Content

• Introduction
• Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens
• ….

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Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens

Canon introduced this lens to replace the 16-35mm f/2.8L USM lens. The original 16-35mm produces sharpness in the center but has a number of issues including softness and CA (chromatic aberrations) in the corners. These imperfections are more noticeable on full-frame Canon DSLR cameras. Among the many “fixes” Canon made, they changed the filter thread size from 77mm to 82mm.

Note that on a cropped sensor DSLR this lens is equivalent to a focal length of 25-56mm.

The build quality of this lens is great. Its zoom and focus rings are easy to use and are in right place. With a 2.8 aperture throughout its focal range, it is well suited for shooting in low light conditions.

If you don’t need a 2.8 aperture lens, a good alternative is the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L.

If you need a lens with the specific range from 16mm up to 35mm at a lower cost, then there are prime lenses that may meet your needs such as the new Canon EF 24mm and 28mm 2.8 IS lenses among others.

Sharpness
The 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM zoom lens is sharpest at its center at 16mm and f/2.8, but the best results for overall image quality are around 20-24mm at f/5.6-f/8. The 16-35mm II is the more advanced version of original 16-35mm, but it’s not flawless. Shooting at its widest focal length (16mm) shows some corner softness in images. It is normal to have some distortion with wide angle lenses and the 16-35mm II is no exception.

Furthermore, the MTF Chart WIDE confirms that this lens at its shortest focal length (16mm) and largest aperture (f/2.8) performs quite well but mostly in center of the frame (black thick line). Such performance is good for low light conditions. While stopped down to f/8, it has almost full frame sharp coverage (thick blue line). Landscape users will most often use apertures above f/5.6 and this lens performs quite well within that aperture range.

Chromatic Aberration
From the dpreview chart, it can be shown that CA is not really a big issue for this lens. It is well controlled and shows higher amounts of CA on edges of the frame. These days, CA is easily resolved in post processing.

Vignetting
If this lens is at focal length 16mm, it shows a 2-3 stops fall off at the edges of the frame. When stopping down or zooming in, the light fall off compared to center lags for 1 stop.

Distortion
As expected, at 16mm a large amount of distortion will occur. The level of distortion varies among lenses but on a cropped sensor DSLR body, the average distortion across the frame is around 0.5%. On full-frame cameras, the 16-35mm II shows more distortion, varying from a bit under 1% (barrel average) at 16mm (meaning that in corners it can reach up to 3%) to about 0.5% pincushion from 24-35mm range. At 35mm, the pincushion distortion is less than 0.2% in the corners.

Nevertheless, the level of distortion of this lens is less than that of its predecessor. This is a great improvement as version I has an almost 1% of barrel distortion in the corners at 16mm.

The Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II has its lowest distortion at 28mm on cropped sensor cameras, and around 22 mm on full-frame bodies.

Distortion shouldn’t concern you much, as you can use photography software to correct images, but in case it does bother you, you can always search for Wide Angle prime lenses with less distortion.

Focus
Overall, this is a consistent lens with a short focal length that has a fast and reliable auto-focus.

Out of focus area (Bokeh)
Bokeh produced by this lens is decent but not amazing. It looks circular with some distorted shapes.

Other
When compared to its predecessor, this lens has less flaring because it is built with better optical elements.

Example shots:

Bottom line for Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Lens

The 16-35mm f2.8 II, a unique wide angle zoom lens is without competition. Usually, primes outperform zoom lenses in image quality and all of the issues mentioned before about this particular lens are expected in all wide angle zoom lenses. This lens has been proven to be the best full-frame Canon wide angle zoom lens. It’s not without imperfections, but is highly versatile with excellent performance. This lens is most commonly used for Landscapes, Architectural Interiors, Low light situations, Weddings, Night Life, Photojournalism and much more. If you know how to use it, this lens can be an amazing addition to your gear.

We recommend that you get your copy of the Canon EF 16-35mm f2.8L USM II lens in one of these stores:

• Amazon
• B&H
• Adorama

16-35mm_f2.8 USM II

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Popular reviews of the Canon EF 16-35mm f2.8 L II USM Lens:
KenRockwell
The Digital Picture
Amazon Reviews
dpreview (data only)

Content

• Introduction
• Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens
• ….

Which lens should You buy next?

If you are looking for a new lens for your Canon D-SLR, you may be flooded with professional reviews, specifications and mixed comments from consumers.  It can be an intense and time consuming task to search for new lenses especially if you are on a tight budget and want good quality. There are plenty of amazing reviews about almost every lens, but reading all of those long articles can sometimes just be too difficult.  We understand how tough lens research can be and have made things a bit easier for you by putting together concise information (only the most important facts) on each of the top 10 lenses for Canon in an easy-to-read format.

Be careful not to fall to the myth of thinking that expensive gear magically transforms you into a better photographer.  First, you need to work on yourself by ‘developing your eye’ and honing your techniques.  Equipment is important, but how good is it if you don’t know how to use it properly?

We present you with this list of lenses that are value for money, but the final decision winds down to you based on your level of knowledge or in better terms — your professional level.  Within this carefully researched list, we have also included third party lenses including lenses from manufacturers Sigma, Tamron and Zeiss.  We compared particular third party lenses to their Canon competition, and we came to the conclusion that some of them were not of the standard that we were looking for to make the list.  Take caution when buying third party lenses as some owners complain about focusing and other mechanical problems.  However, third party lens manufacturers may offer a longer warranty period than Canon and lower prices which can come in handy.

With Canon, you pay for the lens as well as the brand name — but is it worth the extra money?  Frankly, we believe it is.  You may not agree with us, but buying expensive lenses and keeping them in good condition can be a real deal, as you will be able to sell them later for a slightly lower price.  In an interesting way, it may turn out to be just like a long time rental.

Just remember, “Saving money in the short term could cost you money in the long term!”

Before Buying

Within the list, there are lenses that might cover your desires all at once, but you may need more lenses to properly cover your specific photography needs.  It comes down to what kind of photography you are into.

If possible, test the lenses that you are interested in before buying.  Seeing a lens being operated on video or on a webpage is not the same as having that lens attached to your D-SLR camera and operating it yourself.

About The List

These lenses received the highest votes by owners and therefore we consider them to be the consumers’ top 10 lenses for Canon D-SLRs.

Fisheye and tilt-shift lenses are not covered in this article but we will cover them in another article.

Note that this is introduction article, and that each lens will be presented with more details and example shots in separate articles. Each lens will have list of alternative lenses we chose based on use, price, focal range and sensor size.

We have made specific mention of APS-C and FF sensors in relation to the lenses. When switching a camera body from APS-C to Full Frame (FF), you need to use a lens with a longer focal length to achieve same effect, and on the other hand, when switching from a FF to APS-C you will need to use a lens with a shorter focal length.  For example, a 30mm or 35mm lens on an APS-C Camera can be used as alternative for a 50mm lens on a Full Frame (FF) Camera.  This is because the size of an APS-C sensor is 1.6 times smaller than 35mm sensor, and therefore would magnify a scene 1.6 times than what would be viewed on a FF Camera.  In more precise numbers, a 30mm lens would act like 48mm on cropped sensor (APS-C), 35mm as 56mm and 50mm as 80mm.

We have even selected zoom lenses as alternatives to prime lenses. We chose short focal range zoom lenses while taking sharpness into consideration.

A number of persons gave poor ratings to some of these lenses due to weight.  However, there is more to the rating of a lens than weight and it is certainly not the most important factor to consider.  Nevertheless, the specifications for each Canon lens are displayed along with comparisons with alternative lenses, so you can always take weight into your consideration when choosing.

For each lens that we have reviewed, we have chosen not to include the price of the lens as a con (disadvantage).  Instead, you will notice that the price of each lens and its alternative(s) are compared and shown under the heading “Alternative Pros & Cons”.

Best buy lenses list

Canon EF 16-35mm f2.8L USM II
Lens / Use	LND	WED	SPO/ACT	GP	IN	OUT	LL
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM	•••••	•••••	•••	•••	•••••	•••	•••
Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II
Lens / Use	LND	WED	SPO/ACT	GP	IN	OUT	LL
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II	••	•••	•	••	•••	•••	••••
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM
Lens / Use	LND	WED	SPO/ACT	GP	IN	OUT	LL
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM	••	••••	••	••	••••	•••	•••••
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
Lens / Use	LND	WED	SPO/ACT	GP	IN	OUT	LL
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM	••••	••••	•••	•••	•••	••••	•••
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
Lens / Use	LND	WED	SPO/ACT	GP	IN	OUT	LL
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM	•	•••	••••	•••	•••	•••	••••
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM
Lens / Use	LND	WED	SPO/ACT	GP	IN	OUT	LL
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM	••••	••••	••	•••••	••	•••	•••
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro
Lens / Use	LND	WED	SPO/ACT	GP	IN	OUT	LL
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L IS USM	•	••••	•••	••	•	••••	•••
Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM
Lens / Use	LND	WED	SPO/ACT	GP	IN	OUT	LL
Canon EF 135mm f/2 L USM	•	•••••	•••••	•••	••	••••	•••••
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
Lens / Use	LND	WED	SPO/ACT	GP	IN	OUT	LL
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM	••	•••••	•••••	••••	••	•••••	••••
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Lens / Use	LND	WED	SPO/ACT	GP	IN	OUT	LL
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM	•	••	••	••	•	••••	••

Notice:
Best buy (value for money) lenses: Top quality lenses can get pretty heavy on your budget, but in light of the long term and your photography skill level, they may be very well worth the purchase. Of course, if you don’t earn money with photography, and you don’t plan to, it may be better to consider alternative lenses to fit your budget.

Best buy lenses can be different for each individual. You should determine what is most important for you. When buying photography gear, you can save money by paying in cash upfront, because you are most likely to receive deals that way.

Remember that lenses should outlast your camera body. Simply put, lenses are more important.

Note: If you have any other lens proposal for this article, please let us know.

The RØDE iXY is a stereo microphone for iPhone 4/4S, iPad 1/2/3 and iPod touch that features:

-on board A/D Conversion
-broadcast-quality up to 24-bit and 96kHz recording
-pair of ½” condenser capsules

The condenser capsules are arranged in a stacked XY configuration to ensure detailed and impressive sounds-capes that are always true-to-life. These are housed in an all-metal chassis that makes the iXY incredibly robust, while also adding electromagnetic shielding.

Its unique combination of portability and high-quality audio capture makes the iXY suitable for a wide range of applications, from recording live music to sound design and on-camera use, through to reporting and electronic news gathering (ENG).

Whats in the box ?

Unpacking the box surprised me. Inside the professional packing you will find: Plastic holder with a short manual, little protective zip casing for the microphone and a foam windshield for outdoor recording (be careful with putting on or removing the foam shield cover, cause you may damage it.)

10 year warranty if you register the product online over provided link.

The RØDE iXY stereo microphone

Casing

Software

We bought RØDE Rec Pro over App Store (It also works with a free app). Not one of the cheapest applications, but you’ll have a complete control over your microphones and with the iPhone you can use other microphones as well, like for example RØDE Video Mic Pro, RØDE SmarLav, etc.

iXY on the iPhone

RØDE Rec Pro is rather easy to use. You can edit your audio files on the spot, just flip your device horizontally in Recording view, and you see edit screen, where you can cut, cross fade, copy, delete parts of your audio recording. Rec Pro has so many settings, that you would need to read manual on how to set it for your purpose (if you don’t know it already).

Check official software video:

Does the exterior quality match the recording quality?

In our opinion quality is amazing. You can adjust lots of settings through the menu options as mentioned above. Here is an example video, recorded at default settings (no preset) and with windshield foam on it.

Note that video above is not a comparison of quality between Canon 5D Mark II internal  and RØDE iXY microphone, it is rather comparison on usage options and what are the advantages of external recording device.

How to access my recordings?

You have couple of options to get files on you MAC or PC. First, you can pick in which format you would like to convert, save your files (you can pick more at once as well).

After that you need to pick how would you like to download, access your files.

iTunes Sharing

Web Access

Dropbox

Soundcloud

Conclusion

The RØDE iXY is a superb quality microphone that exceed our expectations. iXY uses a mobile phone (iphone or similar Apple products) and thus eliminating a need for an extra recording device which is great especially with sound recording quality being so good. On the other hand iPhone or other Apple device can be tricky to use if not holding them in your hands, cause you’ll need some kind of setup to fix them in place. We used arm from Pico Flex Dolly, you might use some other “magic” arm, to hold your iphone on place where you want. Good thing is that you can record sound further away from camera, therefore making cool effects and amazing video and audio productions.

You can get your copy of iXY at:
Official RØDE iXY store here.
B&H Photo store here.
Amazon store here (cool offer iXY + clamp for same price as iXY alone)
Adorama store here.

EF 40mm f/2.8 STM

Specifications

Size and feel

It looks ridiculously small once you put it on an DSLR, but that is the cool part, because your D-SLR suddenly becomes compact and light in weight. With this setup, I can walk around for hours with no need to shift my shoulders which I usually do when shooting with lenses like the much heavier EF 16-35 f/2.8. It has a quality feel and it seems pretty well built — way better than the plastic 50mm f/1.8 II for example. In the image below, you can see the size of the pancake lens compared to EF 50mm f/1.8 and EF-S 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 — all attached to the Canon EOS 550D (Rebel T2i).

Size matters ?

Focusing with STM (Stepping motor)

Its only downside when it comes to taking pictures is its auto-focus (AF) system. The EF 40mm f/2.8 uses a special AF motor called STM (stepping motor) which is intended for use while shooting videos. The manual focus will not work when the camera is off, because it’s not mechanically connected – you can turn the focusing ring as much as you like, but nothing will happen.

Once the camera is on and you’re manually focusing, the ring works very smoothly, and an exact focus point is easy to find. There is a slight delay in lens movement when you move the focus ring: the speed at which the lens moves isn’t directly related to how much you turn the focus ring. The focus system produces noise similar to that of compact cameras when their inbuilt zoom lenses extend. This may be an issue when using manual focus while making video with internal sound recording, but if you operate the manual focus slower, you can completely eliminate the noise. If you wish to use auto-focus in video mode (assuming your camera can shoot video), the EF 40mm f/2.8 will perform great. In my opinion, the pancake lens produces less  jerky and choppy videos in auto-focus mode than it’s rivals — even  outperforming lenses such as the EF 16-35 f/2.8 II. So it seems that this auto-focus system gets along with video much better than USM motors, not to mention that it’s quieter and fast.

However, when taking pictures, the auto-focus is not so fast. Once it’s off focus, it has a bit of time-lag in refocusing, so don’t expect it to have L series speed especially considering its price tag. The focusing problem is also present when taking pictures in low light conditions, in which the lens hunts for a focus point. But all the focus speed and noise issues have nothing to do with the accuracy of the auto-focus!

40 mm f/2.8 vs 50 mm f/1.8 vs 16-35 mm f/2.8 II L

The pancake lens’ focusing accuracy is consistent, regardless what your subject is. The AF accuracy of the EF 50mm f/1.8 cannot compare to the pancake’s. The 50mm f/1.8 may work when you need to focus in a controlled portrait shoot, but anything else is pure lottery.

Sharpness

Before we discuss Lens Sharpness anymore, you may want to read an amazing article about it here. To make a long story short, you should know more about how to use your gear before demanding any features from the gear.

What about sharpness? Well let’s just say I didn’t even bother moving it from f/2.8. It’s stuck there from the beginning because it’s just so super sharp even when wide open. I didn’t check any comparison charts or laboratory research reports on how sharp it really is, but I can say that from my own perspective: I’m extremely satisfied.

MTF Chart 40mm STM – 50mm f/1.8 II and 50mm f/1.4

Below, you can see a comparison which we’ve made using the EF 50mm f/1.8 II and the EF 16-35 f/2.8 II L lenses as rivals to the little pancake. The EF 40mm performed superbly even wide open by beating the 50mm even when its aperture was at f/2.8.

40mm f/2.8 vs 50mm f1.8

40mm  f/2.8 vs 50mm f/1.8

40mm f2.8 vs 50mm f1.8

40mm f2.8 vs 50mm f1.8

We’ve used an expensive wide-zoom lens, the EF 16-35 f/2.8 II L, and set it to a focal length of 35mm, just to see how much does it differs from EF 40mm f/2.8 in wideness and sharpness. You can check the results below.

40mm f/2.8 vs 16-35mm f/2.8 II L

40mm f/2.8 vs 16-35mm f/2.8 II L

40mm f/2.8 vs 16-35mm f/2.8 II L

40mm f/2.8 vs 16-35mm f/2.8 II L

Conclusion: The little pancake lens is sharper throughout the frame, especially in the corners where both 50mm 1.8 and 16-35 2.8 start to fade.

Use

All around lens:

Due to its size, the pancake lens is easy to carry around. On a full-frame (FF) body it captures a relatively wide field of view.

Portraits:

If the 50mm  f/1.8 is good for portraits, then the 40mm f/2.8 is even better. You have little bit more field of view (FOV), but you can easily crop if you need to.

Video:

With the new STM motor, it should be one of the best lenses for videos. It is better than most of the lenses in video mode, but in our opinion, until something changes, it is just not yet there.

We made some sample video shots, we will update article and place video here.

Some examples of photos taken with EF 40mm f/2.8:

Conclusion

When having an EF 16-35 f/2.8 II and EF 50 f/1.8 II, one may say that buying a 40mm f/2.8 lens would be a waste of money, especially with the 50mm lens being much faster with its lowest  f-stop of 1.8. There’s a kernel of truth somewhere, but the EF 40mm f/2.8 is smaller, lighter, more precise, better built and sharper then most of its rivals. I would choose EF 40mm f/2.8 over 50mm f/1.8 anytime! I would definitely recommend it as a lightweight low-profile lens that can easily find a place in a photo bag, or even in your pocket.

Canon EOS Rebel SL1 (Image courtesy of Canon, Inc.)

Canon’s EOS line has come a far way since the first model, the EOS 650, which was released in 1987. Now, the camera company has released two of its latest models — the EOS Rebel SL1 (100D) and the EOS Rebel T5i (700D). The Rebel line of cameras are entry-level D-SLRs, that are aimed at amateur and advanced amateur photographers. The SL1 is branded as the “smallest and lightest D-SLR”, and the Rebel T5i improves upon the already well-performing T4i.

What Do the Rebel SL1 and the T5i Have in Common?

EOS Rebel SL1 – Front View

EOS Rebel T5i – Front View

Both cameras sport a number of similar features including:

• Image Sensor: 18.0 Megapixel CMOS (APS-C)

• Image Processor: Digic 5

• Video: Full HD 1080

• ISO: 100-12800, expandable to 25600 for Stills

• Lens Compatibility: EF and EF-S

• Autofocus: 9 AF Points

• Media Card: SD, SDHC, SDXC, and Ultra High Speed (UHS-I)

• GPS Compatibility: Canon GPS Receiver (GP-E2)

• Touchscreen: 3.0” (3:2 wide) LCD ClearView II

• Dual-Layer Metering: 63 Zone

• LiveView Mode

• Exposure Control: Includes A+ Scene Intelligent Auto

• Aspect Ratio Function

• In-Camera Processing: Creative Filters

• Feature Guide

• Picture Style

• HDMI and USB Connectivity

• Direct Printing: PictBridge Compatible Printers

• Automated Dust Removal: Self Cleaning Sensor Unit

• Video Snapshot

• Special Scene Modes: Night Portrait, Handheld Night Scene and HDR Backlight Control mode

• Canon Image Gateway 

What are the Differences Between the SL1 and the T5i?

EOS Rebel T5i – Top View

EOS Rebel SL1 – Top View

Size & Weight: The SL1 is almost 30 percent smaller, and nearly 40 percent lighter than the T5i. Considering that the T5i is already a relatively small camera, the SL1 is an ideal choice for casual photographers who would like to have D-SLR functions packed into a small body. When comparing the T5i to the mirrorless EOS M, it’s about 30 percent heavier, and 70 percent larger (mostly due to it’s thickness).

Note: These comparisons are based on weight and dimensions of the body only — without any battery, memory card or lens attached.

Special Scene Modes: The SL1 has three additional special scene modes from the three mentioned before, including the modes: Kids, Food and Candlelight. These offer greater automatic settings for common social scenes among family and friends.

Continuous Burst Mode: The T5i can shoot with up to 5 frames per second, compared to the SL1’s 4 frames per second.

External Flash: The T5i has an integrated Speedlite Transmitter, that can control Canon 600EX-RT (Master) wirelessly in E-TTL mode.

Autofocus System: The T5i uses the Hybrid CMOS AF system, whereas the SL1 uses the more advanced, Hybrid CMOS AF II system.

Vari Angle LCD: The T5i retains the swivel LCD screen from it’s predecessors, the T4i and T3i, which makes it convenient to shoot videos.

Cost: Based on Canon’s estimated retail prices, the cost difference between the SL1 and T5i kits (with the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM) — is a $100. Canon’s estimated retail prices for the: SL1 — $799.99; T5i — $899.99.

What Kit Lenses are Available for the SL1 and T5i?

Both the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM and the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM are the available kit lenses for both cameras. These lenses are new but upgraded lenses, with the integration of a STM (Stepper Motor). The first STM lenses were released with the EOS M mirrorless camera, and are meant to offer a more fluid, less noisy, autofocusing experience. STM lenses are particularly beneficial for videos, in which smooth focusing is paramount.

Who is the SL1 and T5i for?

Due to the SL1’s size, weight and creative modes, it is intended for casual photography. This camera is a great pick for vacations; occasions with family, friends, and kids; pets and general use. It’s small and easy to carry around — very convenient. It’s additional automated features, such as special scene modes, make it much easier for amateurs to get great shots without knowing intricate D-SLR knowledge.The SL1 is a true D-SLR, and users can use this, as the starter-D-SLR it is, to learn how to use advanced features.

The T5i continues the well-established crop-sensor Rebel line, and is suited for the photographer who wants to learn the rudiments of D-SLR photography on a budget. This camera can also serve as a good backup camera for pro’s and semi-pro’s. It’s HD video capabilities make it an excellent choice for videos, and can serve an aspiring D-SLR filmmaker a “cheap” alternative to get started.

The Bottom Line

Both Rebels, the SL1 and T5i, are packed with great features that are suited for the amateur and advanced photographer. They can be used with the full line of EF and EF-S lenses, and have decent performance in low light settings. They are also social media friendly, as both cameras can be used with the Canon Image Gateway, which allows members to upload up to 10GB of photos and videos to a personal library. Members can share albums with family and friends by e-mail, or on Facebook or Twitter.

The Canon EOS 6D (Photo courtesy of Canon Inc.)

Canon, Inc. officially announced in September, 2012, the EOS 6D — a versatile mid-range full frame camera. As the most compact and lightest full-frame SLR to date, the 6D is geared at the serious photographer who desires to make the jump from an APS-C (crop sensor) to a full-frame sensor at a reasonable cost. Canon made sure to integrate with the 6D, an entirely new full-frame CMOS sensor with 20.2 megapixels. Other prominent features of the 6D include: a Digic 5+ processor, an ISO range of 100-25600, full HD (high definition) video (1080p), a 97 percent viewfinder, a maximum of 4.5 frames per second, an 11 point autofocus system, and integrated Wi-Fi and GPS capabilities.

What’s So Special About the 6D?

The mere rumors of the 6D created a buzz in the D-SLR community, let alone Canon’s announcement and subsequent release. Being able to grab a full-frame Canon D-SLR for at most, a tad over $2000, appears to be a heck of a deal. Many serious photographers often put aside their aspirations of getting a full-frame camera (at least for awhile) simply because of the lofty price tags. Well, the 6D provides the opportunity for advanced amateurs to go full-frame. Also, the 6D is quite compact and light, making it more convenient to shoot with and to carry around. Size may not necessarily be a big deal to some photographers, but it still does prove to be an advantage especially when heavy lenses are attached.

Apart from its large sensor, and convenient size, this sleek EOS brings with it unique in-built Wi-Fi and GPS systems. This means that you won’t need to acquire additional peripherals to gain access to these features. With the GPS system, you can geotag your images, and with Wi-Fi you can: transfer (still) images from the 6D to your computer, smart device, or another wireless enabled EOS; send images to Facebook, Twitter and via email. But wireless capabilities allow for even more tricks. By using the free EOS Remote App, which is available for Android and Apple (iPhone and iPad) devices, you can use your smartphone (or smart device) as a remote trigger plus viewing screen to assist you in making photographs.

Is the 6D Better than the 7D?

To be frank, the 6D and 7D, although ‘brothers’, are vastly different creatures. The 6D excels in low light capabilities due to its huge sensor which is twice as large than that of the 7D’s. As you can gather, the 7D struggles with noise issues at much lower ISO levels than that of the 6D. However, the 7D has a superior autofocus system with 19 focus points, all of which are cross-type focus points, compared with the 6D’s 11 focus points with only 1 — the central point — of which is a cross-type point.

And it must be mentioned that the 7D can shoot at as much as 80 percent faster (in continuous mode) than the 6D. There you have it, we’re dealing with a full-frame camera designed to take high quality pictures in low light compared to a advanced crop sensor camera that is designed for speed and action. It’s not an easy call to say which is ‘better’, and so the tech-political answer would be, “It depends on what you are shooting.”

Is the 6D Just as Good as the 5D Mark III?

Simply put, no. The 5D Mark III struts ahead of the 6D in several criteria. This is not to say that the 6D doesn’t produce awesome image quality, because it surely does. Ken Rockwell states that “the 6D loses about 5% of some of the 5D Mark III features,” the most obvious of which is its highly simplified autofocus system, smaller sensor and fewer ‘C Modes’. Naturally, Canon has to make sort of tradeoff to clarify a strong distinction between an entry-level-full-frame camera, and a professional grade full-frame camera. The better comparison would be between the 6D and the Canon 5D Mark II, in which the 6D outshines. Some may say that the 6D is a noble replacement to the 5D Mark II.

What’s its Competition?

Posing as a strong competitor to the EOS 6D, is its nemesis — the Nikon D600. Both are classed as the “enthusiast’s full frame camera,” and are very similar in many criteria including price. The 6D has the advantage of having the GPS and Wi-Fi capabilities, which is very useful in the age of the smartphone. Not to mention that the 6D is a bit lighter and more compact than its Nikon competitor. However, the D600 has a slightly larger sensor, a more advanced autofocus system, and notably performs better at high ISO levels. Apparently, the win may go to the D600, but in consideration of the features that the 6D offers, the EOS is a tough D-SLR to overlook.

What are the Trade-Offs?

In having an EOS that is aimed at the prosumer market, tradeoffs are inevitable. These tradeoffs could be classed as disadvantages or inconveniences. It would appear that the 6D could have a 100% viewfinder, but Canon chose to use 97 percent viewfinder coverage. Filmmakers tend to love the 5D Mark II & III, and the 6D provides excellent high definition videos as well, but unfortunately there’s no headphone outlet. But one of the biggest tradeoffs is the highly simplified autofocus system, and slow burst rate. Such features have limited the versatility of the camera in effectively capturing action. With that being said, this is not the kind of camera sports photographers would be thrilled about.

The 6D is best suited for the serious or advanced amateur photographer who wants to explore the advantages of shooting using a full frame sensor. It’s certainly not for action photography, but has great low light capabilities, and is therefore good for shooting at weddings, functions or other conditions where ambient lighting is unpredictable. This EOS is wildly similar to the EOS 5D Mark III, to the extent that professional Mark III owners may consider the 6D as a backup body. Filmmakers can put the 6D to great use, considering that it has very similar video recording capabilities to that of the 5D Mark III. As with any D-SLR, the 6D is not without fault and fierce competition. Canon answered Nikon’s D600 with the 6D, with the most outstanding “new” features being the integrated GPS along with the smartphone-friendly Wi-Fi capabilities.

While there are no specifics announced so far, we guess that it will have DIGIC 6 processor with 18MP CMOS sensor same as Canon Rebel T5i or Canon EOS Rebel SL1.

New 70D should replace 2.5 years old Canon EOS 60D.

Sources:

Canonrumors

Photographybay

Stay in touch, we will update news on April 23.

With 5D Mark III already established on the market, an ‘old’ camera, Canon EOS 5D Mark II became one of the most popular and affordable ones and thus more interesting to wider audience. An excellent camera with superb video capabilities and a pioneer when it comes to dslr videography. But when I first tried to shoot video, I must be honest, I didn’t know how to do it. I was searching for the button to enter the Video mode, without any luck.

This is just a short ‘how to’ that will help you set up your 5D Mark II to make your first 5D Mk II footage. We made it easy for you and sort it in a several steps, they’ll help you start making videos with your 5D in no time.

Simple steps to record video on 5D Mk II:

1. Turn the mode dial to M
2. Go to Menu
3. 6th menu to the right (2nd yellow)
   

   6th Menu to the right

4. First option on the top LV func. Settings
   

   Live Menu Settings

5. Check the last, third option – Stills + movie, press SET
   

   Stills+movie

6. After 4th you will have 3 options, choose Movie display, press SET
   

   Movie Display

7. Go Back in View/Movie Settings
8. Set Grid display to Off
   

   Set Grid display OFF

9. Set Silent shoot to Mode 1
10. Set Metering timer to 1 min
    

    Metering timer  – 1min

11. Set AF Mode to Live Mode
12. Set Movie Rec Size to one you want
    

    Movie format

13. If you are not using microphones set Sound Rec to Auto
    

    Sound recording

14. Close Menu pressing Menu button twice
15. Click Live view
    

    Live View

16. Switch AF to MF on your lens
17. Set White Balance
    

    White Balance button

    

    White Balance options

18. Press INFO button to check all Video settings along with the Histogram
    

    Info View

19. For best focus you should zoom in first 10x (press magnify button twice) and use the joystick to select the part of the frame where you want to focus and then focus your lens manually
20. Pick a desired exposure and aperture
21. Set ISO settings by your needs, lower ISO number, less grain
    

    SET ISO

22. You can pick a preset you would like to shoot with pressing a button
    

    Presets

23. For Start and Stop Press the middle (SET) button on a dial

You can find very interesting article to keep auto recording for longer time: here or try other easier solution on how to record more than 12 mins, or 4GB is the Magic Lantern software.

Once again, we have another camera trigger in our hands — the Nero Trigger. Throughout this review, we’ll explore the physical features, modes, pros and cons of the Nero Trigger. Also, we’ll give recommendations that can be used to make it even better. In another article, we’ll give a comprehensive comparison between Nero and Triggertrap v1. 

What’s in The Package?

Nero packages the device and cables in attractive boxes. The trigger comes with a manual and cable for your camera. You can pick the styling of your Nero device from 6 colours – see the colours on their site. Bravo Nero!

Nero Trigger on Canon DSLR

First Impression

Nero is a small, light device with hot shoe adapter on the bottom. Very well built casing, still not weather or waterproof but it sure looks professional and well built.

Buttons are firm and easy to navigate over menus. It is pretty easy to put in or replace batteries, battery case is on bottom along side with hot shoe adapter.

Physical Features

Housing and Connectors:

-          Small compact casing with a hot shoe
-          Colour LCD display
-          Small LED displays when the device is triggering
-          2 batteries AAA (easy to change)
-          Few buttons for modes and options
-          Side button to turn the device ON/OFF
-          2 connectors on the side for a camera or flash
-          1 sensor receiver in front for laser and light
-          1 Ext (input) connector on side for DIY

Software

Modes:

• Lightning
• Sound
• Timelapse
• Laser
• HDR
• DIY

Options under each mode:

Lightning Mode

Nero – Lightning Option – Main Menu

Sensitivity range of 0 to 99

As the name suggests, it triggers the camera for each lightning event. Lightning mode has a sensitivity range of 0 to 99, with 0 being the lowest sensitivity, and 99 being the highest sensitivity. To set it up properly before use, adjust sensitivity to maximum, if it triggers your camera continuously, then you should decrease the sensitivity until it stops.

Our opinion: There are a couple of options that would make this mode more controllable, such as: On Rise, On Fall and On Change options; as well as a display with the number of shots we would like to take with a manual delay option between shots. Nevertheless Nero Lightning mode is pretty simple to use.

Sound Mode

Sensitivity from 0 up to 999
Delay is from 0 up to 9999 ms (10 sec)
Lock, options ON or OFF

How to use it for the first time in Sound Mode: Set the sensitivity to highest first and decrease until it doesn’t trigger continuously. Then produce a sound and see the result. If you find it too sensitive then decrease the sensitivity until you find the right setting.

When Lock parameter is ON, it triggers your camera only once and goes back to the Sound Menu where you can set things as you wish or just start triggering again.

Delay after each shot is around 500ms to avoid infinite loop of shutter sound, that is if you don’t use a Lock ON option.

Color Splash – Sound – Flash

There is a simple trick behind this awesome shot. After setting up the background and flashguns, we filled the glasses, glued them on top of the white board and dropped them from around 15″ (inch) height (one side, while the other side was on still on the table). At first Nero was too fast, triggering our flash at the spot where the board with glasses just hit the surface and there was no liquid movement, so we added around 40ms delay in Nero settings to achieve the result you can see above.

When used with Flashes, even Sound mode is pretty fast and you can achieve stunting results, check for example:Graham article about Nero Sound Mode.

Timelapse Mode

Interval from 00:01 seconds up to 60 minutes
Exposure from 00:00 seconds up to 60 minutes
Limit from 0 up to 9999 photos.  (you’ll need 30 seconds to get from 0 up to 9999 and another 30 to go back while holding left or right button).

If you make a great Timelapse video, let us know and share with us ;)

Laser Mode

Threshold from 0 up to 999
Delay (ms) 0 up to 999
Frame from 1 up to 999 (Number of triggers in a row separated approximately around 200-250ms)
LM displayed on Nero LCD when you point your laser into laser sensor on Trigger
Delay between multiple laser beam break, around 500ms

We would like to see the same option that Sound Mode has, Lock ON.

Glass Splash – Laser – Flash

Similar to the sound setup, the image above was made again very simple. We placed Nero on a light stand, while the laser was placed on the opposite side. You can get any laser as long as the beam is constant. We used one from ebay and taped it down to produce a constant beam. After that, we pointed the beam towards Nero and then adjusted the placement of Nero until ‘LM’ displayed on LCD. We set our bottom picture frame to level with the table surface (where the glasses should fall) and the top frame margin was set just under the laser beam to avoid seeing it in a final shot. The height at which the glasses were dropped was just above the laser beam that was around 19 inches above the surface. Glasses were dropped from one hand. At that point, if we let Nero to trigger the flash, it would fire so fast that the glasses wouldn’t even be in the frame, thus we applied a 250ms delay to get this shot.

HDR Mode

Center (middle exposure) goes from 1/30 up to 15 seconds
EV (+/-) goes from 1/3 up to 1
Frame (number of shots) can be 3, 5 or 7


DIY Mode

Threshold from 0 up to 999
Delay (ms) from 0 up to 999

Mode: Falling, Rising, Change.

Note: Diy mode is for Ext input, read the manual about that, be very careful with input and voltages.

Nero Trigger at work

Nero has two outputs, Camera and Flash. Both outputs are triggered at the same time, meaning that you can connect both Camera and Flashes at the same time.

Note: that if you trigger both at the same time, the camera would be way behind the flash, so there is no use to trigger both in the same time. You can instead use the two ports to trigger two flashes, or even two cameras.

Nero Trigger has already integrated option to delay after the first shot is made. While this is a great feature in most cases, it can be annoying because you sometimes need to trigger on a second event. True, if you would choose a sound mode and set sensitivity high with Nero being close to your camera, Nero would go into an infinite loop with a shutter sound of your camera (but Nero doesn’t have to be close to the camera and can be in other modes where delay is still present). Not a bad feature to avoid infinite loop in case you are close to your camera and sound mode, but as said I would like to see some manual control over it.

When Nero is in Laser Mode, LM is displayed on the LCD when a laser beam is pointed in front of the light sensor – very useful add-on to know when your laser beam is at the right (sweet) spot. Laser Frame option is a great feature to capture multiple shots. When Nero is used as a camera trigger it would act somewhat as burst mode and when used as a flash trigger it would be for capturing long exposure moment multiple times, making the moving subject(s) appear on different locations in one frame.

Water Balloon Splash – 25ms delay – Laser – Flash

Cheers – Sound – Flash

Note that if you don’t touch anything after being in any mode, Nero will go to “sleep” (battery saving mode), blinking red LED in the bottom left.

Conclusion

We don’t own the model before this last edition of Nero Trigger so we can’t talk about any upgrades and features, except obvious improvement: LCD.

New Nero Trigger with its size and weight is so easy to carry around. We had no trouble setting it up and making amazing images in a matter of minutes. It was a pleasure to use Nero with such ease and I have to add that support is fast and does an amazing job, answering all our questions.

 You can check out ‘behind the scenes’ photos on our facebook page

In the last article, we reviewed the Triggertrap Mobile Dongle. While the Dongle is an amazing and handy gadget, which is easy to carry around, there are other triggers available that are more advanced. Triggertrap v1 is one of those trigger systems and we received one to test it.

Triggertrap v1 or ttv1 is a device that can trigger your Camera or Flash based on external stimulants like light, sound, laser and much more (DIY mode). Speed of device is measured in just couple milliseconds.

Keep reading article to find out does Triggertrap v1 justifies it’s price of $200.

High Speed Photography

Without getting into a debate about what High Speed Photography is, I’ll share my opinion. Question: “Is a water droplet image made with high speed photography?” My answer would be yes and no. You can capture images of water droplets by manually taking shots. You can try to get the shots through trial and error, or in burst mode (high shutter speed and more frames per seconds). In both cases you can eventually catch some great shots — I surely did. But on other hand, if you want to control your photography, and get images of water droplets where you want, and in the shapes you desire, then you should use a trigger and a laser. Triggers are also useful for capturing images of burst water balloons and other high speed movements.

In examples of high speed movements that include breaking plates, glasses and bottles. My question would be,“How many would you break before you get the desired shot by triggering it with your fingers (pressing a shutter button on camera or remotely), even using the burst mode?” My guess would be: probably a few usable photos and lots of broken stuff. This is where triggers come in handy. Once you prepare properly, triggers allow you to make good shots consistently - even on a very first attempt. Let’s see if I’m right.

Red Pepper (Paprika) – Laser – Flash

Why Would You Need a Fast Trigger?

Do you really need one ? It is actually up to you. If you ever wanted to take photos of splashing, breaking, flying, bullets, even time-lapses and bulb ramping, then the Triggertrap is a device you may consider. When you want consistent results and more control over fast movements, it’s time to get a trigger. When you want consistent results, more control over fast movements in your photography, then it is time to get a trigger. The Triggertrap v1 device is based on the Arduino board. You can read more about the Arduino here.

What’s in the Box?

When you buy a Triggertrap device, you will receive a small box with the device and a cable for your camera + audio jack adapter. In some cases, you may receive the wrong audio jack (adapter), but don’t worry cause it’s dirt cheap and you can get the proper one in a local electronics store. We used one that we got for triggering the ‘three digit’ (entry level) EOS D-SLRs, like the 550D (Rebel T2i).

Canon cable has a 2.5mm male jack on one end, and adapter was 3.5mm > 2.5mm. Triggertrap connector is 3.5mm, so getting from 2.5mm (female) to 3.5mm (male) was no trouble at all, and to be honest we used both adapters in many of our setups for images that we made.

Triggertrap V1

Features of the Triggertrap

Housing:
- Transparent plastic with 4 screws on top (4 on bottom).
- LCD display.
- Small LED in top right corner.
- 3 AAA battery holder inside.
- 4 touch sensitive buttons.

Connectors:
- micro USB
- On/Off switch
- CAM (camera output)
- AUX (for DIY, input))
- START (which is STOP button as well)

Modes:
- Light
- Sound
- Laser
- Time-lapse
- Bramping

First Impressions

The first impression that I had was that it could have a better sealed casing (housing). There are not many waterproof triggers available, but I think triggers should be waterproof or at least weatherproof and triggertrap with its open back cover is far from that.  Nevertheless, it is relatively easy to to make transparent casings, for example using a transparent plastic bag or box, to make the trigger somewhat weatherproof. So it is not major deal after all.

It would also be good if the trigger had a screw threading, so that it could be mounted on a light stand, or attached to a hot shoe (on or off camera). You’ll have to keep tapping the trigger to keep it stable while you shoot.This is not a major disadvantage as you can prevent it from moving by using tape.

Battery casing was wobbly and loose, check how we fixed it.

Software

The Triggertrap v1 device which we received, had an “old” software which was without Bramping mode. I followed the instructions from the Triggertrap site, and easily upgraded ttv1 firmware without issues.
A great thing about the device is that you can change the program code if you know how to. So, if you don’t like a feature, change it as you wish — pretty awesome!

Triggertrap at Work

What to Trigger: Camera or Flash?

In most cases when you want to catch very fast movements, you need to trigger a flash (or flashes) instead of the camera. Why is that so? Cameras have a shutter lag that is much longer than a flash lag. In fact, the lag time for a flash firing on low power seems to be non-existent, while a camera’s shutter lag is much bigger no matter what settings you use.

With the Triggertrap Mobile App, we tested the shutter lag for the 550D (T2i, ), 40D and 5D Mark II.

Table above shows how inconsistent shutter lag is for Canon cameras. For our article it is correct to say that minimal shutter lag is around 100 milliseconds.

We partially explained this in the water droplet article, in which we mentioned that the flash duration on low power settings is really short, and can freeze almost anything. It is best to shoot with a shutter speed of 1-2 seconds while triggering a flash or multiple flashes within duration of a single exposure. There is one important thing that you should be careful about — ambient light. When you shoot at 1 – 2 (or more) seconds without using flash, check that the setup is completely dark. Avoid any ambient light in your image. Once you are sure that the only light emitted is from your flash(es), you can now press the shutter release (on your camera), and use your trigger to fire the flash(es).  The long exposure it’s not used only to allow usage of flashes at small capacities and enabling closed down apertures but to get you some fare amount of time for triggering the action.

Sound Triggering

In testing sound triggering, I must admit that I didn’t think much about it before I started. My idea was to use an air-gun (a rifle that shoots bullets by compressed air). The method included putting the trigger as close as possible to me (the shooter), and as far as possible from the object (the apple or water balloon) that should be broken into pieces.

First of all, to make the apple explode you need to use a much larger (and more dangerous) bullet than what can be used in an air rifle. The bullet fired through the water balloon caused rippling.

Water Jellyfish – Sound Triggered Camera

Our mistake was triggering camera instead of flash, but conditions (ambient) light was too bright for long exposure photography. On the other hand, shooting in dark would be a challenge of its own, so the whole setup, as it came out, was bad from the start.

Light Triggering

Light is faster than sound. This is where the Triggertrap shines!

To prove that the Triggertrap v1 is really fast, you can’t test it while you trigger your camera, but you have to use a flash unit as the light source. Setup, point two flashes towards camera that will record video, trigger one (main) flash unit with triggertrap v1 and put other on slave mode. Looking at video it seems as if the flashes were fired at the same time, but when you see the video frame by frame, you can confirm that there was almost no trigger delay. Triggertrap claims that the time delay is 2ms, which I believe from my experience to be correct.

Match – Light mode – Camera

Laser Triggering

This is my favorite triggering mode of them all, because in this mode I have the most control. You can setup where and when to trigger.

There is a challenge though, because you have to prepare a method to prevent the laser beam from showing in the image. This is why you may need to spend some time in setting up laser triggering properly. Pre-triggering is the best way to use laser triggering. Once you have that in place, you can be as creative as you want.
Laser triggering can make the setting up process last longer, because you will have problems like how to setup a laser that shouldn’t not be seen in picture. Pre-triggering is the way in which the laser method works best but thinking of how to trigger a laser is the creative part.

Balloon – Laser mode – Flash

For the shot shown above, I made a trigger stick. To trigger flash in precise moment when balloon is exploding, you need to cut the laser beam very close to time you poked the balloon with a needle. So basically you need to touch the balloon with a needle in the same time while wire is touching (cutting) the laser beam few inches (centimeters) above balloon. All this is needed so we can avoid the laser beam in our photo. When I move the needle towards the balloon, other part splits the beam at exactly the same time when the balloon is burst . I made it in such way, that I could move triggering wire up and down, because not all balloons are the same shape and size.

Here are a couple more shots:

Balloon splash in hand – Laser – Flash

My Favorite one:

Bottle Break – Laser – Flash

I don’t think that you would guess right how many bottles did we break before this shot. Well, this is the second glass bottle we broke. The first bottle (picture) was amazing as well, but we had a framing issue. I think that this is a great shot for the second attempt. The setup took about 2 hours. We moved all the equipment and supplies from the house to the garage and we even had to go to a store to get a number of the supplies. If you have access to a place where you can store your gear, you can spend a mere 15-20 minutes to setup and take the images like this. So, to answer the question “Can you make a perfect first attempt shot?” – the answer is YES (although we made it in second :-))

To capture the image shown above, we made our own trigger initiator out of plain white paper. We made the paper in the shape of the letter “L”, and adjusted it to hang in front of the laser. When I was shooting the paper with air rifle bullets, the base of the letter L moves and releases the laser beam onto the trigger.

The Triggertrap’s laser sensor is tiny, but this is typical for a number of triggers. That means that you have to point your laser directly on to the receiver, and this can get challenging if you don’t have the right equipment.

Time Lapse and Bramping Modes

These two modes are great addon for Triggertrap. Making triggertrap not only interesting for people who are into High speed photography but for ones who are into making time-lapses as well.

Time-Lapse mode works very simple, you setup your camera and settings, most preferable into manual mode, everything set to manual (shutter speed, focus, aperture and WB). Once you set all up, you setup triggertrap, delay before first image and interval between all other images, and off course number of shoots you want to make.

Bramping mode is little more complex, but results are amazing. You have option to control camera exposure (shutter speed) from 1/30 and up to how many seconds you want. Getting transfer from Day to Night and opposite without flickering. To use Bramping you should know when Sun rises or falls in your area, maybe you need one day to see how long does it take from day till full night and check exposures for your subject in full night.

We didn’t make video from this two modes, but we tested it and it works great. When we make video, we will post it here.

Pros and Cons

Here’s a basic rundown — pros and cons — of what I think of the Triggertrap v1.

Our Recommendations:

It would have been useful if most of the modes could have the option to limit the number of shots to a certain quantity and to have option to set delay manually between two impulses.
If you shoot in sound mode, there may be more than one sound to contend with if you use an air rifle to hit a plastic bottle. If you have a long exposure set on your camera, and you trigger your flashguns, it is very likely that you will have two bursts of flash which will mess up your image. Similarly for laser mode, there’s the option to choose on make, on break ,or on change, but if you break the laser beam a couple of times, you will end up messing up your photos with two or more flash bursts.

The good thing about using the Triggertrap, is that you can make changes to the programming code to suit your desires. Search the internet for solutions, or just upgrade the software if they make some official changes.

P.S. if you know where can we find or if you made some changes, please let us know, so we can test it. Thanks.

Conclusion

Even if you have never done high speed photography before, the Triggertrap will make it easy for you to learn it quickly. The only thing that will limit you is your creativity. Initially when I wrote down my ideas for this review, I choose not to search on the internet for any related content. I just didn’t want to, because I thought that there’s a chance from the many ideas that I have, that a few would be unique. I realized that NONE were! My ideas were not unique — someone already tested them. We decided to still put these ideas into action, but try to make the images as professional as possible. You can be the judge of how well we did it.

Final thought; You may have a divided opinion about Triggertrap. Either you’ll like it or you won’t and most probable reason not to, is its casing alone. My question for all of you having trouble digesting the casing issue is this: “What is more important – casing or device abilities to help you make amazing images ?”. I think you already know my answer so I’ll keep it simple: “Don’t judge the book by it’s covers!”.

Equipment used:

Canon EOS 40D

Canon EOS 5D Mk I

Canon EOS 5D Mk II (Heineken shot)

Canon EF 100mm f2.8 Macro

Check behind the scenes photos on our Facebook page.

Firmware Updates

0.3.36 21st March 2013

In timelapse mode the exposure option is normally off. If you turn it on, it overrides the default shutter signal to hold it open for the selected period. This is ideal for long exposure timelapses at night – similar to the way the Star Trail mode works on Triggertrap Mobile.