oben_c

Yes I understand it is normal for focus confirmation - but is the multiple confirmation beeps during pressing of the shutter button halfway normal?

And are the multiple beeps I hear when on or close to focus normal despite holding the button down continuously normal?

That's the real problem I have.

TIA.

Nikon people might say it stands for:

Extremely Overrated System

Hi all,

My 20D spent some time with Canon having its shutter button switch

replaced.

Now that I have it back the manual focus behaviour seems odd and I

would like to ask other 20D users what their cameras do in this situation.

When I set the lens for manual focus - and press the shutter button

halfway - I can focus the lens and at the point of focus the camera

beeps to indicate correct focus.

When I focus past the point and come back - still holding the shutter

button halfway all the way through - the camera beeps again at the

focus point.

Sometimes when the point is close or near the camera will emit

multiple beeps probably due to my movement - the focus lock light in

the viewfinder is going on and off as is the red focus light together

with the beeping of the camera.

Is this normal behaviour on half press of the shutter with manual

focus or is there a problem with my camera?

Thanks for all your help and advice in advance.

Oben

HI all,

Just wondering what people find as the widest aperture usable for the

50mm f/1.4.

I just got this lens today and I so far have mixed feelings about it.

It's long throw focus action is both not smooth and also makes AF much

slower than my 17-40mm L lens.

I got it for its low light ability but it seems that 1.4 is almost

unusable in most cases. I have to stop down to f/2.0 at least for any

decent crispness on my 20D. It seems f/2.8 is the minimum but there

are no lens tests for each aperture that I have been able to locate

for this lens.

Does anyone know of detailed tests for this lens which are based on

per aperture judgements of centre/edge?

Any other comments for a new user of this lens?

Regards.

Hi all,

I just got back my 20D in a little over three weeks turnaround time

from Canon land. It was for a shutter button malfunction and they have

replaced the switch.

Before sending it the AF would come on only after the button was well

past half pressed and this was leading to multiple actuations when the

button was held ready for shutter release.

Now however - the shutter is like a hair trigger - even the slightest

pressure activates AF. Happily it doesn't re-activate after the button

is pushed past the top of its movement. But you could almost breath on

the button to activate AF.

What is normal on EOS cameras? Is the hair trigger response normal or

usual?

I am used to the older behaviour where the AF commenced well at the

bottom of the movement. What is your EOS (esp 20D) like?

Is there a variability in the shutter between 20Ds?

Yes alot of questions but I'm really confused by these extremes of

behaviour.

Keep your 24mm f/2.8 - get either the 20mm or if you really want to lust for something....

14mm f/2.8

is your lens ;)

"Chopper" Bob Atkins ;) has a tutorial on how to chop the rear plastic off this lens to make it fit on the 10D....

What I wonder is - is the 18-55mm then not able to be used on any other EOS film body? In that case it has to be one of the cheapest lenses in this focal length?

Regards.

On Monday when I sent my 20D back to Canon in disgust for replacement/repair I took out my Olympus OM-3Ti - put the legendary 35-80mm f/2.8 on it and loaded it up with Fuji Velvia 100F - an emulsion I had missed the release of due to my divergence into digital photography.

<p>

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/OM3.jpg">

<p>

I read numerous articles on digital file integrity and archiving of images etc. and I realised the error of my ways. My next purchase is going to be a slide scanner and film is definitely going to get its place back - at least for photos of "things". I think the advantage of digital for people is indisputable. The archival quality of the modern Fuji films - at least the dyes is estimated to be 300 years on the Fuji site. Attempting to use a non-functioning CD-R I burnt just last year also gave me a sign.

<p>

I know that many photographers are going to be burnt by the problem of archiving images in digital photography. Anyhow film and digital definitely complement each other and I'm actually enjoying my enforced holiday from digital.

<P>

BTW - the OM3Ti is the ultimate mechanical camera IMO :)

I've already made a comment on your question regarding the picture but I just want to comment on the 17-40mm based on my experience with it.

I bought mine after researching and trying out the 28-135, 17-85 and 24-70 as well as the closely matched 16-35.

My 17-40mm rivals the performance from the best Zuiko primes I have - and it's no use saying I'm comparing them to crappy primes because I've posted pictures from the 90mm f2 here that show how sharp that is. For me to say that my 17-40mm practically matches this lens in performance across the frame is saying something.

Images from my 17-40mm are razor sharp from edge to edge - at all apertures. What limits its performance is not the build or quality of the lens but how I use it. On tripod and low ISO + decent shutter speed I get consistently amazing photos with the 17-40mm.

It's the best value for money L lens out there. I read on L-L that the comparison between the 16-35 and 17-40 gave the wide end to the 17 and the tele end to the 16 - but I disagree - my copy gives superb pictures at both ends of the range.

Maybe I'm lucky?

Wow unless there's funky architecture the amount of pin-cushion distortion on that picture is beyond funny! (The building on the left has normal keystoning perspective distortion but the foreground building is distorted severely meaning the pincushion is way out of control on that lens).

As someone else pointed out the chromatic aberration is also quite bad.

I'd say there's a misaligned element - it's probably been dropped. I shudder at the thought of Canon quality control if that is what can come off the production line!

Take it back - run - don't walk!

Ben

Hello all,

I want to compile a list of what the particulars are of importance in

this problem with the 20D. There are many variables but I feel that

with the help of more information there could potentially be an

accurate diagnosis.

1. What is the lowest ISO you have observed banding to occur?

2. Do you have vertical, horizontal or combined banding?

3. Which CF card are you using and what capacity is it?

4. Do you download images via the camera cable or via a CF card reader?

My answers are:

1. At 400 ISO I have seen it.

2. Mine is mostly a grid type combined noise but vertical predominates.

3. Sandisk Ultra II 1GB

4. Camera cable.

I'd be interested in the answers from other people who have

problematic 20D cameras.

Regards,

Ben

As I understand it the screen is not interchangeable - thus not

removable?

How have others handled this situation. Admittedly my dust particles

are small and on another film SLR I would have ignored it - but I am

worried that these will in time get on the sensor or become really

stuck on.

How does everyone else handle this and what would you do in my position?

TIA

Hi all,

I had a 220EX and bought an off camera cord 2 for some versatility and

generally I like this combo for macro photography.

Recently I bought a 580EX for my 20D largely because of its

intelligent functioning with lens zooming, greater power etc.

Is there any way to make them operate together efficiently. I'll be

using the lights for indoor portraits and have no other light sources

apart from these two and the off camera cord.

Thanks in advance.

Hello all,

Last Friday I had my sensor cleaned by Canon (after discovering 50+

large dust particles which must have been delivered that way from the

factory as I certainly did not change lenses carelessly or frequently

enough to result in all that rubbish on the sensor).

I also took it as an opportunity to upgrade my firmware from 1.0.5 to

1.1.0.

I had taken 1490 shots since getting the camera. When the camera was

returned following the cleaning I noticed the image index had

increased to 7800 or so! I assumed that the Canon service center had

used their own CF card which upped the shutter count that far. I can't

imagine they would (or why they would) release the shutter 6000 times

during the 15 minutes it took for them to return the camera to me.

Anyhow my shutter problems started last night. I had changed from the

EF 17-40mm to an adapted Zuiko lens. I have several custom functions

on and particularly C.Fn#4 is set to 1. The problem manifested itself

when I half pressed the shutter release - the asterisk appears in the

viewfinder indicating AE LOCK - but a random amount of time afterwards

the asterisk disappears and pushing the shutter release all the way

does nothing - the shutter does not release. This can be repeated

several times and the asterisk after initially coming on disappears

making shutter release impossible.

I went back to default settings and the shutter was OK until this

afternoon. On the normal settings I framed up a shot and pushed the

shutter - and no actuation at all - even repeated attempts did not

fire the shutter. The indicated shutter speed was 1/13 and slower -

moving the camera to a new scene which indicated 1/100 fired the

shutter once before again strange shutter lockup occuring.

I don't know what is causing this. I suspect a mechanical problem with

the shutter button switches malfunctioning but I'm not sure how

reliable EOS shutter button switches are in this sense.

There was no problem at all with 1.0.5 and the other possibility is

that the firmware update may have a bug that caused this problem. I

don't have the means to go back to 1.0.5 (no ability to write to the

CF card).

Has anyone got any ideas on what might be the problem?

Here's a practical example. If you are standing 10 metres from a subject and took a picture with a 50mm lens on a 35mm film body and then cropped that picture you would end up with pictures that would be identical to the ones you could take at that distance with higher focal length lenses. In that picture you would find all the pictures one could take with higher focal length lenses FROM THE SAME DISTANCE. So there would be a crop that corresponded exactly with what you would get by having this 50mm lens on a 20D - and that would correspond exactly with the picture one could take with an 80mm lens on the 35mm body AT 10 METRES. Each of these pictures has the same perspective.

Thus the conclusion is that perspective relates directly to the distance which one takes a picture from. Pictures taken from the same distance with any lens have the same perspective relationship.

The button says "Post a new question" rather than "topic" hence my

question.

Are lens/camera commentaries/user experiences or reports unwelcome then?

I have experienced the DSLR vs film performance of lenses first hand in my dealing with my adapted Zuikos on the 20D.

I have a 21mm f2 that is widely considered to be a superb lens - was the class leading lens in that focal length for years before Leica eventually matched it. On film (ie. used with OM body and a good emulsion) I never once noticed a problem with its performance - center or edge.

On the 20D the lens has been less stellar - the edges show marked RB CA and one must remember the cropping factor so the problem would be worse on a full frame. Admittedly the CA at the edges of the 21mm f2 show less CA than the photo above at the center.

Therefore I think the problem with the Canon 24mm f2.8 may in fact be that it is not optimised for digital - those sensors really show up lens flaws. After seeing the CA on the stellar 21mm f2 I laid it to one side and determined not to use it on the 20D - and that has less CA at the edges than what one sees here in the center!

Take it or leave it, it is.... I'll definitely leave it to others.

I see vertical banding in shadow details on any iso with my 20D also. It depends on how hard you're searching for it really.

I saw it more with the kit lens 18-55mm which needed more sharpening to get crisp images - the sharpening seems to bring it out more. Using a 17-40mm L and various 'big glass' Zuikos gives me very sharp pictures with almost no need for sharpening and this has mitigated the problem.

Also - it helps to look at the histogram for the first in a series of exposures to make sure you are shooting as far to the right as possible without blowing out important highlights. Underexposure makes this vertical banding stick out like a sore thumb.

I got my adapter online last year from Kindai in Japan directly. There are threads here - search for "OM EOS adapter" or "Kindai" and you will find the email address to contact them. It cost me ~ 19200 Y which is not insignificant but like Bruce says it's a high quality machined adapter (being Japanese made you can imagine that it's not going to be rubbish).

I think Olympus has made a big mistake not releasing their own adapter probably because they want people to buy into their new "digital" lenses.

On the E1 - assuming an adapter existed the crop factor becomes 2x. The 20D for me at least has the advantage of being a lower crop factor. I'd love to use these lenses on an even smaller crop factor camera like 1.3 for example.

Hi Ron,

Yes I'll have to do the "sneaker" equivalence to test it out against the 17-40mm at some stage but I have a feeling the prime 90mm will win out.

The 85mm f1.8 is a lens that tempts me (still) because I like this focal length a great deal and even with the 1.6 crop factor the fl still works for me. I guess the only thing the Zuiko 90mm f2 has over the EF 85mm f1.8 is its 1:2 superb macro ability (of course minuses are there too - eg. stopped down metering, manual focus, half stop slower etc.)

I wouldn't buy a 90mm f2 to use with the 20D if I didn't have one already (they still cost around $600-900 US second hand) but the small investment in this adapter has at least kept the need to invest in top L glass to a minimum for the time being. My question is really whether I'd really want any more glass than what I have. The way I figure it is that pros in the past used manual focus lenses quite successfully albeit slower (and I have one AF lens for those lazy times) - so it will be a viable option for me to press on with the Zuikos as my glass for the time being at least.

Are you also from around these parts then?

Hi Rokkor Fan,

I'm not in any photo clubs presently - I've been here a relatively short time.

I'm a lifelong student as far as photography goes; but I have to say that this 90mm f2 has taken more photos on my 20D than it ever has on my OM gear in 5 years - digital is an amazing medium.

Some people who are viewing my latest photos say I have improved markedly since I have gone digital - but I can hardly get worse with modern equipment and the number of frames I can take in a day! I am just pleased that some of my older lenses work so well on the Canon 20D. I'm also impressed by my 40mm f2 that is sharper at all apertures than my 17-40mm f4 at 40mm.

I'm still waiting for the bulk of my photo stuff to arrive from Sydney - and that includes the highly regarded Zuiko 35-80mm f2.8 zoom and I am wondering whether I'll need to buy any other Canon L glass given that I have the 17-40mm f4 L for those times when only autofocus will do.

For example I have the Zuiko 24mm shift which is another nice lens but I've found its chromatic aberration is noticably more than the 17-40mm and even the kit lens 18-55mm but I think all wider shift lenses show this problem up more.

I'll have the following Zuiko lenses for use with the 20D together with the Canon 17-40mm:

21mm f2 (chromatic aberration considerable at edges)

24mm f3.5 shift (ditto re CA despite extra low dispersion element)

40mm f2 (very sharp - high resolution and excellent contrast)

50mm f1.2 and 50mm f2 macro (both superb)

90mm f2 macro (high resolution, moderate contrast)

100mm f2 (even better than the 90mm f2 - extra low dispersion glass elements)

35-80mm f2.8 zoom (final Zuiko ever designed -released 1995 with then new OM-3Ti; selected several years ago by Sinar and rebadged as Sinaron 35-80mm f2.8 for their digital system, indicating the quality of this lens - was always superb on film)

About the only Canon L lens I would want to add that would really complement what I have is the 70-200mm f2.8 IS L. Just pleased that what I have already works so well.

Actually that last corner photo was cropped from a jpg which had sharpening applied.

Here is the RAW unsharpened crop:

The patterns at the edge of the clock are the grain in the local sandstone used to construct the clocktower. It's unbelievable how much detail it resolves.

<p>

The other edge photo shows the netting placed to prevent birds and again that this is resolved so clearly from 25-30 metres is astounding to me at least.

<p>

I have a 17-40mm and have not been able to find a photo taken with it that has comparable detail in the corners and edges.

<p>

I have some photos of faces with this 90mm f2 macro lens that resolves the fine hair on skin from a distance of several metres. Here is an example 100% crop of the corner of a babies mouth:

<p><div></div>

I downloaded and installed DPP 1.5 update several days ago and am

regretting it. It has a few nice features but they've changed the

positions of pushbuttons on dialogs which was unnecessary imo.

The bug is that if one leaves the program running in the background

then invariably after several minutes the CPU fan accelerates

indicating increased CPU usage. Activity monitor confirms that DPP 1.5

is using 45-80% of processor time while idling in the background.

I hope Canon fixes it soon.

I had bought a Kindai OM-EOS adapter a while before buying my 20D in

order to future proof my lens collection which is quite extensive in

Zuiko. The Zuiko 90mm f2 macro is a legendary piece of Olympus glass

that cost circa $1K US new.

<p>

Here are some shots I took yesterday handheld - the images were

photographed raw and crops are 100% and unsharpened (using DPP

transferred to Photoshop CS).

<p>

Both shots are from a distance of about 25-30 metres.

<p>

Clocktower (Brisbane Town Hall) reduced to 15% of original - 1/750s f2.8

<p>

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/Clocktower.jpg">

<p>

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/ClockCenter.jpg">

<p>

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/ClockEdge.jpg">

<p>

and here is a shot of one of the tour boats on the Brisbane River

taken at 1/180s f5.6.

<p>

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/BoatBig.jpg">

<p>

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/BoatSign.jpg">

<p>

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/BoatCorner.jpg">

<p>

I don't have any Canon lens in this focal length range to compare to

but I was impressed by the shots here, more so because they are

handheld and manually focussed without half prism aid. Makes it

worthwhile to invest in adapters for legacy lenses. I switched to

Canon because of this fact as Olympus are not (as far as I know)

providing an adapter for their E1 camera.

<p>

I'll be testing my Zuiko 35-80mm f2.8 (another legendary lens) soon

and will post up some test pictures if there is interest.

<p>

Best wishes.