General Canon Questions

[Groucho]

The 8-15mm fisheye looks like a lot of fun. I was never interested in fisheye until I saw some of Groucho's shots here. I bought the 15mm earlier this year and have used it more than I expected. I still haven't used it all that much, but it has been fun. I might get this one someday if I'm feeling flush with cash.

I heard that! But seriously, thanks for the compliments; I'm always pleased when others pick up the fisheye bug.

$1,400 for their new lens, eh? That seems... well, that seems a bit crazy. I think they may have a hard time selling many, if for no other reason than it's F4. Already, people are unhappy about the F3.5 (at 10mm) on the Pentax/Tokina zoom, which is the obvious lens to compare it to, versus F2.8 on a fisheye prime. That's only half a stop; F4 would be an entire stop. It's also not as useful for FF shooters - in the film days, you could get a 17-28mm fisheye zoom, which was IMHO a better range for FF.

I do like that it is weathersealed - if/when Pentax releases a weathersealed fisheye, it will be an unavoidable purchase for me! The purple fringing and weathersealing are the only upgrade I would want over their current lens; it will be interesting to see how the Canon fares in this regard since it is a pretty common thing in such wide lenses.

As for the 60D - as well as the obvious stuff, I think that I saw that they also took away the onboard wireless flash triggering and the little bit of weathersealing that the 50D had. Maybe not dealbreakers but worth noting. They're looking at the D90 sales. The smaller body size is potentially very nice - as DPR said, that may be partly inspired by the Pentax K-7, which is physically very small for a semipro DSLR yet feels rocksolid; very rugged, fully sealed, and with a metal body. The downside is that it can be a little too small for large hands; I've got a battery grip on mine and I like using that, especially with larger lenses.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

$1,400 for their new lens, eh? That seems... well, that seems a bit crazy. I think they may have a hard time selling many, if for no other reason than it's F4. Already, people are unhappy about the F3.5 (at 10mm) on the Pentax/Tokina zoom, which is the obvious lens to compare it to, versus F2.8 on a fisheye prime. That's only half a stop; F4 would be an entire stop. It's also not as useful for FF shooters - in the film days, you could get a 17-28mm fisheye zoom, which was IMHO a better range for FF.

I don't know how well it will sell. It's definitely a niche lens. The price seems reasonable. It can replace their 15mm fisheye ($650) and Sigma's 8mm circular fisheye ($900) with one lens. I've occasionally considered a circular fisheye, and this would let me get one without increasing my lens count. I imagine that I'll probably use it only at the extremes. The F4 doesn't really bother me as there is virtually no difference in DOF, it just gives me one more stop. With the exception of some star shots, I've just about never been shutter speed limited with a fisheye.

I wouldn't even look at a 17-28mm fisheye. I'm not a fan of the non-rectinlinear appearance of fisheye lenses. I just like the ultra wide field of view.

As for the 60D - as well as the obvious stuff, I think that I saw that they also took away the onboard wireless flash triggering and the little bit of weathersealing that the 50D had. Maybe not dealbreakers but worth noting. They're looking at the D90 sales. The smaller body size is potentially very nice - as DPR said, that may be partly inspired by the Pentax K-7, which is physically very small for a semipro DSLR yet feels rocksolid; very rugged, fully sealed, and with a metal body. The downside is that it can be a little too small for large hands; I've got a battery grip on mine and I like using that, especially with larger lenses.

My impression is that Canon opted for things like more plastic, smaller body, and SD cards to drive the 60D down market. They wanted to keep separation between it and the 7D. It's always a challenge for camera makers to have lots of different price points for cameras that share the same sensor. At the end of the day, a T2i, a 60D, and a 7D are all going to have the same IQ. They've got to find ways to get consumers willing to spend the most to buy the 7D, the next most to buy the 60D, and the least to buy the T2i.

Part of that strategy is to make cameras like the 7D feel expensive and cameras like the 60D feel cheaper. With all of the complaints about "plastic" rebels, I can't recall anyone that actually broke or wore out their camera body. I know people that have lost a mirror mechanism or shutter box, but not a camera body or mount.

 

[AlbertZeroK]

$1,400 for their new lens, eh? That seems... well, that seems a bit crazy

especially when Tokina makes a fish eye zoom for $600.

I recently picked up the sigma 10mm f/2.8 fish eye. i can't wait to give it a whirl! I picked it over to Tokina because of the aperture.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

especially when Tokina makes a fish eye zoom for $600.

I recently picked up the sigma 10mm f/2.8 fish eye. i can't wait to give it a whirl! I picked it over to Tokina because of the aperture.

The Tokina isn't a good comparison. It's only for APS-C cameras. It doesn't work as a circular fisheye. It just zooms out to the equivalent of a 15mm fisheye on a full frame.

Here is a good Canon article on their new fisheye zoom. It's definitely going on my wish list.

After doing a little more looking, I'm much less interested in the 70-300. It looks like they traded off weight savings for image quality. That's not a bad thing, but it doesn't fit my desire for a lightweight long zoom. I may just get the older 70-300 or the DO version. With my current lens lineup, a heavy 70-300 doesn't add enough value for me right now.

 

[Groucho]

The Tokina isn't a good comparison. It's only for APS-C cameras. It doesn't work as a circular fisheye. It just zooms out to the equivalent of a 15mm fisheye on a full frame.

Are you sure about that? Zoomed out, you should get basically a "full fish" on full frame and most (but not all) of a circular fisheye when zoomed out.

I personally have little to no interest in circular fisheyes so I don't see the appeal of this. If I was shooting FF, I'd happily use the Zenitar 16mm fisheye, or if I wanted something fancier, the 17-28mm zoom. I find the ability to zoom in much more useful - it means less lens swapping, as in a pinch, you can zoom in a little when you don't want maximum fish effect. I was shooting at a racetrack today and it came in very handy several times. Even if I did like circular fisheyes, I really can't see ever wanting both in one lens - a circular fisheye is a whole magnitude weirder than your normal fisheye than it's really going to be a rare use lens - I'd rather have it be a dedicated lens. Oh, and I'd happily pick up a relatively cheap one - absolute image quality is generally not at the top of the list with a circular fisheye!

 

[Marlton Mom]

Marlton Mom

 

[Pineapple Whip]

Actually that's a Fujifilm S5600, but nice try Niklowns.

 

[AlbertZeroK]

As long as they don't take my "P" setting away, cuz you know "P" = Professional!

 

[Golf4food]

As long as they don't take my "P" setting away, cuz you know "P" = Professional!

I thought P was "Please let this come out right"

 

[JoeDif]

As long as they don't take my "P" setting away, cuz you know "P" = Professional!

I always thought P = Perhaps

 

[KinziePooh]

I'm looking at buying a new point and shoot camera. I've been reading reviews for the Canon Powershot SD1400 IS. Does anyone here own one? I'd love to hear first hand reviews and see pictures taken with the camera if possible. TIA!

 

[wdwmom2]

I'm looking at buying a new point and shoot camera. I've been reading reviews for the Canon Powershot SD1400 IS. Does anyone here own one? I'd love to hear first hand reviews and see pictures taken with the camera if possible. TIA!

I don't own one, but thought I could help out a little. Here are links to a few threads I found on the POTN forums.


http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=884371&highlight=sd1400

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=934226&highlight=sd1400

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25827155@N04/

 

[KinziePooh]

I don't own one, but thought I could help out a little. Here are links to a few threads I found on the POTN forums.


http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=884371&highlight=sd1400

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=934226&highlight=sd1400

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25827155@N04/

Thanks for the links! I'm going to check them out now.

 

[Piglet]

I have a Canon S3IS that I bought a couple years ago. What is the newer version of this camera? I love my old one and my daughter is wanting one for Christmas and she likes mine too. Any suggestions???

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

I'm not a Canon shooter, but I went to DpReview and traced the lineage of the S3IS and it appears the current SuperZoom is the SX30 IS. This was just introduced September 14th.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1009/10091411sx30is.asp#press

 

[Piglet]

Thanks for your reply. I will search it and check reviews.

 

[LimoFam5]

If u can help I would soooo appreciate it. what is the best way to take action shots at night when the flash is not needed? I tried the action setting but my pictures were blurry.....

I have 18-55mm & 70-300mm lenses both with IS?

 

[LimoFam5]

If u can help I would soooo appreciate it. what is the best way to take action shots at night when the flash is not needed? I tried the action setting but my pictures were blurry.

I have a Canon Rebel T2i
Lenses are 18-55mm & 70-300mm both with IS

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

It can be a combination of things. High ISO or faster (large aperture (small number) lens) or a combination of both. For my low light shooting I have two 2.8 lenses (28-70 and 70-200) and a 50 mm f1.4. I haven't used the 50 too much and am in the market for a 30mm f1.4.

 

[ukcatfan]

If u can help I would soooo appreciate it. what is the best way to take action shots at night when the flash is not needed? I tried the action setting but my pictures were blurry.

I have a Canon Rebel T2i
Lenses are 18-55mm & 70-300mm both with IS

This is why we were encouraging you to save on the 70-300mm and get a faster lens instead. What you have just cannot handle that situation. You need a faster lens.