back to the country

AFS — Mon, 18 May 2009 04:46:55 +0000

Finally went back to the farm in upstate NY, shot for a magazine which is launching this fall…

Canon 5D2: so long

AFS — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:09:04 +0000

My 5D2 is now gone. I couldn’t take it.

There are a few issues with this camera which I can not live with. The AF is still pretty bad on this, my second 5D2 body in anything but the brightest of light. (the first one was returned with abysmal focusing and weird image quality issues.)

People right and left are reporting failures in damp conditions/light rain. There were a bunch of 5D2 failures on Michael Reichmann’s Antarctic trip.

http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=31851&st=0

I am used to the 1-series bodies, which have never given me issues - the AF on the 1Ds3 has been superb. I get nearly 100% in-focus shots on the 1Ds3, as opposed to 50-70% typically in focus with the 5D2. Even my original 5D bodies have more consistent AF. Sheesh. There is also banding in shadow areas, even at 200 ISO and with the firmware update. I do not have any banding issues on my 3 other Canon cameras.

Additionally I still feel the 5D2 files are not as pretty as the 1Ds3 files are. Maybe it’s the new low pass filter, maybe it’s something else…anyway, with the grip and two batteries inside, it’s not noticeably lighter than the 1Ds3. So, I’ll try again with a video/DSLR camera once Canon sorts this thing out, or Nikon comes out with a good one. In the mean time, I’ll be shooting my older 5D bodies which have been bullet proof for years, 1Ds3 (which I LOVE) and perhaps a Nikon D700 just for kicks.

I do not usually shoot in conditions where I need to worry about water resistance in a camera, but lately I have been. Here are a few images of my friend Jenny’s horses (5D2.) I was shooting there because I am planning a fashion shoot this spring which will involve horses. Once again, there were many blurry shots, and what looks like very brittle looking images. Here are a few which turned out ok:

In the end, when the stakes are high (as they are whenever I am shooting a job) using a camera which I am not sure is focusing correctly, or which I am afraid may fail if there is moisture in the air, etc. is not my idea of a good time. There are plenty of things to worry about on a shoot. I don’t think my camera should be one of them.

(*I cringe every time I remember this scenario: I was shooting advertising with the 5D2 with models, hair, makeup, stylists, etc waiting on me. As I was shooting tethered, the art director was standing next to me looking at the monitor and saying “they are soft!”, and I was there thinking, yeah, I can see that, but I don’t know what the f*ck to do about it. This is after hours or working with the AF microadjustments, etc., etc.)

a fashion shooter » horses

back to the country

Canon 5D2: so long