Is it really a good first look if we don't know the quality of the lens used? A question for technically advanced photographers: would you try to judge the images without knowing the lenses that the test images are shot with?
Forgive my noob ignorance, if I missed something obvious.
You can tell what lens was used by viewing the exif info. Sites often list what lens was used for the shot. Look in the reviews section of this site to get a good idea on how different lenses are rated.
I currently have the 5D and am quite happy with it. I am, however, anxiously anticipating getting the 5D Mark II.
I shoot 100% RAW. Based on all I have read, I expect some, but not significant, high ISO performance from the 5D Mark II in RAW. There have not been many, if any, posts of RAW....and where they are, difficult to view or compare.
Other than the slight high ISO improvement, the driving reason for me is the significant increase in resolution, whihc should increase image quality and allow increased cropping. In addition, there are a lot of usability improvements over the 5D, such as the constant display of ISO setting, ease of flash (580/430 mark II) setting, "My Menu settings", etc.
Overall, I am I think it is a worthwhile upgrade to me. While it surely be a few $s cheaper in 6 months, I look forward to getting is soon (hopefully). The 5D will, for now, still be a great backup.
MountainTop wrote:
Right. I can see focal length, and sometimes lens type, but never brand of lens. Did I miss it or maybe my exif viewer is lame ( FxIF for Firefox )?
And as to my original question: isn't it logical to only compare shots with the same lenses?
FxIF isn't the best exif viewer. I use Lightroom 2 and Adobe bridge. They both show the lens used but don't show the brand name - they would show "Lens - EF50mm f1.2L USM" which is a Canon lens.
In a perfect world you would only compare shots using the same lens.
I am feeling like the odd one out here. I buy my gear from a traditional high street shop, and pay more than I would over the Internet. But tomorrow, I ma geeting two Zeiss ZEs to try and see if I like. And the same will be true with 5D2. I have pre-ordered, but subject to my playing with it for a couple of days. It is an expensive piece of gear, and I want to be sure that it suits me before forking out my hard-earned. And that is, to me, well worth paying a bit more. So cancelling a pre-order because I didn't not see enticing shots over the Net is not my problem.
The 5D Mk II + ZE 21 + ZE 35 + ZE 100 makro will be the new Holy Trinity!
philber wrote:
I am feeling like the odd one out here. I buy my gear from a traditional high street shop, and pay more than I would over the Internet. But tomorrow, I ma geeting two Zeiss ZEs to try and see if I like. And the same will be true with 5D2. I have pre-ordered, but subject to my playing with it for a couple of days. It is an expensive piece of gear, and I want to be sure that it suits me before forking out my hard-earned. And that is, to me, well worth paying a bit more. So cancelling a pre-order because I didn't not see enticing shots over the Net is not my problem....Show more →
I'm glad I'm not a pixel peeper. If I was, I'd probably throw all my gear in the river and stomp on my 5D2 in the store when I pick it up. That'll show `em!!
GregM5 wrote:
FxIF isn't the best exif viewer. I use Lightroom 2 and Adobe bridge. They both show the lens used but don't show the brand name - they would show "Lens - EF50mm f1.2L USM" which is a Canon lens.
In a perfect world you would only compare shots using the same lens.
Thanks Greg. I will import and use LR2 from now on.
Bob, thanks for posting those shots - tantalizing. Please keep us posted with your impressions.
bobbytan wrote:
The rationale is pretty simple. Any new DSLR or Mk II version is going to be better from ISO 100-400 in terms of noise performance. The difference (between these new DSLRs) is going to be the noise level at the upper end i.e. ISO 1600 and up .... so this is where the focus of attention will be. If it does well at ISO 6400 you can be sure that it will be superb at ISO 100-400.
I respect your point. However ISO performance is not my motivation for buying. It is the increased resolution. For me, I upgrade when the megapixels double (or close to it.) I recently sold the 5D1 and am loking forward to a lttle better resolution for large group shots. It however is not a crop issue for me. I crop when i shoot. Otherwise it is a wast of megapixels in my book.
IraGraham wrote:
I respect your point. However ISO performance is not my motivation for buying. It is the increased resolution. For me, I upgrade when the megapixels double (or close to it.) I recently sold the 5D1 and am loking forward to a lttle better resolution for large group shots. It however is not a crop issue for me. I crop when i shoot. Otherwise it is a wast of megapixels in my book.
Ira - for me it was definitely the high iso shooting. In fact the first shots I took with this camera were at ISO6400 and I was blown away. I'm thinking urban exploration, weddings, and other situations where I have missed shots because I didn't have a tripod or a flash. To shoot at ISO6400 with shutter speeds of 1/250th and faster allows for spontaneity in situations before unrealized.
Believe me, I love the higher resolution as well. The raw files on this thing are between 25 -30mb! Maybe I need to save for more disk space now . . .
For me, it's both .... I want nice/clean high-ISO images (for low-light shooting) and lots of resolution. I try to get everything right at capture too, but unfortunately that's not always possible. I use prime lenses a great deal and zooming with your feet is sometimes not possible, and when your longest lens is only 200mm. Under these conditions, cropping will save the day if you are working with a big file.
I am having the same problem. My memory is max'd out at 1.5GB. I may have to spend another $2,000 on hardware and software to support the 5D II files! But we need to think positive and how more stoked you will be when you pixel peep on your brand new cinema screen.
mananetwork wrote:
I'm going to need to upgrade my computer to handle 21mp RAW files
I haven't noticed a big hit in either Lightroom or Photoshop from these larger files but I have tons of ram (8GB MAC). Now, I haven't done any testing and I'm sure it takes a bit longer to process those larger files.
I processed a few raw files to tiff using DPP and they were 120MB each. Processing the tiff was a little slower but not that bad. I'm using a dual core with 4GB of ram.
SeanP wrote:
i hate to be that guy but i just purchased this on ebay for $3100. it does come with 6 "gifts" but they're basically worthless. i would normally never do this and just for wait for availability but i really didnt want to wait in this case!
...
i ordered last night and supposedly i will have it within 4 business days latest. good to get that off my chest! ill certainly post some samples once i get it
Is it true that Americans have to pay an import customs/duty tax on cameras like these from Hong Kong? I called Digitalrev in Hong Kong, and the girl on the phone said "some" Americans have reported having to pay up to 20% in customs fees.
I have no idea if this is true. Can anyone help here?
Jim Victory wrote:
I processed a few raw files to tiff using DPP and they were 120MB each. Processing the tiff was a little slower but not that bad. I'm using a dual core with 4GB of ram.
Jim
Ditto! I have tried and it is slower but workable on my core 2 duo 3Ghz. 4Gb 1066 FSB RAM
Holy crap! Did you guys (Canadian guys anyways) see this? http://www.canonrumors.com/
I quote here :
"UPDATE
1) I added the [CR5] rating.
2) I cannot reveal the stores for obvious reasons. They’d probably receive a bucketload of phone calls.
3) Some stores might get 10%, but believe me.. no one is getting any more than that.
4) Canon USA owns Canon Canada, so I can believe that they can set the allocation to whatever they want. This part is a rumor that I have no official word on.
5) There will be another shipment of cameras before Christmas. This isn’t the only allocation. However, don’t expect to see many more than the initial numbers.
6) How do I know this will ring true across the country? Canon doesn’t favor retailers anymore. Henry’s won’t be treated any better than Vistek or Billy Bob’s Camera shop. Canon has been pretty fair to retailers on allocation. Retailers get advance notice on how many cameras they’ll get if they have internet access.
Info about allocation
I’ve spoken to two retailers in Canada and both are saying they are being allocated 5% of their requested number of 5D Mark II’s.
It’s rumoured Canon USA cut back the number of cameras coming to Canon Canada.
I’ll let you know if anything changes."
Forget about getting it for Christmas unless you are at the top of the list. I am really pissed with Canon now.
If you are as pissed as I am, call
(905) 795-1111 and ask for
Ian Macfarlane
VP and GM, Consumer Imaging Group
