Plunge = Taken (and a question about file format)

I finally took the plunge and ordered a 5D Mark II. It'll be here tomorrow and I can't wait. After painstakingly researching the best all around zoom lens for it, I decided on the 24-70 f2.8L over the 24-105 f4L. We have our first baby due in August and I figured the 24-70 would be better for indoor shots without flash.

I'm keeping one of my 40Ds as a backup and for when I need over 6 fps.

I should probably start a new post for this, but if I shoot in large fine jpegs, will I be using the 21MP? I shoot in RAW on my 40Ds now, but the file sizes are pretty manageable in Lightroom 2.3 especially after they are converted to DNG. The RAW files on the 5DII must be monsters. Any ideas?

mhthomps wrote in post #7952124
I finally took the plunge and ordered a 5D Mark II. It'll be here tomorrow and I can't wait. After painstakingly researching the best all around zoom lens for it, I decided on the 24-70 f2.8L over the 24-105 f4L. We have our first baby due in August and I figured the 24-70 would be better for indoor shots without flash.

I'm keeping one of my 40Ds as a backup and for when I need over 6 fps.

I should probably start a new post for this, but if I shoot in large fine jpegs, will I be using the 21MP? I shoot in RAW on my 40Ds now, but the file sizes are pretty manageable in Lightroom 2.3 especially after they are converted to DNG. The RAW files on the 5DII must be monsters. Any ideas?

Don't be intimidated by the prospect of larget RAW files. A reasonable 2.66ghz Core 2 Duo processor with 4GB of Ram is fine.
Realize that your files are not recognizable to Photoshop unless you upgrade to CS4, but you can use a DNG convertor to solve that if you are using a previous version of PS. Large fine JPEGS are not 21mb.

Jpgs will still use the full 21mp - no worries. However, you'd be best served, in my opinion, to still shoot in RAW. RAW files are montsters though... between 23-33MB a pop.

But, disk space is cheap. If you screw up WB, wouldn't you rather be able to fix it easier - esp when it comes to shots of your new baby?

Luke Cern wrote in post #7952168
Don't be intimidated by the prospect of larget RAW files. A reasonable 2.66ghz Core 2 Duo processor with 4GB of Ram is fine.
Realize that your files are not recognizable to Photoshop unless you upgrade to CS4, but you can use a DNG convertor to solve that if you are using a previous version of PS. Large fine JPEGS are not 21mb.

I should be in good shape then. I have a Dell Studio QuadCore 8200, 2.33 with 8GB or RAM. I also have Lightroom 2.3 and Photoshop CS4. Should I convert to DNG?

Todd Lambert wrote in post #7952196
Jpgs will still use the full 21mp - no worries. However, you'd be best served, in my opinion, to still shoot in RAW. RAW files are montsters though... between 23-33MB a pop.

But, disk space is cheap. If you screw up WB, wouldn't you rather be able to fix it easier - esp when it comes to shots of your new baby?

Very good point about the WB and the baby!

Converting to DNG is up to you. They're usually smaller in file size... by a little.

mhthomps wrote in post #7952256
I should be in good shape then. I have a Dell Studio QuadCore 8200, 2.33 with 8GB or RAM. I also have Lightroom 2.3 and Photoshop CS4. Should I convert to DNG?

Why? It serves no purpose, not with the system you've posted here.

I'd even venture to say that you'd have no problem editing the 1080p video the 5DII shoots, hehe.

roastpuff wrote in post #7953869
Why? It serves no purpose, not with the system you've posted here.

I'd even venture to say that you'd have no problem editing the 1080p video the 5DII shoots, hehe.

Just space conservation. I have an internal 1TB drive that holds all of the RAW files and internal 750GB that runs the OS and applications. Everything is automatically backed up to a ReadyNAS RAID drive with 2 mirrored 1TB drives. The DNGs are about half the size of my CR2s now. Why not hold twice as much if the quality doesn't get affected?

Shoot sRAW1 dude. sRAW1 if you're worried about file sizes this is the way to go. They are about 10MP and don't lose quality. More than enough for most things.

If you're doing something important, then use proper 21MP RAW. This will give you more cropping options (you can crop it down to 40D size - x1.6 - and still have about 9MP files), so it's good for sports or something where your lens won't reach that far.

Stealthy Ninja wrote in post #7953966
Shoot sRAW1 dude. sRAW1 if you're worried about file sizes this is the way to go. They are about 10MP and don't lose quality. More than enough for most things.

If you're doing something important, then use proper 21MP RAW. This will give you more cropping options (you can crop it down to 40D size - x1.6 - and still have about 9MP files), so it's good for sports or something where your lens won't reach that far.

Here's a dumb question, how exactly do you calculate how many MP is left after cropping to XX size? Always wondered but never looked into it.

bsaber wrote in post #7953996
Here's a dumb question, how exactly do you calculate how many MP is left after cropping to XX size? Always wondered but never looked into it.

I just remember what a smarter person wrote before.

bsaber wrote in post #7953996
Here's a dumb question, how exactly do you calculate how many MP is left after cropping to XX size? Always wondered but never looked into it.

1. Multiply the vertical resolution and the horizontal resolution.
2. Divide by 1,000,000.

I knew it was a stupid question... but now I know

mhthomps wrote in post #7952256
I should be in good shape then. I have a Dell Studio QuadCore 8200, 2.33 with 8GB or RAM. I also have Lightroom 2.3 and Photoshop CS4. Should I convert to DNG?

DNG is pointless really, usually results in larger files when i used it. Just get a few 500gb or 1tb for archives and you're fine. Use that esata port though, it'll let you read/write at 50+MB/s (half second for a 5dmkii file).

And for the video (if you choose to use it, which i highly suggest), get these programs:
haali splitter
ffdshow
avisynth scripting server
megui (make sure to update to get x264 as well)

With those four programs, you can get the 45mbps video+audio to about 15mbps (third the size) without losing quality. It'll take probably 2-3 hours per 10 min clip on your computer using second to best in most things, but you can do two files at the same time and leave it overnight as well (has among the best batch management methods this side of professional programs). Hell, it's about 8x faster than the not as good mainconcept encoder from adobe's premiere. Best of all, all the programs are free. You can also do a lot of other cool things, just a bit hard to get used to at first.

basroil wrote in post #7954153
DNG is pointless really, usually results in larger files when i used it. Just get a few 500gb or 1tb for archives and you're fine. Use that esata port though, it'll let you read/write at 50+MB/s (half second for a 5dmkii file).

And for the video (if you choose to use it, which i highly suggest), get these programs:
haali splitter
ffdshow
avisynth scripting server
megui (make sure to update to get x264 as well)

With those four programs, you can get the 45mbps video+audio to about 15mbps (third the size) without losing quality. It'll take probably 2-3 hours per 10 min clip on your computer using second to best in most things, but you can do two files at the same time and leave it overnight as well (has among the best batch management methods this side of professional programs). Hell, it's about 8x faster than the not as good mainconcept encoder from adobe's premiere. Best of all, all the programs are free. You can also do a lot of other cool things, just a bit hard to get used to at first.

Great advice. Any suggestions the eSata storage?