# Today...was a good day.



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

...So, the UPS guy dropped off some new toys today  




There's another 5D Mark III on the way too...All of it's shiny and brand new except the 5D, which is very lightly used with 2k clicks on it. Also got some cool video work goodies coming soon hehe...

Sorry Nikon people,...I'll still be your fearless leader


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## Virto (Dec 6, 2012)

Ahh, the new Sigma 35. I'm super interested in that one...just too much money for the L. 135L is, IMO, one of the best lenses of all time - you're going to love it.


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## watercage (Oct 12, 2009)

looks expensive.

But there's nothing wrong with that.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Lol, a convert. roud:

Nice lenses. Where is the 24-70???

I don't get your title.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Virto said:


> Ahh, the new Sigma 35. I'm super interested in that one...just too much money for the L. 135L is, IMO, one of the best lenses of all time - you're going to love it.


Yeah, I'm usually a total *insert camera brand here* lenses only snob, and stay away from third party stuff, but every single review from every major and minor source says that this new sigma 35 is the best 35mm lens of any make right now, including zeiss. I've read all the reviews and seen all the test images (both technical and casual) and after using it a bit today I'd have to agree, it really does outperform every 35mm lens available and its sooooo sharp at f1.4. The good news is that it's so good, its driving down the price of the 35L and you can get one very gently used for around $950-970 these days easily....I was messing around with the 135L and I was amazed at how sharp it is and the f/2 aspect gives some nice creative freedom. Plus I'm really exited because my copy of the 85L is super accurate wide open 



watercage said:


> looks expensive.
> 
> But there's nothing wrong with that.


Hehe, cameras and lenses are always expensive 



Wasserpest said:


> Lol, a convert. roud:
> 
> Nice lenses. Where is the 24-70???
> 
> I don't get your title.


I despise the 24-70 lens of any maker. Total snooze cruise, nothing exciting about it at all. Give me a 35mm and I'm set, I don't need versatility  The title was meant as in, as a Nikon fanboy for 2 years, the pain of being with Canon gear hurts more than seeing a Nikon fanboy switch to Canon will be for all of you :hihi: Come to think of it, I'll just change it hehe...


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## Mojo31 (Dec 6, 2011)

Nice!!

You'll love the 135 and 85. I wouldn't part with my 135, and the 85 is next on my list. Get the 100L macro to round it out.


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## leegordon79 (Aug 24, 2011)

I love my EOS 20D. You're gonna love that one!


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Welcome home Elmo! lol Glad to have you with the Canon Fam.

Awesome hardware my friend. 

I'm curious... what made you convert? 

btw, the 135L has got to be one of Canons BEST lens. I use to own one and absolutely loved it!


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## Scars (Dec 12, 2011)

/wipes drool off face


Thats a lot of nice gear sitting in that pile! I want that 85mm!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Mojo31 said:


> Nice!!
> 
> You'll love the 135 and 85. I wouldn't part with my 135, and the 85 is next on my list. Get the 100L macro to round it out.


Yeah, I'll definitely be getting a macro lens eventually :red_mouth



leegordon79 said:


> I love my EOS 20D. You're gonna love that one!


Oh I'm sure I will 



speedie408 said:


> Welcome home Elmo! lol Glad to have you with the Canon Fam.
> 
> Awesome hardware my friend.
> 
> ...


Thanks Speedie! I was waiting for you to show up, and for someone to ask hehe...I had a few major reasons:

Lens Selection/Price: Canon just has a lot of cool lenses Nikon doesn't. Now of course the reverse is true as well, but I'm just interested in the ones Canon offers, plus it seems like Canon has more of the cool lenses that Nikon doesn't than the other way around. For example, the tilt shift lenses that can actually tilt and shift unlike Nikon, or the 135L. Tied into that is lens prices. While the newest releases from Canon are wayyyy more expensive than usual, most Canon lenses are still a steal. Just the fact that for $100 more than going used rates I was able to buy all brand new lenses says a lot. For example the 17-40L and 135L....one doesn't exist (nothing actually good anyways) on Nikon and the other would have cost me $1200 used for what I got brand new for $700 with Canon. I also got lucky in that B&H was offering some nice instant rebates and giving 2% back in store credit when I was ready to buy.

White Balance: I grew to loathe the green cast present on all Nikon images. Okay, its not so much a cast as it is the way Nikon handles white balance....they just always lean to the green side. Now sure, Canon white balance tends to lean to the red side with a slightly red/pink cast, but I'd much rather have that which blends nicely with skin tones than to fight with green alien white balance. I realize there's profiles for these things. I did that, and still ended up always fighting with the Nikon.

Service/Repair: I live 20 minutes from the Canon repair facility in Jamesburg, NJ. Being able to drop off and pick up my gear from service in a couple days between weddings will be a huge help, plus Canon is actually fast with their service instead of having to wait around for weeks on end with Nikon, only to be given abysmal service with a horrible attitude.

Resolution: While 12MP is great, 22MP is the perfect balance for what I do, Not too much like the D800 with crazy file sizes, and not too little to where I'm wanting like I was for my personal landscape work with Nikon and 12MP. 

And MOST importantly...Video!: I'm starting to get into a lot of commercial work with video. Nikon caught up a lot on video recently, but they're still way behind Canon. I've seen the tests with comparison footage, and while the Nikon has more dynamic range, Canon wins with everything else, including high ISO in video, in which all the Nikon's look attrocious. There's also a few other key things in favor of Canon like more, aliasing, etc...including; you guessed it...white balance! Nikons have a very green white balance in video mode whereas Canon is incredibly accurate. Don't believe me? Watch this comparison video between the Canon 5D Mark III and Nikon D800: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuozUxh_tOU ....Now of course the D800 will provide sharper footage because of it's 36MP, but it comes at the expense of extreme aliasing and moire. The 5D footage looks less sharp straight out of camera, but Phillip Bloom (famous film maker) released a video showing how easy it was to sharpen the 5D footage in post and how good it looks afterwards here (its in his video review of the 5D Mark III): http://vimeo.com/39292404

So why is that all video related stuff important you say? Well, like I said I'm getting into a lot of commercial work for video. I'll be doing some work soon that's paying me $2k and is paying for an additional $2k worth of equipment of my choosing, which will include a glidecam, wireless mics, shotgun mics, audio recorders, tripod, etc. that of course I get to keep. 

So, needless to say, when people are throwing money at you, you want to have the best tools for the job.

So anyways, thats just a few of my reasons for switching, but those are the main ones. I certainly weighed it out and thought it over a LOT, and it was a logical move backed up with facts and necessity, even the video alone was enough reason to switch for my needs.

I have to say, having never used Canon before in my life, one of the first things I noticed with the 5D and lenses today was how accurate Canon is with focusing. I used to fight with Nikon constantly and though I mostly did fine with it, there was always something with Nikon hitting focus but not being totally in focus. I think it has something to do with the Canon mount being all "electric", but that's just a guess. It wasn't anything to do with my Nikon lenses needing adjustment, as I noticed it on several cameras and even after fine tuning. Now granted, it wasn't a huge deal and I could still get great results with either camera, it just seems easier to pull off with Canon in my new experience. Apparently I'm not the only one who noticed, as this review between the D4 and 1DX mentions in their video and in the blog post: http://xerodigital.ca/canon-1dx-nikon-d4-compare-wedding-photographers/

So, thats mainly why. I was honestly mulling over switching for a while, and I was going to go with a 1DX and an old 5D2 as backup to sit in the bag and not use, but then I wised up and came to grips with the fact it was more important to have a reliable backup (and not deal with the Mark II's questionable AF), hence the 2 5D Mark III's (other one is on the way), plus I really had much more use for more resolution with the 5D's 22MP vs the 1DX's 18MP and I really don't need 12FPS, I just want it....haha. Then the video work started to come along and the 5D became the obvious choice. Plus with two 5D's I can get two camera angles for video shoots.

And yeah Speedie, I really love the 135L already. I love how super sharp it is, and more importantly, I love how compact and unassuming it is. I can tell this lens is going to be amazing for candid grab shots during wedding receptions and ceremonies, as it's size doesn't scream "HEY LOOK AT ME IM ABOUT TO TAKE YOUR PICTURE HARHAR!" Just a very stealthy way to get a longer focal length, and the f/2 is super awesomesauce. Much lighter than I was expecting too, which is great.

Well that was longwinded......thats what you get for asking  lol!



Scars said:


> /wipes drool off face
> 
> 
> Thats a lot of nice gear sitting in that pile! I want that 85mm!


Haha yeah, the 85L II is awesome, and this particular copy is extra awesome because its super accurate at 1.2 :drool:


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

^^ I couldn't have said it better myself Elmo! 

Nikon was just a journey you had to endure before you reached what I've been calling home for a long time now... Canon. lol  Now the real fun starts! I want to see your work later on so don't be shy to share, my friend. 

Nick


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

So I'll probably end up doing a full review of the new Sigma 35 for my website, but I wanted to mess around with it a bit real quick to test sharpness at f/1.4 seeing how everyone is going crazy over how sharp it is....now keep in mind this is ISO 800 and I was focusing on the numbers of the alarm clock so I was focusing through the cheap plastic cover of the alarm clock....pretty scary sharp wide open at f/1.4, I can only imagine how sharp it'll be when used in real situations....

These are both with color correction and a tiny bit of sharpening since it was a RAW file, but on the 100% crop below I show a comparison between the SOOC (straight out of camera) unsharpened and non-color corrected RAW file and what you get with just a tiny bit of post work 


0EJP0019 by EJPNJ, on Flickr


crop by EJPNJ, on Flickr


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## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

Nice. My new camera system should be in next week too including a couple Sigma lenses although nothing like the one you just got. I'm also leaving the Nikon family more or less but taking a much different path than you did. None-the-less, it should be fun and exciting.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Nubster said:


> Nice. My new camera system should be in next week too including a couple Sigma lenses although nothing like the one you just got. I'm also leaving the Nikon family more or less but taking a much different path than you did. None-the-less, it should be fun and exciting.


Yeah I saw you're moving to mirrorless!  Congrats, I'm sure you'll love it. The mirror less setups these days are certainly no joke! I don't mind lugging around a DSLR, but I can totally see why people would hate doing so. I even considered moving to all Leica stuff, I can definitely understand the compact is better line of thinking


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## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

Yeah, considering I just shoot for fun, I felt the need to "downgrade". If I was making money with my camera it might be another story. I'd probably still add a mirrorless rather than replace with a mirrorless, but I'd still keep a DSLR kit at least for awhile.


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