News: Canon announces 50.6 megapixel 5DS and 5DS R DSLRs

Posted by Snob on February 9, 2015
Posted in: Camera, canon 5D mark III, Canon 7D Mark II, News, Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Canon_5DsR_PressKit

Canon_5Ds_PressKitI must admit I have been asleep the last few days. I almost missed Canon’s announcement a few days ago. The announcement is for two high resolution variants of the 5D series DSLR cameras. Both the 5DS and 5DS R will have a resolution of 50.6 megapixels.

Also most notable for me is the much needed dual DIGIC6 processors. Before shooting my 5D Mark III, I shot my 7D and a few months ago I added the 7D Mark II to my kit. The 7D series makes it  painfully obvious the 5D Mark III is underpowered with it’s single DIGIC5 processor. In my opinion all pro bodies should be equipped with at least two processors.

Once I started using the 7D Mark II, it quickly became my main go-to camera. I started considering selling my 5D Mark III and just trading up to a medium format. I figured if my 5D Mark III was mostly good for still life and studio work and was beat out by the 7D Mark II in almost every other scenario then I might as well get a proper studio system. Up until now, I have been taking a long hard look at the 50 megapixel Pentax 645Z. The only reason I haven’t bought one yet is the idea of committing to and maintaining yet another lens system.

However while I have my doubts about cramming that many pixels into the full frame sensor, if the image comparisons between the 645z and the 5DS/5DSR turn out close, I will most likely replace my 5D Mark III with a 5DSR. It also remains to be seen if there is Canon glass sharp enough to take full advantage of the sensor.

With that said this resolution is really not groundbreaking. If you look at the approximate numbers for pixel densities below, you will see that these are essentially a 19 megapixel APS-C sensor scaled up to full frame dimensions. So I expect image quality on par with the 7D Mark II – which is perfectly fine with me.

5Ds /R Sensor: 50,600,000P/864mmsq = 58,564.8 Pixels per square mm
7D II Sensor: 20,200,000P/333.27mmsq = 60,611.5 Pixels per square mm
7D Sensor: 18,000,000P/333.27mmsq = 54,010.3 Pixels per square mm
5DIII Sensor: 23,400,000P/864mmsq = 27,083.3 Pixels per square mm

Noise wise, I’m not really going to bother getting into it because I have never needed my 5D Mark III or 7D Mark II to shoot above ISO-6400, and for any professional assignments and print work I never shoot above ISO-1600 period. So “high ISO capability” is a marketing gimmick I simply do not care about.

This is an interesting development. Canon is clearly intent on keeping some folks from jumping over to ever more affordable medium format alternatives and perhaps also eroding the medium format market share.

For a more in detailed insight into both camera systems please visit Bryan Carnathan’s review.

Video: Sunset helicopter ride around Las Vegas strip

Posted by Snob on February 2, 2015
Posted in: Aerial Photography, Cityscapes, Travel, Video. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

Last week I posted about Aerial Photography: Las Vegas Sunset . This weekend I finally got around to sorting through the video footage I recorded from that adventure as well as some key shots from each segment of the trip around the strip at sunset. Without further ado, here it is. Hopefully it gives you a sense of what the experience was like and you enjoy it. Let me know what you think.

Aerial Photography: Las Vegas Sunset

Posted by Snob on January 26, 2015
Posted in: Aerial Photography, canon 5D mark III, Canon 7D Mark II, Cityscapes, Landscape, Travel. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment
Teaser: Sin City waking up.

Sunset as Sin City wakes up – Canon 7D Mark II + EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

The only way to see the Las Vegas strip and city lights is from 3000 feet, strapped-in, with the doors open, at sunset. About a week ago I had the opportunity to experience this unique perspective on Sin City. After searching for a unique vantage point on the city for my ongoing collection of limited edition skyline panoramas, I decided to look into taking one of the helicopter tours. However after some research and talking to some of the folks in the business, I concluded that I would have to charter the whole helicopter for an extended period to be able to realistically get a good shot of the skyline.

This was a much more sophisticated endeavor than it seemed at first blush. For starters, a separate flight plan would have to be filed with the FAA 72hrs prior to flight time, I would have to determine where exactly I wanted to fly to, and what I wanted to photograph as much a possible. The folks at Maverick Helicopters were most helpful from the very beginning. Their agent, chief pilot and staff went the extra mile to get me up to speed on the process including fast tracking the flight plan filing and approval process with the FAA.

Our amazing pilot Mike took the time to work out all the final details of the flight, points of interest, safety procedures and local airspace. I was able to communicate some of my objectives as far as framing my shots and he took all my feedback and integrated it into is flight patterns, even when I least expected. The helicopter ride was very smooth and stable. While I had previously worked through some of the challenges of aerial photography (see my previous post Aerial Photography: Sacramento to San Francisco Bay) I encountered some new challenges.

I was only too happy to be strapped in with the door open the entire flight. This meant that I would not have to shoot through the polycarbonate windows. However what I forgot to consider was the fact that I would have a huge rotor above my head creating a downward draft the likes of a hurricane wind. The rotor draft was also not a steady stream which I could compensate for, but more of very fine, high frequency pulses that introduced a corresponding resonance through the lens and camera body. It was so powerful that even the world class Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens and it’s 4 stops of image stabilization, could not cope at all. The down draft alone ensured a “keeper rate” of less than 40%.

I shot primarily with the Canon 7D Mark II and the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 lens. From past experience, speed and responsiveness of the camera are the most critical characteristics for aerial photography. Even then, at times I did wish I had the 1Dx on hand for some of the shots. The 7D Mark II kept a steady stream of shots coming through. In all I shot over 150GB or photo and video. I will be posting more detailed shots and video as I get through sorting and processing it all.

It was a grand experience. Even though it was also my first time experiencing a helicopter ride, I am convinced this is the only way to do it, the only way to take in Sin City, the only way to photograph it, the only way to experience it – strapped in with the doors open. It was well worth it.

I would also like to say thanks to Cindy, Joe Bishop, Jim Ogletree, Mike Martin and all the folks at Maverick helicopters for making this possible. I look forward to flying with you folks again in the future.

Heading out to meet the folks at Maverick.
Maverick limo waiting to pick us up.
Going over the flight plan, helicopter and safety with our pilot Mike.
All strapped in, ready for lift off.
Lift off at sunset
Heading up the east side to the strip towards the Stratosphere
Pushing hard to get my shot given the storm of variables.
A celebratory champagne toast with our pilot
Rob, great guy, cool and took care of anything we needed.
Jimmy my bodyguard taking care of business.
Mellowing out on the ride back to the hotel. Taking it all in.
Teaser: getting creative with one of the ultra wide shots.
Teaser: getting creative with one of the ultra wide shots.
Teaser: Sunset over Sin City
Teaser: Sin City waking up.

Wedding: John and Laura

Posted by Snob on January 12, 2015
Posted in: canon 5D mark III, Canon 7D Mark II, Events, Weddings. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

Last weekend I had the honor of photographing John and Laura’s wedding. It was a beautiful wedding in the beautiful setting of their private family home. I hope to go back and photograph their family’s home and feature it here on my blog. The many years of personalization and exquisite decor resulted in a set full of texture rich backdrops everywhere I pointed my lens. The beautiful couple also made it hard not to get a good shot. They were very photogenic and easy to work with.

Where this assignment proved very challenging was the extremely low light setting. All main lights were dimmed down and they relied heavily on the festive and decorative holiday lighting. This set a very personal and private mood but was exceedingly hard to get a good clear shot. Add to that the fact that the turnout was more than expected which left little or no room to maneuver. Off camera flash was out of the question for most of the key shots because of the varying white balance from one spot to the next, and it just added another unpredictable variable as I moved and photographed the action in real time.

There were some hard calls I had to make. The hardest of which I made mid-way through the ceremony – to ditch my 5D Mark III and continue with the 7D Mark II. It seemed like a counter intuitive call but I was between a rock and hard place. Faced with the pressure and need to capture some beautiful moments in constant motion and given the challenging situations, the 7D Mark II was clearly excelling beyond the capabilities of the 5D Mark III. For portraits and still life, the 5D Mark III makes the best images, hands down, especially in low light. However once the situation becomes dynamic, people moving, things changing, and all you have is but split second to get your shot and get it right, the 7D Mark II very quickly pulls ahead in all scenarios. The fast shutter speed, excess processing power of the dual DIGIC6 processors and incredibly effective AF in an almost dark room, metering all trumped whatever the 5D Mark III had to offer. It was eyeopening to experience like this. Over 80% of the shots were taken with the 7D Mark II. Most of those were with the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lens.

I had a matter of seconds to get the three shots above. I bumped my ISO as high as I could tolerate and shot +/-2 HDR brackets with a fast enough shutter to get the full 10fps. I figured this would give me enough insurance and some options to fall back on in post processing in case any one of them didn’t work out. To my surprise, the camera was able to snag all three fast enough to compose some acceptable shots. More importantly I had untold creative flexibility in post processing. There were many more scenarios where the 7D Mark II just left the 5D Mark III in the dust in terms of versatility and capturing the action that evening with minimal fuss.

I am still confused why anyone would pay almost twice as much for the 5D Mark III. The improvements in image quality and trade offs are not worth it in my humble opinion. It must be Canon’s sick twisted joke on those hell bent having a full frame 35mm sensor…LOL.

Red Boots: Photo shoot with Hannah

Posted by Snob on January 9, 2015
Posted in: canon 5D mark III, Fashion, models, studio. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Red Boots

Red Boots

I definitely have a lot of catching up to do. More than half of my final cut choice images shot last year have yet to be posted or printed. While taking stock this evening I stumbled across this image from a test shoot I did with Hannah over a year ago. This shot however was one of my personal favorites and remained all but finished until this evening. I just love the way her understated beauty comes through here. The complementary styles also give it a uniqueness. Those Red Boots! When she pulled them out I thought to myself “Oh my gosh! What am I going to do with those?”.

I have learned to just go with the flow. I shot the Red Boots only after we had exhausted all her other looks. As it turned out, they were my favorite. I must credit Hannah for her sense of style. She is also an amazing hair and makeup artist. She did it all herself.

This 330 Megapixel composite image was taken in my private studio with the Canon 5D Mark III and the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens at 150mm, 1/125 second shutter and ISO-640. For lighting I used two Canon 430EX speedlights. One with barn doors on left and one with soft box diffuser on the right. The speedlights were set to manual at 1/32 and 1/64 respectively. I used a slightly higher ISO than usual to pick up a bit of the warmth from the halogen track lighting above. I love it when test shoots yield unexpected gems.

I definitely look forward to many more creative photo shoots with Hannah.

Aerial Photography: Sacramento to San Francisco Bay

Posted by Snob on January 2, 2015
Posted in: Aerial Photography, Aerospace, Canon 7D Mark II, Cityscapes, Landscape, Travel. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
SFBay_AerialPhotography6

San Francisco from 1500 feet over the SF Bay

About a month and a half ago, I had the opportunity to go flying with my good friend Eric. We had been talking about getting out and flying the friendly skies for a while and everything seemed to be aligned for that to happen. We booked a fairly new 2008 Cessna 172 single engined aircraft. I had just taken delivery of the Canon 7D Mark II and thought it would be the perfect camera to explore aerial photography. This was meant to be as much an exercise in private aviation as a study in aerial photography and the challenges it poses. I hoped to learn enough about it to develop my techniques and understand what questions to ask as well as the requisites to successful photography of ground subjects.

The short version is this: Arial photography is a completely different beast that simply cannot be tamed. Below are what I feel are the requisites. Understanding these does not guarantee a successful capture of your subject but it will increase the odds of success.

  1. Weather
    Before your excursion, you need to understand the weather around your subject. In this case there was a cloud blanket over the pacific, to the right, up to the SF Bay and coast line. This meant we couldn’t fly VFR along the coast and exercise the creative flexibility needed to get a good capture of the city. Given where the sun was in the sky, this was the ideal vantage point to capture the city.
  2. Flight Plan
    Consider the flight plan, what angles and perspectives on your subject it will offer. Is there restricted airspace around your subject that prevents certain key routes? We had to fly close to restricted airspace which added yet more complexity to the exercise. Also consider the time of day and where the sun will be relative to your subject and flight path. As you can see, from the photos, the best position for that time would have been flying along the coast and not circling the bay. However a few hours later, the best route would have been the circling the bay waters again at magic hour as the city starts to light up. The sun was still too high up and the vast bodies of water caused too much glare. Even with a circular polarizer.
  3. Aircraft windows
    Most light/private aircraft windows are not made of glass but of some kind of polycarbonate plastic. This is especially aggravating as it further cuts out saturation, reduces contrast and diffuses light. As a result it will soften (to put it mildly) and blur your shots. It also vibrates a lot and causes distortions in the image. I used the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM and was unable to get a sharp shot of the city. The more the ambient light, the more pronounced the problem. Magic hour may yield slightly better results. I have been able to photograph the city at a similar angle and distance from twin peaks and been able to resolve people walking down the sidewalk with the same lens on the 7D. Opening the window was not an option this time and on this aircraft unfortunately.
  4. No composite shots
    Any type of composite shots are very pretty much impossible. Be it HDR or panoramas, you will have a very hard time overcoming extreme parallax. The aircraft is moving much faster than it feels this combined with the extreme perspective means you will not be able to stitch any two shots together. As for HDR you will need a very fast shutter speed. There was no point using the 5D Mark III for aerial stills (I used it mainly for ultra wide angle video) as it is just too slow. The 7D Mark II’s 10fps enabled only a few somewhat successful HDR composite shots but only after cranking up my ISO in broad daylight to keep my shutter speed in the thousandths or a second. Still the results were painful due to the plexiglass windows. I spent a good deal of air time attempting composite shots that went nowhere.

Overall this excursion was a success. I learned a great deal. I’m planning another aerial photography excursion sometime this year. I’m also considering a helicopter instead of an airplane and will also consult with private aviation authorities on what other options are available to me. It was a fun exercise flying the friendly skies, checking in with ATC (Air Traffic Control) and seeing who’s up there doing what.

We took off from Sacramento Executive airport, flew over Travis AFB and onto the SF Bay via Sausalito. ATC folks were a very nice and friendly bunch and took interest in our photography outing. It is humbling to know that they are there 24/7, all over the country, keeping the skies safe. Cheers to them!

Below are some highlights. The shots are straight out of the 7D Mark II and have not been processed.

Sacramento Executive Airport
Selfie
Tripple Niner Hotel Echo
Taking off from Sacramento Executive Airport
SF Bay approach
Golden Gate Bridge
Exploratorium
Downtown SF
Downtown SF
Alcatraz
Alcatraz
San Quentin correctional facility
Eric doing what he does best
Instrument Cluster

Sweet Deal: Canon Powershot G15

Posted by Snob on December 31, 2014
Posted in: Camera, Products. Tagged: , , , , , . 1 Comment
Canon G15

Canon G15 – Get it!

I stumbled upon this deal while browsing Canon’s online store. I try to check their refurbished listings for unique opportunities to acquire some of the pricier lenses at attractive discounts. This time I noticed they listed a refurbished Powershot G15 for just over $200. Considering I don’t have a point and shoot camera to conveniently lug around It was too tempting to resist. I have been considering one of the G-series PowerShot cameras for a while now but they do command a premium and rightfully so. From a photography perspective they make the fewest compromises of any point and shoot camera out there and offer superb build quality. They are really designed for the enthusiast or pro who is accustomed to a certain level of performance and build quality. Up until now I just haul my 7D, 7D Mark II or even the 5D Mark III because I just cannot stomach the typical mainstream point and shoot camera offering. I regularly get asked to make recommendations and find myself short of suggestions for this reason.

What attracted me the most to the G15 is the lens it comes with – an impressive wide aperture f/1.8 to f/2.8 zoom that is sure to never leave you wanting while running about. That itself is almost reason enough to get this camera. A small lens aperture is the root of most compact camera frustrations. It is almost identical to the current G16 in all the areas that matter. Wifi and 1080/60fps are specs for gear heads and have little practical use in everyday life, besides I have my DSLRs to do all that jazz.

Everyone I’ve mentioned this deal to has bought one within minutes and is thrilled so far. Canon has since dropped the price below $200. Just so you know I am in no way affiliated with Canon. I just thought it was a cool enough deal to share with fellow photo geeks. Check it out.

Canon Direct Store
http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/cameras/refurbished-powershot-digital-cameras/powershot-g15-refurbished

Amazon for comparison
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-Digital-Camera-3-Inch/dp/B009B0MY6S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420068301&sr=8-1&keywords=canon+g15

The California Drought – Folsom Lake

Posted by Snob on December 17, 2014
Posted in: canon 5D mark III, Landscape, Nature. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments
California_drought_Folsom_lake_7

Folsom Lake at one of it’s lowest levels.

For several years now California has been experiencing a severe drought. So severe that earlier this year the Governor as well as state agencies implemented various water conservation measures. The citizens also stepped forward to help alleviate the grave water shortage. I like many just stopped watering my landscape and let it die out. I eventually removed the lawn on my quarter acre property because honestly it did not make any sense whatsoever. It also slashed my water bill in half which means more resources for photography! Yay! …LOL.

Like many, I didn’t fully grasp the gravity of the water shortage we are facing until I took a hike to the bottom of the Folsom lake reservoir with my good friend and fellow photo geek, Sasha January of this year. It was a eye opening excursion. I was blown away by the fact that I could take a leisurely stroll on the lake bed where several years ago I was boating with friends and enjoying summer on the lake. The water level dropped so low we were able to explore old gold mining settlements and ponder a piece of this great state’s history.

Finally this winter we have been getting rain most days of the week with little sunny breaks on the weekends. We are still far from where we need to be (as far as rainfall) to get out of the drought, but we are most grateful. I thought now would be a great time to look back in retrospect and post about it. See the California Drought page for updates. I also found this Insightful NASA Report. Below are some choice shots from that excursion.

24 Hours of LeMons – Arse-Freeze-Apalooza 2014

Posted by Snob on December 8, 2014
Posted in: Art, Automotive, Canon 7D Mark II. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

It was that time of year again this past weekend. Once again I was rendered speechless. This time not because I was awestruck by the sheer raw passion fostered by this highly democratized version of endurance racing, but by laughter at the pure creative comedy inspired by a race structure that is forcefully, unbelievably, almost religiously cheap. It is impossible to be so financially invested in this race that you forget to just have fun racing. It is genius! Any form of glamor or glitz will immediately starve to death at the 24 hours of LeMons as the culture is decidedly void of the requisites. Sure not all teams are built and equipped equal but all cars are about as close to equal as any other race could ever hope to be. You can go to all the big races you want, but you haven’t felt this kind of passion until you spend at least one day at one of the many 24 Hours of LeMons races nationwide.

I covered this race last year and posted about is here:
24 Hours of LeMons – Arse-Freeze-Apalooza

The weather this year was challenging. Last year’s was dry, cold but clear. This year’s was wet, foggy, not as cold and very poor visibility. Nothing is ever perfect.

Los Luchadores del Fiero Libre
As always I had to cover my favorite team the Luchadores of Fiero Libre. Since the last time I saw them at Sears Pointless, they’ve had a few mishaps, including an unfortunate accident that wrecked the whole front of their Fabled Fiero. The new front end came off a red fiero. This prompted a rebirth of the Fiero Libre as a red-ish speed demon. It was more of an evolution of the team. This year their theme was Luchadores dressed as Michael Jackson in Thriller!!! WTF!!!??? Yeah, I thought so too! Upon arriving to their pit, all the rain and fog disappeared as I was welcomed by the comedy. I was in stitches the whole time. Here are highlights from my coverage of Team Fiero Libre from setup, drivers’ meeting, pre-race prep and race start.

Setup and Prep
Upon arriving and checking-in with Team Fiero Libre, I walked around and snagged a few candid shots of the various teams just waking up and getting ready for the long day ahead. Spirits were high despite the very damp and gloomy weather. Folks were as happy and friendly as anyone could be while following their bliss. Humbling indeed.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

New race teams or new cars?
I spotted a few cars I did not recognize from last year’s spectacle. They could be from entire new teams or new cars from previous teams. Considering these cars were already dead, or should I say already dead anything is possible. If there were ever an automotive zombie apocalypse, this is what it would look like!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Misc race and action shots
Below are some miscellaneous track shots from the race. Please feel free to contact me if you don’t see your team car here. I may have some good shots in my archives and am more than happy to share them with you. There is no licensing fee for shots from my coverage of the 24 Hours of LeMons races. Please feel free to re-post, re-blog and publish with proper credits of course. 🙂

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Los Angeles after sunset

Posted by Snob on November 19, 2014
Posted in: Architecture, canon 5D mark III, Cityscapes, Landscape, Los Angeles, Travel. Tagged: , , , , , . 2 Comments
Los Angeles cityscape

Los Angeles skyline after sunset via Griffith Observatory

It’s finally ready! A few months ago I made quick weekend trip down to Los Angeles to visit my sister. I also took some time to explore the cityscape and attempt to get a good capture of the skyline at sunset. I posted a about my visit to the Griffith Observatory as well.

I quickly realized my biggest challenge would be the weather or should I say atmosphere over the city. There is a constant smog haze over the city from dawn till dusk and depending on weather conditions, it will often persist well into the night. I also packed very light for the weekend jaunt. I took just my Canon 5D Mark III, Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8, EF 24-105mm f/4L and EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II. I definitely wished for my 7D or 7D Mark II as I would’ve captured way more detail.

Magic hour was more like a magic minute. By the time I was done taking my shots from left to right, it was a completely different scene. I took 60 shots in all to compose 20 final HDR shots and stitched them together to give this 200 megapixel 1.5GB panorama. This image demanded especially painstaking processing because each bracket set has to be re-adjusted for color balance and exposure in addition to typical post processing. The 5D Mark III’s high dynamic range definitely came in handy here however the prime reason for the extreme disparity was also because of the 5D mark III’s slow shutter and image processing capability (compared to say the 7D Mark II). I simply could not traverse the scene fast enough. The entire panorama had to be re-composed over and over again as I slowly matched each set.

While some work remains to be done, I am pleased with the final result. The detail is staggering. I often entertain myself looking through these high resolution panoramas for the one guy taking a smoke on a balcony or the lady sitting at her dining table having dinner. Perhaps they will never know in that moment they were frozen in time and at the moment I took the shot I had no idea they were there. It is humbling…

This shot will make it to Limited Edition print. I am still not sure about the format and size. Please let me know any thoughts and feedback you may have.

Thanks for stopping by.