joseph_gledhill

John, I?m not sure whether you understood what I was trying to say or whether I misunderstood your answer but what I am trying to ask is does the overall length of the lens change (extend) while focussing? For example, in a similar way some zooms extend when zooming. I know this is the case with the 50mm 1.4 and 85mm f/1.2L I think whereas the likes of the 35mm f/1.4L and 135mm f/2L nothing extends and focussing is internal. Thanks.

Does anyone know if the Canon EF50mm f/1.2L USM extends when focussing like

the 1.4 version? Thanks.

Oh, one more thing, I have read that the 5D can shoot RAW and Jpeg at the same time - is this true? If so it would kill two birds with one stone. Many thanks.

For years I have shot on transparency film from which I sent away to have

12"x8" prints made to exhibition standards. I am now going digital for the

first time with a 5D from which I will continue to make 12"x8" prints.

Although I always like the highest quality, my question is, is it neccessary

to shoot in RAW to achieve this? All the post-processing does not really

appeal to me and I have read that the 5D?s picture styles are very impressive -

rather like choosing a film that suits my liking. Would there be a

difference between these and a "personally developed" RAW image in terms of

image quality? All I want to be is free to shoot! Many thanks.

Please help me make my transition from film. I am new to digital and don?t

know anything so please forgive my ignorance. I am sure this has been posted

before but don?t know where or what I am looking for. I need advice regarding

back up of photos. I will shoot in RAW. As I travel alot, I will use a

portable device for backing up my images. Once I am in my house I will then

burn them to DVD (or even on the road with a portable burner). Does this

sound OK?

When burning onto DVD, do people burn the original RAW image or make changes

in Photoshop first then burn?

Is it possible to add photos to a DVD and slowly fill it up over time?

I like to get my photos printed out at 12"x8" like I do with my transparencies

and have a favourite company for doing that. Could I send them the DVD to do

exactly that?

Many thanks for your understanding.

The Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX and Macro Ring Lite MT-24EX: which would be the

best one for a hand held outfit with the 5D for frogs and butterflies and what

are the differences between the two? Many thanks.

Oh, one more thing to add: does the new 50mm 1.2L extend when focussing like the 1.4 version? Many thanks.

I have recently returned from a trip to Peru where I was photographing Andean

women. I took two lenses: EF35mm f/1.4L and the EF135mm f/2L on a FF body.

With the benefit of hindsight, I realise these were the wrong choices for the

following reasons: a) the 35mm was too wide and intimidated people when I got

too close b) the 135mm required too longer working distance and people kept

walking in front c) I always had to keep changing lenses to suit the situation

d) they were both so heavey to carry that I would leave one behind. I am now

going to sell them as they are not the focal lengths I need. So I am after a

relitively light and compact lens for travel that is capable of taking head

and shoulder portraits, full body portraits and small groups. I have drawn up

a short list of: EF50mm f/1.2L, EF85mm f/1.8 and EF24-105mm f/4L. I am

extremely attracted to the 50mm as it seems everything I want but can it do

head and shoulder portraits? The 85mm seems nice but I love the L

construction and the L version is waaaaaaay too heavey. The zoom has all the

focal lengths but is bigger, heavier and I am not a fan of zooms (please don?t

have a go at me over this). Any experiences and advice please? Many

thanks.

Anyone seen the South African wildlife presenter Austin Stevens on T.V.

looking for snakes? He claims to have made a living from wildlife photography

for the past 10+ years. Yet, when I see him, he has a Canon EOS 50E with

Sigma lenses. Is this the equipment of a pro? He also photographs snakes

with a 20-35mm zoom and pop up flash. The last time I saw him, he was

attempting to photograph elephants with a Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L - holding the

entire rig in one hand without any support! Then, to prove how great he is,

he held the whole lot out with his arm fully extended and fired a few shots

without even looking through the viewfinder - incredible! Any one who owns

this lens knows it needs to be strapped to a boulder to provide sufficient

support! So I ask the question again, are these the actions of a pro?

I am currently in Peru on a wildlife holiday. It constantly amuses and

baffles me to see on my journey - and also photos in magazines - people

sitting (besides a lake/river) with their lenses on a tripod, pointed towards

the nearest thing (trees, river bank) some 100 metres away. Surely these

people know nothing about wildlife photography or they are seeing something I

am not. Even if there was a bird or something there, do they really expect to

see it on film? You could maybe forgive beginners/amatures for thinking that

their compact zooms will solve all problems but I have seen people with 500mm

lenses sitting on a floating platform in the middle of a lake miles from

anywhere. What the hell are they doing? Maybe these people just like to show

off their equipment and look cool ...or at least, that�s what they think!

I live in the UK but am currently in Peru for 6 mths. I shoot slide film and

would like to know if its best to ship back to my family to have it processed

or wait until I finish my time here to bring it back with me. In other words,

by shipping it back, would the film pass through stronger x-rays thus

destroying it? I am also thinking about asking my family back home to send me

some more slide film but would this same issue apply? Finally, I have a

freezer here in my house in Peru but it is full of ice/frost. Would it be

best to store my slide film in here or just in the refrigerator? Many thanks

to all.

For those of you that used to shoot transparency film - and those of you that

still do - did you used to shoot using 1/3 of a stop settings or 1/2 stop? I

still shoot film with a 1V that allows me to choose between the settings. I

always bracket around an estimated exposure. With 1/2 stop bracketing, I can

be pretty sure to get one correct exposure out of three with the other two

being obviously over/underexposed. However with 1/3 of a stop, if I am a

little off with my initial guestimate for a correct exposure, I will not

achieve a correct exposure out of the three. I would like to use 1/3 stop to

achieve finer exposures but sometimes a scene is difficult to know the correct

exposure reading and, of course, I dont have digital to check exposure. So

what did you guys used to do and how did you measure light readings -

spot/evaluative metering etc. Many thanks.

Of all their white telephoto lenses, the 400mm f5.6 is the only one lacking

IS. I was disapointed that Canon prefer to update the 70-200mm f4 with IS

(which is a relatively new lens in comparison)rather than give us an IS

version of the 400mm which I am sure a lot of people are waiting for. Imagine

it updated with 4 stops of IS with a close focus of 2.5m.

For an upcoming trip to South America, I intend to take plenty of

portrait (full body, head and shoulders), groups, people working in

environments and landscape photography. Should I take my Canon

EF35mmf/1.4 and EF135mm f/2 or purchase the EF 50mm f/1.4? The 50mm

appeals as it is an "all round" lens capable of taking photos as

mentioned above. It will allow me to travel lighter and avoid the

need to change lenses meaning I am instantly readyto shoot. I will

be using a 1V body. What do people think about using the 35mm lens

for "loosely cropped" portraits - is it that much different from a

50mm? Many thanks.

Hello there. I shoot with a Canon EOS 1V. I am considering

exchanging it for a 1D Mark II N. How does image quality of the 8MP

1D compare with an image taken on Velvia 50 (assuming propper lens

support and processing is used to achieve the best quality)? I often

produce 8"x12" prints from transparencies but I am being 'lured' by

the benefits of digital. However, I don't want to swap if the Velvia

still has the 'upper hand'. I have seen some incredible images, in

terms of sharpness, published in magazines that look so much sharper

and cleaner than from transpareny film - and they were from 8MP

cameras. My lenses include 35mm f/1.4 and 135mm f/2. Crop factor is

not an issue as I do wildlife photography. I am not considering the

5D as, having become accustomed to the 1 series, how could I! Many

thanks to all.

Hi Steve. I purchased a 'Refurbished' Canon EOS 1V from Canon on Ebay a few years ago. Canon claim that 'Refurbished' means that they have either been used as a demo model, lost the original packaging or have been returned by the owned and thus canot be sold as new. They also say that there is nothing wrong with these products and that they work 100%. Anyway, when my 1V arived I was not pleased. It had scratches and scuff marks on and the large wheel on the back for inputting the aperture did not work. I would never buy refurbised again - you just don't know whats wrong with it. Regards.

After owning a 300mm f/4 (non-IS) for many years, I would now like

to "upgrade" to push my nature/wildlife photography further. I

cannot afford the Canon 300mm f/2.8 or the 500mm f/4 so I am seriosly

looking at the Sigma equivalent. With my old 300mm f/4, I sometimes

found the aperture frustratingly slow or the focal length

frustratingly short. I found I usesd it most of the time with the

1.4X. Ideally I would like to have the 300mm and 500mm together but

for travel photography (which I do a lot of) this is just not

practical. So I am thinking of the Sigma 300mm f/2.8 plus both 1.4X

and 2X extenders to give me a flexible kit in a small package. My

questions are:

1. How is the quality of this lens on its own and with extenders?

2. How does it compare to the Canon equivalent (and f/4 version)?

3. Can I use it with Canon Extenders or would Sigma's dedicated

extenders be better?

I currently use a 1V but may update to a 1D Mark II to take advantage

of the crop factor for wildlife photography.

Many thanks to everybody.

I have a Gitzo 1325 tripod that I love and use when I do not have to

stray too far from the house or car. However, I would like to

purchase a smaller, lighter tripod for when I go travelling and

walking long distances. I would like it to fit in my

rucksac/daysac. I will be using it with my current ball head -

arca/swiss 1. I am only considering the following tripods: Gitzo

G1027 (carbon fibre) and the Gitzo G1120 (aluminium). Which one do

you recommend? The CF is much smaller and lighter but is it too much

so? The heaviest lens I will be using it with will be the 300mm

f/4. Many thanks all.

How about www.robertwhite.co.uk. Another reputable dealer.

Have you tried www.warehouseexpress.com? Not the cheapest but the best by far for reliability and service.

Canon have always been the leader in persuing technological advances

in their lenses. As we can see, they firmly believe that the

inclusion of IS in all their telephoto's is the way to go. However,

I was wondering if this now applies to DO glass. Do readers expect

Canon to make this standard in all their future telephotos? If we

think about the EF 300mm f/4 IS (which is not ther latest generation

IS) and the EF 400mm f/5.6 (which has never been 'updated'), then

maybe these two lenses will be next in line for a 're-vamp': EF 300mm

f/4L IS DO USM and the EF 400mm f/5.6L IS DO USM. We have seen how

much the size has been reduced with the EF 400mm f/4 IS DO USM so

could you imagine these two lenses with the same treatment? That

sure seems extremely appealing! I predict that these two are not far

off. Any comments on the matter? Cheers folks!

Many thanks for all the great responses. Maybe I will continue with my 1V and wait patiently for the right DSLR which, at this moment in time, is a desire rather than a need! How you capture the image is not important, but the quality of the image is (thanks Jeff), so I will concentrate on saving for the 35mm f/1.4. Incidentally Yakim, I don't think I will have any probs in finding the 35mm f/1.4 here in the UK as there are loads of them... probably due to the rediculously high price!

Hi there. I am still waiting for the right moment to purchase the

right DSLR. Currently I still shoot with a 1V and have been

reluctant to exchange this body for a more expensive digital one that

does not come close in specification. I have found that when one has

become used to shooting over the years using the likes of spot

metering, 100% viewfinder coverage, full frame and blistering AF

within a solid reasuring body that using anything 'less' becomes

extremely frustrating. As I am not a pro, the 1D sries are out of

the question as they are far too expensive. However, for the first

time, the soon-to-be-released 5D is the first camera that is

seriously making me want to purchase it. It looks similar to the old

1 series film cameras in terms of asthetics, size and weight. The

specification seems to be similar more or less and, more importantly,

has full frame. It seems to be the equivalent to the EOS3. I

understand it does not have weather sealing like the 1V but then

again neither did the 1N that I owned before so this does not bother

me too much. Now, although it still is expensive, it is nowhere near

as expensive as the 1D series, and after a few years of saving and

prices falling at the same time, it may just tempt me. I understand

that this camera has not been reviewed yet but how do people expect

its AF, particually in Al Servo mode, and also its general 'speed of

use' to compare against the 1V? As I am not a DSLR owner yet, I do

own a Powershot G6 and all I know is that thing drives me BLOODY

CRAZY with its slowness of everything! Just for the record I have a

300mm f/4 (non IS), 135 f/2 and hopefully soon a 35mm f/1.4. Many

thanks to all for your responses.

I live in the UK and enjoy a lot of travel photography, especially to

Peru where I have family. As a result the weight of equipment is

important to me. This is part of the reason why I have the 135mm f/2

over the 70-200mm f/2.8 and the 300mm f/4 over the 2.8 version. I am

looking to travel with no more than 3 lenses and have for a long time

been saving to purchase the 35mm f/1.4. (rather than the 24-70

f/2.8). Image quality is important to me and so is build quality as

the lenses have to stand up to sandy deserts, cold mountains and

humid rainforests. The fast apertures of the primes serve me well in

some of the darker places. However recently I was introduced to the

soon to be released 24-105mm f/4 and this has got me thinking -

especially as the are both the same price more or less. My question

is is it worth giving up 3 stops in shutter speed I would get with

the 35mm f/1.4 for the 3 stops in IS? Although the 24-105 is

slightly larger and heavier it would allow me to leave the 135mm

behind as I have a wide angle and portrait in one lens. I cannot

fault the 35mm f/1.4 but am I willing to give up a slight loss in

quality and shutter speed for the flexibility of the zoom. I can't

help thinking it may be also more fun, but on the other hand, the

35mm and 135mm are like twins! My intention for either the 35mm and

135mm together or the 24-105mm on its own is to photograph

landscapes, people working in their environments and portraits. I

work fast and spontaneous so a tripod is out the question. I know

the 35mm would be for life but would the zoom be to? I believe the

zoom also extends when zooming which is a turn off for me. Any

replies would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks folks!

Does anybody know whether you can trim/crop photos on the Canon G6

via the camera itself? I have taken lots of photos from my holiday

which look a lot better when I zoom in to improve framing. I would

like to print this rather than the original image. Maybe this option

is only available if I had a computer or printer (which I don't). I

would like to save it so I can send my CF Card into a lab. Many

thanks.