Quote:
Originally Posted by Kristy
Anyway, I have zero faith in the Canon AF system at this point... so I enjoyed reading through these examples.... Confirms my thoughts.
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While my first reaction was similar to Kristy's, I've been thinking about this a little bit more lately. Essentially, I want to make a comparison between my 40D/24-105L combination and some scientific laboratory equipment that I used to use in a former life. In the lab, we had scales (formally called a balance) that were capable of weighing substances with resolution and accuracy to 0.000001 grams (for example, one of the hairs from my head weighed 0.002470 grams). These scales were expensive, high-precision pieces of equipment.
While the price tags of these two devices (high-precision scale and high-resolution camera) are not directly comparable, the same principle applies. That expensive and high-precision scale was useless until it was CALIBRATED with a known set of CERTIFIED WEIGHTS. I remember the calibration guys visiting us every month with a set of weights: 1g, 5g, 10g, 50g, 100g, 300g and probably a few others. Each weight was placed on the scale and adjustments were made until it produced accurate results across its operating range (much like calibrating a zoom lens at each of its marked focal lengths). This process happened about once per month for the scales (they received frequent use). Expecting this level of performance from the scale "out of the box" is unrealistic in any setting.
I would suspect many musicians would make similar claims about their instruments.
Based upon what I have read and learned, I suspect that my camera is capable of some really stunning performance, but first needs to be calibrated for optimum performance.
If I wasn't planning to take it on a family vacation soon, I'd have sent both the camera and the lens in already...
Eric