Megan -- Canon 7D & EF 200mm f1.8 @ f2
Megan -- Canon 7D & EF 200mm f1.8L @ f2
Megan -- Canon 7D & EF 200mm f1.8L @ f2Tried out the AI Servo focus today and it was better than expected. Not quite 1-series performance but damn close.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Run!
Tried out the AI Servo focus today and it was better than expected. Not quite 1-series performance but damn close.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Gears Shifted
The Devil made me do it. I swear!
Five days ago I played with a 7D, and I felt in love with it. It reminded me of the 1D Mark III I had. Solid built, nice handling, responsive, but quite a bit lighter. This got me thinking about the inadequacy of all the camera bodies I own for fast actions. I knew I had to do something about my gear line-up.
Yesterday the Devil showed me Henry's flyer on Canon specials: Buy a 7D, and get the battery grip for $99. Also, they have increased the trade in value of many old digital bodies, and they allowed $900 on the 5D, which is very good, consider that most used 5D sold in private at around $1000. Keep in mind that the trade in portion of the $900 is none taxable, which means they will deduct this amount from the price of the 7D, before applying the taxes, a saving of $117, for a total value of $1017 for the 5D.
Then the Devil made read the fine print, that the special would end June 20, which is today, and that I must act fast. I posted my Rebel 550D (T2i) for sale yesterday, and it was sold this morning. A small loss from the price I paid originally, but that's the nature of used gears. I have kept the kit lens, as it's a good lens to have around. Drove up to Mississauga in the afternoon, as the Super Store in Toronto is closed on Sundays, and did the swap.
So, I gained the 7D, but lost the 5D and 550D. I will really miss the 5D as it's one of the best cameras I have used, image quality wise. I will also miss the 550D too, for its super light weight and fantastic LCD screen, even though the 7D's screen is very good.
My plan is to acquire another full frame, possibly the 1Ds Mark II, hopefully by the end of the year. That camera will be used mostly for manual focus lenses. This will be a similar setup as what I had before: 1Ds and 1D Mark II. I will also keep the IR 20D and the Panasonic G1.
Already shot a few couple hundred frames today and really enjoyed the 7D. In many ways I feel this camera is more similar to the 1D III than the xxD series. As expected, the focusing, especially in AI Servo, is far more responsive and accurate. Man, if this is full frame, I would be in heaven. It maybe psychological, but I think the image quality in low ISO is cleaner than the 550D. More test will be done on this.
In the coming months, I will find out how I will like it.
Yum - Canon 7D & EF 85mm f1.2L. Larger.
Five days ago I played with a 7D, and I felt in love with it. It reminded me of the 1D Mark III I had. Solid built, nice handling, responsive, but quite a bit lighter. This got me thinking about the inadequacy of all the camera bodies I own for fast actions. I knew I had to do something about my gear line-up.
Yesterday the Devil showed me Henry's flyer on Canon specials: Buy a 7D, and get the battery grip for $99. Also, they have increased the trade in value of many old digital bodies, and they allowed $900 on the 5D, which is very good, consider that most used 5D sold in private at around $1000. Keep in mind that the trade in portion of the $900 is none taxable, which means they will deduct this amount from the price of the 7D, before applying the taxes, a saving of $117, for a total value of $1017 for the 5D.
Then the Devil made read the fine print, that the special would end June 20, which is today, and that I must act fast. I posted my Rebel 550D (T2i) for sale yesterday, and it was sold this morning. A small loss from the price I paid originally, but that's the nature of used gears. I have kept the kit lens, as it's a good lens to have around. Drove up to Mississauga in the afternoon, as the Super Store in Toronto is closed on Sundays, and did the swap.
So, I gained the 7D, but lost the 5D and 550D. I will really miss the 5D as it's one of the best cameras I have used, image quality wise. I will also miss the 550D too, for its super light weight and fantastic LCD screen, even though the 7D's screen is very good.
My plan is to acquire another full frame, possibly the 1Ds Mark II, hopefully by the end of the year. That camera will be used mostly for manual focus lenses. This will be a similar setup as what I had before: 1Ds and 1D Mark II. I will also keep the IR 20D and the Panasonic G1.
Already shot a few couple hundred frames today and really enjoyed the 7D. In many ways I feel this camera is more similar to the 1D III than the xxD series. As expected, the focusing, especially in AI Servo, is far more responsive and accurate. Man, if this is full frame, I would be in heaven. It maybe psychological, but I think the image quality in low ISO is cleaner than the 550D. More test will be done on this.
In the coming months, I will find out how I will like it.
Yum - Canon 7D & EF 85mm f1.2L. Larger.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Rush Hour on Don Valley Parkway
Rush Hour -- Canon 20D IR Modified with Pentax-M 20mm f4. Larger.DVP is one of the busiest highway in North America. Unless you drive in the wee hours of the day, it's almost always busy. I used to drive the DVP up and down a few times a day when my wife worked in Markham. Drive her to work, drove myself to work, then picked her up after work. It was a nightmare.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Rest Assured
Rest Assured. Sign outside Mt. Pleasant Cemetery - G1 & Kodak Cine 63mm f2Passed by this sign a few times, and always thought it was funny, but couldn't stop and take a picture of it until today, when the traffic was really bad.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Salivating Over the 7D
Sold the Canon EF 70-210mm f4 lens to a fellow Canonite today. She had a 7D with her and I played with it a bit, and really liked it. It felt like a small 1D III. Very responsive and the focusing was fast. The view finder is also very nice. Perhaps it was a mistake for me to get the 550D, and should have saved up and buy the 7D instead? Hmmm, time to rethink my setup. Four digital bodies, but none is a sports cam. I think I should get rid of the 550D and go for the 7D, keeping the 5D, G1 and the IR 20D. Or perhaps go back to a used 1D II?
Decisions, decisions...
Decisions, decisions...
Happy Belated Anniversary
It's amazing that this blog is one year old on June 12. I didn't even realize it until today. My original plan was to have one or two post per week, but I guess I have much more to say than that. Yes, I know the content is lacking substance, but I have had fun writing it, and that's enough for me. If you like reading it, I have accomplished more than what I set out to do with this blog. Hopefully I can manager another year without slacking off.
Tiger Lily - Panasonic G1 & Angenieux 75mm f2.5 C-Mount Lens.
Tiger Lily - Panasonic G1 & Angenieux 75mm f2.5 C-Mount Lens.Sunday, June 13, 2010
Shooting Swimming with Digital Rebel 550D
My kids had a swim meet today, and after selling the 1D Mark II/1D Mark III, I have no camera that can shoot more than 4 frames per second, except the modified infrared 20D. I have no choice, but had to choose between the 5D or the Rebel 550D. I chose the Rebel and the 200mm f1.8L, because it gives me longer reach and has a higher ceiling on ISO limit. Not that the high ISO is very good, but at least I can shoot with a faster speed at high ISO.
As it turned out, the Rebel 550D is better at shooting swimming than the 5D. Last time I shot swimming with the 5D, it was a disaster. The focusing tracking is actually quite good with the Rebel, since swimming is relatively slow action, especially for kids. The problem, of course, are slow frame rate and small buffer. The 6 frame RAW buffer fills up really fast, and the slow frame per second can't catch the peek moment most of the time. I really do miss the 1D II/III. These two, especially the Mark III, can shoot like a machine gun. The 200mm f1.8L is fantastic as usual. Very fast focusing and is very sharp wide open. In fact, I shot almost all of the pictures at f1.8.
Gears aside, Dillon and Megan did really well. They came in either first or second on all individual events, and didn't do as well on team relays. Big improvements from the last swim meet. William didn't do as well, but he was one of the youngest swimmer there.
As it turned out, the Rebel 550D is better at shooting swimming than the 5D. Last time I shot swimming with the 5D, it was a disaster. The focusing tracking is actually quite good with the Rebel, since swimming is relatively slow action, especially for kids. The problem, of course, are slow frame rate and small buffer. The 6 frame RAW buffer fills up really fast, and the slow frame per second can't catch the peek moment most of the time. I really do miss the 1D II/III. These two, especially the Mark III, can shoot like a machine gun. The 200mm f1.8L is fantastic as usual. Very fast focusing and is very sharp wide open. In fact, I shot almost all of the pictures at f1.8.
Gears aside, Dillon and Megan did really well. They came in either first or second on all individual events, and didn't do as well on team relays. Big improvements from the last swim meet. William didn't do as well, but he was one of the youngest swimmer there.
William at the Back Crawl -- Rebel 550D & EF 200mm f1.8 @ f1.8. Larger.
Megan at Breaststroke -- Rebel 550D & EF 200mm f1.8L @ f1.8. Larger.
Dillon on Butterfly -- Rebel 550D & EF 200mm f1.8L @ f1.8. Larger.
First Place -- Rebel 550D & EF 200mm f1.8 @ f1.8.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
The Omnipresent Vespa Scooters
Vespa Scooter - Canon 5D & Vivitar Series-1 28mm f1.9 OM. Larger.
The Vespa scooters seem to be everywhere, in all sorts of colours. Men ride them, but looks like more woman use them. Very efficient and light on gas, they are perfect for travel within the city. Electric bikes are also everywhere now, but they don't have the classy look of the Vespa, but then again, it's quieter, requires no license to operate, and much cheaper to buy. Just don't forget to charge it.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Freestyle Soccer
Freestyle soccer -- Canon 5D & EF 135mmf 2.8 Soft Focus.
Went out on lunch time today and saw this guy doing freestyle soccer. Pretty impressive stuff. Incidentally, the 135mm f2.8 Soft Focus lens is the least used lens I have. Used only a few times, because I also have the 135mm f2L which I prefer, but the soft focus feature is pretty unique and hard to duplicate with software. Not a very well made lens, and uses Arc Form Motor for focus drive instead of USM, but very sharp and reasonably priced in the used market. Often overlooked by people because of the soft focus feature. This feature can actually be disabled and the lens can be used like a normal 135mm f2.8 lens.
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