Posted by Todd Caudle on March 16, 2006 at 5:44 PM
Since some of you are just diving in to digital from other film formats, I thought I'd mention this. I sold my Canon EF100-300mm USM tele-zoom because I knew there was something better out there. At Jerry Greer's urging I picked up a Canon 70-200mm f4L lens a few days ago. It was definitely worth the purchase! I miss the convenience of having that extra 100mm, but in a pinch I can use my 1.4X converter and have an instant 98-280mm zoom.
I did a series of shots at all common apertures (f4, f5.6, f8, etc., up to f32) a few days ago, and found the lens to be good at f4, simply amazing at f5.6, and excellent through about f16, beyond which, due to the laws of physics (diffraction), it does soften slightly. Tests with the 1.4X attached showed pretty much the same result, with a very slight degradation of image quality at each f-stop. In almost every case the lens performed beautifully.
I sized one file shot at f5.6 to 24x36 and printed a detailed portion of it on my Epson Photo 960 printer (8½x11 paper), and it is remarkable!
I mention this now because I saw on another forum (I think it was photo.net) that amazon.com has a bunch of Canon lenses on sale. I just paid $589 for my 70-200 f4L. (That's another good thing about this lens. It's about the cheapest L-series lens you can get!), but amazon is selling it for $560 with free shipping. (D-OH!)
Here's a shot from this morning, 200mm @ f8, just for grins.
CORRECTION!!!: I thought that moon looked kinda big. This was shot WITH the 1.4X teleconverter, so this was 280mm, 1/40th-sec. @ f11.
Posted by Jesse Speer on March 16, 2006 at 8:16 PM
Beautiful shot. And a big ditto on your lens comments. I could rave on and on as well. There's something to be said for gear that offers such an incredible combo of price and performance.
Posted by Adam Schallau on March 16, 2006 at 9:41 PM
Awesome lens! I picked one up back in December to go along with the 5D and have been loving it.
Nice shot Todd.
Posted by Joseph Finn on March 17, 2006 at 12:53 AM
Thanks for the heads up on this Todd. BTW nice pic...................J
Posted by Tom Mangan on March 17, 2006 at 11:48 AM
Todd: Cool shot. I've been eyeing a 5D now for some time and thanks to your endorsements I started snooping around this morning. To make a long story short, I eneded up on Dell's web site and found that they had $329 dollars off the 5D, I then found a 20% off coupon on dpreview (PGXG0Z63RK72WL ) and before you know it I was checking out with a 5D for $2639 + $16 for next day shipping. The order has been confirmed so I should get the camera next week. I have heard that there is a $300 rebate coming down the pipeline but this was to sweet of a deal to pass up. $2655 later, thanks allot! I need to go have a Guinness now.
Posted by Todd Caudle on March 17, 2006 at 12:04 PM
Great news, Tom! I paid $3100 for mine right when it came out. In hindsight I wouldn't change a thing. It was much more beneficial to have the increased mp power when shooting fall than the XT could give me. I am mucho excited about the possibilities of the upcoming summer.
Excluding prices. Any opinions between the 70-200(is) f2.8L vs the f4? For my purposes I will have to get the f2.8. Is the 2.8 as sharp as the f4?
RichieV
Todd - Dont feel bad, let's take a guess at how much our 5Ds will be worth in 3 years.
Posted by Todd Caudle on March 17, 2006 at 2:07 PM
Reviews on fredmiranda.com compare the two favorably. I don't have firsthand comparison knowledge, but I was buying with weight considerations a priority, so f2.8, with or without IS, wasn't part of my equation.
And as far as the worth of the 5D in three years, I hear ya. But the worth of the photos I will amass with it between now and the time I upgrade to the Next Big Thing is incalculable.
Posted by Scott Borger on March 17, 2006 at 4:04 PM
Todd, Richie...I think a fair question is "will you even need to upgrade in 3 years?" I just got my 5D in the mail today (used to shoot with an XT, like Todd). I also have a Bogen 303 Plus QTVR tripod head + leveling plate that allows me to shoot 13-150+ MP pano images. I'm thinking I'll be able to hang on to the 5D for at least 3 years...and then there is always the "new thing" that comes out and makes you want to get rid of your 5D.
Posted by Todd Caudle on March 17, 2006 at 7:20 PM
I enjoy pano stitches for the fun of it, but I'm not ready to make it standard issue workflow in the field just yet. I just think it's inevitable, despite reports to the contrary, that we're going to keep seeing improvements in imaging sensors that'll make it worthwhile to move on to newer technology. I'm looking forward to seeing what - ahem - develops!
Posted by Chris Whitted on March 17, 2006 at 9:08 PM
Richie:
It's three times as expensive, twice as heavy, and an inch longer. Performance wise I can't compare personally (though as Todd said all reviews compare favorable but suggest the IS for the extra stops over the 4 disregarding weight) as I haven't used the f/4, but I can say I'm satisfied with mine. Now where did I put that camo tape...
Discussion
10 repliesI did a series of shots at all common apertures (f4, f5.6, f8, etc., up to f32) a few days ago, and found the lens to be good at f4, simply amazing at f5.6, and excellent through about f16, beyond which, due to the laws of physics (diffraction), it does soften slightly. Tests with the 1.4X attached showed pretty much the same result, with a very slight degradation of image quality at each f-stop. In almost every case the lens performed beautifully.
I sized one file shot at f5.6 to 24x36 and printed a detailed portion of it on my Epson Photo 960 printer (8½x11 paper), and it is remarkable!
I mention this now because I saw on another forum (I think it was photo.net) that amazon.com has a bunch of Canon lenses on sale. I just paid $589 for my 70-200 f4L. (That's another good thing about this lens. It's about the cheapest L-series lens you can get!), but amazon is selling it for $560 with free shipping. (D-OH!)
Here's a shot from this morning, 200mm @ f8, just for grins.
CORRECTION!!!: I thought that moon looked kinda big. This was shot WITH the 1.4X teleconverter, so this was 280mm, 1/40th-sec. @ f11.
Nice shot Todd.
RichieV
Todd - Dont feel bad, let's take a guess at how much our 5Ds will be worth in 3 years.
And as far as the worth of the 5D in three years, I hear ya. But the worth of the photos I will amass with it between now and the time I upgrade to the Next Big Thing is incalculable.
It's three times as expensive, twice as heavy, and an inch longer.