The Canon 5d Mark III that everyone has been waiting for has been announced. The camera brings a handful of improvements including speed, greater resolution, more processing power, and more options for shooting HD video. The full-frame sensor has been upped to 22.3 Megapixels and shoots up to 6 frames per second with a 61-point AF system. What’s great about the new sensor in this camera is that the pixel pitch is smaller, which allows for better low light performance.
For a handful of years I’ve shot on my trusty Canon 1d Mark II but it’s dated. Jumping up to the 1DX would be ideal, but it’s $7000 price tag is unfortunate. So what do I think about the 5d Mark III? The Canon 5d Mark II was an amazing camera, but the 5d Mark III is even better. Coming in at $3500 for the body I don’t see it as being unreasonably priced.
It’s been a while since I wrote about my most cherished 5DMKII. I drove down to Santa Barbara this weekend to catch a Neon Tree’s concert and brought the 5D for the trip back up the coast. Was hoping to get some sexy landscape shots (inspired by Mr. Navis and his multiple Big Sur adventures).
Overall I was very impressed with the camera’s performance. I continue to think that I have absolutely nothing to with any “good” pictures the camera takes. It is an incredible piece of equipment. On my Japan trip I felt like I could hand the camera to a 5 year old, instruct them to run around in circles taking pictures, and get it back with pure gold on the memory card. With the 50mm locked in it seems like it can do no wrong.
All that said, I wasn’t really in love with anything I shot on the drive up. I was trying to time the light with my journey so I would be at the most epic locations around 4pm. A fair plan, but Nepenthe (very tasty) took 1 hour longer than I expected and my dreams of sun-drenched cliffs were thwarted. I was happy with the above shots though — the first one reminds me of a painting.
Getting the rig into the concert wasn’t super easy (neither was shooting amongst hundreds of bouncing UCSB students…). Next time I’m saying I’m a member of the press (because I am right? Sort of?).
Until now I had no idea that a laser could cause damage to a DSLR, but apparently it’s possible. In the video you can see the laser beam across the sensor of a Canon EOS 5D Mark II leaving a burn. It would be a big shame for it to happen to any of you so I just wanted to make you aware if you weren’t already.
“Lasers emit concentrated beams of light, which can heat up sensitive surfaces (like the eye’s retina) and cause damage. Camera sensors are susceptible to damage, similar to the human eye.
For large scale shows, such as on a televised concert, laser show producers work with clients to avoid TV camera locations and video projectors (ILDA Members, see this page for details). However, it is not possible for laser show producers to be responsible for all cameras and camcorders which might be at a show.
Therefore, if you attend a show as an audience member, you should take reasonable precautions not to let a laser beam directly enter your camera lens.”
If this isn’t convincing enough, here is another video.
Above are some beautiful examples of Jake Sargeant’s photography. I’ve been following Jake’s work for a while now; you may recall that I used some of his textures in the Analog Visions print. At the time he said he had just purchased a Canon 5DMKII so I was really interested to check back in after a while to see what he’d come up with. He didn’t disappoint. His Flickr is full of breathtaking imagery that shows what a skilled artist can do with proper hardware. One caveat: I’m not entirely certain that all of these photos were taken with the 5D, but most seem to have that feeling. Jake, if you’re reading this perhaps you can fill us in on how things are going with the 5D in the comments.
Update from Jake in the comments:
Hey Scott & all….I’ve been shooting with the Canon 5DMII for just under a year now and really love it for still shooting and need to keep shooting more video with it. Everything over a year old on my Flickr was shot with a Canon 40D.
My main go-to lens is the Canon EF 24-105 f4 L IS. I also love shooting macro with my Canon 100mm Macro 2.8L IS.
Chris Borchert is a lucky guy. According to the Exif on these files he shoots a Canon 5D and he was at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. I’m assuming the camera is an MK1 version based on the Exif and this shot (he also has great taste in clothing) but I’m Nikon so I can’t be sure. Perhaps Chris can fill in the blanks (I found his work through a comment he made on this blog so I’m guessing he might read this). These shots really have a beautiful tone to them and that second ski jumper is just begging to be a poster. So yeah, I’m definitely falling for Canon; especially after Alex’s recent acquisition.
I’ve pretty much made up my mind that — barring any major developments on the Nikon side (which I suppose are relatively likely) — my next camera will be a 5D MK2/3. But I’ve put photography aside for a while to focus on some other things so this is a ways off. It’s nice to see stuff like this in the meantime to tide me over.
P.S. I’m curious, how many of you have taken the plunge with the 5D MKII? I feel like I’ve been seeing them a lot lately which is pretty interesting considering the price. I guess it’s a testament to the quality of the camera; people feel it’s worth it.
Edit by Scott: FYI: Will Calcutt used a Canon 5DMKII to shoot these videos. Really amazing stuff.
There is techno out there and then there’s Audion, I remember the first time I heard Matthew Dear play as Audion and I was standing right in front by the stage and holding my hair with clinched fists, I remember looking down and I actually pulled out a good amount of hair from my head.
The slow build and swelling of sound can only be explained by the feeling if your getaway ride is a helicopter thats trying to start in a warehouse while a bunch of people with guns are coming after you(that we gotta go go go nightmare chase feel), you’re just watching the propellor false start and finally it just feels like the power of a typhoon hits you and you getaway at the last second.
I don’t think anything in dance music is this high end, unique, and hypnotic. Audion plays at a slow pace which seems to be the magic behind keeping people dancing at 5 am still because people still have the energy unlike some crap club DJ pace. The installation visuals are wild looking, I can’t wait to see all of this live. I was actually at the DEMF/Movement show where all the masked people walked around, I was one of them funny enough, really freaked people out. Below is some info about the Live tour scheduled in the US:
“In ancient Greek, “Hecatomb” is the word for “large-scale sacrifice or slaughter”; in Audion’s universe, it’s a live audio/visual experience like no other. Hecatomb is a dazzling and gorgeous assault of light that spins and twists into the ether. Musically, it’s the new live Audion—a relentless percussive onslaught that will leave you breathless. A whirlwind of light and sound, Hecatomb was created by longtime Audion art director Will Calcutt and renowned artist Eno Henze.
Audion spent the summer bringing Hecatomb to a series of European clubs and festivals—now, he’s trucking the whole light-and-sound spectacle to North America. Check out the dates, and take a peek at the new audion.me for photos, video, news, and other Audion goodies.”
TOUR DATES
11.06 San Francisco, CA @ MIGHTY
11.07 Los Angeles, CA @ AVALON HOLLYWOOD
11.12 Montreal, QC @ KARMA
11.14 Vancouver, BC @ LOTUS SOUND LOUNGE
11.19 Washington, DC @ MUSE
11.20 Chicago, IL @ SMART BAR
11.21 Toronto, ON @ FOOTWORK
11.28 New York, NY @ LE POISSON ROUGE
Canon 5D MKII capturing the NYC 4th show by Mike Kobal (24-70mm at 2.8 at ISO 2000). Once again, the MKII delivers amazing video quality. Still waiting for Nikon’s answer before I take the plunge though. There are some more 5D MKII video examples over at Kobal’s Blog.
By the way, did anybody else happen to catch the San Francisco fireworks “show”? This puts it to shame and then some. I’ve seen better displays at Dolores Park (before they started parking that mobile command station RV out there and ruining it for everyone).
So I stumbled onto the deleteyourself blog the other day (same guy who runs Photololz) and in turn found his Flickr. There were some nice shots up there but what really struck me in particular was the vivid clarity and tone of the photos. So I took a look at the EXIF data and sure enough, they were all shot with a Canon 5D MKII. As you may well know, I have been trying to decide whether to stick with Nikon for my next camera or make the leap to Canon. I think that decision is becoming much clearer now; after seeing what Tim Navis did with the EOS 30D and now this, Canon is way out in front for me. Of course, he’s also using the $1500 Canon EF 16-35mm, but I suppose a camera like the 5D deserves only the best. At any rate, these shots drive home how good the 5D is at transforming otherwise mundane scenes into exquisitely detailed compositions of incredible depth and tonal range.
On a side note, that second pic looks like it was taken right around the same place I took this one, flying into Phuket Airport. I effected the hell out of mine, so it’s hard to compare the two, but I assure you that even in it’s raw form, mine was never anywhere near this detailed and dynamic. I’m not sure how much post processing he is doing with these, I’d love to know how much Photoshop had to do with the end results. Whatever the case may be, Photoshop can’t just synthesize out of thin air the kind of clarity and depth found in these shots; I would bet there’s just some simple color balancing going on. I’m also really liking the vignetting in a lot of these, can anyone out there with a similar rig testify as to whether that is a natural artifact of that particular lens or something he did in post?
