mark_ryan2

A little known fact is that Mr. K uses little Voigtlander Elves to make the cameras and lenses. They were imported from Germany and the good news is that they think that those telephone booth sized hotel rooms in Japan are actually two stories tall.

 

Along with the elves they brought along some chroma and distortion fixing invisible pixie dust to make the lenses just right.

Or, another way of looking at it:

 

20D:___________$$

 

5D:____________$$$$$

 

1DIIn:__________$$$$$$$

 

1DsII__________$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

Phase One P30:__$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

Phase One P45:__$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

$=$500

 

Mark

 

(I really wish pnet would let me format text the way I want instead of taking spaces and carriage returns out.)

I have a 17-40/4L, 50/1.4, and a 70-200/2.8L IS and there are very few situations that I feel I can't handle. I'm looking to add a 1.4x teleconvertor and maybe a wider zoom, but then again I might just pick up a 5D or FF camera for my 17-40. If a 10-22 is $500 bucks, and it really just replicates my 17-40 on a FF, I might as well just put that $500 towards a FF camera and then have two bodies like someone else mentioned. (I have a EOS630 and a film scanner now as my "FF" camera, but that gets to be a pain shooting/developing/scaning.)

 

If Canon comes out with a new 400/5.6L IS, I would go that way for a long telephoto.

I've actually been contemplating going the other way and getting a wide angle lens for a 6x9 Rangefinder camera and scanning the negatives.

 

I find that with my 17-40 on my 20D that wide angle pictures, especially things like natural scenes with banches or grass (random details) the detials get muddled.

 

I figure with all that negative realestate, I'll capture the details and then scan them out of the negative. That is if the "6D" doesn't have 16+MP

I think that Canon should of instead came out with a 50/2 that was sharp as a tack and fast focusing while rocking in bokeh and aberation control. Might not had to be as expensive as the 1.2.

 

If Canon is the high ISO king, why do they need the fastest lens?

To me the set-up I'd like to eventually have is my 20D with my 70-200/2.8IS and a 1.4TC at times; a FF EOS with my 17-40. Then a digital rangefinder with the Eq. of 35, 50 and 90mm lenses.

 

Right now I have the 20D set-up, but have to use my EOS630 for really wide, and a Leica CL for my rangefinder and scan the film.

 

Funny, I passed over Bob's thoughts on prices before I posted mine. I think those are the right price points, but then again, I thought the 70-200/4L IS would be $800 bucks.

 

Anyway.

 

The features are more important than the price. If it is to high, it will come down with rebates or the used market. Remote flash control through the built-in flash, auto ISO mode, better AF.

There is a symmetry to the Canon offerings. The 1DsMkII to the 5D and the 1DMkII to the 30D. The first pair is about max image quality, the second pair is more about speed. The pairs are just separated by cost.

 

The replacement to the 1DsMKII will probably be 22+MP. Why take all that sensor for high-speed/sports photos? The 1Ds and 1D are targeted at vastly different markets; as my friend says, "Horses for courses".

 

If anything I would see an even bigger split between the 1Ds and 1D lines. I wonder if sports shooters would accept the light loss from a pellicle mirror for 12-15 shots per second and the ability to see the shots?

 

Canon seems to like the 20D/30D line at about $1300, leaving plenty of room for a FF camera at about $2000. A 40D at 12MP and the 6D (?) at 16-18MP would be a really nice mix, and bracket the Nikon 200D really well.

I'll suggest a dumb idea so that everyone else can feel free to offer goofy ones: How about a pellicle mirror 6x9? No mirror slap, no rangefinder or guestimation focus, no ground glass. You lose a third of a stop, but that's not much. It would make tilt and shifts easier

If you get tired of the GX680, give me a holler!

 

Mark

Sounds like a spur of the moment, seat-of-the-pants decision ;)

 

I went down a similar path, but I'm just an amatuer. Having just bought a house, I'm putting off the final decision until 07 spring.

 

I mainly want MF for wide angle shooting. dSLRs and 35mm scanned film just runs out of detail with anything wider than a 35mm lens and any kind of detial in the picture like branches, grass, or other fine lines.

 

I'm between the GX680 and a GSSW (The RF with the 65mm lens). Since I'm mainly interested in wide angles, being stuck with a fixed lens RF isn't a problem. TO me the question is do I want 6x9 and more portable, or something with tilt-shift capability.

 

Trying to find a GX that looks in great shape that doesn't cost an arma and a leg is tough too. Those RB's are pretty enticing too.

 

Good luck with your purchase!

 

Mark

I always seem to underestimate prices (like the Canon 70-200/4L IS), but I can't see the Zeiss coming out at $2000. If the RD-1 is a digital version of the VC R2 and has about a $1500-$2000 premium on it, I can't think the Zeiss will be less. The film version is $1600, right? I'd think it the best we can hope for would be $2500, and that is in the next 24 months with an APS-c sensor.

 

If I were Zeiss, I would come out with the FF version in 18months and put it just a bit under the M8.

 

I have a feeling that Canon's 30D replacement is going to be a FF camera. With the new Rebel at 10mp, I can't see the 40D coming out in the next twelve months with the same sensor. Why is this relevant? I think that when Canon goes FF at the advanced amatuer level, others will follow.

 

I wish someone like Sigma, Panasonic, or Sony would come out with a APS-C or even a 4/3 M-Mount RF camera. I think it would be a good way for them to get "street cred".

I've seen a lot of posts lately implying doctors, lawyers, and dentists are cash-rich and skills-poor. Heh, that may be true, but let's look at the bright side. Those cameras eventually find their way into the second-hand market, maybe in very good condition, if the stereotype is to be believed. Who knows maybe a few are languishing around at garage sales.

 

To me the whole MF vs 35m is dead until sensor technology stabilizes. If 24x36 sensors top out at around 25-30MP with good low light properties, how many people are really going to need more? Some, yes but how many people need a 6x4.5 100MP camera? Ya, I'd like one, but if 24x36 sensors fulfill people's needs well enough, the market for Med. Format digital will be very small, making it even more expensive.

 

I think Leica would be better served bring out a CL sized 4/3 sensor RF than a medium format one. Since it would be so different than a M8, you could call it a Leica. To differentiate, call it Panasonic or revive some older German trade name ala Viogtlander.

 

Just an idea, I didn't say it was a good one.

The Leitz Minolta version, which is the one I have, has the added benefit of not being a Leica. As in, if I leave it in my hotel room, my Leica would get swiped, my 20D with battery grip might get swiped, but no one is going to risk their job over a Minolta film camera.

 

Coming from a Canon F1 New, the metering was easy to transition to.

 

I have new respect for the 40mm lens length. It can be a 35 when need be or a 50mm.

I love the needle arm for exposure. It just gives me a better feel for how over and under exposed I am. That and the shutter speed in the viewfinder, with a littl reminder for flash sync speed.

 

Plus it basically has spot metering, or at least very selective.

 

Yeah, there are times when I would like AE, but with such tight metering, I would always be tweaking anyway.

 

You can't beat it for portability. I would more than welcome an APS or even a 4/3 sensor in a CL sized camera. Especially if we could break the sub $1500 price point.

 

Mark

I mainly was trying not to dish out the cash for a couple Canon 580EX! With an 285HV and a Viv283 with Vari-power module and a couple of difusers, I was hoping to do a poor man's two light outfit. I was planning on going totally manual, with digital instant feedback from the histograms, why not?

 

To me Canon's flash system stinks. With Nikons, the pop-up flash can control the off camera flashes, with the Canon you need to get a st-E3 unit. Plus the Canon 58EX is like $70 bucks more than a SB800 from what I see on B&H.

I've read thru some of the product descriptions and they say for digital cameras, I just inferred that they were for digital and regular, while the older units won't work on Digital. They should say Digital ONLY.

 

I would have thought that since they are twice as expensive, that they would be smart enought to sense that since there was only one flash, they should fire.

 

Ow, well. $70 bucks that should have gone to pocket wizards.

 

Mark

I've been using a Viv283 with a Wein Hot SHoe Digital slave triggered by my

20D's on board flash. I bought a Viv285 to trigger on camera or with a PC cord

to get a simple two light flash system.

 

When the 285HV is on camera, or even hand held (not attached to anything), it

won't trigger the Viv283 with the Wein Slave. I stuck the 285HV head right in

front of the slave, and no triggering. Use the pop-up flash and it does work.

 

I thought the digital slaves were supposed to work with regular and digital

flashes.

 

I got a VP-1 for the 283 and the 285HV and I'm kind of pissed that the Wein

slave won't trigger.

 

I was really hoping to use a PC cord to the 285 and have the 283 triggered. Or

use the 285HV on camera and have the 283 fill in backgrounds.

 

I feel cheated!

 

Is my slave not functioning properly, or is there digital and regular, and the

two don't mix?

 

Mark

Assuming it is a sunny day (it looks like noon) and iso 100, he probably over exposed it by about a stop or so. Overexposed (and maybe tweaked) plus the harsh sun light (he looks like he is shooting a bit into the sun if anything) is going to wash out details.

 

1/1250 doesn't mean there is no camera shake. Have you seen some people stab at their shutter releases? In fact at 70mm, he is just three stops (1/125 with crop camera to 1/250 to 1/500 to 1/1000) from the supported, careful limit.

 

I think the real culprit is that teh DOF isn't big enough.

 

Mark

Huw, where are hyou?

I agree a 400/5.6L IS would be the next lens I would want to see.

 

I disagree on the pricing for the 70-200/4L IS. If it comes in over $1000, you almost be better off getting a 2.8 non-IS. If a non IS 4L is about $600 the price they need to hit is a Max $1000.

 

I mentioned before I thought the 70-200/4L IS if priced right would be a Sigma 70-200/2.8 killer. I just did a price check on B&H for the Sigma, and its not listed? They wouldn't drop it since they are coming out with that new Digital only zoom, would they?

Arghh, just a few months after I bought my 2.8L IS. I think the key with the 4L IS is at what price point will it be. Didn't the 24-105L come down a couple of hundred after a few months? The 4L IS, if priced right, could take a bite out of the people who buy the Sigma 70-200/2.8.

 

How much for a Fiddy 1.2L? The 1.4 is plenty fast and sharp to me. Can't see them doing it for less than $800 bucks, or do they keep the price lower and try to get more people to use it? People can say that the 1.4 isn't as sharp as it should be at 1.4, but wide open I'm usually shooting people, where a little softness is OK. Plus with that kind of shallow DOF, little errors or movement in the subject can play havoc with sharpness.

 

The 30D looks more and more like a cock-up. What were they thinking. A legitimate response to the 200D almost a year later! I love my 20D and its all I really need, but if I had to do it all over again I'd get the 200D in a heart beat. The auto iso exposure mode and the ability to use the on camera flash as a master trigger instead of a ST-E thingy makes it much easier.

 

Where is the 1Ds Mark III (Hat-trick)?

 

Mark

Looks like if you want the wireless flash slave triggers, you'd better get them fast. Gotta think the're next.

 

Mark

Be glad, she may make him move to the new Fuji S3 Pro UVIR model! Is she a huge fan of CSI? Does she have short term memory loss or is loves the movie "Momento"? Don't let her fnd out about the GPS noting functions on some of the digitals.

 

If it came down to shooting film and having the date imprinted on each picture or shooting digital and having it inherent in the picture, I'd shoot digital. Or make her label the slides when they came back.

 

The way some people talk about mirror slap here, you'd think that they had all spent time shooting a Pentax 67 or handholding Fuji GX680s.

 

I agree that it does add some vibration and that it can be worse at some speeds, but an 1/8 of a second with a wide angle lens, things are just moving in the frame usually. Some bone-to-bone contact with a good shooting stance, and good trigger control goes a long way. With a 1.6 crop Canon 20D with the battery pack you can go pretty low.

 

Mark

Ah, the bean. Sponsored by Tiffany's.

 

Get over it being called the bean. The Arch in St. Louis isn't the Arch, it something like the Jefferson Western Expansion Monument, or some similar buerecratic nonsense.

 

Bean, bean, bean.

Puppy Face,

 

That's about the numbers I used. 88.6ft divided by 5.6 gives 15.8 feet as the effective range. The 88.6ft assume a lens at F1.0 right?

 

Mark