35L in the studio

The 35L is one of the most versatile lenses in my pouch. I love it for indoor use both natural and studio lighting apply ;)

MPE-65 1-5x Macro Fun

This lens is truly one of a kind in terms of close up shooting. While it is probably one of the hardest lens to use, the results can be truly stunning for the patient.

To test the lens out this evening, I grabbed a little critter from my Mom's ceiling and did a quick portrait... This was apprx at 2x.

1DsmkIII Week 1 wrap

While my play time with the new Canon arrival was somewhat limited this week, I did get to test out several features and lenses. Very impressive body in nearly all respects. To be honest, the only thing that comes to mind in terms of a major recommended change would be the anti alias filter (AA filter). It is damn strong. Not sure about the rationale behind that, but I'll trust that Canon engineers have one...

* Batteries are awesome. I love the fact that I can shoot all day long (and I mean ALL) and my battery hasn't croaked yet!

* While Live View is not as dandy as Nikon's (N has AF and a much better LCD screen), it works just fine for how I use it (I would use manual focus even if it offered AF). This feature rocks for macro fine focus adjustments. The Canon allows a zoom of 10x with Live View.

* Microadjustments... AF w/ many canon lenses is a bit off and is frustrating/a pain in the ass to deal with. Microadjust (each tick/value represents 1/8") is one way around it, but I've had varying degrees of luck as values vary based on distance, fstop, focal length (in the case of zooms), and of course focus point. While not a shooter of brick walls usually, shooting at f/1.2 requires AF to be dead on!

* Sharpness. When peering at raw files at 100%, they can appear a bit on the soft side due to the aforementioned AA filter. Filter aside, the files take a great deal of sharpening. As always, I shoot RAW and DON't apply any in-camera anything, especially sharpening. I prefer to have 100% control over every image, but YMMV depending on your personal preferences and style. My typically USM setting in PS for the 1DsmkIII is 250,.3,1. As always, I apply this once I complete the resizing and retouching of the image.

* Lenses. I pretty much stick to primes, but after using the Nikon 14-24 and 24-70, tis a shame (and a wonder) that Canon can't come close. My kit for this body is the 16-35mkII (so-so), 50L (I shoot @ 50mm a lot), 85L (!), 135L (!), 70-200L (decent for a zoom). Around 80% of my shooting takes places between 35mm -- 85mm. I won't be re-adding the 24-105/24-70 and 300 f/2.8. Canon mid zooms aren't my cup of tea and while I love the hefty 300 f/2.8 (SHARP!), I'm saving my coin for a 400f/2.8 :)

*Dust. Never really had an issue with dust on my 5D (once I got a clean one out of the box) and the 1DsmkIII is dust free thus far. It employs dust removal as well, which can only help matters in this dept. Still not sure why Nikon didn't add the feature to the D3???

* Cards. I have a stickie reminder to go buy a couple large SD cards :)! It would be too easy if Canon stuck in 2 CF slots, but no...

Birthday Girl

1DsmkIII, 50L


The Big Boss turns 6 in 4 minutes (EST).

Happy Birthday!

Initial Impressions/Thoughts 1Dsmk3

Well my 1Dsmk3 arrived safe and sound last week. The box was well packed with all the usual goodies. The camera was purchased through Amazon and arrived next day. Decent deal and personally I have no patience for Dell...

Having just used the Nikon D3, the 1Dsmk3, felt a little lacking in terms of the ergonomics and user interface. Admittedly, this is more to do with my hands being wrapped around a Nikon for the last year, but nevertheless the Nikons still take the cake for better layout. Also the LCD, while improved over my old 5D, trails the new gen Nikon screens. While mostly trivial, it does loom large for those using live view and depend on image review (e.g., chimping).

For test lenses, I am using the 16-35L (II) and the 50f/1.2L. I typically shoot in the 35-50MM range. I am in the process of comparing images, but thus far the Nikon 14-24 kicks the 16-35L's *&%*$ in terms of contrast and sharpness by a few orders of magnitude. Not even close. I also compared a cheap Nikon 50f/1.4 with the Canon 50L. These two were both sharp, but the Nikon 50f/1.4 still came out on top in terms of sharpness.



My snap C vs N flagship summary:
Ergos: Nikon, but both are fantastic
Lenses: (wide zoom and 50mm): Nikon
Live view: big advantage w/ Nikon
Cost: Nikon
MP: Canon, file size is why folks get this body (including myself!)
Battery: Both darn good.
Dust removal: Canon
Cards: Nikon (I prefer two CF slots)
While balance: Nikon
Build Quality: Draw, both are superb.
Software: Canon

Keep in mind, this is my first reaction to the 1Dsmk3, thus I've plenty of fiddling around and experimenting before I cement some of my opinions. I've received a couple emails regarding metering and AF performance. I shoot one shot at a time and don't really stress out predictive AF by any stretch. The 1Dsmk3 (as well as the D3) focus in a heartbeat and instill confidence when in hand. In terms of metering I find Canon to be around 1/2 stop under the Nikons.