Gear discussion thread v. "I own more nifty fifties than cameras they fit"
2,522 replies, posted
It's much better than the 18-55. It probably beats it at all focal lengths an apertures.
[QUOTE=fauxpark;39127988]Just wondering, what's the general consensus on the Canon 18-135mm (not STM)? I'm about to get myself one to upgrade my somewhat damaged kit lens. Some of the reviews I've looked at say it's not all that good, but I'm guessing/hoping it's at least as decent as the 18-55mm, which is all I really need. I'm not expecting it to be L lens brilliance, obviously.[/QUOTE]
The 18-135 IS (non-STM) is just like the 18-55 IS kitlens, but only has a longer telephoto end. It just is a lens for people who want to have more zoom.
The new 18-135 IS STM actually is a new design as opposed to a lot of people think it's just the old 18-135 with another AF motor. The STM version improves on all terrains that the old 18-135 dissapointed some people.
This lens is actually much better than the 18-55 IS and the old 18-135. The improvements are in the AF performance, build quality and optical performance. And the new STM version isn't that much more expensive (at least here it is just 40 euros more expensive than the old 18-135).
All in all, I would suggest the STM version, and not the old IS version. The price difference is just too small not to take the new STM version.
Any hacky way to make the 500d record more than twentysomething fps? The motion blur is horrible.
[QUOTE=frag4life;39128888]The 18-135 IS (non-STM) is just like the 18-55 IS kitlens, but only has a longer telephoto end. It just is a lens for people who want to have more zoom.
The new 18-135 IS STM actually is a new design as opposed to a lot of people think it's just the old 18-135 with another AF motor. The STM version improves on all terrains that the old 18-135 dissapointed some people.
This lens is actually much better than the 18-55 IS and the old 18-135. The improvements are in the AF performance, build quality and optical performance. And the new STM version isn't that much more expensive (at least here it is just 40 euros more expensive than the old 18-135).
All in all, I would suggest the STM version, and not the old IS version. The price difference is just too small not to take the new STM version.[/QUOTE]
Thanks man. Digitalrev has it for $400AUD compared to 335 for the non-STM, so the difference is a little larger. But those improvements sound pretty great. I'm liking the idea of a less noisy AF and the (sort-of) full time manual focusing. Maybe I'll keep saving for a bit longer :v:.
EDIT: checked DR's ebay page, they're also selling it at $388. Excellent.
[QUOTE=Clovernoodle;39124552]Hey folks- I'm looking to purchase a good video camera. I'll be frank when I say I don't know much about cameras, so I apologize if I'm speaking out of my ass here a bit.
All I really want is 1080p quality video, SD card storage, and, well, what you guys think makes for the best footage possible. I'm also looking for a relatively low price if possible.
A friend recommended the Canon Rebel ti, though I can't figure out which build (t1i, t2i, etc.) is the best, or if there's another camera I should get.
What do you guys recommend? Thanks![/QUOTE]
listen matey, i own a t3i (600D) and that swively screen has saved my fucking bacon many a time
i would recommend it for that, if not, manual audio levels and shit like that is just perfect
tilty screen on my older D5000 was a welcome feature on a couple occasions for me, but it all depends on situations. If you're doing videos and want more dynamic angles, I think it'd be the selling point since you can hold it above your head or at waist level without needing a stepladder or to waddle around on your knees just to keep an eye on your view
alternatively picking up a video monitor and setting up a rig would alleviate this problem but that assumes you want to spend a ton more money, and clearly that's not the case
I like tilty screens because you can just flip them out to the side so you wont have to press ur nose against the screen to look through the viewfinder
For some reason I have a very strong dislike for liveview picture taking.
I love filth screens and swivel screens, but I hate the canon/Nikon approach of folding out from the camera, so it's no longer in line with the lens. It throws me off
but you can just rotate the screen 180 and flip it back, so it is inline
But then it doesn't tilt at all so it's like a fixed screen
[QUOTE=Eltro102;39134420]but you can just rotate the screen 180 and flip it back, so it is inline[/QUOTE]
with SLRs, I think it's detrimental [i]for still images[/i]. It takes upwards of a second or three for it to turn off LV mode, drop the mirror, perform the shot (why it needed the mirror down I don't know), sit and process, then raise the mirror and re-enable LV on the sensor. maddeningly slow, and the delay between your screen going dark and the actual shot being taken is enough to bother me a lot with sudden movements when you lose your bearing and can't hold it still because you were using your view to keep level/straight
nobody actually uses live view
[editline]7th January 2013[/editline]
do they? when you have a perfectly good viewfinder
[editline]7th January 2013[/editline]
my 60D cant even autofocus in live view
[QUOTE=Trogdon;39134407]I love filth screens and swivel screens, but I hate the canon/Nikon approach of folding out from the camera, so it's no longer in line with the lens. It throws me off[/QUOTE]
D5000 at least flipped downward so it was in-line, I really don't understand why swiveling out to the left seems to be the norm now
Fkip screens are more of a thing for filming I think.
One guys I know who uses his flip screen and upholds his camera like a fucking trophy just so he doesn't have to stand up is pretty fat and does really bad HDR's for everything
Live view is absolutely huge in my workflow, that's why I stuck with Sony. They have full autofocus with liveview and it works just as good as other SLR systems
Is 1/1.7 bigger than 1/2.3? Seems like a cool camera, I'd always opt for the rx-100 personally for the bright wide end and big sensor
Yeah I've heard good things about their UI. Seems like a sweet camera package, would be interesting to know if the wide angle is 24 or 28. It's a nice looking camera though, very cool.
Still I would choose the rx because of the bigger sensor (and I love sony fine I said it). More advanced compact cameras is awesome, we need better than stupid P&$ cameras in great sized packages, and companies are finally starting to deliver
[QUOTE=Kabstrac;39135545][url]http://pentaximaging.com/digital-camera/MX-1_Silver#!product-highlights[/url]
Thoughts?[/QUOTE]
I love retro-styled cameras, but this looks like a brick. But that's purely my opinion of the aesthetics.
The lens and sensor sound pretty nice and I'm sure the camera performs really well, but I'd honestly go for the X20 over this in a heartbeat.
Oh god how much i want the Fujifilm X100s! Probably the sexiest digital camera there is IMO. No idea if i should get this or a Canon 7D. Does anyone know what the picture quality will be like on the X100s? Doesn't it have the same lens as the X100? Feels like for 11000 SKR ($1000) it should be pretty great..
[QUOTE=NisseN;39141717]Oh god how much i want the Fujifilm X100s! Probably the sexiest digital camera there is IMO. No idea if i should get this or a Canon 7D. Does anyone know what the picture quality will be like on the X100s? Doesn't it have the same lens as the X100? Feels like for 11000 SKR ($1000) it should be pretty great..[/QUOTE]
I have the X100 and it gave me some pretty stunning pictures. ISO performance is very good and the image quality is perfect. Above all, the X100 is a joy to use, although it's AF performance isn't optimal in low light. And did I tell yet that it's very compact?
I'm selling my Fuji X100 though because I am getting a Leica M8 which gives me the option of having interchangable lenses and a true rangefinder mechanism which just gives me more satisfaction and versability when using it.
[QUOTE=NisseN;39141717]Oh god how much i want the Fujifilm X100s! Probably the sexiest digital camera there is IMO. No idea if i should get this or a Canon 7D. Does anyone know what the picture quality will be like on the X100s? Doesn't it have the same lens as the X100? Feels like for 11000 SKR ($1000) it should be pretty great..[/QUOTE]
It is fitted with the Fuji trans sensor from the x-pro 1, so look to that to see image quality. But it will definitely take stunning images, and realistically there isn't much competition for the 24mm focal length for aps-c cameras as most primes in that length are old and not faster than f2.8. The performance is excellent from f2 beyond. If you are looking for examples from the x100 the photographer Julian Berman used one for a lot of his work on Flickr. It also has a leaf shutter so flash is a joy to work with.
Downside is that due to the pattern of the RGB filter, it has a tough time with RAW programs. You will need the newest ACR from adobe to edit it or the bundled software, but I have heard either isn't quite there yet. On the other hand the jpg images it produces are astoundingly detailed and noise performance is quite literally insane. But overall I think it's going to be a great camera, and it's probably worth waiting and getting the x100s over the x100 for the mild improvements in button layout (or so is rumored), improved AF performance, and the great new sensor.
It won't be as flexible of a package as the 7D due to having a fixed lens, but it would blow away the quality of the 7D if using a similar lens.
I just bought a tamron 70-300 LD f4-5.6 macro lens for $15. I wonder how it will be, I figured it might be fun to try wildlife stuff. Plan on getting rid of my 70-210 minolta and this for a Sony 55-300 if I end up liking the tamron.
Does anyone have any experience with Rode Videomic Pro?
I have a 550D with Magic lantern installed and a Rode Videomic pro. Everytime I want to record something I have to wait 1-2 seconds after pressing the record button because there's an audible "pop", which I assume is from the Rode Videomic since there's no pop when I switch to the 550D's microphone. Does anyone know how to get rid of it?
[editline]10th January 2013[/editline]
Or maybe it's ML turning off the AGC?
[QUOTE=daijitsu;39134752]with SLRs, I think it's detrimental [i]for still images[/i]. It takes upwards of a second or three for it to turn off LV mode, drop the mirror, perform the shot (why it needed the mirror down I don't know), sit and process, then raise the mirror and re-enable LV on the sensor. maddeningly slow, and the delay between your screen going dark and the actual shot being taken is enough to bother me a lot with sudden movements when you lose your bearing and can't hold it still because you were using your view to keep level/straight[/QUOTE]
I believe it needs the mirror down because the sensor is capturing the information, then sending it to the LCD screen to be displayed to you. Instead of being bounced up to viewfinder. Im not 100% sure on workings of camera, but thats kind of what I figured.
[QUOTE=daijitsu;39134752]with SLRs, I think it's detrimental [i]for still images[/i]. It takes upwards of a second or three for it to turn off LV mode, drop the mirror, perform the shot (why it needed the mirror down I don't know), sit and process, then raise the mirror and re-enable LV on the sensor. maddeningly slow, and the delay between your screen going dark and the actual shot being taken is enough to bother me a lot with sudden movements when you lose your bearing and can't hold it still because you were using your view to keep level/straight[/QUOTE]
the mirror down is probably for metering, since the meter is usually located under the mirror and uses a secondary mirror attached to the main one to get light
[QUOTE=Awt2 x;39166705]I believe it needs the mirror down because the sensor is capturing the information, then sending it to the LCD screen to be displayed to you. Instead of being bounced up to viewfinder. Im not 100% sure on workings of camera, but thats kind of what I figured.[/QUOTE]
Liveview itself is just a preview directly off of the cameras sensor.
The mirror is down to transmit distance to the PDAF sensor. Your mirror has a little sub mirror that transmits a portion of light data to the bottom which does all the focusing calculations. This is why some cameras use this type of focusing for live view.
The alternative is the mirror completely up, and utilizing CDAF focusing. This is entirely on the sensor, and detects focus by strongest contrast rather than actual distance calculation. Most lenses are not designed to work well with this method, causing slow autofocus in live view for most SLR cameras. If you use Nikon or something this is how they AF during liveview for their 3000 and 5000 series cameras for sure.
Both methods are slow though, as one involves flipping the mirror up an down interrupting the live view feed, the other involves a type of focusing these lenses aren't meant for.
So far two "solutions" have come to this. One is by displacing the SLR mirror slightly so that way the mirror still bounces light to the PDAF sensor, and then the new path of light hits a separate love view preview sensor, which gives a lower quality preview image but focuses just as quickly as it normally would. The other solution is a semi-transparent mirror so that way it's hitting the sensor and PDAF sensor at the same time, at the cost of an optical viewfinder and half a stop of light transmission.
[QUOTE=Trogdon;39168650]a separate love view preview sensor[/QUOTE]
I'd like me one of those :v:
you could also get an external viewfinder, or attach your phones with its camera pointing into the viewfinder onto the SLR as a live view thingy
[QUOTE=Cuel;39165969]Does anyone have any experience with Rode Videomic Pro?
I have a 550D with Magic lantern installed and a Rode Videomic pro. Everytime I want to record something I have to wait 1-2 seconds after pressing the record button because there's an audible "pop", which I assume is from the Rode Videomic since there's no pop when I switch to the 550D's microphone. Does anyone know how to get rid of it?
[editline]10th January 2013[/editline]
Or maybe it's ML turning off the AGC?[/QUOTE]
or maybe you should invest in a half decent sound system
the videomic pro is good but the moment you decided "hmm i need to get closer" and pro fucking tip you will you will have to bin it
why? 3.5mm is unbalanced and pish
you need a decent recorder to eliminate the shitty preamps and hiss and everything
so what do you do?
good question matey
you need a zoom h4n or tascam dr-40 or whatnot to record
an a balanced xlr shotgun mic like a rode ntg-2 or an audio technica shotty
otherwise you're gonna be criyng your eyes out over your audio
audio is a big investment but it pays off
also, the pop doesn't happen with my friends rode videomic so i'm not sure
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