Digital photography

Cheers for the advice, I'll see what forums are on offer!

Slightly basic one, I've not got much experience with expensive kit so forgive me for the basic question.... Assuming shutter speed, aperture, iso and focus are all pretty much bang on, would a 70-200 f4 L lens produce similar results on a 550d (current body) to a more expensive camera, for example 5d mk ii (i know thats full frame but I'm just wondering about sharpness and image quality really) which would probably be the next upgrade in a few years after the lens

Buying used lenses from ebay etc. - too risky? what do we think? I'm after a canon 70-200 f4 L and they seem to be pretty good value new anyway but i have limited experience in buying lenses second hand. Cheers

http://apertureuk.com/canon_auto_focus.html

Nice fellas and fair price. Yes, they might be a touch more expensive than getting from a person, but they carry a 6 months warranty with what they sell and as much friendly advice as you like etc. and good coffee too.

Yeah Sam you will see difference in sharpness from an L lens! obviously it would be that little bit sharper and the 'image quality' would be a little higher on a full frame camera but you will still really see the benefits of decent glass.

sent you a PM with a link to a Facebook buy and sell forum too

edited, I misread what you said

Cheers for the pm, I've added myself to that group

This is the sort of shot I was hoping to achieve, taken by a friend of a friend

http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncanp/11249385014/

(Failing to embed it via my ipad)

no wonder! that is a bloody nice shot!

although that is taken at f3.5 so I'm guessing it was taken using the f2.8 version of the 70-200mm L which will obviously be even better quality but they also carry a hefty price tag to match, you will be able to achieve similar effects with the f4.

as a tip in laymen's terms (no offence) if you are further away from your subject but you are zoomed in* on them & your subject is a decent distance from any background (like in that picture) then your Depth of field will drop off quicker creating that blurred background a lot easier :) hope this helps a little

*i hate that phrase

no wonder! that is a bloody nice shot!

although that is taken at f3.5 so I'm guessing it was taken using the f2.8 version of the 70-200mm L which will obviously be even better quality but they also carry a hefty price tag to match, you will be able to achieve similar effects with the f4.

as a tip in laymen's terms (no offence) if you are further away from your subject but you are zoomed in* on them & your subject is a decent distance from any background (like in that picture) then your Depth of field will drop off quicker creating that blurred background a lot easier :) hope this helps a little

*i hate that phrase

Cheers for the advice, I'll see what forums are on offer!

Slightly basic one, I've not got much experience with expensive kit so forgive me for the basic question.... Assuming shutter speed, aperture, iso and focus are all pretty much bang on, would a 70-200 f4 L lens produce similar results on a 550d (current body) to a more expensive camera, for example 5d mk ii (i know thats full frame but I'm just wondering about sharpness and image quality really) which would probably be the next upgrade in a few years after the lens

I have one of these, back in London next week if you are interested in having a go.

I am looking to trade/ sell my 5D MKII - any advise on what camera+lens (as I would like to get a nice zoom). The 7D looks ok.

I have both a 7d and 1d mkIII and I need to get rid of one. Haven't decided which yet but if you're interested let me know.

no wonder! that is a bloody nice shot!

as a tip in laymen's terms (no offence) if you are further away from your subject but you are zoomed in* on them & your subject is a decent distance from any background (like in that picture) then your Depth of field will drop off quicker creating that blurred background a lot easier :) hope this helps a little

Haha I'm not quite inexperienced to not know that, but thanks for not overestimating my knowledge, it's easier to spell it out and build up! I'll try and upload some of my own shots tomorrow so you can see what sort of quality I'm working with at the moment.

And yeah that bloke has his photo on the cover of Dirt magazine this month, not bad for a 21 year old! His pans are amazing as well, you should check them out

@Jonathan, thanks for the offer but I'll be back at Sheffield uni next week!

Buying used lenses from ebay etc. - too risky? what do we think? I'm after a canon 70-200 f4 L and they seem to be pretty good value new anyway but i have limited experience in buying lenses second hand. Cheers

Check out MPB for secondhand with warranty. Have used and they are reliable
Talkphotography is a good forum, excellent classifieds section, but you need to be a member for a while with a number of posts to access it

I am looking to trade/ sell my 5D MKII - any advise on what camera+lens (as I would like to get a nice zoom). The 7D looks ok.

Do I get this right - you are willing to trade / sell your 5D MkII -
asking for "any advise on what camera+lens", you would like to get a "nice zoom". And the "7D looks ok".

Why don't you use your MkII ?
Why would anyone even think about stepping down from full format to APS-C ?

I have both a 7d and 1d mkIII and I need to get rid of one. Haven't decided which yet but if you're interested let me know.

That's your first world problem right there!
Just send me the MkIII, and keed using the 7D (as it's lighter), or give that one away as well (to wblati), and think about throwing in a nice zoom for good measure!

A cheap n cheerful f1.8 50mm prime due to arrive here on Thurs, am quite excited by this news.

/csb

Do I get this right - you are willing to trade / sell your 5D MkII -
asking for "any advise on what camera+lens", you would like to get a "nice zoom". And the "7D looks ok".

Why don't you use your MkII ?
Why would anyone even think about stepping down from full format to APS-C ?

Not every full frame camera is better than every cropped.
A 7D is around the top of the range of aps-c cameras and the mk II 1D is an old outdated camera. That being said it would still produce sharper images with more detail. It just depends what you're after.

Yes.

This is the sort of shot I was hoping to achieve, taken by a friend of a friend

http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncanp/11249385014/

(Failing to embed it via my ipad)

If you want good Dof for cheap, the 100mm f2.0 will get you a similar effect with slightly faster focus tracking than an f4 lens, and probably more accurate too as the af sensor will have more light to work with.
70-200 is a really good range but at f4 on a crop body, it's not going to be as close to that shot as it could be.
Of course, using a prime isn't as flexible and you'll have to work harder to get the framing right but if you're shooting a race, you should have a fair few chances to find the right spot to camp in.

To get really geeky about this - the shot above was taken at 142mm on a 1.3x cropped sensor at f3.5 so on a 1.6x crop camera, that is basically 100mm f2. Or close enough anyway.

I made some photos during the Festive 500 in the Malvern Hills - http://richardaldred.com/landscape/festive-500/

I made some photos during the Festive 500 in the Malvern Hills - http://richardaldred.com/landscape/festive-500/

I really like these two... Nice work.
http://richardaldred.com/files/gimgs/67_richardaldredtopiary.jpg

http://richardaldred.com/files/gimgs/67_richardaldreddroitwichwatertower.jpg

That's your first world problem right there!
Just send me the MkIII, and keed using the 7D (as it's lighter), or give that one away as well (to wblati), and think about throwing in a nice zoom for good measure!

You're right it is really a first world problem, I might want to sell the 70-200 or ideally swap for a 24-105.

If anyone is interested, I would be looking for

£350 for 70-200

and I'll only sell one body, but, would be looking for

£550 for the 7d
£600 for the mkIII

Jonathan, I'll be interested in the 70-200 once my student loan has come through in February, can't justify any more spending just yet!

Well is it - thanks for the advice but I really think the zoom would be more handy, just allows me a bit more room for a wider variety of shots. I say I like to capture a shot like that, but I'd also use the lens for loads more stuff!

Another rookie question, how do old 1d's compare with say the 7d or 5d mk II? A friend of mine is shooting on a 1d mk II N (http://www.danhearnphotography.com/) and gets great results. I'm slightly confused by which would be better value, a cheap old 1d or an up to date 7 or 6d and how they differ?

Old 1Ds, although have a lower megapixel sensor, are full frame 35mm equivalent. And the 7D is a APS-C sensor camera so the sensor is 1.6 times smaller, Although it has more MP, the full frame will have greater detail in its shots.
I have a 6D but I'm not sure how it would do against any of the older 1D range

The old 1Ds are great - a mkiii should have slightly better AF than a 7D but they're different animals really.
The 6D has only 1 crosstype AF point compared to 19 in the 7D and 7 in your 550D. its more of a portrait/landscape camera.

Old 1Ds, although have a lower megapixel sensor, are full frame 35mm equivalent. And the 7D is a APS-C sensor camera so the sensor is 1.6 times smaller, Although it has more MP, the full frame will have greater detail in its shots.
I have a 6D but I'm not sure how it would do against any of the older 1D range

I understand the differences in the sensor size, but I don't understand how an image with a third the number of pixels can be more detailed? Especially with a large sensor, because that would mean the equivalent area to the smaller APS-C sensor would have an even lower number of pixels (might be mistaken). As I understand it, MPs are a measure of resolution so assuming both cameras have the same lens and are focused perfectly, wouldn't more MPs mean more detail?

The old 1Ds are great - a mkiii should have slightly better AF than a 7D but they're different animals really.
The 6D has only 1 crosstype AF point compared to 19 in the 7D and 7 in your 550D. its more of a portrait/landscape camera.

Its starting to become a bit clearer that despite some cameras being more expensive than others, they might not be as good at a particularly type of photography... The 7d with its fast continuous shooting and more AF points sounds like a better camera for sports.

When you say they're different animals, what's the 1D designed for? I always assumed the top of the range canon body would just be an amazing all rounder?

1D is sports, the modern ones can shoot something like 15 frames a second. Much higher than anything else in the range

Oh ok, so really the Canon range should be looked at as a series of cameras designed for different roles, rather than a line of increasingly good cameras?

Here's a shot I took back in Sheffield at Parkwood Springs, copied from facebook so it's not got any exif info, probably 50mm f1.8 at around 1/1000th though