PuppyDigs

<p>If you're not willing to buy the PS upgrade, the best alternative is to use Canon's DPP 3.14x. Not as elegant as LR or Aperture but the basic RAW conversion is excellent and often the default looks better than LR. It only has global adjustments but the lens correction and digital optimization are excellent. Once the basic adjustments are saved, convert to TIFF and open in PS4 for further adjustments if needed.</p>

<p>Back in the day I owned an EOS 3 and Elan 7E. 90% of the time I grabbed the Elan and it worked great: petite, quiet and I loved ECF. If you can find the last Elan rendition, the 2004 Elan 7NE, it has some minor tweaks to ECF and ETTL II. I think they must be almost free now. I sold my last two Elan 7 in 2006 for $75 each and in near mint condition.</p>

<p>I mainly shoot landscape, travel, theatre/stage and macro with my 6D and it rarely misses. Oddly, I had more missed focus with my 60D! The 6D center point is the best in the business and will lock in dimmer light than any camera I've owned. True, outer points aren't as sensitive but they actually work well in all but the dimmest light. 6D contrast focus in LV is considerably better and faster than 60D contrast focus, albeit not nearly as good as the 70D duel pixel contrast focus. The only place the 6D falls short is AI servo for fast sports. </p> <p>I also have a 70D and while AF system is excellent and certainly better for AI servo than the 6D, the 6D buries it in low light. My 6D review:<br> http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/frary/canon_eos6D.htm</p>

<p>I don't think the 5D MKIII will yield better print quality than the 6D. If anything, the 6D bests the 5D3 a notch at high ISO and noise control in low mids and shadows.</p>

<p>So manual focus via eyesight is off? How about if you use the magnify mode on the LCD? Unless DOF is great, I have to use magnify mode to nail focus manually.</p> <p>Does it autofocus correctly? I had to MA several of my lenses to get them tack sharp, e.g., my 70-200 4L IS required +3 at 70mm and +2 at 200. If you camera lacks the MA feature, you'll have to send the camera and lens to Canon for calibration.</p>

<p>Recently sold my 7D: great camera but I rarely shoot action anymore and it was larger and heavier than the 6D (& 5D MKII). I find the combo of 6D and Rebel SL1 to be ideal for my style of photography--landscape, street, travel and macro. When I shoot travel or shoot landscape I bring my 6D and a couple lenses. I carry the SL1 with 24 2.8 IS USM in my messenger bag, even when going to work or shopping, and get lots of candids and street shots I would otherwise miss with my heavier gear. </p> <p>I would never want two of the same cameras. EOS designs are very similar so it only takes a couple days to get used to the small differences and smoothly move from one body to the next.</p>

<p>I love the 6D but not too fond of Sigma products. Owned a lot of Sigma lemons and, unlike the lemons of life, was unable to make lemonade.</p>

<p>The 5D2 has a big edge in still quality and video, especially in lower light. And battery life is a lot better in still mode. I personally find the EOS much more ergonomic. However, the GH3 is easier to use for video with excellent contrast focus in video mode and the choice of EVF or LCD while shooting.</p> <p>Personally, I'd choose the 5D2 over the tiny M4/3 sensor. And the electronic look of the EVF drove me nuts. My context is I own a 5D MKII and am in the process of selling all my Panasonic M4/3 gear. The Panasonic menus and controls surfaces were awkward and slow for me, even after 2 years of practice I couldn't get used to them. On the other hand, I can play my 5D2 like a piano...</p>

<p>The 5D and 5D MKII have a cross-point in the center, with 8 single axis points around it. If you use Ai-servo, there is a cluster of assist points that activate around the center.</p> <p>All the points on the 40D are cross points but the center point is more sensitive. What happens when you use a F 2.8 or faster lens is the center cross kicks in a higher level of accuracy. </p>

<p>I went from a 50D to 60D some years back and the 60D has much better noise control. The 50D was really noisy at ISO800 and suffered extreme banding patterns in low midrange and shadows, e.g., gray clouds were horrid. With the 60D ISO 800 or 1600 are no problem. Sure there's noise but it's smoother and more grain-like, so NR plug-ins can tweak it without smearing the life out of the image. Both cameras basically have the same AF system but the 60D seemed a little more surefooted. I came to prefer the smaller and lighter form of the 60D. The only thing I missed at first was a dedicated FEC button but you can assign FEC to the set button. </p>

<blockquote> <p>Wow, some people think a crop camera is only a temp solution until they can get a FF camera. I</p> </blockquote> <p>I love crop and FF equally! They're all great toys to play with! I just saw refurb 60D selling for $432 and a refurb T5i for $420 at Canon:</p> <p>http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/08-03-14-save-up-to-30-percent-instantly-when-you-buy-select-refurbished-eos-digital-slr-cameras</p> <p>I bought a refurb SL1 not too long for for $359 and it only had 19 actuations and was mint as it gets. Refurbs come with 1 year warranty.</p>

<p>The 70D has a 20.2MP dual pixel CMOS whereas the SL1 and T5i share the same "tweaked" 18MP CMOS from yesteryear. The 60D has an earlier version of the 18MP CMOS similar to the 7D. I still own a 60D and have a new SL1 and must say IQ is similar but 60D AF is better and has slightly better high ISO performance. The only tweak to the SL1/T5i CMOS is the hybrid focus ability. IQ was not improved.</p> <p>But, yes, the heavily discounted 60D is the killer deal if you're looking for best bang for buck. If you have another 5 benjamins to burn the 70D yields another stop of clean high ISO, mean arse contrast focus in LV and best in class AF.</p>

<p>A toothbrush works well to remove white oxidation on camera and lens rubber.</p>

<p>Like the photo modes, video has the option of full manual or auto with user overrides. Your choice. </p>

<p>Nope, but mine is only 8 months old and stays in a bag when not being used. A camera sitting in a window for a week during the summer can't be good.</p>

<blockquote> <p>although the EOS utility was nice because it would automatically drop the files in a dated folder.</p> </blockquote> <p>EU recognizes a Canon formatted card and will "automatically drop the files in a dated folder" just like it does tethered to Wi-Fi or USB. Albeit, EU is sometimes a day off even tho' my camera clock is synchronized to my Mac. So I've gone to drag 'n drop to the folder of my choice.</p>

<p>The best solution is to use a CF card reader for uploads: faster and doesn't depend on Canon's software. I drag 'n drop files from the card and leave EOS Utility disabled. Canon stopped supporting the 5D a couple years back. Of course RAW files still open in DPP but features using a USB connection like tethering went south. Might have something to do with the 5D using USB 1.1. The 5D MKII and MKIII are still supported under USB 2.</p>

<p>I see the 6D going for $1300 to $1500 all the time. It would be tough to find it for $1900 unless you're gunning for a kit. I bought a USA model from Amazon for $1315 last December. Even CanonDirect sells refurbs for under $1300 and has regular sales. Might want to poke around CanonPriceWatch for a few weeks and you'll catch a deal.</p>

<p>I owned a 28-75 2.8 back in the day and it was optically decent but really slow to focus. The one thing that bothered me was the lack of a clutch to disengage the MF ring AF. I could never get used to the darn thing spinning during AF--spoiled by USM--and eventually sold the darn thing and now have great fingernails!</p>

<p>However, it's not uncommon for the 5D2 2nd shutter to occasionally stick and give an error and/or dark curtain in the image. Pull the battery and it should go away. If it happens more often the prognosis isn't good. Those photos--if the flash was off--look like symptoms of a shutter failure.</p>

<p>The old 5D wasn't shielded very well and when near a strong RFI source--transmitting tower--all my images had strange artifacts. Also, some wireless triggers did the same thing (Cactus comes to mind). Haven't noticed said problems with newer gear but I stay away from that damn tower...</p>

<p>Don't leave Duracells unattended very long. I've had so many leak in Speedlites, cameras, guitars, audio recorders, flashlights, etc., I lost count. At this very moment three Duracells are stuck in my Apple wireless keyboard after only a few months of use. I switched to Eneloops a year ago and so far no leaks and they last longer than Duracell. </p>

<p>I shoot with both a 5D MKII and 6D and the 6D one ups the older camera in most but not all ways. 6D AF is certainly more responsive and amazing in low light. And while IQ is about the same below ISO 1600, the 6D flies pass the 5D2 after that. I thought the lack of a joystick would bother me but I actually found the multi controller more sure footed in selecting AF points. My only beef is placement: too far down the back, requiring a excessive of thumb movement.</p> <p>The lack of a dedicated FEC button is the main gotcha for me. With the 5D2 I can adjust FEC while looking through the VF. With the 6D you have to look at the LCD, even if you assign FEC to the SET button. My 6D review:</p> <p>http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/frary/canon_eos6D.htm</p>

<blockquote> <p>I am not aware of any physical limitation to the length of recording.</p> </blockquote> <p>The limit mainly has to do with FAT format specifications being limited to 4GB. However, the 70D automatically and seamlessly splits files greater than 4GB for extended recording without interruption. You'll have to manually drop the two clips into your editor side by side to joint them.<br> <br> As for the LV video, you can connect a separate monitor to the 70D HDMI output if you need a larger screen. HD video burns batteries like water and I'm guessing an active Wi-Fi connection would overtax the battery and drain it in a few minutes.</p>

<p>Have to say the three extra stops of hand hold ability I get from the IS on the 35 2.0 IS make a huge difference if you're a low lighter shooter. Combined with the 6D's -3EV AF dimly lit dives, back alleys, caves and tripod prohibiting venues are no problem. </p>