alex_coulter

<p>Thanks Miguel for your elaborate explanation. It's appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for your feedback.<br>

Miguel, I did consider the EOS-M but read reviews that the manual focus isn't very good, especially on the 22mm lens. Looks like you've found it to be very good. I'll have to go to a store that has one to handle one myself. </p>

<p>I'm looking for recommendations for a small camera, either with a fixed lens or interchangeable lens but it must have a true manual focus capability. Some of the point and shoots I've handled, like the Canon S100 have very poor manual focus operation. For an interchangeable lens it should have a good macro capability of around 1:2 (if it's 1:1 all the better). I've seen some of the macro lenses for mirrorless with 1:1 but they are big so I'm willing to sacrifice 1:1 for a lens that's smaller.</p>

<p>Puppy Face, yes, it's the labeled cap on top of the dial. Is there a specific double-stick tape that works best? Thanks for advising against using glue.</p>

<p>The mode dial plate on my Canon 6D came off (this seems to be a problem with this camera as reported by many users). Can I put it back on myself by using glue (is there a specific kind that works best) or do I need to send it in to Canon to put it back on? My camera is not under warranty so I would have to pay for the repair and shipping charges.</p>

<p>I second Patrick's suggestion that most magazines are not good at explaining what Photoshop does as much as how to do specific things and that it's better to get a subscription to an online learning site.<br>

I've looked at the 3 magazines you mentioned and of the three I found Photoshop User Magazine to be the poorest of them all.</p>

<p>Up until recently I thought that having a camera with an optical viewfinder was essential. That taking a photo with your arms outstretched was absolutely the wrong way to take a photo. That changed when I started using my point and shoot camera for taking macro shots as the optical viewfinder is absolutely useless in macro mode. I became more comfortable using the LCD and the Nikon P7000 that I use has an optical viewfinder that is so off-centered that it renders it almost useless. Holding the camera at arm's length was a bad idea in the film days because it was impossible to avoid camera shake. Today's digicams have vibration-reduction built-in to counter any camera-shake. I also use a tripod when I can and only use the LCD for composing and checking foucus accuracy. It took me a long time to be converted to using the LCD. The only time I use the optical viewfinder is when I'm out in very bright sunshine and I cannot see the image properly on the LCD. When using the optical viewfinder I have to recognize that what I see in the viewfinder is not what I'll get as the recorded image.</p>

<p>If you're going to upgrade to a FF camera like the 5d II then you should be looking at Canon EF lenses as they will work on both FF and APS-C cameras. The EF-S lenses will not work on FF cameras. The EF 50mm f/1.4 is a very good lens and the 50mm f/1.8 ( much cheaper) isn't bad either.</p>

<p>Most of the non-Canon brand batteries work well. Most have a lower mAh rating so the battery won't give you the same number of shots as the original Canon battery. Check the mAh rating and compare it to the original battery. Others don't give you as many recharges as the original battery. Unfortunately this information is not as easily obtained.</p>

<p>At the end of the day it's all about the image you want. For most users, the differences between any of the DSLR's, regardless of whether its from Canon, Nikon, Pentax. Sony,etc. is negligible. For the pros, getting the right shot is less about which sensor to use but more about having the right gear and using light effectively. If you sell your photos, no one is going to ask what camera you used.</p>

<p>I have both the Canon G12 and S70 and the differences between their optical viewfinder accuracy is huge. I'm not sure about the Imaging Resources measurements but to me the big difference is that the S70 is well-centered which makes it very usable while the G12 is off-cenetered by a lot making it totally useless in my opinion. Personally I am surprised that the IR measurements show the S70 at 82%. They may well be right but I still find the optical viewfinder to be very good. For macro, both these cameras and all P&S cameras have optical viewfinders that are unusable.</p>