Category Archives: Equipment

Equipment

Canon 6D Body In Stock at B&H

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A brief update: For those who have been waiting for the new Canon EOS 6D full frame DSLR, I just was notified that the body-only version of the 6D is now in stock at site-sponsor B&H Photo. The price includes a Lowepre Rezo 170 shoulder bag, a 32GB memory card, and is eligible for a B&H “2% reward” program.

(During the first days when new bodies become available, stock frequently runs out, only to be replenished later on, so act quickly or be comfortable with a possible wait.)

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Deals and Sales, Equipment

Canon 6D is Arriving – With Price Reductions

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Shortly after releasing the Canon EOS 5D Mark III (and the Canon EOS-1DX and assorted other goodies), Canon announced a forthcoming less-expensive full-frame DSLR, the EOS 6D, a 20+ MP with a range of attractive features and a price barely above $2000. Right now site-sponsor B&H is offering a $200 “instant savings” on the Canon EOS 6D Digital Camera with Canon 24-105mm f/4.0L IS Lens bundle that lowers the cost of the lens and camera to only $2,699. The product is also eligible for the B&H “2% reward” – read more about that at the link.

Where does the 6D fit into the Canon eco-system? I think that for many people looking for a first full-frame body, and for many whose primary consideration is purely image quality, the 6D is going to hit the sweet spot. A 20 MP full frame image, assuming you shoot with skill and understand how to post-process, can produce an outstanding print in sizes much larger than the typical user will ever produce. There is every reason to think that the image quality produced by this camera will be essentially indistinguishable from that produced by the fine Canon EOS 5D Mark III. I have not used the camera, but from many reports I have read from those who have had their hands on a copy, it sounds like it will be a fine performer.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Community, Equipment, Site News

Questions from Readers (11/28/12)

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(Note: I made a major mistake in one spot in this post, suggesting precisely the opposite of what I meant. I have added a single WORD in bold upper case to correct the error. )

Blog readers occasionally email questions (and comments) to me. I can’t always reply personally to all messages, but occasionally I like to share some answers here, both for those who asked and for others who might have similar questions. Here is the latest edition – including a question about monitor calibration and printing, one about an older Epson 2200, and a request for more information about photographing in Death Valley.

Kent wrote:

“I am hoping you might be able to advise me on a problem. I have been having some difficulty getting my prints to match my computer screen. I have a Canon 5D Mark II, shoot in RAW and use Lightroom to process my photos. I have a IMac LCD screen, about 4 years old. I send my converted JPeg files to Aspen Creek for printing. I have contacted the experts at Aspen
Creek and they suggested monitor calibration software. So I regularly use Eye One monitor calibration but that doesn’t seem to help. I also work in a darkened room to minimize the ambient light.

Have you had similar problems? Have any ideas? I wonder if a higher end calibrated monitor wouldn’t help.”

This can be a complicated issue, but let me at least offer a few ideas.

I don’t know if this is the issue in your case, but it is important to realize that even a well-calibrated monitor will NOT present an image that looks “the same” as the image that gets printed on paper. There are some fundamental issues that differentiate images that are formed by projecting light from behind (they “glow!”) and images that are formed from ink/pigments, etc. that are illuminated from light that falls onto them. In general, I find that prints will seem to have less contrast and less intense colors, and will usually need to be brighter overall than the monitor might lead you to believe. In my view, a calibrated monitor gives you a consistent point of comparison, but you still need to learn to understand how to predict what your print will look like by comparison to what is on the monitor.

Continue reading Questions from Readers (11/28/12) →

Commentary, Equipment, Ideas

“Have you ever shot a Leica or Contax lens on your Canon Body?”

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(From time to time I re-post stuff that I wrote elsewhere, including things from various photography forums. This is one of those posts. While I do believe it using good and appropriate photographic equipment, I do not believe in “magical gear,” whether lenses or cameras or whatever. Gear is important, but only insofar as it actually affects your ability to produce the photographs that you are working on. This particular – and lengthy! – comment was a response to a common response to those of us who don’t believe in magical gear, namely to suggest that because we don’t use it we must not understand. Enjoy!)

G Dan – just one question Have you ever shot a Leica or Contax lens on your Canon Body?”

That dismissive come-back doesn’t work, despite the fact that such a reply is often offered as if it should stop discussion in its tracks.

So, no, I have not. There are many things I have not done, however, that I don’t do because facts don’t support the wisdom of doing them, or because facts do support the wisdom of doing something else. Let me give you a photographic example. I have chosen certain specific lenses for my photography. In the process of making those decisions I investigated and considered many other lens options, almost all without actually trying them, and came to logical and intelligent decisions that led me to choose something else.

The argument that people can only have opinions about things they have actually “used” is, on its face, simply nonsense. It also is an absurdly impractical concept. I’d be willing to bet that those who offer up this gem of an argument do not follow it in the rest of your lives. For example, you might be able to offer an opinion about various political systems or countries and whether you would prefer to live in them or not, but you would be a very unusual person if you had actually lived in all of them about which you have an opinion. I’ll bet that when you purchase a car, you do not try all of the options that you dismiss before deciding that you are uninterested in them. You might admit to knowing things about places you have never visited or about which you have not made direct observations yourself. (It is cold in Antarctica. There is no oxygen on the moon. When it is night where you are, it is day on the opposite side of the planet.) Continue reading “Have you ever shot a Leica or Contax lens on your Canon Body?” →