Canon 5D and 50D

Well in less than the traditional 18 month cycle from Canon they have replaced my beloved Canon 40D with the Canon 50D.  Main notable improvements is the DIGIC 4 on a 15.1 MP CMOS sensor. Shooting at 6.3 FPS a tad slower than the 40D it also got a face lift.

The 3″ screen went from some 230k Pixels to just over 920k and has improved viewing in the sun that allows light to pass thoguht and bounce back making the screen legible in direct light. Alos added is Live view Face detection.

The CMOS is also more efficient with a micro lens design and notable improved noise reduction. The ISO has also been increased from 3200 to 12800.

Another Camera to save for i guess, maybe ill sell my 40D, any takers?

The Canon 5D has been a flagship camera for landscape photography, but i never considered it due to the high cost and slow shooting speeds.  The new Canon 5D is not much or any faster but what it lacks in speed now is understandable since its a 21mp full frames CMOS sensor!  im guessing the file size is about 20-25mb so at 3.9 fps its pushing throught close to 100mb per second. That’s a work horse.

Also added is Live View and movie recording with 1080P at 30fps with an HDMI out, max file size is 4gb but i don’t think that’s an issue. I would like to see how the focusing works (full manual, or auto).

Other than that is has been brought up to date with a new UI and better screen and some relocated buttons.

Both cameras are impressive and i look forward to see how Nikon responds.

Out for Warranty

I was startled to see some blue pixels in the upper left quarter of a bunch of images that were predominantly longer exposures anything over a second. I thought it might have been dust or something, so after some inspection and testing i found out that the blue pixels would show up even with the lens cap on, so unless i had some glowing dust in there the CCD was most likely the cause. I was glad to hear that the Canon warranty depot is only a few hours away and the store i bought it at, London Drugs would take care of everything for me. My expected turnaround should be 3-4 weeks.

So until them i am camera less.

Canon 50mm f/1.8 II Lens

Yesterday i bought the Canon 50mm f/1.8 II Lens i and after some consideration and comparison against the f/1.4 it became clear that the f/1.8 was mush sharper. the construction however is a plastic body so I’m not sure how long it will hold up. The price however at $109 cnd was unbeatable.

you can have a look at a full review on the lens as well as many other Canon and Sigma lenses at The Digital Picture.

Have a look at some of the sample photos.
Read on..

I got the Canon 40D

I have finally purchased my Digital Camera. Last night my wife and i went over to the camera store and haggled wheeled and dealed. I got $20 off! and no memory card so i’m using a 32 mb card that will not take 1 picture at full, so i’m shooting at small jpg. I took this photo with my canon FD to EF lens converter hence the soft focus.

I’m still getting used to the camera and all the other settings that have to be checked like White Balance and so on. but its super fun to use and i like the instant gratification you get. Click Button see picture. I need to be a bit lighter on the shutter release as well at 6fps i shoot 2 pictures.

Keep checking back I’m sure ill be posting images more often now.

Interview with Dan Barham

I was first introduced to Dan Barham at my old job, he had just moved from Manchester, U.K. I just thought he was another guy in a bike shop until the speaker at the seminar we were at recognized him from the U.K. She had said how he took some amazing photos, so I got to talking with him. Dan was pity modest about his talents, I realized something was up when he said he had a Canon Mark II DS. I have grown up around bikes and computers so we had a lot in common.

Dan has had a number of cover shots on top bike magazines as well as features in many more of them. Bike Magazine, Dirt Rag, Mountain Bike Rider, and Mountain Biking UK to name a few.

Dan doesn’t limit himself to just mountain bike photography if you have a look at his Flickr Gallery. I really like looking at peoples more raw galleries, not the portfolios because it’s a glimpse into the every day life of an artist.

Dan has since moved on from the bike shop and Edmonton to Live in Canada’s Famous North shore (Vancouver) were covers the biking events all over British Columbia.

Dan was nice enough to do this interview with me, and i hope you enjoy it.
Read on..

Canon EOS 40D

This has been the apple of my eye sorta speak when it comes to Digital SLRs, and i have dreamed about having this camera since the days of the 10D. As the years go by the camera seams to mature, gaining little tidbits from its more professionals models down the line.

This new Canon 40D will have 10.1 MP, DIGIC III image processor, Better auto focus, More sensitive Metering range, Better white balance, Better auto ISO, Focusing screens, Larger LCD monitor, LCD Live View, Tilt correction, 6.5 fps Up to 75 JPEG Large/Fine images, Wireless connectivity with the WFT-E3/E3A Grip.

Thats just a few of the improvements made to the camera. For a full more detailed preview check out D Preview.

New Images

I have uploaded 3 new albums Rainbow Valley, Heritage Ranch Red Deer, and some Miscellanies Edmonton Shots. These were mostly shot with my new Canon 75-300 IS USM lens. Seams nice I’m still dreaming of a D-SLR though.

Full Moon

Tonight will be a full moon and I will be trying my friends 1000mm mirror lenses with my old canon FD conversion with a 2x teleconverter and then the 1000mm lens taped and reinforced with a bamboo sushi mat, and if everything goes right the image will creep out of the top and bottom of the frame. I will have to take a bunch of shots since this lens does not saw what f-Stop it is, I’m assuming its f-8 but again I’m just going to fire through a bunch of film and hopefully something works.

Read on..

Camera Converter

Things have been a bit slow; there are some things in the works that might prove to be interesting. I’m working on details for a website proposal and seeing if I can wrangle up the information to make it happen.

I also made a converter that will adapt the old Canon FD lens mounts to Canon EOS. The outcome was unexpected; I lost infinity focus and gained macro. So it seams to work great. I used a 50mm f/1.8 with a 2x converter with a macro filter to get even closer. It seams that every shot has to be on a tripod. But other than that I have the film here and waiting to be developed, I think it will be neat.