[leftnose]

I've got a third party collar for my 100L as well.  I think it's Vello branded.  The main issue I have with it is that the detent is very stiff so it's hard to get off the lens even when loosened completely.  It feels like I have to pull/rotate the assmbly a bit too much to get it off and I worry that I'm stressing the lens too much.  It's probably OK, though, and I leave the collar on the lens most of the time anyway.

 

[Jon L]

For those Canon shooters who were looking at Sony A7/R..
 
Focus Camera is offering a hot deal on Sony A7/R, ending up with total of $650+$300=$950 off for package including body, lens, and flash.
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/focuscamera-gives-you-300-if-you-trade-in-your-old-camera-for-the-sony-a7-a7r/
 
I called Focus Camera, and the $300 credit is good for any camera, even a broken point-and-shoot, which is stackable on top of the Sony $650 rebate, leading to total of $950 off the package.  
 
Needless to say, I broke down and ordered the package of A7R, Zeiss 55 f/1.8, and Sony HVL60M flash.  

  The flash has known overheating issues, but I figure I could use it for non-continuous shooting or send it to Sony service and see what they will do for me.  
 
BTW, Focuscamera website does not list the package of A7R/55mm/HVL60M under the $300 trade-in deal, just one with the 35mm lens.  However, I found their ebay listing for the package I prefer, and they honored the $300 deal when I called them.  
http://www.ebay.com/itm/291079850904?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

[Yazen]

  For those Canon shooters who were looking at Sony A7/R..
 
Focus Camera is offering a hot deal on Sony A7/R, ending up with total of $650+$300=$950 off for package including body, lens, and flash.
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/focuscamera-gives-you-300-if-you-trade-in-your-old-camera-for-the-sony-a7-a7r/
 
I called Focus Camera, and the $300 credit is good for any camera, even a broken point-and-shoot, which is stackable on top of the Sony $650 rebate, leading to total of $950 off the package.  
 
Needless to say, I broke down and ordered the package of A7R, Zeiss 55 f/1.8, and Sony HVL60M flash.  

  The flash has known overheating issues, but I figure I could use it for non-continuous shooting or send it to Sony service and see what they will do for me.  
 
BTW, Focuscamera website does not list the package of A7R/55mm/HVL60M under the $300 trade-in deal, just one with the 35mm lens.  However, I found their ebay listing for the package I prefer, and they honored the $300 deal when I called them.  
http://www.ebay.com/itm/291079850904?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Saw the deal this morning.  Looked interesting.. Maybe too interesting to look a second time..

 

[MadCow]

That's a very good deal there.
 
Though personally, I am still wary of Sony's commitment and will wait to see what comes out of their lens line-up, as well as their second iteration/generation body.

 

[Jon L]

Well, I returned the Sony A7R+FE55 package.  It was not due to image quality, which was excellent, lossy Sony RAW or not.  If one worked as a paid pro and had to sell large prints, then the higher MP definitely would come into play, but for those of us who don't view photo's at 100% for the sake of pixel-peeping, I did not see a significant improvement in overall IQ over my 5D III.
 
I just felt $3K+ was too much money to be tied up in a second system, especially with A7R's inability to be useful for anything moving, with poor Strobist Sony options.  We shall give Canon another chance to come up with a competitive mirrorless body in the next year or two; if not (likely scenario, knowing Canon), Sony is supposed to announce a bunch of new full-frame mirrorless bodies this year with reportedly much better AF compared to A7R, so we shall see. 

 

[MadCow]

lol so I also ended up with an A7R, but got the FE35/2.8 instead. Still waiting for the damned batteries to charge, it seems to be taking ages.
 
But I do agree it's probably not worth maintaining two expensive systems; I think if I like the A7R enough I'll get a metabones adapter to use it alongside my Canon lenses, instead of accumulating any more FE lenses (not that there are many to accumulate).

 

[Jon L]

Pentax 645Z Medium Format camera review.  One of the most thoughtful reviews I've seen.
I know this is a Canon thread, but heck if Canon doesn't come up with something awesome soon, why not?
 

 

[MadCow]

So when are you getting one?

 

[hyogen]

Hey guys, long time no see!  
 
I see the gang is all here still.  I'm a bit of a working professional now...hahaha.  Selling off my audio gear to get camera gear has paid off.  Going full frame was the best decision I ever made.  If you recall, I had a Rebel T1i, 8mm fisheye, 10-20mm, 30mm, 40mm, 50mm, and 100-300mm.  For the first 6 months of getting a full-frame body I had just two lenses.  Now I have two D600 bodies and 5 lenses:  28 f1.8, 35 f1.4, 50 f1.8, 85 f1.8, and 105 f2.8....although I generally use only 2 or 3 lenses for an event.  I'm not sure which lens I could do without honestly...  I wouldn't mind zooms, but working with fixed focal length lenses have definitely helped me to pre-frame shots before I even start to take them.  
 
I really want to take my work to the next level and by next year I may switch to Canon simply because I find that I'm spending way too much time dealing with asian skin tones in post with Nikon--especially in lower light situations.  I've read other complaints about this issue--D600 in particular including in Ryan Brenizer's review of the D600.  Ideally I would like to get the 5D3 and at least for a while have a 6D as a backup.  I adjust color hue, saturation, luminance individually, but I have a hard time getting the look I want even with the use of different filters that are available out there such as VSCO and Replichrome.  That being said, a couple of my favorite wedding photographers use Nikon (Dennis Berti and Sam Hurd), but I prefer the style of a few Canon shooters.  
 
I'm still trying to push myself to improve and learn to deal with different lighting situations and use strobes, but I kinda feel using Nikon is a bit of a hindrance for me to achieve the style I want.  Recently, I've learned that I should be using the neutral color profile in Lightroom instead of the default one...hopefully this will help.  If I switch, I will definitely miss the dynamic range and the controls of Nikon, but since I shoot mostly people it may make sense for me---also, the 135L has been calling my name for a long while now
 
Here are my websites: http://www.justinleewedding.com  
 
and http://500px.com/hyofoto

 

[Jon L]

   
I really want to take my work to the next level and by next year I may switch to Canon simply because I find that I'm spending way too much time dealing with asian skin tones in post with Nikon--especially in lower light situations.  

 
I don't think switching to Canon would be necessary.  While tons of wedding photographers use Canon, with Canon "colors" somewhat becoming the de facto look, the fact is ALL camera brand files need proper white balancing for professional (read "paid") work.  
Before you spend money into various white balance tools, some very expensive, I recommend you look into the WhiBal card, which is probably the most cost-effective way to properly white balance your shots.  Not all grey cards are created equal.  You would shoot one shot with the WhiBal card in the frame, shoot the rest of the shots in same lighting, then later use the WhiBal shot to white balance in post, then copy/paste same WB to the rest of the shots in the same scene.
 
http://www.whibalhost.com/_Tutorials/WhiBal/01/index.html

 

[MadCow]

Yeah, I too don't think switching just for the sake of colours is a good idea, especially when other avenues such as profiling haven't been fully explored yet.

 

[hyogen]

Thanks.  I do have a whibal card, but have not really used it.  Is it useful even in mixed lighting situations?  I'm not sure if I should have gelled my flash when I was shooting in an indoor area that had large windows with some natural light coming in, incandescent lights, and I needed to use flash for the photobooth.  Also, I have been told that using AWB mode on the camera is fine, but in these mixed lighting situations will using a set Kelvin be easier to deal with correcting WB in post?  
 
That being said, I have downloaded some 5D3 raw files and I must say it was significantly easier to get the skin tones I was looking for.  I think it's not even necessarily a Nikon issue--it's more of a D600 issue.  Anyway, I would hate to give up the controls of a Nikon, so I'm going to do my best to stick with what I have.  That de facto Canon colors look is really what I would like to go for for my wedding photos--I hope I can get there.  
 
It's interesting that ever since one of the world's best wedding photogs, Dennis Berti, whom I've met, is currently using the D600.  He recently replaced his D700 and his style has definitely changed.  His pictures while more vibrant and more contrasty now still looks amazing and he's handling the files better than I am, so there is still hope.

 

[Jon L]

  Thanks.  I do have a whibal card, but have not really used it.  Is it useful even in mixed lighting situations? 
 
 
It's interesting that ever since one of the world's best wedding photogs, Dennis Berti, whom I've met, is currently using the D600.  He recently replaced his D700 and his style has definitely changed.  His pictures while more vibrant and more contrasty now still looks amazing and he's handling the files, better than I am, so there is still hope.

 
Ideally, one can custom white balance in-camera Before the shoot for the lighting conditions, mixed or not, right at the scene.  In actual use, it's difficult and time-consuming, especially because different parts of the large hall, venue, restaurant have different lighting conditions.  Leaving the camera in AWB is fine as long as you have a shot with Whibal (or equivalent) in the frame to later use to white balance in post.  If no Whibal shot for particular mixed light conditions, I usually have to pick something neutralish (white tablecloth, plate, etc) to use the WB dropper for rough adjustment in post, then manually tweak WB further.  HATE those halls with ugly flourescent lighting and way-too-warm incandescent lights all mixed in.  
 
I think D600 is a great camera, the sweet spot in Nikon land IMO.   Make sure Nikon takes care of the oil spot issue on your bodies because my friend's D600 went back to Nikon 3 times and came back with the issue still recurring, before Nikon replaced it with a  new D610.   

 

[Suisou]

   
I don't think switching to Canon would be necessary.  While tons of wedding photographers use Canon, with Canon "colors" somewhat becoming the de facto look, the fact is ALL camera brand files need proper white balancing for professional (read "paid") work.  

 
+1
 
But as a Canon user from the beginning, I cannot empathize with users who are looking to switch to a Canon for the 'colors'. They're all inherently good when balanced IMHO.
 

  Going full frame was the best decision I ever made. [...] but working with fixed focal length lenses have definitely helped me to pre-frame shots before I even start to take them.  
 
135L has been calling my name for a long while now

For me the path was 20D - 30D - 50D - 40D - 1D MK II
 
and then I met the 5Dc. Promptly sold the rest and picked up a 1Ds MK II as a backup and never looked back. 35mm FF is hard to give up once you've experienced what it's capable of. 
 
Paired with the 35L, 17-40L, 24-70L, and 135L - this covered most ranges I required. Often enough, a second shooter would be sourced with the 135L and worked from the rear while I worked from the mid-ranges upwards. I don't think you'll be disappointed with it. 
 

 
I really want to take my work to the next level and by next year I may switch to Canon simply because I find that I'm spending way too much time dealing with asian skin tones in post with Nikon--especially in lower light situations.

 
Interesting. I find that Caucasians and Asian skin tones are more difficult to adjust in post. Darker skin tones look great in nearly all lighting variations, especially low light and high contrast images and usually require the least amount of work in post for me. 
 
I absolutely hate post processing. I can shoot gigs for 7+ hours, but it's the chore of editing 700+ images at the end of the night that was a complete chore. So as a Canon user, I'm not sure I understand why you're placing blame on Nikon, as I myself have to adjust the same set of skin tones in post. 
 
 

 
I'm still trying to push myself to improve and learn to deal with different lighting situations and use strobes, but I kinda feel using Nikon is a bit of a hindrance for me to achieve the style I want.

 
What style is this? Lighting is the final frontier and comes with time and practice. Adding the ability to trigger strobes wirelessly adds a new depth to the skill, but in the end is absolutely worth it if you dedicate the time into understanding how lighting works. I know plenty of people who use Nikon who produce better images than I, so again, I'm not sure where Nikon plays a role here. 

 

[Suisou]

 
Anyway, I would hate to give up the controls of a Nikon, so I'm going to do my best to stick with what I have.

I think that's for the best. I cannot for the life of me accustom myself to the layout of the controls on the Nikons.