[panicos81]

Originally Posted by M_Six

My new 8mm. Love this thing. Just need to brush up on exposure settings. It tends to shoot to the right, so that's not bad. But I don't seem to be getting the contrast right.

is it the Sigma 8-16mm? How is it? I´m considering this and the Tokina 11-16 but still undecided..

[oneintheory]

married 65 years.

Woodward Wedding by jsophoto, on Flickr

[mr_milo]

Here is a picture of Monroe my 22 lb Maine Coon cat.
The grass was only a few inches tall and he is one BIG boy!

[remmib]

^Very cute.

[dcstep]

White-tail deer doe munching grasses:

Canon 7D, EF 500mm f/4L IS, EF 1.4x TC, Av mode, ISO 1600, f/5.6, +1EV resulting in 1/320th sec. hand-held


Beautiful white-tail doe munching on grasses by dcstep, on Flickr

[The1]

great detail dave. That must have been early in the day if you were at 1600, 5.6, and were only a shutter speed of 1/320

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by The1

great detail dave. That must have been early in the day if you were at 1600, 5.6, and were only a shutter speed of 1/320

You're almost right , it was late evening where it had been overcast, but the sun broke through just at the right moment. The sun was down in less than 30-minutes.

My olee+1EV really worked here to bring out detail, but DID force the SS way down.

Dave

[khaye1]

so what's the deal with the 7D and high ISO? cuz I don't see anything wrong with that image at all....you just swayed me to that body a little bit more

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by panicos81

is it the Sigma 8-16mm? How is it? I´m considering this and the Tokina 11-16 but still undecided..

Nope, it's the Rokinon 8mm f3.5. Cheap lens, but works really well.

[M_Six]

Glad you're not a hunter, Dave. Awesome shot.

[The1]

it's not necessarily the camera, it's how dave shoots it.

he pushes the exposures to look/appear over exposed, and then corrects them on his computer after, it's a great way to have more options for processing and controlling noise.

even when it's not being used as dave uses it, it handles very similar to the T2i, T3i, and 60D for it's ISO abilities as they have a lot of the same internals.

[M_Six]

Ghost combine.

[The1]

lol, nice shot mark. you're making those fields into something more....

this is what i need to do, just get out and start shooting everything and anything to help improve my abilities.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by khaye1

so what's the deal with the 7D and high ISO? cuz I don't see anything wrong with that image at all....you just swayed me to that body a little bit more

What other body are you considering and for what primary purpose?

People that underexpose will hate the 7D above ISO 800. Since most people underexpose, you can see how the 7D gets a bad rap. Properly exposed, it's very good to ISO 1600 and decent at ISO 3200. I do 90% of my wildlife shooting at ISO 800 and the images are selling and printable in very large sizes. On that particular shot I had 700mm of lens and limited to f/5.6, so I pumped the ISO up over 800 to get a little more shutter speed.

IF you underexpose, and I've done it, you can get a nasty mosaic-like noise in dark or mottled areas with the 7D. OTOH, the 5D2 will tolerate slight underexposure better and doesn't get as nasty when it's pushed too far. It is truly 2-stops more foregiving than the 7D, BUT the 7D handles better with 8-fps and a much better AF scheme. The 1D MkIV has the best aspects of both, BUT it's a $7,000 camera and it's big an clunky.

With my 7D, noise is not a factor in my "keeper rate", but I seldom go to ISO 3200. I've got a 5D2 slung around my neck, so I can always move the lens over to that body and shoot at ISO 3200 and ISO 6400, but I'd still shoot that body at +1 or +2EV to avoid underexposure. "Expose right" is the key to maximizing dynamic range and avoiding noise. Shoot RAW with either body if you want to maximize dynamic range and minimize noise.

Click on the Flickr link and look at that image in Original size (100%). Even if you blow it up to 400% (by adjusting your monitor zoom) it stands up well.

Dave

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Ghost combine.

Neat picture of the light, dust and combine. Love the colors.

Dave

[adrean8j]

@Mark: Love that picture man....real mid-western feel to it...great shot! Can almost feel my allergies acting up just looking at it

[khaye1]

dcstep: it was between the 5d2 and the 7d...I had a discussion on the general photo discussion thread. I know that they are 2 different cameras for different situations. I like the frame rate on the 7D, AF points, wireless flash capabilities and the fact that you more options on lenses....OTOH the 5d2 is said to be good at low light situations and the full frame.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by The1

lol, nice shot mark. you're making those fields into something more....

this is what i need to do, just get out and start shooting everything and anything to help improve my abilities.

That's what I'm trying to do. There isn't much here of interest, so by shooting things around me I'm hoping to develop some composition and exposure skills so when I do go someplace interesting, I won't screw up images on the basics.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by adrean8j

@Mark: Love that picture man....real mid-western feel to it...great shot! Can almost feel my allergies acting up just looking at it

Tell me about it. I do my best to stay upwind of all that dust. My poor black X5 is a mess, though.

Originally Posted by dcstep

Neat picture of the light, dust and combine. Love the colors.

Dave

Thanks, Dave. Last shot of the day yesterday. Took a lot of PP work to pull the combine out of the haze.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by khaye1

dcstep: it was between the 5d2 and the 7d...I had a discussion on the general photo discussion thread. I know that they are 2 different cameras for different situations. I like the frame rate on the 7D, AF points, wireless flash capabilities and the fact that you more options on lenses....OTOH the 5d2 is said to be good at low light situations and the full frame.

I've "cheated" and own both. For less than a 1D MkIV, I've got two bodies to carry so I can quickly move between lenses. The 5D2 is superior to the MkIV in ISO performance and the 7D comes close to matching the MkIV's speed and AF capacity, which is where the MkIV really stands apart. The 7D's detail resolution on cropped images is superior to the 5D2 and the MkIV, due to its really tight pixel-pitch, but that makes it less effective at high-ISOs.

If sports and/or wildlife will be a major part of your shooting, I'd recommend the 7D; otherwise, the 5D MkII is superior for portraits, landscapes, night street shooting, archetectural and general photography, assuming that you've got a FF wide-angle lens. With the right lenses the 7D can get very close to the 5D2 in the areas where it's not as strong, but it blows away the 5D2 when you need burst rates and flexible AF settings. If you need to save a few bucks, the 7D is a viable option for all uses, but the 5D2, and almost any large-sensor body, will be superior in certain instances.

If you sell images, then you want as many pixels as you can get on the image. Getty Images charges rates based on file size and the quality of a 300dpi print, so larger files mean more pay for those images that sell as large prints. Of course, the buyer has the options to select 72dpi at a lower price, but the earnings potential for larger files can be hundreds of dollars higher.

Dave

[The1]

the question boils down to mostly what you plan to shoot, I shoot both the 5DII and the 7D just like dave, and each situation has a different need.

If i want a really really detailed and fine lines on something, i'll pick up the 7D, but at that point i'll have some flashes out to help pull everything out that i can.

the 5DII is the one that's usually around my neck however. Day to day shooting with low light, and wide angle lenses really makes it nice for travel and just wandering. Also because it is slightly softer, it does make for nicer portraits as it will smooth out a blemish a bit more, and just be kinder overall to someones skin... And that's coming from me who is covered in freckles. I hate when someone turns my 7D on me

As far as lens selection goes, if you're looking at spending the kind of money on a body such as these two, then you're likely to be looking mostly at EF lenses anyhow, so the 7D's abilities to take more lenses really becomes just as many as a FF camera, you want the quality you can afford. And if you're looking at the 5DII you're really only looking for quality. So inevitably, most of the lenses in your future will have a red stripe. So it doesn't matter which body you choose as far as lens selection goes.

What it boils down it, is what you're shooting 100% if it's all sports and moving things, i wouldn't think twice and i would grab the 7D If you're only shooting portraits and landscapes, buy a Hasselblad..... I mean 5DmkII. But if you have issues with how slow the 5DmkII is and and it's outdated autofocus, then wait for a few more months, we'll be likely to see an updated version which is more then likely to address these short commings. But keep in mind, the new version will make owning a used 5DmkII a very real reality as it will drop in price considerable when the new model replaces it.

so i think you have 3 choices. The 5DmkII, the replacement for it which is likely to be a 5DmkIII if willing to wait and pay the price, or the 7D

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by The1

...

so i think you have 3 choices. The 5DmkII, the replacement for it which is likely to be a 5DmkIII if willing to wait and pay the price, or the 7D

Don't forget choice 4, buy both. Many have done just that and not regretted it.

Dave