gerhard_hofmann1

<p>Diana,</p>

<p>I don"t care to much about noise but for me from 800 - 1600 the 7D is 1 stop better than the 50D. If you print the file and don't compare the pixel level the difference is even better. The 7D ist the first xxD body which will push the 1Dxxx cameras out of my camera bag. lighter very good handling and IQ fantastic battery performance and easy to charge the batteries in the car .... perfect for going on a long trip. I even can add another spare body and still safe cash and weight.<br>

Regards Gerhard</p>

<p>I agree correct focus and exposure helps :-) lol ... but the 7D magnifies every little mistake -just this little bit more than every other EOS I had. Noise and sharpness .... both increase when a heavily cropped image is printed ... both look okay when you use the whole 18MP</p>

<p>Compared to other EOS bodies http://www.hofmann-photography.de/html/zoom-in.html</p>

<p>The last two roes are mainly 7D pictures<br>

Regards Gerhard</p>

<p>Well I wasn't really a big friend of the new 18MP sensor ... meanwhile I changed my mind<br>

if you nail exposure and focus it is indeed pretty decent.</p>

<p>Have a look. http://www.hofmann-photography.de/html/january-eos_7d.html</p>

<p>Thanks Gerhard</p>

<p>I second Frank its not worth the effort, the only method I can think is get another fresnel-lens for the front of the beamer. Which narrows the beam even more. But the quality of the light doesn't get better.<br>

<a href="http://www.hofmann-photography.de/">Geraldo</a></p>

<p>I also use all methods but prefer to manually selct the Af-point as I mainly work with AI-servo. I really like the new SPOT AF of the new 7D <a href="http://www.hofmann-photography.de/html/eos_7d_first_impressions.html">(samples with zoom-in pictures)</a> which makes it easier to focus on small details. And I like that the AF-points cover a larger area with all the APS-C cameras.<br>

<a href="http://www.hofmann-photography.de/">Geraldo</a></p>

<p>Chris,<br>

Are you sure it is a focusing issue, do you use a MF lens? With wild birds wind is my biggest enemy as it will move the feathers and often I capture sharp eyes but the feathers around the eye are a little soft. I am with most of the other folks that a viewfinder loupe won’t help very much as it will slow you down considerably the same with using live-view.<br>

So far I am happy using the AF but my keeper rate is higher with cameras of the 1D series as they seem to have smaller AF fields. See the http://www.hofmann-photography.de/html/zoom-in.html of some of my birds showing good feather details. These are zoom-in pictures where you can zoom-in to actual pixels (like a 100% crop).<br>

The show samples from 10D,20D,40D,50D, 1D MkII as well as 1 Ds MkII.<br>

Regards Gerhard<br /> </p>

Alan,

actually Imho the mirror is not really the reason for the burst rate after all the EOS1V managed already a burst rate 8-10 and was “full-frame”. It is more likely the file size which slows down a camera like the 1DSIII.

Gerhard

Kevin, <br>

I only can talk about the Molar bean bag, and I can highly recommend it. I usually work with a 500mm lens often mated to a 1.4 or 2.0 converter and the Molar bag is a very stable platform for this setup. I usually attach two Wimberley quick release arms to the lens plate (pointing in opposite directions). The whole setup rests perfectly on the flat platform the Molar bag provides.<br>

The only small disadvantage of the Molar bag - it eats a lot of beans or bird seeds. But there is always a tradeoff.<br>

<a href="http://www.hofmann-photography.de/html/favorites_34.html"> done from the car with Molar bag</a> <br>

Gerhard

Brad,

I never had any problems using the ST-E2 outdoors in bright light for macro-work. 3 feet should not be a problem if the flash can "see" the ST-E2. <br>

The main problem outdoor in bright light is distance - go for 10 feet and bright light and you will experience problems.<br>

<a href="http://www.hofmann-photography.de/html/favorites_14.html">two flash controlled with ST-E2 in bright sunlight distance 10 feet</a> <br>

Good luck Gerhard

Sorry for the last post it was not meant to be sent online, I just tried to figure out how to create links.

Sorry

Gerhard

Soory the links didn’t work

50D samples 100 ISO Zoom in for details (up to 100%) <br>

<a href=”http://www.hofmann-photography.de/eos50d/painted/IMG_7385.html”>ISO 100 sample-1</a><br>

<a href=”http://www.hofmann-photography.de/eos50d/painted/dybowski/IMG_0274.html”>ISO 100 sample-2</a> <br>

<a href=”http://www.hofmann-photography.de/eos50d/painted/gould/IMG_7407.html”>ISO 100 sample-3</a> <br>

Another sample from a day with lousy weather in NW-UK <br>

<a href=”http://www.hofmann-photography.de/eos50d/GH--8252.jpg”>ISO400 sample</a> <br> <a href=”http://www.hofmann-photography.de/eos50d/GH--8252-2.jpg”>ISO400 sample 100%crop </a> <br>

Hopefully the links work Gerhard

<a href="http://www.muellerworld.com/pcd0968/star_streaks-39.html">this photo</a>?

IMHO the 50D is well worth the update but one has to use a decent lens and good technique.

100 ISO samples to zoom in (slider on the bottom, be patient with a slow internet connection)

http://www.hofmann-photography.de//eos50d/painted/IMG_7385.html

http://www.hofmann-photography.de/eos50d/dybowski/IMG_0274.html

http://www.hofmann-photography.de/eos50d/gould/IMG_7407.html

400ISO

http://www.hofmann-photography.de/eos50d/GH--8252.jpg

100% crop

http://www.hofmann-photography.de/eos50d/GH--8252-2.jpg

All pictures no NR or sharpening other than the default settings in LR 2.1

The Micro Af adjustment kind of saved the day when I dropped my 70-200mm. After it hit the ground it showed strong Front focus - and the IS was gone. I tried to compensate the focusing error using the Micro Adjustment of the 50D - it worked perfect the next two days -without IS of course- until I could send it of to Canon for repair.

Have fun whether it is a 40,50D,D300 or whatever

Gerhard

Zafar,

Well for me there is no big difference in the sharpness but there is a difference in resolution and actually I

thought this is it what the discussion is about.

As I will use the 50D mainly for long lens work I don't care so much about corner to corner sharpness but a lot

whether I can crop the image in the center and still get a decent amount of details. The 50D will be the camera

mounted on the lens when I can't get close enough and still would like to get a 10MP file for a cover shot :-).

So far I am quite happy with the files even after cropping they look pretty decent.

With film the saying was: "When you can nail the sharpness once the problem usually is not the equipment but the

potographer's technique." I still agree with it.

I posted some zoom-in pictures

http://www.hofmann-photography.de/eos50d/dybowski/IMG_0274.html

http://www.hofmann-photography.de/eos50d/gould/IMG_7407.html

http://www.hofmann-photography.de/eos50d/painted/IMG_7385.html

Use the slider at the bottom to magnify (up to 100 %) and the thumbnail in the upper left corner to navigate. I

am really happy about the colors of the gouldian finch (second link), and the red color of the Painted Firetail

(link3). All pictures are 100 ISO from raw files now NR or sharpening, no color adjustment. Link2 2 was pushed

1stop.

Regards Gerhard

I fully agree with Bob the resolution is for sure better than with the 40D and I have to say I am not disappointed with the noise performance either.

100% Crop 100 ISO flash

http://www.hofmann-photography.de/IMG_0263.jpg

100% crop 800 ISO lousy light and weather

http://www.hofmann-photography.de/IMG_9342.jpg

Both files are "untouched" raw exports from lightroom 2.1 which is not even the best software for 50D files.

Gerhard

Philip,

I can't comment on the 5D Mark I;I but frankly the 50D is a stunning camera. I usually work with a 1DS Mark II

but prefer the 40D when my 500mm with the attached 1.4 converter is not long enough (pixel density).

After using the 50D for two weeks I more than satisfied; the 15MP are a real benefit as long as the lens in front

of the camera is good enough ( I tested the 180mm, 100mm Macro as well as the 4.0/300 2.8/300 and my standard

lens the 4.0/500 they all work perfect with the camera) the 15MP files come very close to what I get with my 1DS

MArk II.

You may have a look at where I posted some shots

http://www.hofmann-photography.de/eos50d/dybowski/IMG_0274.html

http://www.hofmann-photography.de/eos50d/gould/IMG_7407.html

http://www.hofmann-photography.de/eos50d/painted/IMG_7385.html

Use the slider at the bottom to magnify (up to 100 %) and the thumbnail in the upper left corner to navigate. I

am really happy about the colors of the gouldian finch (second link), and the red color of the Painted Firetail

(link3). All pictures are 100 ISO from raw files now NR or sharpening, no color adjustment. Link2 2 was pushed 1stop.

If money is an issue I would go for the 50D.

Regards Gerhard

Paul,

Sounds like your flashbulb (hope this is the right term) is gone. Usually you can hear it when you shake the flash a bit; it makes the same soft rattling noise as a normal burned out light-bulb. Same happened to my 580EXs repair was about $150 both work fine again.

Regards Gerhard

Would like to go out and shoot some birds - but- the light is too bright for the 1D Mark III ;-).

Gerhard

Well another unhappy 1DMarkIII owner, actually I switched back to my 1DMarkII for birds in flight. As Mark I shoot a lot of fast moving birds in bright daylight and the old camera performs just better, even after the fix of the sub-mirror unit.

Gerhard

Seems to be no melanin left in the plumage, the legs are pale as well. The red plumage is likely carotenoids often not affected by albinism, but for an albino bird the eyes should be red.

I agree with Ralf & Mark leucistic.

Gerhard

Hi Colin,

My 1D Cameras are quite happy with my Sigma-lens,

http://www.hofmann-photography.de/gelbb.html

Well and neither I nor the camera bodies suffer from parasites. :-)

Regards Gerhard

I just recently tried my converters with my 500/4, sadly the tape trick with 2x coverter doesn't really help. Af is slow with lots of hunting and frankly MF is the way to go with this combination.

The IQ with the 2x converter is still decent (Mark I agree ) despite the higher pixel density.

The IQ when both converters are mounted drops significantly but is still useful when you spot an Ivory Billed Wp. :-)

You can look at the results at

http://www.hofmann-photography.de/html/zoom_-_in.html

The links from two too four show the converter pictures.

Regards Gerhard

Alan,

I second Mark; of the three cameras mentioned the 1Dmk II is clearly the best for birds in flight or everything else you need fast AF.

I have no idea about the IQ of the 1Ds but for me the pictures of my 1DMkII are on the same level as the ones from my 40D (and show less noise).

I take the 40D when I can't get close enough. The 1.6 crop factor and the higher pixel density win in this situation.

But I still prefer the 1DMkII with most other situations.

I have uploaded some pictures of the 1DMkII / 1D Mk IIs as well as the 40D to zoom in. With the slider on the bottom left you can Zoom in to the actual pixels.

http://www.hofmann-photography.de/html/zoom_-_in.html

Regards Gerhard

Hi Glen,

The Zoomify is found under

File -then Export -choose Zoomify

the rest photoshop will do for you.

You choose it for the picture opened in CS3.

Regards

Gerhard

Thank Y'all,

Sadly Kerry, you are right the "Rusty" is declining fast (about 90% in the last 30 years)see also http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/Featured_Birds/default.cfm?bird=Rusty%20Blackbird

And the main reason for our work is to find out why this species is declining so rapidly. It is bad luck if you belong to the Blackbird-family you don't get much attention even if you are in big trouble.

Kevin, with my 20D I often had trouble to get the eye of small not frame filling songbirds razor sharp. I can just guess the AF-sensor picked more contrast somewhere else and went for it. I am glad that the 40D is reacting more like one of the 1D series.

As they are quite shy I often use my 500mm plus the 2x converter for

the shots. Sadly the 40D doesn't work with this combination.

See some Rusties in winter plumage the second male shows the pronounced rusty feather-edges ? probably the reason for the name or maybe the Rusty call as Kerry suggested.

http://www.hofmann-photography.de/html/zoom_-_in.html

Michael I guess if the muddy wet conditions are responsible for the name I will end up as Rusty-Gerhard and hopefully with no rusty Canon-equipment .:)

Regards Gerhard

I waited to purchase a 40D until we went back to the US again. Currently we are

in Mississippi conducting a study on Rusty Blackbird.These birds like it wet and

muddy and yes the 40D would probably prefer a different place :-) but it does a

decent job so far. I like the smaller AF fields so I can really focus on the eye

of small songbirds.I no longer get the regularly "in focus neck" of small birds

as it was the case with my 20D (With the 20D the AF field is much bigger then

the marked spot in the finder.)

The camera gets some drizzle nearly every day and is still working pretty good,

Canon also seem to use a different material for the large LCD it doesn't scratch

as easy as the one from my other Canons.

Click on Yellow-rumped warbler and the Zoom in picture (nice feature of CS3)

will show. With the slider at the bottom you can zoom in to the actual pixel size.

http://www.hofmann-photography.de/html/zoom_-_in.html

Regards Gerhard