Canon 1Ds Mark-II + Canon 70-200mm f2.8 L IS lens

I can only say WOW!! Landed in Manila yesterday and went to this
Photoworld exhibition they have here. Canon's stall had the 1Ds Mark-II
on display. I asked the rep to show me the camera. He tried to get a
regular lens but found his colleague using it on the 1D. So he took out
the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 "L" IS lens from the showcase and put it on and
gave me the camera to play with

It was inside a mall in the night and the lighting was good but I was
expecting a shutter speed of less than 1/100 sec. My jaw dropped when I
saw the camera choose 1/500sec!!

I never thought I'd put a "L" lens on my wishlist coz I thought those
are only for pros who need all that sharpness and contrast.

Phew!! Wow!! What a lens and what a camera!!

"Siddhartha Jain" wrote in
oups.com:

I can only say WOW!! Landed in Manila yesterday and went to this
Photoworld exhibition they have here. Canon's stall had the 1Ds Mark-II
on display. I asked the rep to show me the camera. He tried to get a
regular lens but found his colleague using it on the 1D. So he took out
the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 "L" IS lens from the showcase and put it on and
gave me the camera to play with

Like a good drug dealer...

It was inside a mall in the night and the lighting was good but I was
expecting a shutter speed of less than 1/100 sec. My jaw dropped when I
saw the camera choose 1/500sec!!

I never thought I'd put a "L" lens on my wishlist coz I thought those
are only for pros who need all that sharpness and contrast.

Your first mistake. Your second one was dispelling that illusion by
actually using one. Now you are on the Golden Treadmill of The Empty Bank
Account. ;-}

Phew!! Wow!! What a lens and what a camera!!

One obersvation - the Sigma version is easily the equal of the 70-200
EXCEPT for lacking the IS. It's served me very well indeed.

If you can live without the IS, you can pay roughly half as much for that
eye-popping quality.

"Siddhartha Jain" wrote in message
oups.com...
I can only say WOW!! Landed in Manila yesterday and went to this
Photoworld exhibition they have here. Canon's stall had the 1Ds Mark-II
on display. I asked the rep to show me the camera. He tried to get a
regular lens but found his colleague using it on the 1D. So he took out
the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 "L" IS lens from the showcase and put it on and
gave me the camera to play with

It was inside a mall in the night and the lighting was good but I was
expecting a shutter speed of less than 1/100 sec. My jaw dropped when I
saw the camera choose 1/500sec!!

I never thought I'd put a "L" lens on my wishlist coz I thought those
are only for pros who need all that sharpness and contrast.

Phew!! Wow!! What a lens and what a camera!!


No, they're not just for pros who "need" the sharpness, contrast and speed
of the "L" lenses, they're for anyone who WANTS those qualities! :-)

--
Skip Middleton
http://www.shadowcatcherimagery.com

Eric Gill wrote:

Like a good drug dealer...
You bet!! If I could sell my car and other stuff online back in India
and get the money then I would've done it in instant.



It was inside a mall in the night and the lighting was good but I
was
expecting a shutter speed of less than 1/100 sec. My jaw dropped
when I
saw the camera choose 1/500sec!!

I never thought I'd put a "L" lens on my wishlist coz I thought
those
are only for pros who need all that sharpness and contrast.

Your first mistake. Your second one was dispelling that illusion by
actually using one. Now you are on the Golden Treadmill of The Empty
Bank
Account. ;-}
Correction. Negative networth, not zero networth!!



Phew!! Wow!! What a lens and what a camera!!

One obersvation - the Sigma version is easily the equal of the 70-200

EXCEPT for lacking the IS. It's served me very well indeed.

Heh, after a 300D, the accessories, and two Sigma lenses (24-135mm and
70-300mm), I am so broke that I can't even dream of a $800 lens!!

- Siddhartha

It was inside a mall in the night and the lighting was good but I was
expecting a shutter speed of less than 1/100 sec. My jaw dropped when I
saw the camera choose 1/500sec!!

You didn't notice what the ISO was, did you?

steve

Skip M wrote:
No, they're not just for pros who "need" the sharpness, contrast and
speed
of the "L" lenses, they're for anyone who WANTS those qualities! :-)

I was trying to shoot some lit-up ferries at night while they were in
motion with kit lens and given the slow shutter speeds that you get in
the night coupled with the fact that the ferries were in motion gave me
blurred photos. Shutter speeds would come to 1/2 or 1/4 sec and so I
thought even if I bought a gazillion dollar lens, it would still
improve to 1/8sec maybe. But I guess I know the answer now

Anyways, I'll take my kit lens to the same spot tomorrow and see what
shutter speed does it throw up at f3.5. Ideally, half a stop difference
should give me a shutter speed of somewhere around 1/400sec (the 70-200
"L" gave me 1/500sec).

Now now, I am in no way trying to compare them but just want to check.

- Siddhartha

Siddhartha Jain wrote:
I can only say WOW!! Landed in Manila yesterday and went to this
Photoworld exhibition they have here. Canon's stall had the 1Ds
Mark-II
on display. I asked the rep to show me the camera. He tried to get a
regular lens but found his colleague using it on the 1D. So he took
out
the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 "L" IS lens from the showcase and put it on
and
gave me the camera to play with

Apart from the Canon, there were ofcourse Nikon and Minolta. The Canon
and Minolta guys readily let me play with the cameras. Infact, the
Canon guy had to do some legwork to get the 1Ds-mark-II out of the
showcase. The Nikon guy discouraged me from asking him to take the
camera out of the showcase (D70). First directed me to a colleague, who
directed me back to this guy. Then just pointed at the D70 in the
showcase when I asked him to bring it out. Only when I repeated that I
want it my hands did she yield!! Sheesh!!

Then went to the Sigma guy who announced that he was die-hard Sigma
fan. His reasoning was my Sigma, for half the price of Canon, will last
me four years. The Canon will last me eight years. After four years, I
will have a new lens while the Canon guy will have a four year old lens
Heheh ... interesting viewpoint.

- Siddhartha

"Steve Wolfe" wrote in message
...
It was inside a mall in the night and the lighting was good but I was
expecting a shutter speed of less than 1/100 sec. My jaw dropped when I
saw the camera choose 1/500sec!!

You didn't notice what the ISO was, did you?


Why? Only a pro would do that!

Steve Wolfe wrote:
It was inside a mall in the night and the lighting was good but I
was
expecting a shutter speed of less than 1/100 sec. My jaw dropped
when I
saw the camera choose 1/500sec!!

You didn't notice what the ISO was, did you?

I did - it was ISO 100. I'll go over to Sigma's stall tomorrow and
check their 70-200mm f2.8 EX IF HSM.

- Siddhartha

Siddhartha Jain wrote:

I never thought I'd put a "L" lens on my wishlist coz I thought
those
are only for pros who need all that sharpness and contrast.



Heh, after a 300D, the accessories, and two Sigma lenses (24-135mm and
70-300mm), I am so broke that I can't even dream of a $800 lens!!


That's a steal, the comparable Nikon lens is $1,600