Canon Announces 5D Mark II

Hey Canon 5D owners yall now have some camera lust to deal with:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-9316-9603

It even does HD video at 1080P!! Simply amazing!!

WOOHHOO the street price is almost not to bad for me to afford!
"The Canon EOS 5D is slated to ship towards the end of November 2008 at an expected street price of US$2699 in the U.S."

At 21 MP this looks amazing for us nature photographers!

If I didn't have so much nikon gear, I'd be awful tempted to jump ship. That's a price within reach for a pretty awesome 21MP camera. Crap, did I say that out loud?

The new 5D looks very good with the only feature that I'm disappointed with being the autofocus system (carried almost straight over from the first 5D). Of course, for landscape the AF is probably irrelevant, but for wildlife...

Darn! B&H isn't taking any pre-orders. I've been waiting for this one for soooooo long!

Pretty amazing about the video too! This might make a perfect wedding camera for handing images and video. Thanks for posting Rick!

Pretty sure anyone who shoots canon and frequents this forum will have one of these puppies by next summer. I'm sure as hell buying one. Marc, how's that $8000 paperweight looking right now?

I was waiting for this so that I could make a good upgrade decision from my D200. I was considering either D700 or the new 5D. 5D would win only if it were much better than D700, or the difference in price were significant, and this is because I already own some Nikon equipment and I would not have to replace the entire inventory.
Now the decision is a bit clearer. The specs do not thrill me. The video feature seems to me pretty much useless. No onboard flash is a bit disappointment. The pixel density for new 5D is 2.4 MP/cm2 comparing to 1.4 MP/cm2 for D700 - how will it affect high ISO images?
If I shoot only landscape then definitely I would have gotten 5D long time ago. If blowing images to poster sizes were my daily bread I would have been in the Canon camp for long time.
However, considering myself an advanced hobbyist, I need camera for everything. Landscape - yes, but also family and vacation shots, portraits, some studio, kids sports, indoor, outdoor, simply everything. And I already own Nikon lens. So it seems that after waiting with my decision for the new 5D I am going to stay with Nikon.

>> Marc, how's that $8000 paperweight looking right now?

I've never in my life been more upset with Canon, personally. They completely ripped off most of their pros. The MK1 and 2 were flagships for years and the MK 3....well, I may as well have lit $4400 on fire. I might upgrade to the new 5D. Canon no longer has a flagship model for landscape shooters IMO.

The MK 4 will be 30 mp's though, and will be coming sooner than you might think.

Well Marc, at least I will have a full frame on your tour! :)

Yeah, I feel pretty burned too. They must have already been developing the 5D Mark II when they shipped the 1Ds Mark III, so even if they low price was influenced by Sony's new body, they must have known they were ripping off the Mark III buyers. I may switch too, if I can get some money back selling my Mark III. Although I would miss the AF for wildlife.

I'm disappointed that the autofocus is the same dang thing. I have been waiting to see what they do with this feature, as I'm drooling over many of the 1DMkIII features. It's close enough, but I really want that better auto focus. I'm sure I'll bite and do the upgrade. Glad it's not coming out till November. I can't shoot for a few months anyway. Nancy

I'm in! But I can't get the Galbraith link to work. Says that the article has been removed? Hope Rob didn't jump the gun on this one.

I was surprised by the 21.1MP. I thought it would be about 16mp, because of the 1Ds MKIII being 21mp. That is a slap to the 1Ds owners. It seems the MegaPixel war is rocketing, and 20+ is the new standard.

5D owners, get yours on Ebay tonight, because in 3 months, or 12MP models won't be worth $1000. I'm posting mine, simply because it'll still have resale value for the next week or two (especially internationally).

Besides the wonderful 21MP, Canon also included THREE custom settings, not like the original 5D's one. Sensor cleaning is great too.

Video and the Direct Print button seem useless, and for battery power reasons you can keep live view (I hope it's defeatable). It's good for macro shots though.

I honestly thought Canon would have raised the flash sync to 1/250. That's huge for sports photographers, because most wireless rigs in the arenas sync at 1/250, and this new 5D would have probably become the #1 pick amongst those guys. That was their gripe with the original 5D.

All in all, MegaPixel alone is enough for any landscape artist to upgrade.

OK! Nuff blabbing! Got an Ebay ad to write!

Sean, try this one:

http://www.usa.canon.com/templatedata/pressrelease/20080917_5dmkii.html

Still no dedicated mirror lock-up button?

When I bought my 1D Mark III I poo pooed Live View as much as others have. But the more I tried it the more I used it and liked it. Now I can't imagine not having it for my landscape, macro and real estate shoots. And I've yet to drain a battery even doing intense day long commercial real estate shoots.

Having a live histogram ROCKS! Imagine being behind a large format glass focusing screen with a live histogram and you begin to appreciate what Live View brings to the practicing photographer. Oh and don't forget live depth of field too! You can even check focus on various parts of the scene by zooming in - rapidly/easily.

Trust me - Live View will quickly become your favorite tool!! Give it an honest test drive and you might find yourself amazed and agreeing with me.

"Canon 5DII Image quality Best to Date of any DSLR made..."

Actually it says the best image quality of any EOS DSLR made....let's see how it compares to the D3 once critical tests have been run. There are alot of factors that determine IQ other than just the number of pixels on the sensor.

Hmmm, Rick, you have me intrigued about Live View now... I thought it was just a soccer-mom P&S battery-drain feature. Apparently not! I'll let you know if I get the new 5D. Ooops, WHEN, I meant "when". Did I say if???


Honestly, it's the chance to have the editing freedom of 21MP & 14-bit. I'm trying to NOT concentrate on gear, but this one is hard to set aside. Otherwise, the old 5D is more than ample. Look at the galleries of everyone who's owned them in the last 3 years, not exactly shabby. But technology advances.

I still think Canon's timing and price of the 1Ds and now the new 5D was really REALLY bad for those who were faithful in purchasing the 1Ds. They should at least send every 1Ds buyer a 24mm TSE or something to compensate (seriously). Or an after-the-fact mail-in rebate of $1000... something to offset that gap.

>> They completely ripped off most of their pros. The MK1 and 2 were flagships for years and the MK 3....well, I may as well have lit $4400 on fire. I might upgrade to the new 5D. Canon no longer has a flagship model for landscape shooters IMO.


I'm sure they knew it was coming and had to weigh the probability of alienating all the pros (and amateurs who have mad cash) who dropped for a MK3 against pricing out the 5D2 against the A900 and the D700. From a marketing / pricing standpoint it was a brilliant move to slot it that much below the $3000 mark. Toss their annual rebate on top of that too. As far as a flagship model for a certain niche, I'm not sure there won't be another FF slotted between the impending 1D4 and the 5D2 coming.

Looks pretty cool. I'm actualy anxious to check out the 50D also.....and how its image quality compares to the original 5D. The 5D is fantastic, but it sure would be nice to be able to use my Tokina 12-24, and get some of those new features in the 50D.

Can anybody explain to me how cramming more pixels on the same size sensor can possibly maintain or improve the image quality? I can't get my head around that.

Chris, that is a hard one to imagine at first. But in 1997 I purchased a 1.2GB hard drive for $250, and couldn't understand how that much data could fit on a standard-size hard drive. Now they stuff terabytes on the same drive. Wild.

I did wonder for a moment about IQ and noise when I read that the sensor cells on the new 5D were reduced to 6.4um from the old 5D's huge 8.2um cells. But then I remembered Marc Adamus talking about his 1Ds MKIII and how excellent the IQ and noise absence were. That model has the same size cells as the new 5D, so evidently technology and the new DIGIC 4 take care of that. Look at Marc's latest stuff; image quality is astounding.

Guess that means were OK! It'd better be, since I'm planning on selling my 5D and going without a DSLR for two months.

Ok -- that does it! Rick --- get me on a wait list. Anyone want my 5D for a back up? Oh, wait, that might be me! Seriously, anyone from this forum that wants the 5D, Rick or I are willing to negotiate.

OK, so I will throw my question - I never processed an image of 20MPx on a computer. How is it?
The largest I did is 10MPx from my D200. Is 20MP in 14 bits choking the computer?
Plus, what is the Canon equivalent to Nikon NX software? I mean software to process RAW files?
Camera Raw as part of PS is not a good answer to my question because in case of NEFs Camera Raw can't retrieve all the information NX can. Is there any specific Canon software to work on Canon RAWs? With features like for example exposure compesation - NX can retrieve up to 2 EV from blacks and whites, while Camera Raw can't.

It maybe true for the 21mp issue vs 1DIII, but the 5D was becoming outdated compared to current models, I think Canon was pressed with the models from two other companies so an innovation had to happen. This was simillar to the 40D/50D issue. Competion is definately fierce nowadays and if a company will let go its risking a switch from a brand to another which does not involve only the sale of the body but the rest of the gear too. Its something we have to admit we like it or not. Bare in mind that a company's image today is sometimes measured by its capability for innovation especially in electronic equipment.

The 800 lb gorilla in the DSLR market will be Sony in the next five years. They have HUGE talent in electronics and a marketing engine that no one can even come close to. I think Sony will be the one to watch going forward. Sony isn't shy at all about pricing VERY competitively with FULLY featured products.

This I believe is what's driving Canon & Nikon.

In the meantime RamblinLamb Photography will be most happy to own at least one Canon 5D Mark II thank you very much!

Brian, I know. I completely understand this. They had to rip off someone in the whole thing, so it may as well have been their smaller market (those with the 1Ds III) in order to compete with Sony. I also totally agree with what Rick mentions - Sony is absolutely the one to watch.

Marc and Brian,
I'm not understanding how Canon has ripped anyone off. Both model upgrades have been long awaited. Even way back when the 1DMkIII came out, Rick talked for a fleeting second about waiting for the 5 D Mk II. We knew ujpgrades were coming.
Patience was needed if one really wanted to make a comparison. Now, this is truly my opinion and I don't mean to start a war, but I'll stick my neck out anyway.
Marketing Strategy is just that....
Even when the D700 came out, it was common thought tht it would be compared to the 5D MarkII.

Actually, it would ROCK if these companies provided free upgrades. :)

I was using the 5DMK2 as a benchmark to possibly switch to Canon but I am not all that sure right now. The jump in pixels is nice but besides a few new features it's similar to a regular 5D. I think it might be better for me to just pay a little more and go with the D700 since I'm already invested in the Nikon system and all but 1 of my lenses are FF capable. Seems more logical for me, but I am still open to getting a mint used 5D and weighing out the possibilities since that camera is a fine tool.

I am not saying I am gonna switch........BUT.....This looks very very tempting....now...does canon have anything in the 14mm range for lenses...........

Here ya go Darren:

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=151&modelid=7300

This is a superb 14mm lens.

Between this and Sony's new 24.6 MP FF A900, it looks like medium-format resolution has somehow become affordable to ordinary (O.K. slightly more well-heeled than ordinary) photographers. For all those Canon owners complaining about their 1Ds, I would hate to be someone who's just sunk five figures on a Mamiya or Hasselblad with a digital back...

I don't think anyone was ripped off. It would be worse if they overpriced it just based on how much people paid for MKIIIs.

>>The 800 lb gorilla in the DSLR market will be Sony in the next five years. They have HUGE talent in electronics and a marketing engine that no one can even come close to. I think Sony will be the one to watch going forward. Sony isn't shy at all about pricing VERY competitively with FULLY featured products.

I'm not so sure about Sony. Assuming they've got the full Minolta team still employed and are just slapping the Sony sensors in the bodies and rebranding the cameras (to paraphrase), they could be a legitimate threat. But - and this is a big big but - Sony has a LONG and very well documented history of making very flaky electronics. Some of their products are rock solid (video cameras), some of them are absolute and utter crap (computers - laptops in particular, voice recorders, several of their TVs). What Sony loves to do is cut corners in the production of their products so they can save some money then jack the price up because there is a long standing price premium associated with their brand name. I don't think this will happen with the DSLR market for a while (if at all, considering how volatile it is), but it wouldn't surprise me one bit to see them sacrifice little pieces here and there in order to keep their costs down while maintaining a fairly competitive price point.

They also have a history of very shady practices regarding licensing of their patents, the whole Rootkit debacle with the Sony Record Label, etc. I simply will not patronize them out of spite for their business models, good products or not. Whatever they do can only be good for the market, so more power to them, I just don't have a lot of faith that they'll do it right.

I need to ask for people's help here.

I went up on Adorama last night and placed an order (free shipping, $2700, great deal as Calumet is asking for $200 more to go on their pre-order list)). I thought, why not?

And then I get this email from them.
-------------
Thank you for placing an order with Adorama.

We regret to inform you that the following item(s) is currently on backorder

from the manufacturer, and we are unable to ship immediately.

Item Number: ICA5DM2 - CANON EOS-5D MARK II DIGITAL SLR CAMERA

Our experience has shown that most backorders are shipped out within 10-14
days.
We will update you immediately should there be a change.
Please note, your credit card will not get charged until we ship.

Please accept our apology for this.

We hope to continue to serve you with all your photography needs.

Thank you.
------------

WHAT? I HAVE TO WAIT? I WANT IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where do I file my complaint? What are the steps in elevating my complaint when it doesn't ship in the typical 10 to 14 days?

Seriously, I cannot wait for the end of November!!! I so wish I had this for the coming fall colors. At least I have it when I go to Australia for a month.

I was about to purchase a video camera - our family video camera became a tape eater and I am starting a web/video based commerce site for musicians. This is perfect !! 1080 high image quality from the same camera I take out to shoot landscapes with and I can use all of my existing lenses.

I know what I am getting for Christmas !!

What are the steps in elevating my complaint when it doesn't ship in the typical 10 to 14 days?

I checked out the Adorama site and it has the following statement clearly visible in red text on the 5D MKII page:

This is a new item and not in stock yet. Currently we do not have a scheduled delivery date from the manufacturer
Please Note: You can place this item on order and as soon as it arrives we will ship it
We do not charge your card until we actually ship the product

This is standard for new releases; every other (reputable) site has similar language. Hopefully it comes in before your trip.

Here's a great article and comparison tables for all models now available:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10044432-1.html?tag=TOCmoreStories.0

you might have to copy/paste the URL, but CNET wrote a great article.

Nancy

This is terrible... people post beautiful images and they get 3 or 4 replies. A new camera comes out and it gets 3 DOZEN (4 of which are mine). UGH!! Are we all closet gear heads?? Say it isn't so...


PS: As a kid I remember my dad rubbing this stinky chemical on his Polaroid B&W shots so the image wouldn't fade... man, it's all gotten a bit better, eh?

Ok, I guess my attempt at humor didn't go quite the way I expected. I'm hoping to receive the camera early December.

I'm really excited about this camera. I'm planning on going to Karijini Nat'l Park in the northwest part of Australia next year. Not sure if I am going to go there via car via Perth and then via car (some amazing places on the way), or somewhere close by.

From what I've seen in pictures of Western Australia as compared to what I've seen in person around Cairns, Sydney, and Melbourne, Western Australia has the most amazing landscapes on the continent (my opinion).

It will be mine ASAP. That is all.

If any of you guys are selling your existing 5D - hit me up :) ..

I would love the 21 MP shebang and all that but then I would need a Mac pro to process all the images and probably a 30 in Cinema display to truly appreciate the resolution and the sharpness. Then I would probably need the 16-35 f/2.8 L II and or that 24 mm f/1.4 II.

Finally after collecting all of these, I might go shooting once in a month. Yeah thats why I said 'collect'. So I would be more than happy buying the 5D for < 1500$ and be satisfied with my 17-40 L.

I guess one needs to watch out for Sony. 5D MII is no competition for A900 in my opinion. I would any day take 100% viewfinder coverage, ton of weather sealing and 5 fps burst rate. The only big unknown for Sony is the high ISO IQ and the absence of Live View. Even if ithe IQ is low, I bet it can be fixed with a firmware upgrade.

So I'll watch out the classifieds for used 5Ds.

-pradeep

just one comment, because as a strict 4x5 "analoguer", I couldn't care less about all this:
the initial saying, that digital photography means saving your money in the long run (no more film, no more developing costs...) probably was the biggest hoax in the history of photography.
georg

Georg I see going digital as paying all my film processing fees up front instead of on the payment plan. When we added in all the hidden extra fees of shooting film:

Drive time and fuel costs to/from the lab
Scanner and time spent scanning slides
Time spent cleaning up the scanned images
Being limited to one ISO per roll of film in camera
Being limited to that film's characteristics for one roll of film in camera

Going digital was an act of freedom from the hassles and costs of film. I'll never go back.

I will say that I am glad that there are still some folks shooting film. Call it nostalgia. I'm glad I'm not one of them though.

LOL! Georg, it's just like installing that $12,000 air conditioning/heating unit in your home so you can save $700 a year in energy costs. In the end it all evens out (after 10 years!), but the newer system sure is a lot more convenient.

Georg,

I still shoot 4x5, but much less. Why? Getting film developed is becoming more difficult. When I think about it, it costs basically $10/sheet (I shoot quickloads) for both purchase and development.

Digital has opened a whole new world for me, in terms of wider range of lenses (and therefore what I can shoot), how I can experiment, etc..

For LF, I have a 90, 135, 210, and 300 mm lenses. A good range, but sometimes I'd like to go wider or sometimes have greater reach (though rarely for landscapes).

For my DSLR, I currently have the following lenses:

17-40L
24-105L IS
70-200L IS 2.8
24 TS-E
45 TS-E
50 Compact macro 2.5
Rebel XT body

That's about $5K in lenses. Adding another $2700 for a new body (my XT isn't worth much now), let's just round up to $8K. So my break even point is about 800 shots when compared to LF.

When it comes to movements, my TSE lenses don't come close to LF, not even close. But I get a bit of it that handles most situations. Now often I go would go out with my LF, and it wasn't worth it to shoot.

As I said before, digital to me opens up a whole new world. I can check the histogram/image review to have an idea about whether or not my exposure worked. I can experiment, and that has opened a whole new world for me. And now I've started getting into wildlife/bird photography. You just can't do that with LF. Don't get my wrong, I love my Wisner, but I love my Canon gear too.

Plus, when having to hike in for sunrise shots, it is nice to carry less weight, especially when I hike into a place I've been before and know exactly what lenses I need.

Now it will be a long time, if ever, that the resolution of a DSLR catches up to a sheet of 4x5 film, but the largest print I'd ever done and ever will do is a 30x40. Now I would hope that with the Canon 5D Mark II, I can do such a large print, and if the subject is from the desert southwest, when I get up close and see the grain, it is the grain of the sandstone that I see (like my 24x30 print of 2nd Wave).

Also, for making prints, it is nice to not have to pay $100 for a scan, so that's another factor that reduced the number of shots it would take to break even. Buying a drum scanner just isn't an option for me (and not cheap either if it were, that's a huge expense in itself).

There are trade offs. There is something so beautiful about LF. I don't want to give that up ever. One day when film is no longer available, I will keep my gear in hopes (now everyone, don't laugh) that a 4x5 sensor will be available at a "reasonable" price.

And I love my DSLR gear (just wish Canon would come out with a 200-400 lens like Nikon has).

Which do I prefer? BOTH!

It's a good life!

Horses for courses as the brits say. I say there will always be those who prefer analog film over a digital sensor and that's not to be interpreted as a bad thing. I truly hope we're all past the trivial argument over which is better. Pick your horse for the course of YOUR choice and never let some fool like me dictate the horse for your course.

I prefer to allow for any and all mediums of capturing an image. Each will inspire me to continue my quest of images and that's a purely wonderful thing!! The diversity of photography is amazing and the rate of paradigm shift lately is mind boggling for sure!! Geeze Louise 1080P in a DSLR for less than $3k??!!

Damn if it aint a great time to be a photographer!!!

Amen Rick!
Last a couple days I was browsing every possible discussion and I think I am close to switching to 5DII from my NIkon system. The only thing that holds me in the NIkon world is my 70-200/2.8 VR, but I hope I will not have problem of geting rid of it...
I you were buying a brand new 5DII system with two lenses, what are the two lenses I should start with?

Cezar,

Canons 17-40 F4L and one of the 70-200 L series lens. They make the 70-200 in an f4 or 2.8 variety and both can be had with image stabilization.

Of course the 24-105 f4L IS is no slouch either and a great all around lens. I prefer wider so its the 17-40 for me.

Cezar,

Since you love your Niko 70-200 2.8 VR, I think the appropriate replacement is of course the 70-200 2.8 IS. As far as a second lens, it depends on what you like to shoot primarily.

Now if you said what 3 lenses, answering would be so much easier!

Cezar, If I had to limit myself to two lenses it would be the Canon 24-70mm F/2.8 L and the 17-40mm F/4.0 L and all I was doing was landscapes.

When we went digital from Minolta film bodies to Canon digital bodies we bought the following lenses at the same time:

Canon 24-70mm F/2.8 L
Canon 17-40mm F/4.0 L
Canon 100mm F/2.8 Macro
Canon 70-200mm F/2.8 IS L

We have no regrets about any of the above lenses. The 24-70 is by far my favorite lens.

I see Georg's point. Digital can be much cheaper than film in the long run IF you don't keep upgrading every time the newest toy comes out. When you get into that cycle of buying the newest $XXXX camera every 2-3 years though........ Different strokes for different folks, neither is wrong if you're having fun and can afford it.

OK, I'll go back to hiding in my hole now : wink:
Dave

Over the past few years the DSLRs got incrementally better (unless $7000 for a body was in your budget). MP's went from 3 to 6 to 8 to 10 to... you get the idea. So running out and getting the next level WAS expensive considering the gain.

This one is different. What Sony and Canon just did skyrocketed the pixel war. Upgrading to a 20+MP body will be nearly mandatory, and if we wait, we'll be behind in a hurry. I really don't feel that this upgrade is just another small step up. It's more like a step of 2 orders of magnitude when you factor in the low price. This parallels the PC chip market when Dual-core chips came out. Now dual core is the norm, and our single core P3 or P4 PCs aren't worth a sandwich and a coffee. Try running PS CS3 on Vista on an old P4 machine... doable, but frustrating.

Prediction: stock agencies will soon be imposing a 16MP minimum on submissions. Right now some impose a 10mp minimum, but it will increase. Maybe a way to weed put casual shooters to reduce the agency's reviewing time? Who knows. But in a year from now, an "under-20mp" camera will seem dated. Does a 16mp sound all that big anymore?

Paul, I'm not sure stock agencies will need to go much higher than 20mp. This thing is gonna produce a 12x18 @ 300dpi at native resolution. That will look crazy good coming off an Epson 4800. Even though virtually every print agency requires images submitted at that res, its not necessary and I'd wager they all just ask for them at that quality so they are free to enlarge or reduce as they see fit (I do graphic design and I've done some projects using images down to around 150dpi and there's no difference when the final product is produced). Hell, I've printed 20x30s from my 6mp Digital Rebel and they looked fine as long as you stand a foot away. I think we're fast approaching the point where the quality of the pictures coming out of the camera is going to vastly surpass the practical application of the size in anything other than art (not that its a bad thing).

I think we're fast approaching the point where the quality of the pictures coming out of the camera is going to vastly surpass the practical application of the size

You're right about that Bryan. I guess one thing that 21MP gives you is latitude, especially when a small crop of an image is what's desired and you find you have plenty of post-crop data to work with. Regardless of speculation (especially my twisted version), this is a great time to be a photographer.

Well after reading the specs on DP review I found the one thing I wanted in this camera........sensor cleaning.......

if it works anything like the D300 does, its amazing...and keeps my images dust free which reduces my time in photoshop with the healing brush....

I did some checking on lenses for this baby and the 14mm wont work...I need access to my polarizer and it has a mounted hood.......would not work well for grads either......

so, ill do some more looking but its time to get the shovel out and start digging up my jar of pennies, nickels and dimes I have buried in the back yard in mason jars........cause in all honesty, this camera looks like a sure fire winner with landscape photographers........

Now that I have the D700 and FX, I shoot a lot of my landscapes at f/16 with hyperfocal distance that gives me about 2 feet to infinity with my 20mm lens. Thom Hogan says FX will be severely diffraction limited at 18mp's to after about F/13. At 21mp's diffraction should start to be an issue at f/11...

#1, how are people, like Marc, that shoot the 1Ds3 dealing with the diffraction issues, and,

#2, if this is a limiting factor on 35mm based systems, then cheaper medium format is the future, not more MP's on 35mm based sized sensors...

I have found that with my Sigma 10-20 I start to get diffraction at about F10 but with my Nikon 60 2.8 macro, I do not notice it at all even at F32........so I am thinking its the quality of the lens....but I could be wrong......

I am pretty sure that if you take this new camera and toss on a 24mm T/S lens, all good things in life will come your way!!!!

Since diffraction is being discussed, I thought I'd share this link I just came across:

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/diffraction-photography.htm

OT: What is the record for posts on a single thread?