Yippee, it is finally here! Thank you so much, RayEthier, for doing all that for me! I hope you won't cry too much when we swap it over to MY old 20D.... plain old boring camera to go home with you instead of my wonderful new toy that you sent me:-)
So my "new" camera arrived, and I took it for a quick walk around the neighbourhood. I love how there is no hotspot, and no long exposure times. It focuses perfectly with the 50mm lens that is was calibrated to. I don't know yet how I'll go with different lenses - from what I've read, the focusing won't be as easy with them.
I love how good it all looks straight out of camera, let alone after some tweaking.
The only thing I don't like is the amount of noise (ISO 200) that is most noticeable in the sky. Am I doing something wrong, or is that just the way it is?
Thank heavens for noise reduction software!
Here are some quick samples:
I know these examples are far from perfect. If anybody wants to chime in with pointers how to improve them, I would be most grateful.
We both have old 20D cameras. He sent HIS off to lifepixel to have it converted, then mailed it to me. When he visits us in September, he'll take home my normal 20D (maybe he'll get the bug and have that one converted for himself, afterwards ;-)
Ah, ok. Great plan. I have an IR filter for my 50mm 1.4, but rarely (never) use it. The converted camera seems to be easier to get good results. I may think about doing that in the future. Kinda like the lensbaby as far as it being something to do on occasion, but could get tiresome and limiting for most occasions. Looking forward to seeing what you produce with it though.
So my "new" camera arrived, and I took it for a quick walk around the neighbourhood. I love how there is no hotspot, and no long exposure times. It focuses perfectly with the 50mm lens that is was calibrated to. I don't know yet how I'll go with different lenses - from what I've read, the focusing won't be as easy with them.
Just a few things of note - I've had mine for a while...
I use every one of my lenses with it. I use a smaller aperture to guarantee the focus. Since I shoot mostly landscapes with it, it hasn't been a problem.
You notice more noise when there is less than optimal sunlight. The camera likes bright overhead light and falls off in raking and indirect light. I can use it on cloudy days (and often do) but the RAW files are muddier and bringing them back causes the noise. To combat this, I have the camera set at +2/3 to over expose the images just a little. On really 'dark' (black cloud days or pre-dawn/dusk) I sent it manually 3-4 slower.
The best thing about the camera is that it forces me to look at light and shadow very differently than I would otherwise.
