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I've just made available this new video that introduces Canon's 600 EX-RT flash and ST-E3-RT flash controller. The new radio system is a significant departure so I explain the infrared history of Canon remote flash, where the new system is compatible and where it is not, and offer a comparison to the well known Pocket Wizard radio controllers for eTTL flash. [iframe][/iframe]
I guess it's no surprise that Leica (Germany) would hold it's big release party at Photokina (Germany). There has been a ton of speculation about new cameras to be announced and Leica has not failed to deliver on the promise of announcements. The M
Most anticipated by the serious rangefinder crowd was the M10. Which didn't appear. Instead, Leica takes a page from Apple and has ceased numbering it's cameras so the camera we've been expecting as the M10 is just the M (Typ 240)
It is very much what has been rumoured. About the same money as an M9 was before the discounting started about a month ago, with many of the expected changes being delivered. I've posted links to the specs but here are the salient points.
Going CMOS allows for Live View and video but means that the old style of no Anti-Aliasing filter is now gone. Some Leica fans were near apoplectic to see this. The higher ISO range is a nice change from the 2500 cap on the M9. The new camera is made of magnesium with brass top and bottom plates and comes in black or chrome.
The M-E
If you've always wanted a Leica digital rangefinder but found the cost of entry a bit extreme, Leica has a new option for you called the M-E.
As best I can tell, it's a stripped (not by much) M9. Specs are as follows
So with the exception of the USB port, for all intents and purposes it's an M9, only in anthracite grey with the same Kodak sensor. It will take all accessories offered on the M9 and M9-P. Price looks to be about $1000 below the pre-discount price of the M9.
The S
Leica is less known for their medium format camera the S2. The new camera, called the S, is the latest iteration in the S System.
Medium format cameras tend to be heavy and bulky and look boxy. The S looks like a DSLR that is a bit overgrown. Control layout is simple and easy to use and the glass is amazing. About $20k for a body only so not for those of us of average incomes. This is a very targeted buyer.
Nothing light or trivial here. Leica reminds me of Rolls Royce when it comes to specs. I remember that when Rolls used to be queried on the horsepower of their cars, their answer was "enough". Leica is sort of that way with the S. I don't see a lot of pros using Leica S family products, there is a lot more Hasselblad, Mamiya, Phase One and even Pentax out there in pro-land, but if money was no object this would be cool.
Leica also announced two new point and shoot style cameras, the D-Lux 6 and V-Lux 4 super zoom. They are both very pricey models with features comparable (sometimes identical - wink) to existing point and shoot cameras from folks such as Lumix. I don't really cover point and shoots on this site, so I will leave them to others to cover.
At Photokina this week, Sigma has announced a revamping of their lens business and three new lenses. From the release, Sigma will be grouping their lenses into Contemporary, Art and Sports. Reasons for the distinctions are not completely clear and as at this writing even the websites for Sigma country sites and distributors were not yet updated.
All the lenses have a new cosmetic look and ostensibly have improved weather sealing.
Contemporary
I think Contemporary is set to cover all-around use lenses, including multi-purpose zooms. Sigma has updated a number of lenses this year including their popular 18-250 walk around zoom, but cosmetically the lenses did not change much and optically the changes were nominal. This week they have announced a new 17-70 f2.8-4 lens. It's on their DC construction line so targeted at crop sensor bodies. There are lots of those out there, but I am disappointed that the lens is not a DG given the industry trend to full frame sensors.
Construction comprises aspherical, FLD (fluorite) and SLD (super low dispersion) elements in addition to traditional optical glass. It will weigh about 1 pound and take 72mm filters. A 7 blade rounded diaphragm should provide pleasing bokeh when shot wide open. Pricing was not available in the announcement.
Credit to Sigma for including performance charts with their announcement. The chart shows mild barrel distortion at the wide end and minuscule pincushion distortion at the telephoto end. Given that this lens is for crop sensors of varying mounts, probability is that an oversize image circle will make the distortion invisible in real world applications.
Art
Sigma says that this line is targeted for artists. I think that this means fast primes. The lens announced in this group is a 35mm f/1.4 Sigma has successfully proven their ability to make superb fast primes already with the industry choice 50mm f/1.4 and their 85mm f/1.4. I've shot the 50mm and think it is better than Canon's less expensive 50/1.4. Fashion professional Lindsay Adler is a spokesperson for the 85/1.4. Thus I am optimistic about the image performance of the new 35mm. This lens is a DG mount so suitable for full frame use.
Construction comprises aspherical, FLD (fluorite) and SLD (super low dispersion) elements in addition to traditional optical glass. It's pretty large and take 67mm filters, weight was not included in the specs. A 9 blade rounded diaphragm should provide pleasing bokeh when shot wide open. Pricing was not available in the announcement.
Sigma's performance charts show negligible distortion, which is expected given the longevity of 35mm construction and the simple design it requires. Vignetting is not insignificant wide open but it will take real world tests to see how much of a difference it really makes.
Sports
Many photographers have loved the second generation of Sigma's 120-300/2.8 fast telephoto zoom. The 2nd gen model added optical image stabilization enhancing the value proposition substantially even over Sigma's really excellent 300/2.8. We see the third generation of the 120-300/2.8 in this announcement and it has changed both cosmetically and physically. The new lens is much sleeker that it's predecessor and now includes focus control buttons near the front element as we would find on Nikon and Canon super telephotos. This allows the photographer direct control of focus tracking and motor speed.
The lens is built with FLD and SLD elements as well as regular optical glass as was the predecessor. Distortion charts are available and show negligible distortions. Since the lens is an all telephoto zoom, this makes for simpler and more robust construction. No weight is given, but if the 2nd gen is an indicator, hand-holding will be a tiring proposition. A tripod foot and carry case are to be included with the lens. Filter size remains an enormous 105mm so you'll be doing a special order on that from Sigma as well.
While I am impressed with what was announced, I am looking forward to more detail and seeing the real things in stores.
After weeks/months of speculation, Canon has announced the 6D. It's a brand new full frame camera and in my estimation just fired a full nail gun into the coffin of the 5D Mark II. For specification junkies, the full specs are at the bottom of the post.
The time is right for the 6D. The 5D Mk III is a terrific product but as the entry level for full frame has been priced out of the general marketplace, hence the keeping of the aged but still functional 5D Mark II. The 6D changes things for the Canon shooter wanting full frame but without over $3000 for a body only purchase.
When it debuted, the 5D Mark II was the way to go. It's a great camera but is showing its age in areas such as AF and burst mode. And that's where the 6D fits in.
With an MSRP of $2099 body only, as well as to be available with the proven 24-105/4 lens, the 6D makes full frame with modern performance affordable for Canonistas. It has some interesting shifts from the xD lineup though, where x represents a single digit. Most telling is the switch from CF cards to SD cards as the primary storage. Manufacturing is probably cheaper, but this change I cannot applaud if you already have any of the xD family. It makes sense if the 6D is an upgrade target for the 60D or the legion of Rebels out there, but SD is simply not as fast as CF, even at the UHS-1 level. The camera uses Canon's latest CPU, the Digic 5+.
As one would expect with ANY Canon full frame, this is an EF mount only. EF-S lenses will not mount up, and Canon makes the point that EOS-M lenses won't mount either, even though none exist at present. Image circle matters in full frame.
The 6D does both RAW and JPEG as expected and I am pleased to see that Canon continues to deliver 14 bit depth on the new camera in keeping with the 5D, 7D and 1D line as well as with the exception created by the T4i. When thinking about image quality and large prints, bit depth makes a substantial difference. The sensor is a new design 20MP sensor, slightly down from the 22MP sensor in the 5D but the gap is going to be negligible in most all cases and the then necessary larger pixels should give better low light performance. This will be a step up over the crop sensor 7D whose low light performance leaves room for improvement. The published ISO range is 100-25600 with a one stop pull (to 50) and two stop push (to 51200 and 102400). This is in keeping with other modern full frame sensors and focuses attention on Canon's increased commitment to better low light imaging.
Shutter speed range is 1/4000s to 30s plus bulb mode. Flash sync is 1/180s which is in my opinion a step backwards as the growth of flash is being driven by increasing use to mix fill flash and to be able to sync at higher, not lower speeds. Strobist David Hobby will have nothing good to say about the low sync speed but will at least be able to be less frustrated because unlike Nikon's D600, the 6D does have a PC sync port to connect to studio flash. Maximum burst mode is 4.5 fps with a RAW capture capacity in full burst of 14 frames, before letting the camera catch up. The 6D incorporates in camera HDR (meh) and in camera multiple exposure (Yay!).
The camera brings new tech into the body that formerly has been only found in outboard devices, sold in low volume because of insanely high cost given what they do. There is built-in GPS (about time given its prevalence in P/S cameras for some time) and built in WiFi. Canon, for one, has this in some of their low end P/S cameras and charging hundreds of dollars for an outboard connection on other bodies is a kick in the jewels to Canon buyers. In addition to having built-in WiFi, Canon is delivering tethering applications for iDevices. This is also a really good thing as other wireless tethering solutions really still required a laptop and a wire connected to the camera. Perhaps Canon will reduce their crack intake and drop the price substantially on their outboard wireless connection systems.
Metering is delivered by the new 63 zone metering system and is rated from 1 EV to 20 EV. That's not as good as we are seeing from other vendors (down to -3 EV). Canon has increased the exposure compensation range to 5 stops up or down in gaps of 1/3, and 1/2 stops but AEB is still limited to +/- 3 stops. With the growing interest in HDR, they could have extended this out a la Nikon and others. The meter patterns are centre-weighted average, partial 8%, spot 3% and Evaluative (default). There are the usual assortment of predefined exposure modes for different scene types and our expected grouping of PASM.
Autofocus is of the 11pt type, which compared to other full frame cameras in the price range is quite lame. That said, many serious photographers tend to use the centre spot and then recompose, so this may be less of an issue than it could. AF purported works down to -3 EV so three stops better performance than the metering system. AF will fall off the tracks at maximum apertures below f/5.6 so slow lenses or big lenses with teleconverters may push the user into manual focus. It won't kill you. Really.
Multiple white balance presets are available as is Canon's Automatic White Balance setting which does a pretty decent job in most shooting situations.
Of course the 6D does video. It shoots 1080p HD video at 30/25/24 fps and incporates both IPB and ALL-I in camera compression. The camera has a mini HDMI connector but Canon makes no notices about whether you can stream uncompressed HDMI through the port as you can on the Nikon D600. It's not clear if full time AF is available if you use the new EF STM lenses.
The camera is powered by the existing LP-E6 battery (good decision Canon) and supplemental power is made available with the accessory BG-13 grip. Expect about 1,000 shots on a single battery charge without using the Live View too much. Live view is delivered via a 1m dot 3 inch LCD panel that does not swivel or flip around.
Conclusions
The 6D is a viable replacement for the 5D Mark II. There is still a lot more in the 5D Mark III and there had better be for the significant cost increase. I expect the body price of 5D Mk II units to drop until cleared out and then the device will be officially discontinued. I have believed that the continuance of the 5D Mk II was only a stop gap since the release of the Mark III really a holding pattern for the 6D. There's a lot to like in the new camera. There's also in my opinion, a fair bit left out. I'm disappointed by the flash sync speed, the low count of AF points, and the backward thinking on AEB. I could not find ANY indicators one way or the other if you can fully control the 600-EX-RT flash from inside the camera, although my guess is that you can. I like the battery decision and the subtle improvements on the 5D Mark II and would suggest that readers who have been thinking about a 5D Mark II rethink that with the release of the 6D.
Specifications (courtesy Canon USA)
Type Digital AF/AE single-lens reflex camera
Recording Media SD card, SDHC card, SDXC memory card
* Compatible with Ultra High-Speed (UHS-I) memory cards.
Image Format 35.8mm x 23.9mm (Full-Frame)
Compatible Lenses Canon EF lenses (except EF-S and EF-M lenses)
Lens Mount Canon EF mount
Type CMOS Sensor
Pixels Effective: Approx. 20.2 megapixels
Pixel Unit 6.55 µm square
Total Pixels Approx. 20.6 megapixels
Aspect Ratio 3:2 (Horizontal: Vertical)
Color Filter System RGB primary color filters
Low Pass Filter Fixed position in front of the CMOS sensor
Dust Deletion Feature (1) Self Cleaning Sensor Unit
(2) Dust Delete Data acquisition and appending
(3) Manual cleaning of sensor
Recording System
Recording Format Complies with Design rule for Camera File system 2.0 and EXIF 2.30
Image Format Still: JPEG, RAW (14-bit, Canon original), RAW+JPEG
Video: MOV (Image data: H.264, Audio: Linear PCM)
File Size (1) Large: Approx. 20.0 megapixels (5,472 x 3,648)
(2) Medium: Approx. 8.9 megapixels (3,648 x 2,432)
(3) Small 1: Approx. 5.0 megapixels (2,736 x 1,824)
(4) Small 2: Approx. 2.5 megapixels (1920 x 1280)
(5) Small 3: Approx. 350,000 pixels (720 x 480)
(6) RAW: Approx. 20.0 megapixels (5,472 x 3,648)
M RAW: Approx. 11.0 megapixels (4,104 x 2,736)
S RAW: Approx. 5.0 megapixels (2,736 x 1,824)
Backup Recording N/A
File Numbering The following three types of file numbering methods can be set:
(1) Continuous numbering
* The numbering of captured images will continue even after you replace the camera's card.
(2) Auto reset
* When you replace the camera's card, the numbering will be reset to start from 0001. If the new card already contains images, the numbering will continue from the last recorded image in the card.
(3) Manual reset
* Resets the file number to 0001, and creates a new folder automatically.
RAW + JPEG Simultaneous Recording Large RAW and JPEG images are recorded simultaneously
Color Space sRGB, Adobe RGB
Picture Style Auto, Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, User Defined 1-3
Settings Auto, Preset (Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten Light, White Fluorescent Light, Flash), Custom (Approx. 2,000° - 10,000°K), Color Temperature (Approx. 2,500° - 10,000°K), White Balance Correction, and White Balance Bracketing
Auto White Balance Auto white balance with the image sensor
Color Temperature Compensation Blue/amber bias: ±9 levels
- Magenta/green bias: ±9 levels
* Correction based on the current WB mode's color temperature.
Color Temperature Information Transmission Provided
Type Eye-level SLR (with fixed pentaprism)
Coverage Vertical/Horizontal approx. 97%
Magnification Approx. 0.71x / 33.3°
Eye Point Approx. 21mm (At -1m-1 from the eyepiece lens center)
Dioptric Adjustment Correction -3.0 to +1.0m-1 (diopter)
Focusing Screen Eg-A II provided. Interchangeable with Eg-D and Eg-S. Incompatible with Eg-A.
Mirror Quick-return half mirror (transmission: reflection ratio of 40:60)
Viewfinder Information - AF information
AF points and focus confirmation
- Exposure information
Shutter speed, aperture, ISO speed (always displayed), AE lock, exposure level, exposure warning
- Flash information
Flash ready, flash exposure compensation, high-speed sync, FE lock
- Image information
Highlight tone priority (D+), maximum burst (2-digit display), card information
- Battery check
- Composition information
Electronic level
- Warning Symbol
Displayed if any of the following is set: Monochrome, white balance correction, expanded ISO speed, or spot metering.
Depth Of Field Preview Enabled with depth-of-field preview button
Type TTL secondary image-forming phase-difference detection system with AF-dedicated CMOS sensor
AF Points 11 points
Center: cross-type at f/5.6; vertical line-sensitive at f/2.8.
Upper and lower AF points: vertical line-sensitive AF at f/5.6.
Other AF points: Horizontal line-sensitive AF at f/5.6.
AF Working Range Center AF Point: EV -3 to 18 (at 73°F/23°C, ISO 100)
Other AF points: EV +0.5 to 18 (at 73°F/23°C, ISO 100)
Focusing Modes 1) Autofocus
- One-Shot AF
- AI Servo AF
- AI Focus AF
*Switches between One-Shot AF and AI Servo AF automatically.
2) Manual focus
AF Point Selection (1) Automatic selection
(2) Manual selection
Selected AF Point Display Displayed or indicated by superimposed display in the viewfinder and on the LCD monitor.
AF Assist Beam 1) Enable
* With an EOS-dedicated Speedlite attached, AF-assist beam is emitted automatically when necessary.
2) Disable
3) IR AF-assist beam only
* No AF-assist beam with flash bursts.
Metering Modes Max. aperture TTL metering with 63-zone SPC with the following selectable modes:
1) Evaluative metering
2) Partial metering (center: approx. 8% of viewfinder)
3) Spot metering (center: approx. 3.5% of viewfinder)
4) Center-weighted average metering
Metering Range EV 1-20 (at 73°F/23°C with EF50mm f/1.8 II lens, ISO 100)
Exposure Control Systems Creative Zone
(1) Program AE (shiftable)
(2) Shutter-priority AE
(3) Aperture-priority AE
(4) Manual exposure
(5) Bulb
(6) Custom shooting mode
Basic zone
(1) Scene Intelligent Auto (Program AE / non-shiftable)
(2) Creative Auto
(3) Special Scene
- Portrait
- Landscape
- Close-up
- Sports
- Night Portrait
- Handheld Night Scene
- HDR Backlight Control mode
ISO Speed Range For Stills: Manual setting range of ISO 100-25600 (expansion possible to ISO 50, ISO 51200 and 102400) in 1/3-stop or whole-stop increments)
| Shooting Mode | ISO Settings |
| Auto (Scene Intelligent Auto, Creative Auto, Close-up, Macro, Sports, Night Portrait, HDR Backlight Control mode) | ISO 100–12800 |
| Handheld Night Scene mode | ISO 100–25600 |
| Landscape | ISO 100–1600 |
| P, TV, Av, M | ISO–25600*1 |
| B | ISO 400 fixed*1 |
| With flash | ISO 400 fixed*1,2,3,4 |
*1: It depends on [Minimum] and [Maximum] of auto ISO setting. *2: If overexposure would occur with fill flash, the minimum ISO speed is ISO 100. *3: Scene Intelligent Auto, Night Portrait and Handheld Night Scene modes are excluded. *4: For bounced external flash when Creative Auto, Close-up, Landscape, Macro, Sports / P is set, automatically set between ISO 400–1600.
Exposure Compensation (1) Manual : ±5 stops in 1/3- or 1/2-stop increments
(2) AEB : ±3 stops in 1/3- or 1/2-stop increments
* Manual exposure compensation and AEB can be combined.
* The AEB shooting sequence will be standard exposure, underexposure and overexposure. With the self-timer, three continuous shots will be taken regardless of the current drive mode.
* The number of bracketed shots: 2, 3, 5, or 7 settable with a Custom Function.
AE Lock Possible
* During movie shooting, press the <*> button for AE lock and press the button to cancel AE lock (not automatically cancelled).
* AE lock (cancelled automatically when metering timer is turned off) possible before movie shooting. Movie shooting can start while AE lock is set.
Type Vertical-travel, mechanical, focal-plane shutter with all speeds electronically-controlled
Shutter Speeds 1/4000 to 30 sec., X-sync at 1/180 sec. (Total shutter speed range. Available range varies by shooting mode.)
Shutter Release Soft-touch electromagnetic release
Self Timer 10-sec. or 2-sec. delay
Shutter Lag Time (1) During SW-1 ON, time lag between SW-2 ON and start of exposure: approx. 0.060 sec.
(2) Time lag between simultaneous SW-1/SW-2 ON and start of exposure: Approx. 0.144 sec.
* Time lag with the aperture stopped down by 3.5 stops or less (Excludes AF operation time).
Flash Metering E-TTL II autoflash (evaluative flash metering and average flash metering)
Flash Exposure Compensation ±3 stops in 1/3- or 1/2-stop increments
FE Lock Provided
PC Terminal Provided
Drive Modes (1) Single shooting
(2) Continuous shooting
(3) Silent single shooting
(4) Silent continuous shooting
(5) 10-sec. self-timer/Remote control
(6) 2-sec. self-timer
Continuous Shooting Speed Continuous shooting: Max. approx. 4.5 fps
Silent continuous shooting: Max. approx. 3.0 fps
Maximum Burst Based on 8GB memory Card:
JPEG Large/Fine: Approx. 73 Shots
RAW: Approx. 14 Shots
RAW+JPEG Large/Fine: 7 Shots
Based on 8GB UHS-I memory card:
JPEG Large/Fine: Approx. 1250 Shots
RAW: Approx. 17 Shots
RAW + JPEG Large/Fine: 8 Shots
* Figures are based on Canon's testing standards (ISO 100 and Standard Picture Style).
Shooting Modes Still photo shooting and video shooting
Focusing (1) Autofocus
- FlexiZone - Single
* One-point, contrast AF. Switching to another AF point is possible.
- Face Detection Live mode
* Face detection, contrast AF. Face is selectable.
- Quick Mode AF
* Phase-difference AF with 11 AF points.
(2) Manual Focus
- Magnify the image by 5x or 10x and focus manually.
Metering Modes Real-time evaluative metering with image sensor.
(1) Evaluative metering (315 zones)
(2) Partial metering (approx. 11% of Live View screen)
(3) Spot metering (approx. 3% of Live View screen)
(4) Center-weighted average metering
Metering Range EV 0-20 (at 73°F/23°C with EF 50mm f/1.4 lens, ISO 100)
Grid Display Provided (three grid displays)
Exposure Simulation Provided
Silent Shooting Provided (Mode 1 and 2)
File Format MOV (Image data: MPEG-4 AVC / H.264)
Audio: Linear PCM (Stereo)
File Size Recording Size:
[Full HD]
1920 x 1080 (30 fps/25fps/24fps):
235 MB/min. with IPB compression
685 MB/min. with All-I compression
[HD]
1280 x 720 (60 fps/50fps):
205 MB/min. with IPB compression
610 MB/min. with All-I compression
[SD]
640 x 480 (30 fps/25fps):
78 MB/min. with IPB compression
Frame Rates 1920 x 1080 (Full HD): 30p (29.97) / 24p (23.976) / 25p
1280 x 720 (HD): 60p (59.94) / 50p
640 x 480 (SD): 30p (29.97) / 25p
Continuous Shooting Time Based on 8GB Memory card
[1920 x 1080]
30 fps/25 fps/24 fps:
32 min. with IPB compression
11 min. with All-I compression
[1280 x 720]
60 fps/50 fps:
37 min. with IPB compression
12 min. with All-I compression
[640 x 480]
30 fps/25 fps:
97 min. with IPB or All-I compression
* The maximum recording time is limited to 29 min. 59 sec.
Focusing (1) Autofocus
- FlexiZone - Single
* One-point, contrast AF. Switching to another AF point is possible.
- Face Detection Live mode
* Face detection, contrast AF. Face is selectable.
- Quick Mode AF
* Phase-difference AF with 11 AF points.
- Manual Focus
1. Magnified view is not possible during video shooting.
Range Full Range (0?255)
Exposure Control (1) Program AE for movie shooting
* For shooting modes other than manual exposure and bulb.
* Shutter speed 1/30 - 1/4000 sec. (Signal accumulation time), aperture, and ISO speed automatically set.
(2) Manual exposure
* For manual exposure.
* Shutter speed (signal accumulation time), aperture, and ISO speed (auto/manual) manually set. The shutter speed (signal accumulation time) is limited to 1/4000 sec. at the maximum and to 1/30 sec. at the minimum for 24/25/30 fps or 1/60 sec. or higher for 50/60 fps depending on the frame rate.
Exposure Compensation Provided (±3 stops in 1/3-stop increments)
* For movies, even if exposure compensation has been set beyond ±3 stops, exposure compensation up to only ±3 stops will be applied.
Type TFT color, liquid-crystal monitor
Monitor Size 3.0-inches (Screen aspect ratio of 3:2)
7.7cm diagonal (6.37cm wide, 4.25cm high)
Pixels Approx: 1,040,000 dots
Coverage Approx. 100%
Brightness Control Manually adjustable to one of 7 levels
Coating Resin cover and anti-reflection AR coating
Interface Languages 25 (English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, Ukraine, Turkish, Arabic, Thai, Simplified/Traditional Chinese, Korean, Japanese)
Display Format Single image display
- Two types of single-image full display, two types of shooting information
- Index display
4-image index and 9-image index
- Jump display
Jump 1/10/100 images, Shooting Date, Folder, Movies, Stills, or Rating
* Two-image comparative display is not provided.
Highlight Alert With single-image display (Info.) and single-image display, overexposed highlight areas will blink.
Histogram Brightness and RGB can be displayed.
Items When you press the Quick Control function button under the following conditions, you can set the functions below:
*The settable functions depend on the shooting mode
(1) With viewfinder shooting:
Shutter speed, aperture, ISO speed, exposure compensation, AEB, flash exposure compensation, Wi-Fi®, Picture Style, white balance, white balance correction, Auto Lighting Optimizer, Custom Controls, AF operation, AF point selection, Drive mode, metering mode, and image recording quality.
(2) During playback:
Image protect, image rotate, rating, RAW image processing, resize, highlight alert, AF point, and image jump with mode dial.
Protection Erase protection can be applied/canceled for a single image, all images in a folder, or all images in the card.
Erase Erase single image, erase selected images, erase all images on folder, erase all images in a card, or erase only unprotected images.
Compatible Printers PictBridge-compatible printers
Printable Images RAW and JPEG images complying to Design rule for Camera File System
* Movies cannot be printed.
DPOF Complies to DPOF Version 1.1
Compatible Images Not Provided
Custom Functions 20 Custom Functions
Custom Controls The following camera controls can be customized by assigning the desired function: Shutter button halfway pressing, AF-ON button, AE lock button, Depth-of-field preview button, Lens AF Stop button, SET button, Main Dial, Quick Control Dial, and Multi-controller
My Menu Registration Up to six top-tier menu options and Custom Function settings can be registered
USB Terminal For personal computer communication and direct printing (USB 2.0 Hi-Speed)
Video Out Terminal (1) AV stereo OUT terminal: NTSC/PAL selectable
(2) mini-HDMI OUT terminal (Type C)
Battery One Battery Pack LP-E6
- With the AC Adapter Kit ACK-E6, AC power is possible.
- With Battery Grip BG-E13, two battery packs (LP-E6) can be used. Or six AA-sized/LR6 batteries can be used
Battery Life 1) Camera Body Only:
| Shooting Method | Temperature | Possible Shots |
| Viewfinder Shooting | At 73°F / 23°C | Approx. 1090 shots |
| At 32°F / 0°C | Approx. 980 shots | |
| Live View Shooting | At 73°F / 23°C | Approx. 220 shots |
| At 32°F / 0°C | Approx. 190 shots |
∗With a fully charged battery pack LP-E6. Based on CIPA testing standards.
2) With Battery Grip BG-E13:
| Shooting Method | Battery | Temperature | Possible Shots |
| Viewfinder Shooting | LP-E6 x 1 | Same as (1) | |
| LP-E6 x 2 | At 73°F / 23°C | Approx. 2130 shots | |
| At 32°F / 0°C | Approx. 1900 shots | ||
| Size AA/LR6 Alkaline Batteries | At 73°F / 23°C | Approx. 480 shots | |
| At 32°F / 0°C | Approx. 140 shots | ||
| Live View Shooting | LP-E6 x 1 | Same as (1) | |
| LP-E6 x 2 | At 73°F / 23°C | Approx. 420 shots | |
| At 32°F / 0°C | Approx. 360 shots | ||
| Size AA/LR6 Alkaline Batteries | At 73°F / 23°C | Approx. 110 shots | |
| At 32°F / 0°C | Approx. 24 shots | ||
∗With a fully charged battery. Based on CIPA testing standards.
Battery Check Automatic battery level check when power is turned ON
Battery level indicated in six levels.*1,2,3
*1 Battery level displayed on LCD panel and in viewfinder.
*2 Battery information can be checked with the [Battery info.] menu.
*3 If Battery Grip BG-E13 is used with size-AA/LR6 batteries, the battery level is displayed in four levels instead.
Power Saving Power turns off after the set time of non-operation elapses
* [Auto power off] settable to 1 min., 2 min., 4 min., 8 min., 15 min., 30 min., or disable
Date/Time Battery Built-in secondary battery
When battery is fully charged, the date/time can be maintained for 3 months. Requires about 8 hours to fully recharge the backup battery.
Start-up Time Approx. 0.1 sec. (Based on CIPA testing standards)
Approx. 5.7 x 4.4 x 2.8 in./ 144.5 x 110.5 x 71.2mm
Weight Approx. 26.7 oz. / 755g (CIPA standard)
Approx. 24.0 oz. / 680g (Body only)
32-104°F/0-40°C
Working Humidity Range 85% or less
† Prices and specifications subject to change without notice. Actual prices are determined by individual dealers and may vary.
I'm happy to advise that my video on Digital Watermarking is now available to watch here.
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It's often said that all digital photographs will benefit from some sharpening. Judging by the number of add-ons, plug-ins, and even the diverse tools in editing tools, the marketplace would agree. Indeed sharpening when applied well can really make a photograph better. Lightroom users have historically felt left behind when it comes to sharpening with the not completely invalid perception that sharpening in Lightroom has been akin to throwing paint at the wall. With Lightroom 4, things improved significantly, but there is more there than meets the eye.
Let me be clear. You have a lot more granular control of sharpening in Photoshop CS6. You in fact have more control over sharpening in Nik Software's awesome Sharpener Pro. According to Adobe's Brian Hughes in his session at Photoshop World, while Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw both benefit from enhancements to their sharpening engines (it's the same engine), Photoshop CS6 takes sharpening to a brand new level and its local sharpening is the best ever.
Good to know. What if you don't own or cannot afford Photoshop CS6 or even an excellent add-on like Sharpener Pro? Lightroom brings a lot to the table.
First, let's define what we mean by sharpening. In principle, what sharpening does is increase contrast in edge boundaries creating the image of greater sharpness. Really it is playing with the pixels to make the distinction of an edge more visible. We all know that increasing contrast increases apparent sharpness when used judiciously, sharpening is a very specific application of increasing contrast.
Global vs Local
Lightroom has two adjustment modes. Global is what we see first in the Develop module. In the graphic you can see the sliders that make up the Sharpness control. This graphic is from Lightroom 4.1 Here's what they do.
Local mode means using an Adjustment Brush as seen in this panel. An adjustment brush 
is a local change that does not apply to the entire image. This is useful if you want to sharpen the iris of a model but not the skin texture. Note that this control does not have the same level of granular control in the single slider that the global sharpening tool has. You can however use the tools to control the feather of your brush and use the auto-mask option for the brush to exercise more control. Use of a tablet with a pressure sensitive pen will also permit you significantly more control than just a mouse or touchpad.
Sharpening an Image
The first rule of sharpening is to find areas where you will want to really judge the level of global sharpening. Flat areas like open sky are not a good choice, although you will want to be zooming in and out to see what is happening overall. Failing to zoom in can result in over-sharpening because you simply cannot see what is happening. Remember the Z key. It's how you quickly zoom in and out. The thumbnail view in the upper left corner allows you to move your zoomed area around the image without exiting the tool you are using.
In the first screen grab we see an image in Lightroom that will be a nightmare for generic sharpening. It has areas where we want plenty of sharpness (the rock detail) and areas where we definitely do not want sharpening (the flowing water). Applying global sharpening here could be really bad.
This next screen grab shows the use of the masking slider with the magic trick engaged, holding down Option (Mac) or Alt (PC) while moving the slider. In this case we see very close to the default of zero, pretty much all the edges the sharpening engine finds will be sharpened. No, this is definitely not what I want. Anything that is white in this view will be sharpened.
This next screen grab shows the masking slider adjusted so almost none of the water areas are sharpened but that I am still sharpening the rock areas. This is a much more pleasant level of control and results in a better image. We see a much tighter level of control of what will be sharpened, only the white areas, much like the popular high pass filter sharpening in Photoshop, but without all the work.
Next we go into Local sharpening mode using an Adjustment Brush. You'll see that I have the auto-mask turned on and that I am also using the overlay mask option. Remember that the O key toggles the overlay mask on and off.
One of the real benefits of using an Adjustment Brush is that the changes you make are non-destructive. As you can see in the image below, Lightroom can leave a telltale behind 
to show you where the adjustment brush settings are so you can find and adjust them later on. By selecting an Adjustment Brush control point you can remove all the changes made by that brush by hitting the Delete key. Or, simply select it and go to the controls panel and reset the control settings for that brush to suit. This would be like leaving all the Layers intact in a PSD file so you can make changes later on.
Brush Settings
You see in this capture that the adjustment brush can have multiple settings made to a single brush. For example when using the Sharpening brush on the green leaves I also pushed up on the Clarity. This changed the brush type to Custom but did not remove the initial Sharpening setting. We mostly all understand that Size refers to the overall brush size and that Feather refers to how quickly the brush edge forms. What many folks don't understand is the difference between Flow and Density.
Brush flow allows you to control how many passes or how much pressure is required to apply the maximum effect. For example if you set Flow to 25 and Exposure to +1, your first pass would only increase exposure by 1/4 stop. You'll need four passes to achieve the full stop allowing you much more granular brush control. Brush density defines the maximum that any effect can possibly have. Think of this as a safety valve. Suppose you set a brush with Exposure +2 but Density at 50. Now no matter how hard you press or how many passes you make with the brush, the exposure adjustment by the brush will never be more than 50% of the maximum value. This really enhances your level of granular control and protects against overdoing something. I want to thank Julianne Kost of Adobe for explaining this to me.
Conclusion
While you can certainly leverage sharpening in Photoshop or marvellous third party tools such as Nik Software's Sharpener Pro, as a Lightroom user, you owe it to yourself to explore just how rich Lightroom's sharpening experience can be in advance of spending money on other software.
A very busy week. Fuji releases the X-E1 and new glass, Zeiss announces a ton of new ZE lenses and rumours of a new ZM. Pentax annnounces the K5 II and new glass. Hasselblad announces the H5D and a new lens. Sony unloads a bunch of new cool stuff. Tamron has new glass, Sekonic has a new meter and rumours solidify on the Canon 6D. Nikon releases the long awaited D600
It's allegedly common knowledge that a file is only as good as its verified backup. I work on the basis that if I don't have at least two backup copies of an image or video, I have no integrity at all. My workflow is as follows;
1. Copy the files from the device or memory card to a hard disk inside the computer. For me, this is a Mac Pro with four internal drives, one dedicated to unedited media. 2. Import and add the files to my editing program catalog. For images that is Lightroom and I maintain a separate copy of each image. For video it is Final Cut Pro and it links to the original. 3. Back the original drive and the LR directories up daily to an external drive. In my case this is a Drobo S drive array. 4. Use a cloud service to backup both the original files and the Lightroom repository. I strongly recommend Crashplan. 5. Verify each backup daily and do a test restore of random files from the cloud weekly.
This works pretty well for me. The riskiest piece in my current workflow is the Drobo. While it is very cool technically, I've had a lot of trouble with the Drobos that I own and when they next die, I will replace them with an alternate solution. I am presently leaning towards a Cal Digit array.
The other important consideration is the quality of the physical drives you buy. Drobos are extraordinarily hard on drives so I have a stack (literally) of drives that have died before their time when used in a stressful environment like a Drobo. My greatest success has been with Hitachi disks. I have never lost a Hitachi, and note that Apple uses them as the internal drives in their desktop machines, indicating some level of serious testing. I have also had good to very good success with Western Digital Caviar Black drives. Western Digital has recently released a new series of disks called Red that are suited to NAS (Network Attached Storage) solutions available in 1TB, 2TB and 3TB versions. I have no experience with them personally, but initial reviews look positive. Western Digital Velociraptor drives are superb but VERY expensive for home use.
I cannot say similar good things about other drives. Yesterday I had two more Seagate Barracudas do their impersonation of Ontario roadkill, bringing my total stack of dead cudas to five. There are three more still in production and I will replace them as quickly as I can afford to do so. I have never had a Barracuda larger than 1TB make it halfway to its Mean Time Before Failure number and do not recommend Seagate drives to anyone. They used to be excellent, but not so lately. While I appreciate the eco-friendly idea behind Western Digital Caviar Green drives, I cannot recommend them either. The Drobos eat Caviar Greens like they are candy. While you can likely pull the drive and reformat it in a standalone enclosure for short term use, this is risky based upon my personal experience.
I would strongly suggest selecting drives that run at 7200rpm and having a large onboard cache. The Hitachi drives I am buying now are all 7200rpm drives with 64mb cache. Good luck!
I love Photokina week. Our friends at Hasselblad have announced the follow-on to the proven (and IMHO wonderful) H4D series with the H5D. Don't get too excited because it won't be available until December 2012 at the earliest but it looks freaking beautiful.
The new camera looks at this point as more evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Setting aside the new lens and macro converter, the camera will have more focus performance and an upgrade to the existing True Focus function. The ergonomics are improved with a new display style and larger buttons. Weather sealing is improved. You'll be able to get JPEGs right out of the camera and will have the option of compressed RAW files for increased shooting performance.
I confess I don't have a use case for these last two features as I don't shoot sports with my H4D, and actually prefer the current uncompressed RAW to the compressed RAW that some other vendors push out. Fast processors are a given and always nice to have. Physically the camera looks more compact with a lower profile to the viewfinder. More information will come as we get closer to the release date.
The camera will be available with a variety of back configurations in 40MP, 50MP, 60MP as well as multi-shot versions of 50MP and 200MP.
Specifications courtesy Hasselblad USA
New HCD 4.8/24mm lens New Macro Converter More accurate focusing with True Focus II New Immediate Focus Confirm New print ready Jpeg files New compressed multi-shot RAW files for faster and smoother workflow New Camera Configurator Larger and more ergonomic buttons Larger, easier to read display style Updated Graphics User Interface More programmable buttons New and improved weather sealing New and faster processors implementing Hasselblad Image Processing Architecture
After literally months of speculation and a near endless list of anticipated specifications, Nikon has announced the D600.
It is Nikon's physically smallest FX format DSLR delivering a 24.3MP CMOS sensor in a new body format that weighs only 760g (body only). As one would expect it shoots both uncompressed RAW in Nikon's NEF format as well as a variety of JPEG compression levels. The camera supports all Nikon F mount lenses and current Nikon FX and DX format lenses. Internal storage is via SD, SDHC or SDXC cards with two slots provided. Because of the high pixel density, don't cheapen out on your choice of card, go with something of at least 60mb/s read/write performance.
Shutter speed range is from 1/4000 to 30s with maximum burst mode of 5.5fps, shutter speed permitting. ISO range is 100-6400 with a 1 stop pull (50) and 2 stop push (12800, 25,600) option set available. Exposure metering uses a 2016 pixel array. Modes are the usual PASM suspects and exposure compensation follows the ±5 EV trend in 1/3, 1/2 and full stop increments. This wide range that can be leveraged in auto-exposure bracketing modes makes HDR captures simple and fast.
Autofocus is user selectable between single point, 9 point, 21 point, 39 point and 3D 39 point AF.
The D600 is fully video ready capable of recording at 1080P at up to 30fps in H.264/MPEG-4 formats.
The D600 fully participates in Nikon's Creative Lighting System (CLS) for flash photography and offers automatic flash bracketing and flash exposure compensation over a 3 stop range. Native flash sync speed is 1/200s.
The camera uses Nikon's standard EN-EL15 battery and MH-25 charger. Kudos to Nikon for not introducing yet another battery and charger combination. Nikon estimates 900 frames per charge. There are numerous in camera image processing options available and of course proper RAW formats for more creative post processing alternatives. Capture NX is renamed NikonView and a CD is provided with NikonView NX2.
Pricing is advertised at $2179.95 (body only) according to Nikon Canada.
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Full specs are found at the bottom of the post and are provided courtesy of Nikon.
42 oz. (760g)
Sony A99 DSLR - 24MP full frame, dual autofocus system, OLED viewfinder, HD video and 14 bit RAW, internal stabilization, 6fps $2798 USD available for pre-order now
Sony RX1 - Full frame compact with 35/2.0 fixed Zeiss lens. 24MP, 14 bit RAW, 5fps $2798 USD available for pre-order now
Sony NEX-6 - 16MP APS-C sensor, 10fps, OLED EVF $848 USD available for pre-order
Sony VG-30 Interchangeable Lens Video Camera - with 18-200 E series zoom lens, OLED EVF, 16MP APS-C sensor including 16MP still capability, quad capsule spatial array microphone, external mic in with level controls $2698 USD available for pre-order
The prices listed are MSRP, so we'll have to wait for shipping to see what street looks like. Initial thoughts are that the pricing is quite a bit higher than prior releases and with the exception of the RX1, everything else is an incremental upgrade over an existing offering.
In this video, I introduce viewers to macro photography, discussing concepts, equipment, lighting, exposure techniques and supplemental tips. I close with some ideas to encourage viewers to make macro photographs quickly and with plenty of learning opportunities. [iframe]<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2fyHsoHbHlA?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>[/iframe]
A new lens for the Nikon 1, Sony builds the sensor for the D800. Canon issues fw update for the 1Dx. New 24-70 arriving soon. Canon issues new patents. Canon dives deeper into video with two new cameras and four new lenses. Sony releases the NEX-5R. DP Review likes the RX-100. Pentax K30 hits retailers. Adobe has LR 4.2RC and ACR 7.2 RC. Specs for the Fuji X-E1. The Lenskirt. SmugMug price explosion
If you use Lightroom, it's possible at some time that you wanted to use a brush to adjust colours. It's easy enough to do, or appears so.
But that's not really what you want. What you want, is to be able to select a colour from the image you are working on, not some arbitrary picker from a box or worse trying to find a place in the box that matches the colour you want to work with.
Despite lots of great UI work, I think Adobe has dropped the usability ball on this one because while it is simple, it's not obvious or well documented. I give full credit to Rob Sylvan for teaching me how to do this.
When the colour picker box appears, click in it anywhere and hold the left mouse button down. Without releasing the mouse, drag the eyedropper into the image. You'll see the swatch box in the upper left of the Color Picker change to match wherever the eyedropper is stationed at any given time. When you find the colour you want in the image, release the mouse button and the colour is loaded into the swatch and the brush is loaded with that colour.
It really is simple, but the implementation could stand to be more intuitive. I tried to grab a screenshot but neither Skitch nor Grab would capture the image of the eyedropper, so you'll have to experiment yourself.
You may remember a screed from me about Canon's Pixma Pro printers and how they made me see red by printing things too red. I discovered SO MANY people had this issue, that even after going through the time consuming process to build custom ICC profiles for a few papers, I invested my hard earned dollars in an Epson 4900 and never looked back.
I recently was requested to generate a stack of small prints, generic 4x6s on glossy paper. The kind of thing that people carry around and hand out to friends and family. Running these on the Epson would be easy enough, but I have the 9000 Mk II and 9500 Mk II just sitting there, so I thought since no custom ICC profiles were required, I'd give them a shot again. This is a downside of being a printer. You become the target for everyone in your family to come to instead taking the card over to the local Walmart.
One of the good things about Canon Pixma Pro printheads is that they have tons of holes and so jams are rare. They do happen, and the printer utility offers a cleaning option and a deep cleaning option. Use with care because although the software warns you that ink is used in the cleaning process, two passes of deep cleaning will eat up about 1/8 of each ink tank. At about $20 retail per, that's frakking expensive for waste. Not having been born yesterday, I understand that the manufacturers treat printers as loss leaders and make all their money on the ink. (Can you hear me HP?)
The rule I've used for Canon printers is that so long as you let the printer make the decisions and print only on Canon paper, you'll get decent results. However, using ICC profiles and custom printing from Lightroom or Photoshop is a good way to raise your blood pressure because frankly the output sucks. This is common to Canon printers. Canon used to have a plug-in for Photoshop called Canon Easy-Photoprint Pro, that allegedly allowed the use of proper ICC profiles and different papers and that would give you good prints. Unfortunately, it was crap. Fortunately this sad state of affairs is changing.
After printing a run of 4x6s on Canon Glossy paper with Lightroom set to let the printer manage output, that turned out just fine for the project, I decided to see what updates Canon may have made and not told anyone about. Amongst the many I found was a new version of the plug-in. I said what the heck, I'll give it a shot.
Running the installer it detected Lightroom 4, Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS6 and offered to install itself. The downside is that these are plugins that bypass the native print engine in the application. The upside is that it doesn't fark up the native print engine. Canon makes fine cameras and lenses. Contrary to their own opinion, they are not a software company as evidenced by the lack of continuity checking and execrable user interface.
Kvetching aside, the new plug in actually does a decent job. It's slow to launch and not particularly intuitive, but when you use it, you can actually use third party paper and ICC profiles and get a decent quality print. It's still not up to the IQ of the Epson, but it is definitely not as likely to make you pop a blood vessel.
At many tradeshows I take the time to ask the Canon printer specialists why their printers print red from every app but the Canon printing apps. Only once was I told by a young guy, who was friendly and helpful, that Canon "knows" people like warm looking prints and that's the way they come. I pointed out the if you print on Canon paper from Canon's Digital Photo Professional that you actually get fairly lifelike colour. He smiled and noted that very few people use DPP. Fair enough, although I know many pros who have sunk $$$ into Canon printers who use DPP for all their printing because it has been the only way to not get cat-yack out of the printer. Every other Canon representative replied that if I use only Canon paper and just let the printer manage everything all will be well and that using third party papers would not give optimal results. No wonder that everyone who makes great papers does the ICC profiles for Epson seemingly first.
I do find that the Canon printers are ink pigs. If you are doing lots of Black and White, or want to, stay away from the 9000, only the 9500 Mk II is really good enough for serious black and white. It's a lot slower though.
Were I starting fresh with my own photographic printing, or more usefully, if you are, I would still suggest going with an Epson photograph printer. All in ones are pretty consistent (crap) from all vendors. Go dedicated if you are or think you might be, serious about making prints. However if you already have one of Canon's Pixma Pro series of printers, use the Easy-Photoprint Pro plugin with Lightroom or Photoshop, don't print through the native engine, and you will get better prints and waste less ink and paper.
There's really nothing like a print to get a viewer excited. It's tactile and it's so much more telling than an image on a screen. If you only need prints once in a while, use one of those Kodak kiosks in retail stores, or if you have a Costco nearby, use their lab. A lot of the Costco folks are Certified Photographic Counsellors, they do know their stuff. But if you are taking the time to edit, tune and enhance your images, making photographs instead of just taking pictures, you probably owe it to yourself to learn to print. If you're going to go that far, you're going to want good looking prints and this tip will help you if your printer is a Canon Pixma Pro.
Bye bye to Kodak film. Nikon drops the D700 and maybe the D7000, adds an Android powered point and shoot. Canon files a patent for the 2nd gen 300/4L. Canon announces new large format printers. A fix for the 40/2.8 sticking problem and rumours of new bodies. I close with a quick look at Sigma's 300/2.8
Lens reviews are tough to write. Some readers want the really deep detail spec review and while I can understand that, I dont have the resources of a DP Review and the idea of shooting photos of focus charts makes me somnolent. I value that information, I just dont have it in me to create it. I prefer to review a lens as I would use it, and with the kind support of the people at Gentec Canada, obtained short access to Sigmas 300mm f/2.8 super telephoto. After humping the thing around for seven hours on day one and using it exclusively, I am very impressed thus far. All images were shot with the lens mounted to a Canon 1Dx.
What All The Acronyms Mean
I think that the focal length and maximum aperture are pretty clear. The others, perhaps not.
The Build
First Impressions
If youve never handled a lens that is nearly 2.5 kilograms (just over five pounds) this is a new feeling. While some reviews refer to the lens as lightweight, I cannot agree. Its not light, but it is compact given what you are carrying. A giant front element gathers lots of light and that could mean internal flare, but Sigma incorporates a pair of ELD (Extraordinarily Low Dispersion in their nomenclature) elements that make this a non-issue. The lens can be used with teleconverters and Sigma understandably recommends the use solely of their own converters. I did have either of Sigmas converters as part of the shoot and so cannot comment.
Forcing myself to work with one lens only, (I did carry my Canon 100-400L in my ThinkTank bag just in case) was fruitful. The days shoot involved getting into the pens with lynx, wolves, badger and owl plus close work with a mountain lion (although not in the pen with it). Depth of field at f/2.8 is what you would expect it to be, ultra-shallow. Focusing on the closest eye, the images are tack sharp when I did my job. The falloff into out of focus is soft and not jarring. I can see why wildlife pros like long and very fast glass. Stopping down as far as f/6.3 increases the depth of field as you would expect, but at that point, frame elements even off in the distance can become distracting and even net mesh in front of the subject (in the case of a bald eagle) still were apparent as bands of softness and low contrast.
Autofocus on the 1Dx is often referred to as screaming fast, and with the 300/2.8 mounted it snapped pretty quickly but I would not call it fast. The system is moving a lot of glass there, and while the HSM motor is very quiet, its not blazingly fast. I missed a couple of shots with a moving animal because focus couldnt catch up but it wasnt a serious problem. What was impressive is how much contrast the lens passes so the AF would work even on low contrast subjects.
Handling
The lens comes with a reversible bayonet mount lens hood with a lockdown screw. Mounting and unmounting is fast and easy. The lens cap is enclosed in a nylon tube thing that fastens over the hood but only when it is reversed. It does collapse mostly flat for stowing in a vest pocket but I would prefer the ability to use it securely when the hood is mounted for photography.
The lens also has (as it should) a tripod collar. This is a requirement and it works but if it were up to me, I would make a couple of changes. First is that it rotates freely and thats good but I would prefer to have landscape and portrait orientation notches or at least markings milled into the mount area. When the grub screw is backed off, the lens can rotate but it isnt smooth. Sigma uses a sort of grippy finish on the lens barrel which is I think a very good thing but I would have preferred that the area under the ring enable smooth rotation with a couple of milled stops as noted. The collar foot is very short, to accommodate the hood when reversed. Thats ok, but I would have preferred that the stand-off between the foot and the lens barrel be greater so I could mount a Really Right Stuff or other Arca Swiss style lens plate on more securely than I could. WIth a lens like this getting it on and off the head should be very fast and it could be better oriented to be quicker.
A taller foot would offer you more grip options as Sigma does on their 120-300/2.8 or 150-500/6.3 lenses and I would hope that they will consider this change.
Other reviewers have suggested that the lens should have strap lugs built on, and I agree. Some have sad you can get them after the fact but Sigma did not list them on the accessory page for the lens. You could of course screw a Black Rapid strap into the tripod hole or if using a plate as I do, connect it to your strap with a Really Right Stuff FAB-2.
Shooting handheld with the tripod collar on is absolutely possible although less than comfortable. If you want a more forward grip you are on the focus ring and with the short foot and short leg the hand tires more quickly.
Internal Filters
Internal filters only make sense on a lens like this. I like that Sigma went the route of being able to use standard 46mm filters in the drop in tray (some vendors require custom filters or gels only). The tray is a positive lock type. There is also a filter rotation ring (and as the lens came without documentation there was guessing as to what it was for) that allows the use of a polarizing filter in the filter drawer. Seems like a small detail but it is well executed.
The Shooting
Light conditions varied from specular to harsh sun, to full shade. In every case the lens performed very well. I was able to have the 1Dx in AI-Servo (continuous tracking focus) when photographing the wolves and it was keeping up even at 5fps. Balance was decent handheld and when mounted on the Gitzo monopod with RRS MH-02 monopod head, it was plainly a joy to shoot. I was spoiled by the bright image and the razor thin depth of field quickly and I had a higher than average keeper ratio than I am accustomed to with moving wildlife. I used the 600EX-RT for fill flash in many cases with Flash Exposure dialled to -1EV so as not to fully balance the daylight and only fill in eye sockets and the eTTL II flash metering worked as it should. I did not expect otherwise although I have read that sometimes fill flash exposure gets wonky when using very long lenses with very fast apertures.
There are a few sample images at the end of the post so you can see how sharp the lens is. All are converted to DNG on import to Lightroom and have basic processing applied before exporting as web ready JPEGs at lower resolution and 72dpi. When bringing the images in to Lightroom I was very pleased to discover that Lightroom had a lens profile defined for this lens and that is was recognized by the profile engine automatically. Lens profiles provide basic correction for vignetting and distortions and while I can see the differences with the profiles on or off, the adjustments are subtle, unlike some other lenses I have tested.
When you look at other options in this space, the glaring difference is that the Sigma 300/2.8 lacks optical image stabilization. While one can argue about whether OIS matters on wide angles, it is a boon on long telephotos, especially for sports or wildlife where you subject isnt sitting on a posing stool waiting for you to get on with it. For me, thats the single biggest gap the lens has.
Next Steps
The next step is to do a shoot comparison with Sigmas 120-300 f/2.8 zoom. Through the courtesy of Gentec and their relationship with Daytripper Photos Bryan Weiss, whom I teach for, I will get a chance to shoot the lenses side by side. The zoom is less expensive than the prime in retail environments and has optical stabilization where the prime does not. Where the prime has ELD elements, the zoom has FLD elements, and fluorite was first introduced in glass back in the 70s to combat chromatic aberration.
Pros
Cons
Thanks for reading. If youd like to purchase this lens, please use my link to B&H to support The Photo Video Guy.
For Canon
For Nikon
Looking through the storage drawers for gear I had to pull out a veritable octopus of camera straps. I don't use the manufacturer's straps because I don't want to advertise the type and model of camera I carry. I've tried leather, neoprene, nylon, and canvas. They are all in the drawer. Up until recently I either used the Domke strap from Jim Domke or the Black Rapid sling system. The Domke's are comfortable but I like to sling the camera off my shoulder and they just don't grip enough for me. The Black Rapid dual sling is terrific but the single sling rubs my neck and over the course of time creates an unpleasant state of "man-boob". Neither comfortable or a good look.
I was watching a video cast a while back and Matt Kloskowski and RC Concepcion both were advocating the Upstrap. RC is barrel chested like I am and so I thought I would take a chance on the recommendation and order one.
The strap worked out so well, I ordered two more. The Upstrap is really non-slip. You cannot even make it slide around if you want it to. It holds your camera firmly on your shoulder even as you move and bend, and is also comfortable if you have the camera around your neck. I have both the traditional camera attachments for the Canons and the Vectran attachments for the Leica. All have proper quick release buckles if you don't need the strap and the Kevlar material is incredibly durable.
Best strap ever, may sound like hyperbole, but for me, it is. I'll be ordering a couple more today as I am extremely happy with the product, one for the Hasselblad and one for the remaining Canon. We spend a lot of money on gear. There's absolutely no reason to worry about it slipping off your shoulder or being uncomfortable.
Highly recommended.
I like camera bags. Family has said I am with camera bags like some people are with shoes. Based on the closet, and the shelves and beside the chair, they're right. I am a huge fan of the bags from Think Tank. There are many fine manufacturers, but when I add up all the kit I have spent hard earned buckolas on, most of it is Think Tank gear. From belt kits, to airport sized backpacks, to little bags to big bags, I tend to use my Think Tank bags as "go bags" - pack what I need for the gig / assignment / event and go.
After being robbed of my gear in Barcelona in 2011, I am VERY SENSITIVE regarding camera bags that look like camera bags. Enter the Retrospective series from Think Tank. Recently I had a project / assignment to shoot a Polo match. I knew I was going to be moving around a lot, that I would be using mostly long lenses and a monopod. So I went out and invested in the Retrospective 20. 
It looks like a messenger style bag. It has no visible logos. It has a great strap that is comfortable all day and that is long enough that I can sling it across my body or hang it from a shoulder. It's quick to get into, has good padding and its size belies just how much kit you can get in it. The giant bellows pocket on the front is really deceiving. For my Polo work I carried in this relatively small and highly innocuous bag the following gear;
Canon 1D Mk IV with Canon 100-400L mounted
Canon 7D Body
Canon 2x Converter III
Metz 58 AF-2 flash with off camera cord
RRS Flash bracket
Think Tank Memory Card holder
Lenspen
Microfibre cloth
The bag was comfortable all day and held my gear safely and securely. The front flap velcros closed with good sized velcro patches and they have silencers sewn on so you can open the bag with no noise at all.
Think Tank has a graphic that is reminiscent of an X-ray to give you an idea of how the bag could load up.
The point is that it can be accessed quickly, holds a camera with a long zoom or prime attached and carries well.
I also own the Retrospective 5 in the Pinestone finish and the Retrospective 30 when I feel the need to carry a lot of stuff into the field.
As kind of a useful aside, Think Tank's material that lines their bags is 18% grey so it's also your portable grey card. We all know that when you really need a grey card, you don't have one, but with Think Tank you do.
If you are in the US, support the Photo Video Guy by buying your bag online through these links. Black. Pinestone, Blue Slate. I am not sponsored by Think Tank and pay for my own gear.
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