Canon SLR Reviews

Posts Tagged ‘40d’

Canon EF S 17 85mm f 4 5 6 Image Stabilized USM SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLRs

Canon EF-S 17-85MM f4-5.6 IS USM Lens is possibly the best single lens to own with your Canon Digital Rebel SLR Camera. Equivalent to a 28-135mm lens, this new EF-S lens brings true wide-angle to tele coverage to EOS 20D, 30D, 40D and Digital Rebel shooters. It has Canon’s Image Stabilization system, allowing safe hand-holding at speeds up to three stops slower than otherwise possible. And of course, it’s optically optimized for digital SLRs. A ring-type USM means both fast and silent AF, as well as full-time manual focus when in the AF mode. Circular aperture design — natural highlights, even stopped down two stops Non-rotating front element; lens length does not change during zooming EF-S lens mount — exclusively for EOS 20D and Digital Rebel bodies Filter Size – 67mm Maximum Diameter x Length, Weight – 3.1 x 3.6, 16.8 ounces Only compatible with the 40D, 30D, 20D

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Great Lens !
This lens is a great lens not only because it is extremely versatile in its range going from a wide angle to a telephoto but also because I found the quality of the pictures that I got from it to be excellent.The Image Stabilizer is a good tool to have in situations where there is not a lot of light.You can drop your shutter speed down,have enough light for a good exposure, and not have an out of focus picture. I would highly recommend this lens. I have a 70-200 L series Canon lens that I am very happy with because of it’s high optic quality, but I have no problem at all, and all the confidence in the world using this “S” series lens in any situation that I feel to be appropriate at the time.

1 Star After 40 Years In Photography: My First Canon Failure
As a professional photographer and decades-long Canon camera and Canon lens consumer/enthusiast, this over-priced boondoggle fails on many counts.

My specialties include producing the Driving & Discovering Hawaii photo guidebooks that contain lots of landscapes and seascapes. There is lens barreling at the wider angles that is so bad I thought something was wrong with my particular lens, but come to find out, they’re all like this.

At wide angle settings you can forget about having a straight/level horizon, and the wider the setting the more preposterous this aberration becomes. Worst of all, this is a CANON lens, and a high-priced one at that, so it amazes me that this company would actually produce a lens of such abysmal quality.

In the old 35mm SLR days, photo magazines would scream blue-bloody murder if they uncovered problems like these in lenses of that period. Cheap, off-brand lenses of the day were vilified for problems not as bad as what we now have here in this present day Canon “premium-class” lens.

Also a big problem at wide angle is STRONG green/magenta fringing along the edges of objects, even at 24mm, which worsens as you go wider. There is a software “fix” for this fringing, but it should not even be present to begin with. To have to use software to fix an aberration in an expensive piece of equipment from a top-rated company is insulting the consumer, and should be a major embarrassment for Canon…but the folks at Canon seem unfazed.

I purchased this lens to give me an all-around tool for shooting many different kinds of travel-related photos, but it fails miserably for me and my particular needs, as I use wide angle for 75% of my shots.

ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS since this review was written: While in the middle of shooting a wedding with this nightmare lens, my Canon xti froze up and flashed me an Error 99 message. Via forums, I found that an error 99 usually signals a problem with the gold contacts in the lens, and I cleaned them diligently, but the problem persists. I also use a Canon EFS 70-300 mm and a Canon macro EFS 60mm, and the xti works fine with both of them.

Do as much research online as you can before considering purchasing this lens.

3 Stars Good features, not so great performance
This is a good lens, but not great. The construction and build quality are solid, and the lens feels heavy and sturdy. It has a useful range of 17-85 as well as IS and USM which makes for ideal “walkaround” lens. However, it is not very fast (4-5.6) which limits indoor, lowlight usage. IS certainly effective and useful and will help for lowlight photography, but not for stopping action.

Ultimately though, a lens is only as good as the photos it produces. Unfortunately, this lens (or perhaps my copy of it?) disappoints in that area. Comparing shots, the kit 17-55mm IS lens actually took sharper photos than this! I still have this lens with me, but more often than not I have been disappointed with the sharpness, especially in my landscape shots (even at higher f/8-10). Barrel distortion is also fairly obvious, even to the untrained eye. Buildings, towers and other tall structures will look concaved. This is less prevalent for smaller, shorter objects, but nonetheless there. Vignetting is not present in most cases, though it can creep in at the wide end with the addition of a polarizing filter.

3 Stars Not a bad lens but there are probably better buys out there
This lens was one of the first lenses I bought and, more than anything, has taught me the value of extensively researching any lenses I buy. I bought this lens because it was a Canon and not because it was a great lens. If I had the opportunity to buy this again, I would definitely consider a different lens.

The good:

- This lens has a fairly respectable range (17-85mm)

- The construction feels solid

- USM is nice

- IS helps

The bad:

- The lens isn’t particularly sharp. I usually use this lens for every day shots or when I can only bring one lens with me and I am indoors. Other than that, I use other lenses even when they are less convenient due to their range because of their sharpness.

- There is no zoom lock. When moving the camera in between shots, the zoom frequently changes. Other lenses in this price range have the ability to lock the zoom at least to some extent.

- The IS isn’t enough to compensate for the f/5.6 at 85mm. It helps, but I would much rather have a faster lens.

I’ve borrowed a Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR DI-II LD Aspherical from time to time and, while it has less range, it is sharper and faster. If you don’t need the whole range of this lens, I’d definitely consider the Tamron.

3 Stars Mechanical problems with 17-85mm
The lens was bought in July, 2008. I have used the lens as my primary lens since I got it. Overall I’m more than pleased with the picture quality that the lens provides. This review however is about construction quality.

On a family mountain hiking trip I shot some pictures to document our successful hike. I used the zoom as normal and shot the pictures I wanted. When the kids had been refueled we started to run down the hiking path with the camera securely placed in my backpack. Naturally the decline was of the bumpy sort, but still I was quite disturbed when (at night) the zoom was no longer working. It was fixed on 17 mm and did not move.

If I had put my lens through some serious direct blows I could have understood why the zoom didn’t work anymore. But laying still in my backpack and suddenly malfunctioning is not good.

Unfortunately I bought it at Amazon and not in my home country, Norway. Having bought it in Norway the repair wouldn’t have cost me a dime. Now, 14 months after purchase I have to pay the equivalent of $180.

If the construction quality of my lens represents the general construction quality of the 17-85mm IS lens, I would NOT recommend bying it.

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Canon EOS 5D Mark II 21 1MP Full Frame CMOS Digital SLR Camera Body Only

Compact, lightweight with environmental protection, EOS 5D successor boasts a newly-designed Canon CMOS sensor, with ISO sensitivity up to 25,600 for shooting in near dark conditions. The new DIGIC 4 processor combines with the improved CMOS sensor to deliver medium format territory image quality at 3.9 frames per second, for up to 310 frames. Triggered from Live View Mode, HD video capture allows users to shoot uninterrupted at full 1080 resolution at 30fps — for amazing quality footage with outstanding levels of detail and realism. The integration of HD movie capability into a high-end 21.1-megapixel camera opens a multitude of new possibilities for photojournalists and news photographers. With its full frame CMOS sensor and outstanding ISO performance, the EOS 5D Mark II will appeal to any photographer in search of the finest camera equipment available — from studio and wedding to nature and travel photographers.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars best high ISO camera EVER!
i am constantly amazed by the pictures i get from this camera. i love the extra width i get from full frame as well as the extra shallow depth of field. i’m a wedding/portrait photographer and this camera is beyond amazing for what i do.

if you shoot high ISO, you can’t beat this camera at the moment. i shoot ISO 6400 like it’s ISO 1600, it is that clean. and ISO 3200 is the new ISO 800 for me, i don’t even hesitate. i will not go above ISO 6400 though as you’ll start to see banding.

the lcd has me spoiled, so much so that i’m selling my 40d so that i can either get a 50d or the new 7d. on the 40d all of the pictures just look blah…and blurry. they still turn out good on the computer, but it can be very frustrating at the time. on the 5d II, you can tell right away if you’ve misfocused or if your exposure is off.

video quality is amazing though i don’t really use it for that.

autofocus is better than people like to give it credit for. i shoot mainly dimly lit receptions and it locks perfect whenever i need it to. i’m talking ISO 6400 f/1.6 1/30s dim. also i have no problem using outer focus points as they work great as well.

manual focus is a cinch with the 5d II. if you put the camera in live view, move the small box over what you want to focus on, then push the zoom button twice to see that box at pixel level. focus the lens and shoot away.

lenses used are 35mm f/1.4L, 85mm f/1.8, 16-35mm f/2.8L I, and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS.

if you need high ISO and want full frame, this is the camera for you. if you don’t need either, save some money and get the 50d or 7d…or even a used 40d.

3 Stars This is a B – Camera
I am happy with the 5D mark 11. But I have on going issues. The screen decides to shut off by it’s self when reviewing photos. It has frozen and then shuts off.This is when I am using the camera. I hate the idea of a video in the camera. Canon should have focused on the camera and not at all on video. I have all Canon due to investing in lens. Unsure if Nikon is better. My partner uses Nikon D3. He loves it. And craps on mine all the time. But over all Canon should have did more testing and spent more time and money on this Camera. And forget a video. Over all I would say it’s a B- camera. I hate to say I like and trust my 50D more. I took the 50D to Argentina. It had no issues at over 10,000 shots and nearly a month from cold to jungles. But of course the 50D has major disadvantages over the 5D. Maybe step up to 1D……………..that’s a big jump.

5 Stars Love it!
Bought the 5d Mark II earlier this year. I’m a non-professional and first time full frame user. I’ve used a variety of cameras but not Nikon or Canon. I’ve EF lenses and have been using the camera for portraiture and scenic, in city, country, during winter and summer and am thrilled with the results (the enlargements are great). The movie function wasn’t an issue for me as, although I’ve tried it with good results, I could’ve done without it. It’s a little on the heavy side with the distance lenses which took a bit of getting accustomed to. No comment on price as, in my opinion, you often get what you pay for and I’m totally pleased. I work a lot in manual but I’ve not had any problem with the autofocus either. However, I did find it a little complicated at first – my problem not the mark II’s.

2 Stars Sub-par body & features
Great sensor & image quality. However, the camera lacks many features one would expect from a $2700 camera:

* Auto-focus points are poorly placed (focus and recompose doesn’t work well due to shallow depth of field).

* The CF card door creaks & is flimsy—this affects the grip; I can’t attach a heavy lens (24-70L) and hold the camera comfortably. This problem is very common and well documented (do a web search).

* Outer auto-focus points hunt quite a bit. The camera feels non-responsive when using outer AF points (I’m coming from 40D).

* The camera is quite heavy; I don’t see why it should be given the poor construction. Weight becomes a problem especially with heavier lenses (24-70L and 85 f/1.2L), where you get blurry shots more frequently (again, compared to 40D).

* Lack of pop-up flash is bothering (although I have an external unit); If Nikon can do it, why can’t Canon?

* Lack of auto-focus during video recording. Expect to get a lot of out of focus videos if you shoot family & kids. No 720p option. The video files are huge (~1 gig for 3-4 mins of video).

4 Stars Good Image, Poor Construction
I have been using this camera for 5 months with about 10000 shots. To canon’s credit, the images quality are excellent, so is the video. However, the huge pet peeve is the cheap memory card door. In order to hold this heavy camera, your palm will press firmly agaist the back of the handgrip, where the memory card door is located. This flimsy plastic door generates non-stop noise because of the pressure. This is particularly harmful when shooting video of concerts etc, as the noise gets amplified in the sound track. Extremely annoying in video play back. Can’t Canon make a better card door for this $2700 camera?

The other problem is several hot pixels when shooting video. Before I sent back the camera for service, I searched the internet and found a solution (now I forgot how, but it’s searchable with keywords). It works fine now. I didn’t bother to send it back.

Buy/More Info

Zeikos ZE CBG5DII Battery Grip for Canon 5D II

The Zeikos Power grip for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II is the perfect solution for doubling your shooting time. It holds either 2 LP-E6 Lithium-Ion Rechargeable batteries or 6 AA batteries. It has a vertical firing release with a lock and dramatically improves stability. It has a 1 year warranty.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars High-Quality, Low-Cost Alternative
Like you, I wanted a grip for my 5DII, but couldn’t stomach shelling out three times the cost of this grip for one. Since the Canon grip was out of the question for me due to it’s price, I took a chance on this grip from Zeikos, figuring I could resell it if unhappy and not lose too much. I am not disappointed and will be keeping it. It’s actually much higher quality than I expected for the price, has all the features of the Canon grip (AA battery tray, slot for battery door, all the same buttons repeated, shows all the battery information [shutter count and percentage] on the body, etc.), and actually makes the camera+grip look more like a one-piece unit since there is no additional text on the front of the grip. The only badging is on the bottom of the unit. The rubber, as mentioned in another review, is softer than the Canon grip, and I think it’s actually better – grippier and more comfortable. I had the Canon grip for my 40D and the only noticeable difference that I could see was that the wheel that you use to tighten down the grip to the body is slightly looser than the Canon. Once tightened, however, it’s very solid and does not flex or bend at all. I would highly recommend this grip to anyone who is looking for a high-quality, low-cost alternative to the Canon BG-E6 and would rather spend the savings on lenses. That’s me, and I suspect that might just be you, too.

5 Stars Less expensive then Canon product and it works GREAT!
This product works GREAT and is MUCH cheaper than the Canon product. I’m still stinging from the grip Canon sent for the 20D which never did work properly,

5 Stars Value for money
I have not used Canon Battery Grip for Canon 5D Mark II, but with this price and quality i say, its worth the buy for any canon 5d mark ii user, who is looking for a battery grip, its very light without batter, comes with a quick user guide and simple box packing!

with in 100USD its a deal not worth missing

5 Stars Indistinguishable (to me) from Canon
I very rarely purchase non canon products for my Canon EOS camera systems, but I took a chance on this one based on all the positive reviews. I was not disappointed. This Battery Grip from Zeikos is a perfect fit for my Canon 5d Mark II, and appears to have all the functionality as the Canon Grip. It is well made, and has all the controls of the Canon product.

5 Stars Da Norm’s review for Zeikos Battery Grip for Canon 5D Mark 2
I tried the Canon version, but after seeing this on Amazon, I returned the Canon grip and purchased the Zeikos instead. The only difference that I can tell is the price, the name, and some noticeable cosmetic difference. I would love to drop $250 on the Canon one, but with the new 100mm L Macro coming out, I can spend $160 on a new lens. There’s a debate on the internet that talks about buying expensive accessories for your expensive camera system. I disagree with that. You find what works for you and your budget.

Right now, Amazon is selling it for $91. Get the free shipping. It took about a week, but it’s here and in wonderful condition. Snap it on, and it works right away. The controls and the buttons function like the Canon one that I have used. I posted some pictures on the grip. I hope you can see what it looks like with the camera. Also, I picked up a replacement battery from Bargain Cell. It works just as well as the Canon version, but does not work with the battery meter. I save about $60. The hand strap I got from a local shop in Nashville, TN. I spent $30. You can find it for $5 less on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B00246XB1S/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_all

Buy/More Info

Canon Off Camera Shoe Cord OC E3

The Off-Camera Shoe Cord OC-E3 is convenient for using your flash apart from the camera. Also allows for Remote Triggering of the flash. Perfect for All studio setups.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Very Fragile
I can’t believe this thing breaks as easily as it does! I just started professionally shooting events with a D1s owned by my company. This thing has broken on me 2 out of 2 times using it. The sockets that the screws go into are made out of 1mm thick plastic! I have just rigged one with superglue, but haven’t tested it yet. It will probably last longer than the screws did.

5 Stars Works like a charm… Opteka’s version is identical and is cheaper though.
I own one of these and one of the Opteka versions. They are identical except that the Canon’s coils are tighter while the Opteka is looser. They both stretch to the identical length. Both work absolutely perfect on my Canon G10 with my 430 EXII Flashes. Upon close inspection, I bet these are made in the same freakin’ factory. Seriously. I don’t think you can go wrong with either. In fact, I’m going to cut/paste this review into my Opteka review…. Cheers!

4 Stars Great quality you pay for
I bought this to use with my 40D and 430EX II mounted to a Stroboframe Camera Flip. The quality of the cord is extremely good. The mounting points are solid for both the camera and the flash. It works well with no problems. The only complaint I have is it is so expensive!

5 Stars Happy, happy!
I’m so glad and excited with the Canon Off camera shoe. It is everything I expected and more, since I can get more creative than ever.

3 Stars Good quality, a must for portrait pictures
This is a must for portrait pictures (when using a flash), not sturdy but good quality. Works well, does what is expected to do. For the price it should have locking mechanism in both sides of the shoe cord. You better buy/have a flash bracket with locking features (like Stroboframe Flash Mount Adapter), or be aware that the flash will be locked to the cord, but not to the bracket.

Buy/More Info

2 PACK 2000mAh Battery for Canon BP 511A BP 511 BP511 Camera

Compatible with: Canon models: EOS Digital Rebel / EOS D-series 5D / 10D / 20D / 30D / 40D / D60 / D30 / 50D / 300D PowerShot Pro1 / Pro90 IS / G1 / G2 / G3 / G5 / G6 / MV-300 / MV-300i / MV-30i / MV-400i / MV-430i / MV-450i / MVXli / ZR60 / ZR65MC / ZR70MC / ZR40 / ZR45MC / ZR50MC / ZR10 / ZR20 / ZR20MC / ZR25MC / ZR30MC / Optura PI / Optura Xi / 100mc / 200MC / 20 / 10

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Aftermarket Canon batteries… Great Deal
I bought these two replacement batteries for my wife’s Canon 50D’s battery grip (which I also reviewed on Amazon). So far, it’s been working great and holds a charge for a very long time. I charged it once so far and it’s been about a month with some shooting and it’s still showing full. Interesting, it’s either lying or just a great battery. I think it’s the latter. Anyway, for something like $6 per battery, it’s a bargain.

I would recommend this battery to anyone looking for some spares to keep handy.

5 Stars yarb review
batteries shipped on time

when they arrived – I plugged one into camera and was ready to take pictures

5 Stars New life for an old camera
I couldn’t believe that these batteries were so cheap. I put off even looking at a replacement battery because of the expected, over-priced cost. Well, I was pleasantly surprised to find, purchase, and use these. They seem to be just what they say they are, a longer-lived BP-511 battery at a bargain price. They are working great so far and solved the problem I had with using the built-in flash, which just wouldn’t work. All works well now. A good deal.

5 Stars Get these!
I hated the idea of spending so much for canon batteries – these work great (maybe shorter life? but I’m making it through hours of shooting on one regardless).

Anyways, totally worth it to save the money, get two, switch ’slightly’ more often – if you’re cheap like me and not a brand snob.

No idea if it’s bad for the camera to have non-canon batteries or if the life of these things is shorter – I’ve had them about 4 months? No problems yet.

5 Stars Works great
Like many other reviewers, I was very hesitant. However, it’s for an old 300D and so I wasn’t as worried.

It works great so far. More than 200 photos and still haven’t need to re-charge.

I’ve read that with Lithium Ion, it is not good to store the batteries for a long period of time under full charge. As such, it would be a good idea to rotate the batteries.

Buy/More Info