evphotography

<p>Yes you did get lucky you asked here first, I had good friend that wasn't so lucky. He got ripped off totally from Broadway Photo, is this the outfit you are talking about? Nice thing to see is that state of Texas is suing Broadway Photo for their dishonest practices, finally someone is going after these outfits and there are others out there also just as bad.</p>

<p>It really kind of depends a lot on type of photography you do. If you shoot handheld the most of time then I would say go with 5D. But if you shoot with tripod a lot, then that live view function you mentioned you don't really need is something you need to explore first. If you like landscape shooting with tripod I can give you a lot of reasons why the live view in my opinion is a must have. Here are just a few, first manually focusing with live view at 10x is awesome, or just checking your focusing point. You would probably be surprised how many times a camera will just miss the point of focus accurately. Checking DOF on live view at 10x is another thing that can't be done nearly as accurately as with view finder. Using ND grad filters it is so much easier to see where graduation is effecting the image on live view vs through the viewfinder even with using DOF button. When using longer lenses when say there is a good wind blowing, put on live view magnify to 10x and you will see any camera shake at all happening with the camera you wouldn't ever notice just looking at the camera. Also the 5DII has lot other nicer features that 5D doesn't, AF micro adjustment, much better menu system, improved auto focusing and few other that Bob mentioned. Also on HD video, are you a family man with kids? If so think about how nice that could be at a kids play, birthday parties, Christmas or those type of special moments. If you have a HD TV, think how cool it would be to be able to view them in HD on your TV. But if you don't have any of those needs then I say go for 5D, just really consider first what all your needs are then the decision should be easy.</p>

<p>I guess I am little confused by exactly why you want a second body, is it just because you don't want to change lenses? Do you do wedding photography? If so I could see why you might need a second body. Some suggested the 5D and if you are looking for FF camera then that would be a great choice. But if you want to stick with cropped sensor camera then I would suggest the 40D. I think right now with new 50D out you can pick one up very reasonably and it is much better camera then XT or XSi. 50D will give you some nice added features which 40D doesn't have, but if those are features you would hardly use, then I don't think it is probably worth the extra money for 5 more MP. Without knowing exactly what you shoot or type of photography you do makes if little tough to suggest a camera. But in my opinion the best bang for buck would be 40D and nice upgrade from an XT body. 40D is more robust then entry level DSLR, has better auto focusing and few more features you won't get on an entry level DSLR, being it is a prosumer camera vs entry level.</p>

<p>Very interesting article, could be very useful information for some people. Personally with my 5DII, since I use the live view at 10x I don't need to manually focus or check DOF with viewfinder anymore. I also like the grid lines in live view better because it places them in exact 1/3 quadrants in horizontal and vertical locations which grid screens don't do. But it would have been really useful when I was shooting with old 5D. Thanks for the post.</p>

<p>I have to agree with Mike Dixons post, from what I have seen of his portfolio I'm not sure how he makes a living as photographer, or does he? Only thing that Ken every wrote that I agree with is his article on "lens sharpness", that is something I think every pixel peeper, beginner or amature should read.</p>

<p>If you are shooting with Crop sensor body than that 50 f/1.4 as mentioned is actually more like 80mm focal length in 35mm terms. You might want to consider maybe the Canon 35 f/2 which on crop sensor body is about 55mm equivalent in 35mm terms. It is also very inexpensive and a very sharp lens, as good as the 50 f/1.4 except maybe touch softer in corners but for portraits that isn't going to matter.</p>

<p>Sounds like you should be poster boy for Nikon, sell all your gear buy Nikon and then you can sleep at night again. But there are a lot of professionals out there making a great living shooting with Canon and like it. I'm kind of surprised what the big thing is about robust build of camera body especially for wedding photographer. Do you honestly think a camera like 5D or 5DII isn't robust enough build for your type of shooting, give me a break. I didn't realize wedding photography requires a camera built for war time in Iraq. Or is it just you feel you have to have a camera built like a tank or it doesn't cut it, that is your hang up, not anything Canon has done wrong in designing there cameras. So it is simple Eric, sell your gear buy Nikon and you will be happy camper again. BTW I got the new 5DII I think it is absolutely awesome, best camera I have ever had.</p>

<p>How it works is in AV mode the camera chooses the ISO and shutter speed based on lens you have. If you have say a 50 f/1.4 lens it will set the shutter speed to 1/50- 1/60 of second and then ISO speed that will allow that. Same with other lens, 100mm lens it will set shutter speed to minimum of 1/100 sec and ISO to allow that fast of shutter speed. It assumes that you will be able to get sharp images hand holding with a shutter speed that is the equivalent in length of lens being used and then ISO that will allow for that shutter and aperture combination.</p>

<p>Well I haven't tried it with the 24-105mm f/4L, but have tried it with the 17-40L, 35 f/2, 50 f/1.4 and 70-200 f/4L and when shooting RAW my images are very sharp and detail is amazing. John don't worry about what you read on few reviews, if this is camera you are wanting, get it. Trust me you will not be disappointed, it is an awesome camera, the best I have ever used yet.</p>

<p>Well if the dust in on the back of the filter in front of the sensor or on the sensor itself then Canon is your only option.</p>

<p>Are you shooting negative film or slide film. I personally would go with low cost scanner for web posting. But if you want to be able to make high quality prints from slides I would send them to Westcoast Imaging in California. The have very reasonable Tango drums scans that are excellent in quality. If you watch for their specials you can get 200mb drum scan for about $35-40.</p>

<p>It is the LCD resolution comparison that I think makes D90 look better. It has the high resolution LCD where as the 40D doesn't. Another thing I don't think a lot of photographers know is that the 40D and older bodies without the new high resolution screen, is that when viewing the images on preview the image is not displayed at the highest resolution that their screen can produce, which makes it look even worst then the 3" screen is capable of. I just found this out myself lately with an article written by someone that tested the new 50D and 5DII. But the new 50D and 5DII that has the new high resolution screens, the preview of the image is now displayed at the highest resolution as what the LCD can produce making the image look even better when previewing them. I would bet if you took shots from both and put them on your computer you would see they look equally as good.</p>

<p>Well JDM I can see your point and if Doug is wanting to do this because he wants to be a lens collector like you and have fun seeing how they perform then go for it and I totally agree with the idea. There is nothing wrong with that. But if you are wanting to do it because you think that it is going to improve your photography then I would rethink the idea, that is the point I was trying to make. By the way JDM that is a pretty impressive list of lenses you have, I wish I could see your collection.</p>

<p>Here is one more point I want to make that relates to you question and that is don't get all caught up in the pixel peeping your images at 100% viewing on the monitor. I know a lot of photographers do it and frankly they are more worried more about how good an image looks on their monitor at 100% viewing then just out take great images. Just about any really good professional photographer will tell you what I am, obsessing about how good an image looks when pixel peeping is for ameteurs and idiots. Because in real world photography when you see the final image in a print or at print size, you would have to look very close at large prints to see the differences those better lenses will make. </p>

<p>Look at some of the really good professional landscape photographers out there today shooting Canon and see what lenses they use. Photographers like Marc Adamus, George Lepp, Art Wolf, Micheal Richeman, Brenda Tharp and many others. I don't see any of them using MF lenses and adapters on their cameras and they are usually shooting with high end FF Canon's like 1DsIII or 1DsII. So if Canon's lens are so poor then how are they getting their work on cover of Outdoor photographer or selling their images in galleries or for publications. Last thing, here is an article written by Ken Rockwell that I think might help in the point I am trying to make, please read it because he is right on with this one.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/lens-sharpness.htm">http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/lens-sharpness.htm</a></p>

<p>I am little surprised that you want to use MF lens with an adapter on a cropped sensor body like the XSi. Yes they will work fine but Canon as some great lenses that will work equally as well on a cropped sensor body like you have. The biggest problem with some of Canon's better WA lenses is not that they are not sharp in center portion of the lens but that the edges or corners aren't as good, but with the XSi camera you won't see those corners anyways so what does it matter. Most people I see going with with those MF lenses and adapters are photographers you have the FF sensor bodies like 5D, 1DsII or III or new 5DII. Because the resolution is so good on those cameras and being FF frame you will really notice and flaws the lens has around edges and corners that you won't ever see on camera like yours. If you plan on selling your XSi and getting a FF body I would say yes, but otherwise I wouldn't consider it at all. Remember you will lose all your AF ability with those, only stopped down metering and no EXIF data from camera. Also consider for metering that since camera won't know you have a lens on, you might have limited metering modes you can use. Look in your camera manual and see what metering modes are available if you attach a set of bellows to the camera. The camera will behave same using bellows as it will with those lenses and adapters.</p>

<p>I personally would go with the 5DII, I just got mine and it is a amazing camera in my opinion. The original 5D is a great camera also in terms of IQ, but in terms of features the 5DII kicks it's ass. If you have $3000 to spend you could get yourself the 5DII, sell your other camera and lens and get another really good lens like the 24-70 f/4L if you like that focal range for zoom. Or as Arnold suggested the 85 f/1.8 is a good choice and another really good prime on the wider end is the 35 f/2 for $225 is an excellent lens and cheap. For outdoor landscape work the 17-40 f/4L is really good lens but only between about 20-30mm on the very wide end and long end it doesn't perform as well and you will really see on 5DII what I am talking about. So you have a lot of different options you need to decide which is best for you. You already have a great portrait lens the 50 f/1.4 which is awesome, I personally would get the better camera and what good lenses you could afford at this time and then save up and over next year or so add some other really good lenses to you collection.</p>

<p>Best way Rick is and please take my advice on this because anyone that has tried cleaning their sensor with those solutions and pek pads or swabs is crazy in my opinion. The blowers do nothing but move the dust around. Their is company Visible dust that make brushes to clean your sensors and they work AWESOME, best thing I have ever found to use by far and I have tried all the methods believe me. I got mine after reading a lot of rave reviews on how well they work and they were correct. They have brushes you can buy and you use canned air to statically charge the brush prior to cleaning or the Artic Butterfly which will charge the brush through a high speed spinning of the brush and it works great as well. Buying one of the brushes and using canned air is the least expensive option then the purchasing a Artic Butterfly and a brush. But if you like to have it on trips then the Artic Butterfly is much nicer option because you don't have carry bulky cans of canned air around with you. So if you plan on staying with DSLR's you owe it to yourself to get one of these, in my opinion it is a must have for any DSLR owner. I have had my for about 3-4 years and still works just as well as first day I bought it.</p>

<p>For a backup I would go with 40D, your going to get better high ISO performance and although the feature upgrades are definitely nice on the 50D, but since it is a backup I'm not sure I would want to spend the extra money for a camera you won't use that often.</p>

<p>I just got my new 5DII and I tell you that if yours lenses aren't top notch you are really going to see how really bad they are now. I would suggest getting the best lenses you can afford for that camera because it will need them to really get all the benefits of that 21MP sensor. I think the 100-400 f/5.6L would be good lens but for replacement of your 75-300 I would suggest the 70-200mm f/4L IS version, from all reviews I have seen that is one really sharp lens corner to corner. But after getting the 5DII I tell you it is one awesome little camera you are going to love it.</p>

<p>I just purchased it to use with my 5DII after trying a friends out first and I am very impressed with this little guy, for the price I think it is a bargain. The center sharpness on this lens is awesome and when stopped down the corners are pretty descent as well. If that is a focal length you like I think it would be a great walk around lens being it is so small and light. Even though there is little noise from focusing I find it focus very quickly.</p>

<p>I have tried sensor swabs with cleaning solutions and don't like them. I found it took several swabs and several attempts and still didn't get all the dust. Do yourself a favor and get a sensor cleaning brush from Visible dust, they work awesome. After getting one they are the only thing I found I could clean my sensor and it would get every speck of dust off of the sensor with no cleaning solution used. They are a little more expensive but will last a long time and over period of few years would probably work out to be same cost wise. You can get the Artic Butterfly which is really handy or just one of the brushes and use canned air, less expensive option but not as convenient if you want to take it on a trip. Then you don't have to worry about problems like you encountered. With all the money you probably have invested in your camera, it is well worth the investment.</p>

<p>I don't have any experience with the Stellardesign.biz switch but have been using 80N3 for five years now and still is working like a champ. The other switch is 6" longer, but these switches are only worth using with a tripod. How far away from your camera do you think you need to be? I can't see where a extra 6" in length is going to benefit you in any way. I coil mine up with a twist tie to shorten it because I think 2.5' is to long in my opinion. It may be a fine switch but if it quits working after couple of years, how much did you save then? I am just always leery of third party accessories from sites like EBay, they may work fine but then maybe not.</p>

<p>Are you doing the capture sharping in RAW converter or in PS? In the RAW converter on CS3, CS4 or Lightroom 2.0 the detail screens allows you to sharpen with a mask, by using the mask feature you are only sharping the edges which prevents sharping noise etc. I find this method to work very well in the capture sharping phase of the workflow.</p>

<p>I wouldn't say there is significantly better color saturation, but definitely more image detail, especially if you want to make large prints. With old 5D at 240dpi you would get about a 12x18 print, with 5DII at 240dpi you get about 16x24 print. So if you want to make larger prints then 5DII will make a difference, but on smaller prints probably wouldn't notice much difference. But another thing is besides the video, the 5DII is much more in terms of features than 5D. Larger 3" high resolution LCD, menu is better, AF micro adjustment, dedicated AF button, 3 programmable sets of functions instead on 1, Live view, little better AF with 6 assist points in center. Only thing about old 5D I didn't like was it was basically a 30D camera with FF 12.8 sensor. But you have to decide if it is worth extra money, I just got my 5DII and it is my dream camera, which I won't need to upgrade for some time now. </p>

<p>I have used the TC 1.4 extender with a 70-200mm f/4 lens and it is performs very well. I wouldn't hesitate to use that combination at all, unless you are trying to make very very large prints that the camera's sensor resolution wasn't designed for.</p>