds?

 

 

Just a thought.

 

 

Pete

I don't know about anyone else, but after about a week of owning a DSLR (standard 1.6x), the view through the lens really does seem to be a crop rather than magnification - quite different from the effect of adding a tele-extender ... or maybe I'm just imagining things.

 

Anyway, if we assume it's a crop, what hapens to the "1/focal length" guide for hand-holding? Is it safe to assume that when using a 50mm lens, treat it as such, rather than as an 80mm with regards to shutter speeds?

 

Just a thought.

 

Pete

Thanks everyone for your suggestions/recommendations. In the end I went with Park Cameras and am now the happy owner of a shiny (or at leats matt black) new 10D!

 

Happliy, Park actually had the 10D in stock AND gave me a VERY good deal on it + 1GB storage ... less than the price of the body alone at certain other establishments. Plus the staff knew what they were talking about!

 

Thanks again

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

 

I guess I won't be taking the NY option as I already have a bag full of lenses and won't be buying any more for a while ;>). One quick other question, though - and this may come across as the total opposite of what most people ask ...

 

It's a helluva long time since I used an SLR with a built in flash, but I thought, since the 10D has one, it could be useful for the odd dose of fill-flash (those 550's can be a pain on family outings!!). So, for anyone who uses the 10D with a 17-35 0r 17-40 as a standard lense, does it cause lense shadowing? I'm guessing yes with the hood, but without?

 

Thanks again,

 

Pete

Hi all,

 

Well, after weeks of um'ing and ah'ing, I want to take the plunge

and go digital - specifically the EOS 10D. Trouble is, availability

here in the UK seems to be getting worse. The last 2 places I tried

tell me they have orders going back 2 months plus, or no

availability at all.

 

The real bummer is I was in Japan last month where everyone seems to

stock them - sadly I was still dithering at that point.

 

Anyone got any suggestions of retailers to try.

 

Thanks,

 

Pete

I never used to use it that much on the EOS5 (with 5 points it was just as easy to select manually, plus it didn't work in portrait format). On the EOS3, however, I use it a good 75% of the time, with the number of points reduced to 11. The points fall in just the right places for face shots, and are especially helpful in low-light shots where you're shooting at under f/2 and DOF is minimal.

 

Having said all that, you have to keep recalibrating ECF to get the best out of it.

 

One other thought on ECF - I actually think I decided to give it a go because I found the manaul point selection method to be a pain in the a**! Pressing a button and fiddling with 2 dials didn't work for me - I guess I'm just in the bottom percentile when it comes to manual dexterity!! Always dialling in Exposure Comp by mistake. Don't tell the guys in the Nikon forum, but I kind of feel their back rocker/paddle dial type control might have been a better idea.

 

Take it easy.

When I first decided to buy a macro lense I to include in my decision process how it'd fit with the lenses I had/wanted. I went with the 100mm because I was after a 24/50/100 set of primes and wanted to include a damn good portratit lense as well as a low light optic. For me, the 50mm f/1.4 and the 100mm f/2.8 Macro gave me everything I was after. I'm sure the 50macro is a helluva a lens, but I didn't feel the f/2.5 aperture was that fast and, had I bought it, I would have ended up getting the 1.4 anyway.

 

FWIW, my light/versatile travel kit just consists of the 50 1.4 and a set of extension tubes - love it.

 

Take it easy,

 

Pete

50 1.4 - had it for years and it lives on my camera as the default - add to it a set of extension tubes and it makes a great compact travel kit.

Hi Ron - I had the exact same problem with an EOS3 last spring - 2 rolls of Fuji Reala scratched midway through each roll. At first I thought it was the lab's fault, so I ran a test roll thru' the camera (one of the free films that the lab gives away) and unwound it manually to examine for damage - not a mark! So thoroughly cleaned the camera interior and shot a another roll which I had developed in another lab - lo and behold the scrathes were there again. (I was a bit frantic at this point because I was about to take a 1 month holiday in Japan - I was even considering pxing my camera when I got there as kit is so expensive here in the UK). Anyway, I also noticed the back plate indent you've diagrammed and thought that was the cause, but a local friendly Canon centre told me it was normal.

 

Anyway, once on my trip I stocked up on film and fired off a roll on walk-about. Had it developed and not a mark. Now, I never did find out the real cause of the scratches, but, thinking back, I'm pretty sure the 3 damaged rolls were all from the same batch/box. Check this out in your case - it's the only reason I can come up with and have had 9 months of trouble-free shooting since.

 

Take it easy

As far as I recall from an interview with one of the Canon engineers (not sure about that bit), the V stands for Vision or some such thing, whereas the 1V bit actually makes the Roman 4 ... standing for the 4th topline EOS camera, namely

EOS 1

EOS 1N

EOS 1N RS

EOS 1V

 

Take it easy

Hi Dhaval,

 

I can't speak for Marumi filters, but I've used Kenkos since I bought my first AF SLR - about 8 years ago. I,ve used UVs, C-PLs (Wide) and skylights - no complaints whatsoever. FWIW I've not used Hoyas - I bought the Kenkos while living in Japan where they're pretty much the standard.

 

Cheers

Just a quick question out of curiosity and nothing more ...

 

... I recently got back from a trip to Japan (with some great

shopping) and picked up the Canon Lens catalogue - and there was no

mention of the 50 1.0L - anyone know if Canon have canned their proof

of concept/EF Mount baby?

 

As I said in the title, I'm just curious - with no intention of ever

picking up one of these.

Rather than going the whole off camera cord/bracket route, consider using a flash diffuser (whatever type). I've used a StoFen for years - first on a 540, now on a 550 - for closer range portrait work it does a great job of softening light and (I assume) avoiding red-eye. Just remember you'll loose effective power/range with it - I've never used it beyond about 10ft.

Mark, I'd better speak up as a member of that rare breed - a devoted Slik user!Ive been using a Grand Master Sports Black for about 2 years now and have been more than happy with it. It's stable enough for the camera and lenses I use (I don't use anything heavier than a 200mm f/2.8 prime, so I can't comment on stability with larger glass) and height-wise is fine for me - I'm over 6' but don't find I have to crouch uncomfortably when the tripod is at full extension. Any problems with the height and you can always buy the optional extended centre column.

Nice features include the three position legs and the ability to mount the head upside down on the centre column. On the bad side, I agree, it's still pretty long when closed up (I've hauled it round 3 continents but only once had problems with the closed length at an airport check-in). It's also quite a weight for a hiking tripod (but, hey, it's a tripod). Saying that, I live in Japan and most of the good shooting sights require a substantial hike (often up mountains or volcanos in sweltering heat)and I've never cursed bringing the thing along.

Hope this helps in your decision, Peter.