stephen_osullivan1

<p>What was the diagnosis? None of the things you mention would have resulted in its ceasing to function.</p>

<p>Peter, I bought a refurb. body from Canon, and immediatedly rec'd error 20 messages, leading me to remove battery, reinstall. Things worked ok for a few days. Then error 30 message and the camera died. Just submitted it to Canon service, and they repaired it quickly, and I'm awaiting its return any day now. It appeared to have some relationship with the use of video and/or use of live view mode. Not that doing so caused it, but that I wouldn't have the error until after using video/live view functions. </p>

<p>Ashley, I have sent the camera in on Tuesday -- they received it on Thursday, and I see that the repair is complete and that I will receive it in the next few days. I purchased it from Canon directly, through their Canon loyalty program, so there was no one to return it to other than Canon. I'm frankly impressed how attentive the customer service agent was to me, and how prompt their repair servicing is. Perhaps things are slow during the summer ....</p>

<p>Philip, I didn't pay that much, but I wanted a second battery anyway ... don't you carry a second battery, Philip? I suspected the problem was with the battery, and spoke with Canon, who promised to send a replacement battery. Only after more errors did I find out that it's the camera, and that happened only when I find myself 3000 miles from home, on vacation. Anyway ...</p>

<p>I didn't pay that much money -- it was a refurbished camera on the Canon Loyalty program. And I wouldn't pay full price or even w/ $100 refund -- I would have just repaired my 30D, or bought something used until the next version of the 5D comes out (which is still my goal anyway). But this conversation seems to have gone a bit astray. </p>

<p>This unit was purchased from Canon just a week ago. It is covered by the warrantee, so I'll not have to spend $$ on the repair. But it sort of tarnished my trip to British Columbia, which is breathtaking. <br>

I've read thus far that the error readings indicate something faulty with the shutter, having some association with the live view function. <br>

Puppyface, I think you're right. Technical support said that refurbished units are not sent out unless they meet Canon specs. But it appears that there are some tests that this problem probably sneaks through. <br>

William, I'll try that. But the contacts on the inside of the door are silver. Unless you mean down the very bottom of the pit.</p>

<p>The box was fine. I use only canon lenses (24-70 and 70-200 f/2.8 IS II). Initially, when the camera came, after taking some shots in live view and also some videos, I got the error 20 and the battery drained very quickly. Thought it was the battery, so ordered a brand new Canon battery. Same thing. It appears to happen only after the video function and/or live view mode. Sent it into error 30. I figured out that if I removed the battery and turned the camera off and replaced the battery and turned the camera on again, everything was hunky dory ... until it wasn't. Eventually, that is, last night, after only 10 days of having the camera, it went belly up. When you refer to the contacts in the camera, you mean on the inside of the door? </p>

<p>I bought a refurbished 7D last week from Canon, and since then I've had a bunch of error 30 messages, with the camera emptying perfectly full batteries. Now, the camera will not power up at all. And I pulled the trigger on this in time for my Vancouver, BC vacation, which I'm currently on.<br>

I'm wondering whether the camera was <em>actually</em> refurbished at all. Has anyone had similar experiences? So annoying ....<br>

SOS</p>

<p>Randall, I have two questions. Does having two flashes pointing in the same direction actually light the object twice as much? I'm not sure about the physics of that. Second, what is the bracket you have? Where did you get it? I wonder how this might be used under different lighting conditions.<br>

Thanks.</p>

<p>Thanks, Jeff! I'll try it.</p>

 

<p>Thanks guys. Jos, I charged the batteries, so it's not that. I tested them with a tester and they have full charge, both. I will try to clean the contacts, but they appear spotless to the eye.</p>

<p>I have a 30D that was fine until last week. Now, it won't power on. Batteries are fine. Anyone with a similar problem? Any ideas?<br>

Thanks in advance.<br>

Stephen</p>

<p>WW, what works for you may not work for all. In your shot, while the colors and contrast are nice, the second woman is, to my eye, hopelessly out of focus. I would rather have an extra foot of DoF and have her sharp. <br>

My assumption in my post was that photographers demand that the subject of the photograph must be relatively sharp. There's a trade off, obviously. Which is why another body that can go high on the ISO w/out much noise will allow the use of ambient light and adequate sharpness.<br>

Your photograph, in fact, is one that I would use to support my own point. It's wonderfully composed, etc, and yet if only you could have used a smaller aperture. <br>

SOS</p>

<p>And for something completely different ....<br>

How often are wedding shots taken at 1.8, or even 2.8? Pretty shallow depth of field. The really large apertures are for specialty shots, but for receptions, especially, f/4 is about the maximum. I think a second 5D is in order if you need to bring make the most of poor lighting conditions.</p>

<p>It wasn't. But surely not only Sandisk cards should work in the camera, right? If the problem isn't the camera, then could it be that all those cards suffered from a manufacturing problem, or something?</p>

<p>I reformat the card in the camera. Always.</p>

<p>I have a 30D. I had a Sandisk card for 3 years. Never a problem. Then I lost it. So I got a Promaster CF card, 4gig. I took some pictures, then I got a CF card error on the body. I reformatted the card. It worked. Until it didn't. I went back to the store, they exchanged it for a new one. Same thing happened. So I went back, returned it for a different brand. Same thing happened. I get some pictures, but then it gets corrupted.<br>

Is my camera broken? What's going on?</p>

<p>If anything, the sigma os is usually very noticeable. Significantly more noisy when it engages than the canon IS. You should also be able to see through the viewfinder and feel with your hands the OS kick in as you focus. If you don't hear, see, and feel it, it's not working.</p>

<p>On a 5D II, the depth of field for a f/1.8 is so shallow, that it won't work well for most portraits -- it's essentially a combination for a restricted kind of aesthetic choice. If you stop down the 85 at all, you lose the advantage over the 70-200. I think they are such different beasts that choosing between them is less like choosing between the pasta and fish and more like choosing between a calligraphy pen versus a rollerball. At 85mm, 2.8 with the 4-stop IS that the 70-200 provides you, you get a better option than the 85mm. I've got both and reserve the 85 to very specific, and rare, kinds of shots. The zoom is sooo good for sooo many things, that your photography will improve far more than with the other. Besides, there's not much you can do with the 85mm you can't do with what you already have in the 50mm.<br>

The real choice is whether to go with the new, updated 2.8 IS, or with the 70-200 f/4 IS. </p>

<p>Jason, what lens did you use and what is the focal length of this shot?</p>

<p>Paul, I would agree ONLY about the real world advantage of AF, but then if the 7D was better than the 5D Mk II, it wouldn't be a sensor size issue would it? Weather sealing? Come on, that has no bearing on Scott's concern. Shutter performance? What is that? No, Scott's point stands, and your reservations are, in my opinion, beside the point. Again, the issue is sensor size and the relative merits of crop sensors for telephoto shots.</p>

<p>I have the 50-150 2.8 and it's excellent -- sharpness and AF. I wish it were stabilized but that's just a feature. I'm very interested in the new 70-200 2.8 stabilized zoom. It promises to be a genuine alternative to the canon's. But we'll see. <br>

Matt's right: there is no way to generalize -- "Sigma make crappy lenses" or "Sigma makes excellent lenses" or "Sigma makes ok lenses." All of these are true, depending on the lens. The 180 macro, for example, is one of the very best macro lenses available, bar none. <br>

Therefore I would look for what you happen to need and research what lens Sigma offers in that range and see what the reviews and user experiences are.</p>

<p>George, stick with center point and recompose -- even with the Mk II the outer focus points have less than stellar reliability. I understand this defeats the purpose of them, but them's the breaks.</p>

<p>Jakob, I'm interested in your experience. I have neither, but would like to get one. I AM interested in low light performance and figured the Mk II was significantly better than the 7d but I've read that in fact there's a difference but not significant -- the 7D approaches the 5D ii so that in 8 x 10 prints, it would be very difficult to tell the difference. Your thoughts?</p>

<p>Both will be sufficiently sharp -- at the apertures that are useful for portraits! Portraits are rarely taken at apertures that wide (bigger than 2.8) because most photographers (and customers?) want the entire face sharp. If you're taking a shot of an individual and you want only an eye in focus with the rest blurred, then 2.0 and larger works. But getting the whole face will be a challenge, AND forget about it if you are shooting more than one person.<br>

I think the 2.8 will be plenty big for portraits, plus you've got the option of the macro feature of the 60mm.</p>

<p>Henrik, if only that trick worked for me! Brilliant. But when I try on my 30D with 24-70L, I see no blinking AF light in the viewfinder. I have the AF points display selected in the menu. l've tried with the center focus point turned on and with all of them turned on, but don't get your result. Any help here? Thanks!<br>

SOS</p>