PuppyDigs

<p>According to the Canon Museum, they're the same design save for the hood.</p>

<p>I've bought new photo gear from from Amazon and received used/returned gear instead. So it happens everywhere. But, like the B&H situation, I figured it was employee error and not an organized attempt at scamming (most things are brand new). A couple weeks ago I bought a Gitzo monopod and it was in a dogeared box, the foam grip was stained and stank of cologne and it had small scratches all over the CF tubes! It's not easy to find good employees to work crappy deadend warehouse jobs.</p>

<p>According Canon, 1.1.4 fixes a few minor glitches:</p> <blockquote> <p>1. Fixes a phenomenon in which some images cannot be transferred to mobile devices running the EOS Remote app.<br />2. Corrects an error in the German language Feature Guide.<br />3. Corrects an error in the Korean language Feature Guide.</p> </blockquote> <p>The EOS Remote app works very reliably on my iPhone now. I haven't tried the language features but my wife told me the Korean menus are fine now.<br> One feature not listed is some non-OEM batteries are no longer recognized by the camera menu. My STK now give me a warning. No biggie, it's the worst battery I've ever owned, lasting only about 25% as long as OEM.</p>

<blockquote> <p>The Canon 1D Mark III has less than 500 shutter actuations, the Can EOS 7D has approximately 25,000.</p> </blockquote> <p>Seriously? The 1D MKIII only has 500 shutter actuations after a half dozen years? You might want to check it with a shutter count app. Most 1D series owners shoot more than 500 images in a single session. The in-camera counter turns over at 9999 and the true shutter count is only accessible via special software.</p>

<p>That was a letdown! I was expecting at least a new Rebel or S series.</p>

<p>And use that terrible MF ring to manually focus?</p>

<p>I'm guessing all current Rebels will be soon available in white...</p>

<p>Fast SDXC card in a USB3 card reader is the way to go. By wire or Wi-Fi is much slower.</p> <p>The 6D is still in its prime. I wouldn't expect a redesign in the near future. Maybe in 2 years? The Rebels, 5D3 and 1DX will probably get updates first.</p>

<p>I left GPS on while traveling this summer and sure had to change the battery a lot! I think I'd rather use a shoe mount GPS with separate battery supply. I try to leave it off now.</p>

<p>Shuttercount is a standalone app that runs on Mac or PC and works great. But you'll need to fork over $2.99. It's great when buying and selling cameras since everybody seems to demand shutter cycle counts.</p>

<p>It's a 6-year old camera and it may need a reset. I recall mine used to go off the rails very months and pulling mains and backup (clock) used to set it straight. With that said, the LCD it shipped with is pretty poor compared to just about anything today: dim, low rez and magenta cast. I had to bright brightness full blast or it basically looked blank outside during the day. Even in 2008 I recall lots of complaining about the LCD. Although smaller, I preferred the brighter and more vivid LCDs on my old 20D and XTi.</p>

<p>Hmm, your escalating description to starting to sound more like "focus shift" than inaccurate screen placement. Some lenses exhibit a different point of focus stopped down than when wide open. </p>

<p>That's a typo. I meant to type shim, i.e., place a small spacer in the screen bracket to tweak alignment with the focus plane.</p>

<p>I'm don't think the EF 24-105mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM is a replacement or update of the EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM. It falls in the marketing segment for the 1990s era EF 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM. I wouldn't be surprised if the 28-135mm fades away when stocks are depleted.</p>

<p>Might need to reseat your focusing screen. Sometimes they get knocked slightly out of alignment. My EOS 3 used to need reseating as did my 5D. Realize your camera was designed for AF and the focusing screen isn't 100% accurate for MF. If you're really picky you can slim it to correct for the slight misalignment.</p>

<p>I went from a 7D to a 6D last winter and man what a difference in IQ. ISO 12800 on the 6D is better than ISO 1600 on the 7D. Seriously! And the that 6D center point will focus in dim caves the 7D can only hunts and fail. I miss the 7D's grid on demand and the peppy FPS but I mainly shoot landscape, theatre and travel so I don't need to gunsling too often. I don't miss the 7D's small V, heft and patterned noise in shadows.</p> <p>I also sold my 17-55 2.8 IS and don't miss it a lick. It's very sharp in the center but prone to flare--forget about sunsets--and not wide or long enough for me. The 24-105L is as close to a compromised perfect as it gets: great range, weather seals and very sharp save for corners. </p> <p>I can't say the 6D will give you better photographs but it will certainly work better in low light and allow larger prints with a lot less noise.</p> <p>My 6D review: http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/frary/canon_eos6D.htm</p>

<p>I have Wi-Fi in two of my cameras. I enjoyed playing with it for a few weeks and rarely use it anymore. The nicest feature was using my iPhone as a controller: worked great but sure ate batteries. But then I shoot hand held 99% of the time so Wi-Fi is right up there with the Direct Print button. Connecting to computers via Wi-Fi was a nightmare. Hopefully the 7D2 has a better GPS implementation than the 6D. The 6D is slow to lock and quick to lose the signal in big cities. 40 or 50% of my images don't get geotagged.</p>

<p>I've been using an Olympus VF-4 EVF for the last year and it's very good as far as EVFs go but it drives me crazy. In soft even light--overcast day-- it's excellent and rivals my 6D. However, in bright sunlight it's so contrasty I can't see a damn thing in even modest shadows and at night, my favorite time to shoot, it's so grainy and bright I'd rather use a paper tube to compose with. After 2 years my affair with mirrorless is over and I'm really happy to come home to the clarity, dynamic range and always on optical finders of my EOS gear. I lived through two generations of EVFs and they basically suck.</p>

<p>Manual readers are approaching retirement age and soon to be extinct! It's been well over a decade since I observed regular manual and textbook reading in my classes. Most younger folk were raised on "multimedia" learning and require video and/or direct hands-on instruction. Manual reading will soon go the way of email, CDs, VHS and cassette tapes...</p> <p>if the "Clear all custom functions" command doesn't work as Marked detailed above, you need a PRAM reset: pull mains and clock battery and let set a spell.</p>

<p>I record solo musicians and try to keep it simple: DLSR video, outboard audio on a Tascam DR-100 MKII and stereo mic. I use an acoustically pleasing room, do an test recording to tweak mic placement and levels and let her rip. You can always do minor touchups to EQ, remove AC hum, etc., in PP. Stay away from compression and auto gain as they squeeze the life out of the dynamics. Here's a kid I recorded last year:</p> <p>

<p>Do you mean the labeled cap on top of the dial? If so, clean off the old double-stick tape and reseat with new tape. If the cap is damaged a new one is $10 and comes with tape installed. Realize it's a moving part so if glue gets in the wrong place you might be stuck in Tv mode for eternity. My 6D is one year old and so far so good and I managed to break several mode dials in the past. Probably forgot to press that lock button...</p>

<p>I like the EF 40 2.8 STM on my SL1 as a walk around lens: very sharp at F2.8, at least at center frame, inexpensive and wee as wee gets. For some reason, it misses focus 10-15% of the time on static subjects. I briefly owned the EF 28 2.8 IS USM, bought at Canon Direct as a refurb for $379. It was amazingly sharp across the frame, including corners, wide open on my 6D. However it needed +5 micro adjustment (MA) for optimal sharpness (was front focusing), making it useless on my SL1 since it lacks MA.</p>

<p>You can view the various used prices/condition ratings at KEH.com. Realize they charge top dollar (return policy, warranty, etc.) and an individual selling on CL will need to price a third or more lower.</p>

<p>the 24-70 4L IS dropped by $500 to $999. $799 refurb at canon direct. great lens but was really overpriced.</p>

<p>I owned an easily production sample from the late 90s and it was a lot better than the one I got as a kit lens with a 50D. The only thing is they tend to get loose as a goose after a few years of zooming.</p>