Getting EOS1DIIN - what else do i need

[Khurram]

Thanks to all those who provided a lot of useful information in helping me choose between the 5D and 1DIIN

I'm finally going to buy the EOS 1DIIN at the start of December (hopefully before going to Yosemite around dec8).  As I'm switching over from digital, i'd appreciate if 7i can get some advice on what else i need to get.

I have asked this question before, more generally, and based on the responses, this is my game plan.

Start of December purchase the following:
-EOS 1DIIN camera
-Extra Canon NP-E3 NiMH Battery  
-Sandisk 1GB Extreme III Secure Digital (SD) Card
-Two Sandisk 2GB Extreme III CompactFlash Cards

****I also need to get a card reader for the flash and SD cards and would appreciate some recommendations - does it matter which one or are there any that are better then others???
****can anyone recommend any cases that are compact and can store 3-4 SD and flash cards???

April/May:
-Either Photoshop CSII, or Phase One  C1 Pro
-Are there any other plug-ins recomended???
*** Currently I already have Photoshop 7 - will this be sufficient until April/May???

I understand that there already is a raw conversion software included with the camera.  will this tide me over until I purchase CSII or the C1Pro???

Will what I'm purchasing be all i need INITALLY - I understand over time I may want to upgrade my computer/software or add on  a printer and will probably need some  monitor calibration system later (i.e. Spyder pro)

[francois]

...
Start of December purchase the following:
-EOS 1DIIN camera
-Extra Canon NP-E3 NiMH Battery 
-Sandisk 1GB Extreme III Secure Digital (SD) Card
-Two Sandisk 2GB Extreme III CompactFlash Cards

****I also need to get a card reader for the flash and SD cards and would appreciate some recommendations - does it matter which one or are there any that are better then others???
****can anyone recommend any cases that are compact and can store 3-4 SD and flash cards???

That's good start! I had good luck with Lexar FireWire card carders but most models are OK. If you experience weird things like corrupted photos you can try another brand or model. For memory card cases, I like the rigid Hakuba cases. They're cheap and come in  CF, SD and other card formats. When weather or conditions are really bad, I put the card cases in small Pelican waterproof boxes.
You can find them all on B&H website.

April/May:
-Either Photoshop CSII, or Phase One  C1 Pro
-Are there any other plug-ins recomended???
*** Currently I already have Photoshop 7 - will this be sufficient until April/May???

I understand that there already is a raw conversion software included with the camera.  will this tide me over until I purchase CSII or the C1Pro???

Will what I'm purchasing be all i need INITALLY - I understand over time I may want to upgrade my computer/software or add on  a printer and will probably need some  monitor calibration system later (i.e. Spyder pro)

Yes, you are right, your camera comes with Canon DPP software. I guess you can survive (and much more) on it. You can get an idea of DPP here. If you use a Windows PC, you may want to consider RSE, there's a free version.
C1 Pro is very expensive! I would look into Photoshop CS 2 instead.

The only additional thing I would purchase is a brush from Visible Dust, available here or here.

[Khurram]

The only additional thing I would purchase is a brush from Visible Dust, available here or here.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=51989\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thanks for all of the great links Francois!!

Have a quesiton on cleaning dust from the sensor.  What is the best process for dealing with dust.  I've read that you should never directly touch/brush the sensor.

I don't have a digital camera yet and have not experienced dust problems, so not sure how I should deal with it when it's there.

[Tim Gray]

As mentioned the Visible Dust product is considered state of the art, check their website for instructions (links in the previous post).   MR has a review on this site.

Are you taking a laptop?  If not you'll likely need some form of PSD for temporary storage.

C1 Pro would likely be overkill.  Check out CS2 first and RSE (free) along with the Canon DPP.  I actually paid for the RSP product.

As long as you stick with a name brand, I don't think theres much to recommend one card reader over another.

Plugins:  Photokit Sharpener and either Noise Ninja or Neat Image.

For printing, Qimage beats the frustrations of CS2 hands down.

[Paul Sumi]

-Extra Canon NP-E3 NiMH Battery 
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Khurram,

You may not need to buy a spare battery.  The 1D Mark II (and I'm assuming the 1D Mark IIN will, too) has stellar battery life.  I regularly shoot 800-1000 frames on a charge.  Of course, this depends on factors like temperature, use of IS lenses, microdrive versus CF,  how much you "chimp," etc.  However, if you regularly shoot in really cold weather, 2 batteries are useful as you can swap between the two.

In actual use this year, I shot 4 days in Yosemite and 5 days in Moab on single charges.  I packed the battery charger but did not have to use it on either trip.

As an aside, if you are taking along a notebook computer with wi-fi to Yosemite, I believe the Mountain Room bar in Yosemite Village has free wi-fi access.  At least that was the case in May.

And - if you're interested to see what Yosemite looks like RIGHT NOW, the Yosemite Association has several webcams:

[a href=\"http://www.yosemite.org/vryos/index.htm]http://www.yosemite.org/vryos/index.htm[/url]

Best,

Paul

[Khurram]

Khurram,

You may not need to buy a spare battery.  The 1D Mark II (and I'm assuming the 1D Mark IIN will, too) has stellar battery life.  I regularly shoot 800-1000 frames on a charge.  Of course, this depends on factors like temperature, use of IS lenses, microdrive versus CF,  how much you "chimp," etc.  However, if you regularly shoot in really cold weather, 2 batteries are useful as you can swap between the two.

In actual use this year, I shot 4 days in Yosemite and 5 days in Moab on single charges.  I packed the battery charger but did not have to use it on either trip.

As an aside, if you are taking along a notebook computer with wi-fi to Yosemite, I believe the Mountain Room bar in Yosemite Village has free wi-fi access.  At least that was the case in May.

And - if you're interested to see what Yosemite looks like RIGHT NOW, the Yosemite Association has several webcams:

http://www.yosemite.org/vryos/index.htm

Best,

Paul
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=52006\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Paul,

Thanks for the Yosemite links and the infomration on the Mountain Room bar - weather looks good right now, i'm hoping it will be alright when i'm planning on going as well.

I probably need two batteries as a backup - i do weddings, and last thing you want is to find that your battery is dead, and as i live in Calgary and head out to Banff quite a bit during the winter, I've found that even using alaklines with my 1vHS in cold weather was an issue at times.

[Khurram]

As mentioned the Visible Dust product is considered state of the art, check their website for instructions (links in the previous post).   MR has a review on this site.

Are you taking a laptop?  If not you'll likely need some form of PSD for temporary storage.

C1 Pro would likely be overkill.  Check out CS2 first and RSE (free) along with the Canon DPP.  I actually paid for the RSP product.

As long as you stick with a name brand, I don't think theres much to recommend one card reader over another.

Plugins:  Photokit Sharpener and either Noise Ninja or Neat Image.

For printing, Qimage beats the frustrations of CS2 hands down.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=52002\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thanks for the recommendations TIm.  I think I'm going to try some of the free trial workflow softwares before puchasing anyting.  and sometime in the spring, I'm leaning towrads getting storage/viewing devices, such as the 40-80gig ones that epson makes.  guess it will depend on what my budget and prioirties are at that time.

[francois]

Thanks for all of the great links Francois!!

Have a quesiton on cleaning dust from the sensor.  What is the best process for dealing with dust.  I've read that you should never directly touch/brush the sensor.

I don't have a digital camera yet and have not experienced dust problems, so not sure how I should deal with it when it's there.
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No need to be paranoid with dust, relax! If I only get a few dust specks (in the top part of the frame - sky), I leave them. If it gets worse, I use a bulb blower and a sensor brush. I only use fluid cleaning when specks are stuck.
By the way, I've been using the new [a href=\"http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/accessories/arctic-butterfly.shtml]Arctic Butterfly[/url] and it works very well. With it, you don't need compressed air anymore.

[jani]

For memory card cases, I like the rigid Hakuba cases. They're cheap and come in  CF, SD and other card formats.

Isn't that a bit over the top? The supplied soft cases that came with the Extreme III CF cards served me well enough, and can take three CF cards in their clear plastic cases.

When weather or conditions are really bad, I put the card cases in small Pelican waterproof boxes.

That's probably a good idea, since they probably are easier to handle than small ziplock bags.

[francois]

Isn't that a bit over the top? The supplied soft cases that came with the Extreme III CF cards served me well enough, and can take three CF cards in their clear plastic cases.
That's probably a good idea, since they probably are easier to handle than small ziplock bags.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=52069\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I don't think that they offer vastly superior protection over the stock plastic ones, but I find convenient to have my cards in a couple of cases. They're cheap enough at $8 and make nice Christmas gifts... I also like to supplied soft case of the Extreme III, but I have a few MDs and other cards.
The Pelican boxes are really a good protection against dust and rain, they're also cheap ($9-$15).

[Khurram]

No need to be paranoid with dust, relax! If I only get a few dust specks (in the top part of the frame - sky), I leave them. If it gets worse, I use a bulb blower and a sensor brush. I only use fluid cleaning when specks are stuck.
By the way, I've been using the new Arctic Butterfly and it works very well. With it, you don't need compressed air anymore.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=52064\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

thanks again Francios.

Wow!! $85 bucks for a cleaning brush.  hadn't counted on spending so much on accessories like this!

[francois]

Wow!! $85 bucks for a cleaning brush.  hadn't counted on spending so much on accessories like this!
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Yes, it's expensive and cheaper alternatives do exist. But the convenience of the Arctic Butterfly - not canned air needed - is on par with its hefty price, at least for me. Compared to the price of the camera, it's not too bad. Petteri Sulonen has an interresting [a href=\"http://www.prime-junta.net/pont/How_to/a_Brush_Your_Sensor/a_Brush_Your_Sensor.html]article[/url] on cheaper brushes.
If you plan to get the Arctic Butterfly, visit RawWorkflow.com, prices are the same but shipping charges can be cheaper.

[lexvo]

Have a quesiton on cleaning dust from the sensor.  What is the best process for dealing with dust.  I've read that you should never directly touch/brush the sensor.

I don't have a digital camera yet and have not experienced dust problems, so not sure how I should deal with it when it's there.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=51998\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I have a 1D and use the Eclipse fluid and sensor swabs. It is pretty easy to clean your sensor once you get the hang of it. It only takes me a couple of minutes.

And you don't have to worry about one or two dust spots as they are easy removed in PS.

[francois]

I have a 1D and use the Eclipse fluid and sensor swabs. It is pretty easy to clean your sensor once you get the hang of it. It only takes me a couple of minutes.

And you don't have to worry about one or two dust spots as they are easy removed in PS.
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I use Eclipse only if the brush can't remove stuck specks. It's true that sometimes, dust is almost glued and the brush won't be effective. FWIW, I found the spatula (like the one on [a href=\"http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning]Copperhill[/url] website) more convenient than Photosol expensive swabs.

[katemann]

Khurram, congrats on your switch to digital. You won't regret it. The learning curve is steep, but once you find yourself doing things in photoshop that you would never have even attempted in the dark room you will be delighted.

For RAW processing you might be very happy with the Photoshop converter. It's straightforward and powerful. I switch between it and Raw Shooter Premium 2006. I tried the freeware, which is a full featured program and very good and decided to upgrade.

Photokit sharpener is another program that make a HUGE difference in your outfput. If you are just venturing into digital for the first time, and you will be shooting RAW, be prepared to deal with apparent softness in your shots. Digital and film are totally dissimilar in this respect. It's neither your camera nor your lenses; it's the nature of the beast. There's tons of information available on LL.

I can't add much to what the rest have said, as I am barely up to my knees in digital after three years. Don't fuss about sensor dust. It's not that big a deal. It's not like you have to manually spot all your prints! I have yet to clean the sensor after two years with the Rebel.

Good luck, and have fun!