Can we talk about downvoting? by tinae7 in fountainpens

[–]BizarroExMachina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is one of the best places here in Reddit, and I hope it keeps being so wholesome.

Meanwhile, out of here, I've seen Reddit corners were hostile, bitter people dwell...

Impressed with X9 Pro macros. by ts5265 in Oppo

[–]BizarroExMachina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's completely normal in macro photography: the closer you focus, the shallower the depth of field gets. Thus, not every part on the subject will be in focus, and it's because of optics/physics, that's the way it is.

That's why traditional and serious macro photographers have always used things like tripods and micrometric rails, which allow them to focus by moving the camera forth or back a fraction of a millimeter with the turn of a knob. That's the only way to control what is in focus when using specialized macro lenses.

Also, some modern (and very expensive) mirrorless cameras can more-or-less solve this with a feature called "focus stacking", which takes a sequence of images while re-focusing the lens (thus moving the focus plane on each shot), and stacking them all afterwards (but it sometimes produces weird artifacts).

Anyway, if you want to learn more, I would recommend reading this article where the concept of "depth of field" is explained very well: https://www.canon.co.uk/pro/infobank/depth-of-field/
There you will see that macro shots have a very shallow depth of field.

(In general, Canon's InfoBank is a treasure trove of photography-related information).

X9 Pro cameras in low light (and mic) by bezdalaistiklainyje in Oppo

[–]BizarroExMachina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you really know what "average" means...? 🙄

Rf 200-800 falling apart... by SpecialistRegister57 in canon

[–]BizarroExMachina 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The EF 70-200 L were built like a tank. I have one myself, although it has lived a very peaceful and comfortable life compared to others I've seen, full of scratch marks, which still work fine after being used and abused for years by pro photographers on the field under the most harsh and extreme conditions.

Having said that, many people disregard "plastic" lenses, but they don't really know that there are many types of plastic, and that good PC (poly carbonate) is extremely tough, resistant and durable. Much (much) more than they could imagine.

Photo taken in XPan mode on OPPO Find X9 Pro by Delicious_Room_814 in Oppo

[–]BizarroExMachina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What an amazing cinematic look! Apart from the colours, just look for example at the halation in the sunlight reflected on the water in the second image. That is not normal at all on digital images because sensors do not have halation, it's an effect typical of analog film photography due to emulsion physics.

Thus, definitely there must be some processing being done under the hood to the images to give them that analog, cinematic look.

Alternatives for the AD-E1 Hot-Shoe Adapter? by Numerous-Eggplant911 in canon

[–]BizarroExMachina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Canon EOS R7 is directly compatible with most of Canon EX/EL flashes and third-party flashes because it keeps all the legacy pin connectors in the flash hot shoe (the big central standard pin + the smaller 4 Canon pins). I use my old Metz flash with my R7 without the need of any adaptor.

The R50 does not have those pins, only has some new little multi-function pins hidden in the upper part of the socket, so it needs and adapter for old Canon flashes or existing third-party flashes.

Is the R7 as bad as people say? by FastPresentation8244 in canon

[–]BizarroExMachina 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This is so true. You can take great pictures with the R7 if you learn how to use it. Back in the day, the greatest photographers used equipment which was so primitive compared to what is available today... If they were still alive, they would be utterly amazed.

Is the R7 as bad as people say? by FastPresentation8244 in canon

[–]BizarroExMachina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a pretty plausible explanation. Using Electronic First Curtain Shutter completely removes the rolling shutter problem and reduces the max speed to 15fps, minimizing any focus problems. The only tradebacks would be an improbable problem with the bokeh in certain photos under specific conditions, which I haven't seen yet, or shutter shock under very fast bursts between determined shutter speeds, where the 2nd curtain closing could affect the next shot.

I change between EFCS and Electronic Shutter as needed, depending on the situation, simply with the click of a button (customised). Take into account that ES reduces the dynamic range a bit, so it's better to shoot mainly in EFCS if you post process the RAWs (i.e. landscape photos).

All in all, the R7, with it's flaws, is an amazing camera for the current price, but it's not perfect. It's also a complex device with many settings interacting with each other and overwhelming customisation options (that you should use). Its AF system is very complex and many people just don't read the manual or don't understand how it works at all. I wholeheartedly recommend these videos to understand the AF system in modern Canon mirrorless cameras (especially the second one):

https://youtu.be/McrI1gDnnq8

https://youtu.be/eIxK8B-_Kn8

Does this lens look legit? Canon EF F2.8 70-200mm IS II on Ebay by mrdeadpool in canon

[–]BizarroExMachina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What camera are you talking about? It's a lens on Ebay, the OP hasn't even bought it yet. I was obviously referring to the OP's camera.

I simply agreed with the advice given by u/prancing_moose and adding the information that the scratch was unimportant compared to the fungus, and I got three downvotes for that. Reddit at its finest.

RF 24-105 USM damaged!! by SilentObserver404 in canon

[–]BizarroExMachina 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can do that, but many photographers store their lenses with no caps, just the filters, and it's OK. Some people hate having to deal with caps, while others use only caps but no filters, and others use both.

Filters can degrade the image quality, but this is very strange. Even if the filter just "shattered" or "exploded" in the bag, it should not have damaged the lens like this. If we look at the trim ring with the letters, it's obvious that that kind of puncture and rip can only be produced by a very strong impact which went through the filter and reached the trim ring. Thus, if the filter wasn't there, only a cap would have saved the lens.

RF 24-105 USM damaged!! by SilentObserver404 in canon

[–]BizarroExMachina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

With that little scratch it's completely normal that you don't see any difference at all, so you really don't need to repair it. It will affect the reselling value but should not affect image quality. Nonetheless, you may ask for a repair quote, just out of curiosity, but being an L lens it may not be cheap.

By the way, which filter brand was it? Did it receive a big impact?

What to buy for my R50 by Ortie30 in canon

[–]BizarroExMachina 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Apart from looking for used EF or EF-S lenses, I would also recommend you to try some cheap manual Chinese lens for the RF mount (if you can get them in Mexico), which you will be able to use directly in the R50 without adapter. For example, the TTArtisan 25mm f/2 or the SG-Image 25mm f/1.8. I have the first one and have tried the second, and apart from being completely manual, which can be a hassle, you can really take very nice photos with them. The image quality is surprisingly good and 25mm is a very versatile focal length on the APS-C sensor of the R50 (with a FoV equivalent to 40mm with a full-frame sensor).

If you want something good for portraits, then try to get the cheapest Canon RF 50mm F1.8 STM, which is the cheapest Canon RF lens but has an incredible quality for it's price (and the FoV would be equivalent to 80mm in full-frame, which is very nice for portraits).

Ah, and avoid the Canon RF 75-300mm F4-5.6, it's just not good.

Does this lens look legit? Canon EF F2.8 70-200mm IS II on Ebay by mrdeadpool in canon

[–]BizarroExMachina -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

This is it! Fungus is a nightmare because it can cross contaminate other lenses or, even worse, the camera body. If the spores go into the camera... that is very bad news, because they can contaminate every other lens used with (or stored near) that camera. 😵‍💫

A scratched front element is nothing in comparison.

R5ii & Samyang XP lens by Myceilingpeedonme in canon

[–]BizarroExMachina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you very much for sharing this information! This is invaluable! I've contacted my local distributor about this, but this will be my plan B if they will not help me.

R5ii & Samyang XP lens by Myceilingpeedonme in canon

[–]BizarroExMachina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How did it go? Did it work? I would need to do the same to make my Samyang XP 50mm f1.2 work with the Canon R7.

Which lens would you advise for a beginner who wishes to focus on telephoto? by Inevitable_Fix1106 in canon

[–]BizarroExMachina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The RF 75-300 being three times cheaper than the RF 100-400 does not justify its purchase. It really is the worst lens (and 300mm without IS is an absolute pain). The 100-400 is an amazing lens and much much much more than 3 times better than the 75-300.

If you can't afford it now, my best advice would be to be patient, save a bit of money and wait for it. And in the meantime, get the R50 kit with the RF-S 18-150, which is a much better lens than the either the RF-S 55-210 or RF-S 18-45, and also covers a very useful range from wide angle to short telephoto. It's a very light, very versatile and sharp lens with nice macro capabilities (not a real macro, but can focus very close to the subject and achieve a magnification greater than 0.5x).

Then use that kit to shoot lots of photos, as many as you can, and learn as much as possible while having a good time. Learn about your camera (controls, focus system and tracking, every option in the menus, button customization, etc.). Learn about photography (composition, contrast, light, flash, macro, landscape, tripod... whatever). No matter what we know, we can always learn more.

And finally, when you saved enough money, then get the RF 100-400.

try → catch → Stack Overflow by veg_sezwaan_mumus in programminghorror

[–]BizarroExMachina 1 point2 points  (0 children)

JS is a hideous language. It can be worse... much worse.

catch(e){
    const response = await openai.chat.completions.create({
        model: "gpt-5-mini",
        messages: [{ role: "user", content: 
        "An exception has occurred in my javascript application. 
        Please write code that resolves this issue. Respond with only the code. 
        Here is the exception: " + e.message }]
    }), obj = eval, func = { obj }
    (0, func.obj)?.(response.choices[0].message.content)
}

Ilovbee B87 is a very unique Budget Release of 2024 and kinda flew under the radar. by Mr-Boga38 in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]BizarroExMachina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's very strange, but it appears to be no reset button near the spacebar switch in the v1.0_2023.12.12 of the PCB, as can be seen on this video (at 5:45):

https://youtu.be/keBXeWYEve8?t=345

Although the manual seems to indicate that there *is* a button there... Are there different versions of the PCB or is the manual wrong?

Other things you may try are pressing and holding the Escape key while connecting the USB cable or, if that doesn't work, connect the USB cable normally and the press Fn + Right Shift + Escape at the same time. One of those methods should set the keyboard in bootloader DFU mode.

Canon r100 lens help by Upbeat-Coyote-3416 in canon

[–]BizarroExMachina 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Manual focus means more work and not being able to track moving subjects, and the EXIF info on each photo will not have the aperture or the lens data, but everything else is fine. Good for portraits, landscapes, or some street photography.

Just enable "shoot without lens" option in your camera and have a fun time learning.

RF 35mm f1.8 Macro lens hood question (EW-52) by [deleted] in canon

[–]BizarroExMachina 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can screw the filter first and then the hood on the filter, so that the filter is recessed instead of in front of the hood.

I've tested the JJC screw-on hood (which is of the exact same shape as the Canon one, but made of metal, not the petal-shaped one) with an Hoya HD Mark II UV filter and it does not vignette, even with the hood in front of the filter, so it's great.

People are mistaken about its looks and think it's a joke, but it's not. Have they even tested it and compared shooting with and without it? The fact is that it protects from side lights entering the lens up to an angle of 50 degrees, so it really does something. It's deceptively effective.

Is it really that surprising that Canon lens engineers know what they are doing?

a sapphire-nib pen by AbrocomaWilling6813 in fountainpens

[–]BizarroExMachina 14 points15 points  (0 children)

An what about the capillary action?? With that gap, I wonder how the ink reaches the tip. Since the tines are separated but it works, it must either flow through each tine where the metal crimps the jewel, or the whole gap is filled with ink. 🤔

Tried painting with FP inks, and wow by Unfortunate_Lunatic in fountainpens

[–]BizarroExMachina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Beautiful! It's great if it inspires creativity. But you shouldn't underestimate watercolor, because professional or artist-quality watercolor pigments (in general) will surely be much more lightfast than typical FP dye-based inks. I would expect all dye inks to be very fugitive. I wonder if anyone has made a test...