05 Sep

Posted at 17:06h in Cameras & Gear
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I have finally had the opportunity to put the Canon 1D X Mark II through the wringer, and have had the chance to test it in my “normal shooting conditions”. I have already made a few comments about the camera in other posts, but thought I would consolidate all my thoughts into one post. I will follow-up my initial thoughts with some specific blog posts testing each of the areas that I have noted below. (All comparisons noted below were made in comparison to the 1DX).

 

Thought 1 – Improved Image Quality at High ISO
The very first post I made about the 1DX Mark II (after the post that I finally had one in my hands) was that I was impressed with the ISO performance of the camera. Well after working in more low-light/high ISO scenarios, I still stand by that.

 

ISO 12,800

Grizzly photographed with Canon 1DX Mark II at ISO 12800

There are two things that I have noticed with high ISO images (by high ISO I am referring to images above ISO 5000):
1 – Noise is more manageable noise than with the 1DX,
2 – The dynamic range and detail that is still retained in these images.

 

I found that with the 1DX that once you got it over ISO 6400, even if you could manage the noise, I often didn’t have the details left in the image to produce an image with a sharp eye, or where you could see the dimples on the bear’s nose. And if I somehow managed to save all the detail, I had very little dynamic range to work with, and the image looked very flat. However I am finding with the 1DX Mark II that I am able to have both higher dynamic range, and still have the detail to recover in these images.

 

Thought 2 – Improved Autofocus
I don’t know how I can accurately test this and relay in a blog post (in terms of images) but I have found after shooting every bird in flight that I saw over the two trips that initial AF acquisition is significantly faster on the 1DX Mark II than the 1DX. I had the two cameras set up identically (in terms of AF parameters via the Cases), and each time it seemed like the 1DX Mark II was noticeably faster at getting focus.

 

Again, not really sure how I can prove this, other then to say, trust me…or get your hands on one and try it for yourself.

 

The reason for this faster initial focus acquisition is likely the combination of improved algorithmic along with the increased sensor size to 360,000 pixels.

 

I also found that the 1DX Mark II, held focus longer then the 1DX (without slipping off, or losing focus of the subject). I plan to gather some birds in flight images to show a sequence shot with the 1dx and then those with the 1dx mark II, including those out of focus. While reviewing images I was beginning to be able to guess which camera the birds were shot with based on the number of shots that were out of focus without checking the metadata.

 

Thought 3 – All AF Points at f/8:
I guess you could say that this is part of the improved Autofocus, however I think this is worth having it’s own section because I think this is a huge improvement. As opposed to the 1DX which only had f/8 focus at the center point (after firmware update), the 1DX Mark II has the ability to focus at all points

 

Sea Otter - Photographed @ 1000mm

Sea Otter – Photographed @ 1000mm (500 f/4L IS II USM + 2x Extender)

at f/8. This means I had the ability to use combinations such as the 500mm f/4L IS and a 2.0x extender, or the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM and the 1.4x extender, and I was SUPER impressed with the results.

 

I tested both these combinations on my recent Marine Mammals trips, and was thoroughly impressed with the results. Especially when you think about the number of focal lengths you can cover with only two lenses. I can basically cover everywhere from 100mm-1000mm, and using the 100-400 with the 1.4x extender gives me the equivalent focal length of the 200-400 f/4 without the weight (and price tag). With the 1DX I had tried 1000mm (500mm f/4 + 2x extender), but I was never really happy with the images. They were more of ID shots, and maybe good at web-size versus the images that I took with the 1DX Mark II.

 

As much as I really liked the results of the above two mentioned combinations, I will admit that I did have an increased number of images with soft focus then just using those lenses without the extenders. Also, as impressed as I was with the results, it’s not going to be something I use all the time because I don’t want every photo I have to be at f/8 (or more realistically f/11). However I can see times when it will work really well, or provide an opportunity to get in tighter with something when you have already taken all the shots at the native focal range, or when shooting an animal that just doesn’t want to get close, like wolves in Yellowstone.

 

I am going to do more testing on this, and specifically comparing to the 1DX.

 

Thought 4 – Improved Frames per Second and Buffer
The final improvement that I think it’s important to highlight, and I found particularly useful during my last trip, is the increased frames per second, however, more importantly is the increased number of shots before the camera started to buffer. With the CFAST cards I was able to get over 100 shots (in RAW format) before the camera started to buffer. When using the CF cards I was able to get about 50 shots before the camera started to buffer. This is compared to about 35 shots that I was able to get with the 1DX. I would say most of the time this isn’t an issue, because when do you really need that many shots, however, when you have a serial breacher Humpback Whale (as we did during the last Marine Mammals trip), it was very nice to not have to “manage the camera” and take shots selectively to ensure you don’t buffer out, and end up stuck when the action peaks.

 

I will be continuing to test all the of these things over the next few months, and will post updates to the above including more images showing some of the differences.
I have finally had the opportunity to put the Canon 1D X Mark II through the wringer, and have had the chance to test it in my “normal shooting conditions”. I have already made a few comments about the camera in other posts, but thought I would consolidate all my thoughts into one post. I will follow-up my initial thoughts with some specific blog posts testing each of the areas that I have noted below. (All comparisons noted below were made in comparison to the 1DX).

 

Thought 1 – Improved Image Quality at High ISO
The very first post I made about the 1DX Mark II (after the post that I finally had one in my hands) was that I was impressed with the ISO performance of the camera. Well after working in more low-light/high ISO scenarios, I still stand by that.

 

ISO 12,800

Grizzly photographed with Canon 1DX Mark II at ISO 12800

There are two things that I have noticed with high ISO images (by high ISO I am referring to images above ISO 5000):
1 – Noise is more manageable noise than with the 1DX,
2 – The dynamic range and detail that is still retained in these images.

 

I found that with the 1DX that once you got it over ISO 6400, even if you could manage the noise, I often didn’t have the details left in the image to produce an image with a sharp eye, or where you could see the dimples on the bear’s nose. And if I somehow managed to save all the detail, I had very little dynamic range to work with, and the image looked very flat. However I am finding with the 1DX Mark II that I am able to have both higher dynamic range, and still have the detail to recover in these images.

 

Thought 2 – Improved Autofocus
I don’t know how I can accurately test this and relay in a blog post (in terms of images) but I have found after shooting every bird in flight that I saw over the two trips that initial AF acquisition is significantly faster on the 1DX Mark II than the 1DX. I had the two cameras set up identically (in terms of AF parameters via the Cases), and each time it seemed like the 1DX Mark II was noticeably faster at getting focus.

 

Again, not really sure how I can prove this, other then to say, trust me…or get your hands on one and try it for yourself.

 

The reason for this faster initial focus acquisition is likely the combination of improved algorithmic along with the increased sensor size to 360,000 pixels.

 

I also found that the 1DX Mark II, held focus longer then the 1DX (without slipping off, or losing focus of the subject). I plan to gather some birds in flight images to show a sequence shot with the 1dx and then those with the 1dx mark II, including those out of focus. While reviewing images I was beginning to be able to guess which camera the birds were shot with based on the number of shots that were out of focus without checking the metadata.

 

Thought 3 – All AF Points at f/8:
I guess you could say that this is part of the improved Autofocus, however I think this is worth having it’s own section because I think this is a huge improvement. As opposed to the 1DX which only had f/8 focus at the center point (after firmware update), the 1DX Mark II has the ability to focus at all points

 

Sea Otter - Photographed @ 1000mm

Sea Otter – Photographed @ 1000mm (500 f/4L IS II USM + 2x Extender)

at f/8. This means I had the ability to use combinations such as the 500mm f/4L IS and a 2.0x extender, or the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM and the 1.4x extender, and I was SUPER impressed with the results.

 

I tested both these combinations on my recent Marine Mammals trips, and was thoroughly impressed with the results. Especially when you think about the number of focal lengths you can cover with only two lenses. I can basically cover everywhere from 100mm-1000mm, and using the 100-400 with the 1.4x extender gives me the equivalent focal length of the 200-400 f/4 without the weight (and price tag). With the 1DX I had tried 1000mm (500mm f/4 + 2x extender), but I was never really happy with the images. They were more of ID shots, and maybe good at web-size versus the images that I took with the 1DX Mark II.

 

As much as I really liked the results of the above two mentioned combinations, I will admit that I did have an increased number of images with soft focus then just using those lenses without the extenders. Also, as impressed as I was with the results, it’s not going to be something I use all the time because I don’t want every photo I have to be at f/8 (or more realistically f/11). However I can see times when it will work really well, or provide an opportunity to get in tighter with something when you have already taken all the shots at the native focal range, or when shooting an animal that just doesn’t want to get close, like wolves in Yellowstone.

 

I am going to do more testing on this, and specifically comparing to the 1DX.

 

Thought 4 – Improved Frames per Second and Buffer
The final improvement that I think it’s important to highlight, and I found particularly useful during my last trip, is the increased frames per second, however, more importantly is the increased number of shots before the camera started to buffer. With the CFAST cards I was able to get over 100 shots (in RAW format) before the camera started to buffer. When using the CF cards I was able to get about 50 shots before the camera started to buffer. This is compared to about 35 shots that I was able to get with the 1DX. I would say most of the time this isn’t an issue, because when do you really need that many shots, however, when you have a serial breacher Humpback Whale (as we did during the last Marine Mammals trip), it was very nice to not have to “manage the camera” and take shots selectively to ensure you don’t buffer out, and end up stuck when the action peaks.

 

I will be continuing to test all the of these things over the next few months, and will post updates to the above including more images showing some of the differences.

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25 Aug

Posted at 21:34h in Cameras & Gear
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It probably won’t come as a surprise to many people that Canon has officially announced their 5D Mark IV, which replaces the 5D Mark III. In Canada they are priced around $4,499, and in the US around $3,499, with an estimated shipping date of mid-September. Initially when I was reading the rumors about the 5D Mark IV, I was thinking that I was going to pass on this body, and instead keep my 1DX as my backup full frame camera to the 1DX Mark II. Maybe it’s my need to consume, but part of me is considering actually purchasing the 5D Mark IV, and selling the 1dx.

 

Here are some of the features that have piqued my interest:

Megapixels:

The 5D Mark IV comes with a 30.4MP full frame CMOS Sensor. I’m very glad that some of the initial rumors of the camera being close to 50MP didn’t come true, because I think it would have really limited the use of the camera (especially with Canon already having 50MP options in the 5DSR). This is a 8MP over its predecessor, and a 10MP improvement over the 1DX Mark II…remember the days when you were only buying cameras with 8-10MP, now was are seeing that as the MP increase.

 

My only hesitation of having a 30MP sensor will be how it fares with hand-holding. I do over 90% of my photography hand-held, and sometimes from very unstable places (such as boats), I am concerned about how having this many MP will impact image sharpness.

 

However having two cameras with different megapixel counts would be an advantage.

 

AF System:

The 5D Mark IV comes with an improved 61-Point High Density Reticular AF system with 41 cross-points. On paper this was the same specifications for the 5D Mark III and the 1DX, however seeing how much of an improvement the 1DX Mark II was over the 1DX, I’m optimistic that the 5D Mark IV will also see an improvement over the 5D Mark III.

 

Additionally, all the AF points are f/8 points, meaning that you can stack a 2x Extender on a 500mm f/4 lens and still have full use of all the AF points. Obviously if you are not a big user of extenders, then this may not seem like that great of a feature. However, I love the flexibility of using extenders on my lenses, and so far I have really been loving this feature on the 1DX Mark II.

 

RGB+IR Sensor:

The 5D Mark IV has been upgraded to a 150,000 pixel RGB+IR light sensor (an improvement over then 100,000 its predecessor). The increased pixels in the sensor should increase AF performance as well as metering performance, and therefore should lead to faster AF, and better metering of the scenes.

 

Other Features:

The camera also has a few other features that I consider less important, such as 4k video with continuous AF (which I haven’t even tried on my 1dx Mark II, yet), and built-in wifi and GPS, and it also comes with a touchscreen. While lots of users would probably put a lot of value in some of these features, they aren’t going to make my buy decision for me.

 

There are a few things that I think are lacking from the 5D Mark IV

 

Memory Cards & Batteries:

I don’t know why Canon is going to continue to force me to carry around three different types of memory cards, which also involves carrying around different card readers. The 5D Mark IV comes with a dual slot, one for CF and one for SD, which is consistent with the 5D Mark III, however I was hoping it would have a CFAST slot to make it more consistent with the 1DX Mark II.

 

Given the increase in megapixels, as well as the increased frames per second, this camera NOT having a CFAST slot may really impact on the buffering of the camera. Therefore the increased frames per second might just lead the camera to buffer faster. This was the problem I have had with both the 5D Mark III and the 1DX, it wasn’t that I wasn’t getting enough shots each second, it was that they could only go for a few seconds before buffering and slowing down. That’s why I’m really surprised/disappointed that Canon wouldn’t use the CFAST cards instead of CF, since their flagship body is already using them.

 

The batteries are the same as the 5D Mark III, however I wish that when you added a battery grip it would change it so you can use the battery from the 1DX/Mark II. Also, the battery grip of the 5D Mark III is not compatible with the 5D Mark IV, so while you can use your existing batteries, you will need to buy a different grip.

 

Frames Per Second:

One of my only complaints about the 5D Mark III was that it was slow, compared to the other cameras in my collection, such as the 1DX Mark II, 1DX, and the 7D Mark II. And so for Canon to only upgrade the 5D Mark IV to 7 fps from 6 seems like they could have added at least one more and I would have been happier…and I’m sure others would have been as well. If I actually think about it, there are very few scenarios when 7 or even 6 would be insufficient, but the breaching Humpback Whale that I saw in BC last week would have been a challenge if I had my 5D Mark III in my hands, and probably not much better if I had the 5D Mark IV.

 

After reading all the things I like about the camera, and the list of relatively minor dislikes I have with the specs, you are probably wondering why my mind isn’t made up about it already. The reason is that it’s always hard to translate what’s on paper to how it performs in the field under the shooting conditions that I’m presented with.

 

Specifically of concern is the ISO performance as a large portion of my shooting is done in low-light settings, such as the Great Bear Rainforest in BC, or photographing owls in Alberta before the sunset, so ISO performance is one of the most critical features of a camera for me (hence my initial gut reaction of keeping the 1DX).

 

Secondly, I wonder how a camera with 30 MP will perform while not on a tripod, given that I do the vast majority of my shooting hand-held.

 

Thirdly, whether the increased MP will have an impact on the buffer, and make the camera less desirable for high-action shooting.

 

Overall, based on what I’m reading, I think this camera is a improvement over it’s predecessor, and provides a great full-frame option to users that don’t want to fork our $8k for the 1DX Mark II. However, the one thing I don’t know based on reading the specs is whether it is enough of an improvement over the 5D Mark III for people to upgrade with the $4299 price tag, or whether you would be better off buying a used 1DX for around the same price.

 

It will remain to be seen whether I end up adding one to my stock of cameras permanently, however I will get my hands on one as soon as I can to do some testing in comparison with the other cameras I have.


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25 Jul

Posted at 18:12h in Gear for Sale
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I have decided to part ways with my Canon EOS 5d Mark III. I have been the only owner of this body and the current shutter count is just over 64k. It is in very good overall condition with only a few very, very, minor scuffs on the body. The reason I am selling is because I recently purchased a 1dx mark II (YAY!), so this camera hasn’t been getting any use.

 

Includes the following:
Battery grip – Canon BG-E11 Battery Grip
1 Canon original battery
Original box plus everything that came in it.
Current shutter count is: 64310

 

PRICE: $2500 CAD – Excludes shipping, if required.

 

If you would like to be the next proud owner of this camera, email me at [email protected].

 

Sample images taken with this lens are the following:

Mountain Bluebird

Mountain Bluebird


At An Angle

At An Angle

 

The above images were both taken with the 5D Mark III, paired with a Canon 500mm f/4L IS II USM (and 1.4x extender for the Mountain Bluebird).

I have decided to part ways with my Canon EOS 5d Mark III. I have been the only owner of this body and the current shutter count is just over 64k. It is in very good overall condition with only a few very, very, minor scuffs on the body. The reason I am selling is because I recently purchased a 1dx mark II (YAY!), so this camera hasn’t been getting any use.

 

Includes the following:
Battery grip – Canon BG-E11 Battery Grip
1 Canon original battery
Original box plus everything that came in it.
Current shutter count is: 64310

 

PRICE: $2500 CAD – Excludes shipping, if required.

 

If you would like to be the next proud owner of this camera, email me at [email protected].

 

Sample images taken with this lens are the following:

Mountain Bluebird

Mountain Bluebird


At An Angle

At An Angle

 

The above images were both taken with the 5D Mark III, paired with a Canon 500mm f/4L IS II USM (and 1.4x extender for the Mountain Bluebird).


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07 Jul

Posted at 10:16h in Cameras & Gear
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Today Canon released EOS-1D X Mark II Firmware Version 1.0.2.  This firmware is supposed to address the problem where images were corrupting when using the SanDisk CFast Cards – see my post from June 29th below.  Specifically this update:

1. Incorporates countermeasures for a phenomenon in which the bottom part of still images recorded to SanDisk CFast cards become corrupted.
2. Enhances communication reliability between the camera and CFast cards.

 

Hopefully this corrects the problem for everyone that had been dealing with it. Luckily my camera worked just fine with CFAST cards, and I didn’t have any corrupt images, but I have already updated my camera.  The firmware update takes about 10 minutes, or less.

 

You can get the firmware update (and the instructions on how to update) from Canon Canada or Canon USA.


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29 Jun

Posted at 09:39h in Cameras & Gear
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Canon has released a product advisory related to the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II and users experiencing corrupted images when using it with SanDisk CFAST Cards.

 

The summary of the problem is that for still images (not video) the bottom part of images may be corrupted, and the problem is being reported for both RAW and JPEG.  The release only specifies that this is being experienced when using the SanDisk CFAST cards – nothing has been noted about other brands.  However, part of me wonders if more people are using SanDisk CFAST cards, since they were given out (at least in Canada) when you purchased a 1D X Mark II, so I’m curious whether this problem could be experienced with ALL CFAST cards.

 

The effected images are images that are taken immediately before the camera is turned off (by switching off, auto power off, or removing battery or memory card).

 

How can you make sure your images don’t get corrupted?

Easy answer is – don’t use SanDisk CFAST cards until the firmware is released in early July.  However they are so much faster than the other option, Compact Flash, so as a workaround Canon also recommends that you take an extra shot (or up to 8 if you are shooting JPEG) before you power off the camera.

 

I have both SanDisk and Lexar CFAST cards, and have not experienced this problem myself, and even tried to replicate the problem after reading this release.  I did not have image corruption even after turning the camera off, but obviously enough people have for Canon to issue this release.  And in the meantime I will use my Lexar CFAST cards.

 

To get the full release, visit Canon here.  And stay tuned for the new firmware release.


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15 Jun

Posted at 12:33h in Cameras & Gear
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I am still getting used to my new piece of equipment (the Canon 1DX Mark II), and haven’t had as much time to spend working with it as I had hoped I would. But I will say that the dynamic range, especially at “high ISO” (which I will define at ISO 6400 and above) is actually quite amazing compared to what I am used to with the Canon 1DX, which was quite good.

 

A75I0362_1dxmII_ISO12800

Canon 1DX Mark II – ISO 12,800

The first thing I wanted to test when I picked this camera up was the ISO performance in low light. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a cool subject to photograph so this ground squirrel had to do. But given that it was close to 8pm in a area with a bit of shade, it suited my purposes of testing to get a rough (and quick) idea of how the camera would perform in lower light.

 

I was blown away when I looked at this image, taken at ISO 12,800 (Taken with Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at f/8, 1/1000). This image has been processed using multiple variants in Capture One Pro (including noise reduction), however the results show you what you can do with this camera when in low light situations and get the most out of it using post processing.

 

What surprised me the most was the color detail that was still present in the image at this ISO and the amount of detail still in the image, especially around the mouth and eye, which is where I found the 1dx was really lacking at these high ISOs.

 

I hope to soon put it head-to-head with the Canon 1DX, and if I’m lucky against the Nikon D5.

I am still getting used to my new piece of equipment (the Canon 1DX Mark II), and haven’t had as much time to spend working with it as I had hoped I would. But I will say that the dynamic range, especially at “high ISO” (which I will define at ISO 6400 and above) is actually quite amazing compared to what I am used to with the Canon 1DX, which was quite good.

 

A75I0362_1dxmII_ISO12800

Canon 1DX Mark II – ISO 12,800

The first thing I wanted to test when I picked this camera up was the ISO performance in low light. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a cool subject to photograph so this ground squirrel had to do. But given that it was close to 8pm in a area with a bit of shade, it suited my purposes of testing to get a rough (and quick) idea of how the camera would perform in lower light.

 

I was blown away when I looked at this image, taken at ISO 12,800 (Taken with Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at f/8, 1/1000). This image has been processed using multiple variants in Capture One Pro (including noise reduction), however the results show you what you can do with this camera when in low light situations and get the most out of it using post processing.

 

What surprised me the most was the color detail that was still present in the image at this ISO and the amount of detail still in the image, especially around the mouth and eye, which is where I found the 1dx was really lacking at these high ISOs.

 

I hope to soon put it head-to-head with the Canon 1DX, and if I’m lucky against the Nikon D5.


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07 Jun

Posted at 17:05h in Cameras & Gear
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I came out of the Khutzeymateen last Friday to the message I had been hoping for, after over a month of delays, the much anticipated Canon 1DX Mark II has arrived – too bad I didn’t have it for my trip.

 

I have only taken a few test shots with it so far, and my first thoughts are “man it’s fast”. With a CFAST card I am able to get over 100 shots before the camera starts to slow at all.  This is compared to about 35 that I can get with my 1dx and CF Card.

 

Look for a post in the next week or two where I put the two cameras head to head.


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