Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips
Steve’s Digicams has posted a review of the Canon 50D.
The combination of speed and performance makes this the perfect camera for the enthusiast or anyone looking to upgrade from an entry-level dSLR.
For the latest news and reviews, check out Photography Bay’s Canon 50D Reviews and Resources.
Zacuto has been in the photography new headlines several times since the announcement of their accessories for the Canon 5D Mark II and Nikon D90, which are specifically geared and the video capabilities of these cameras. (See this post for more.)
Now, Zacuto has put together a shootout of a number of video cameras, including the Canon 5D Mark II and the Nikon D90. Check out the video and the press release below.
Zacuto’s Great Camera Shootout ’08 from Steve Weiss, Zacuto USA on Vimeo.
Chicago, IL – DECEMBER 12, 2008 – When DP Joe Stunzi came to Chicago to test all of the new HD cameras on the market against each other, he initially had hopes of making a short video using the new Canon 5D Mark II. However, Zacuto’s Steve Weiss, Jens Bogehegn & Scott Lynch decided that another 5D MKII fluff piece is not what was needed. “We needed to see the 5DMKII in relation to other cameras”, says Steve Weiss. So the “Great Camera Shootout of ’08” was born. In this video you will hear Joe, Steve, Jens & Scott discuss what they liked and disliked about each of the HD cameras and DOF adapters. “This test is really for independent filmmakers and web cinematographers who are creating content with the look and feel of a 35mm motion picture.” In this video you will see a same shot comparison of: 35mm motion picture, RED, EX3, HVX200, HPX170, HPX3000, Sony EX3, Nikon D90, Canon 5D Mark II, Letus35 Ultimate and Elite DOF adapters, RedRock Micro and more. Follow a discussion by four filmmakers ranging in age from 18-46. They discuss what’s best. You won’t believe the conclusions. Read Specifications of Shoot at zacuto.zenfolio.com/p82280286/h1429ae6c#h1429ae6c and watch the video at www.zacutovideo.com.
I finally got my hands on the Canon 5D Mark II. My first image with the camera was manually focused – in the dark. And when I say dark, I mean the “I can’t see the buttons” kind of dark. And, yes, it’s a little soft on the focus, primarily because I could barely see the subject and maybe a little camera shake mixed in as well.
This image isn’t intended to show off image quality or anything other than the capability of this camera to transform a very dark scene into something with some potential perhaps – a proof of concept, if you will.
Canon 5D Mark II and 50mm f/1.4 USM @ f/1.4, 1/15s, ISO 25,600 – JPEG – Straight Out of Camera
The lone light source was a small night light on the other side of the room.
Is there some noise? Sure, plenty of it. Could I ever use something like these lighting conditions? Sure, for the right situation and use. Will I use this every day? No way, but it’s nice to know it’s there if the going gets tough – especially considering the advantage I would have if I shot RAW and implemented some noise reduction software, like Noise Ninja, into my workflow.
The Canon 5D Mark II has better low light sensitivity than my own eyes. I couldn’t see anywhere near the amount of the detail produced by this image.
To give you an idea of how sensitive the 5D Mark II is at ISO 25,600, here’s a short video taken with the Flip MinoHD just a couple minutes later showing off the light source and the subject under the same conditions. This was much closer to my own eyes’ capabilities.
As a final caveat, Large JPEGs crest the 20MB file size limit on Flickr.
Expect lots more coverage of the Canon 5D Mark II here at Photography Bay. In the mean time, check out the Canon 5D Mark II Reviews and Resources for the latest and greatest on this killer camera.
PopPhoto has published its review of the Canon 5D Mark II.
It takes a great full-frame DSLR, the original 5D (Pop Photo’s 2005 Camera of the Year), boosts damn near everything, adds high-definition video capture, and turns in an overall performance that makes it a virtual steal (or at least as close as a steal comes in this price bracket).
For the latest news and reviews on the 5D Mark II, be sure to stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Canon 5D Mark II Reviews and Resources.
Cameras.co.uk has posted a review of the Canon Powershot SX10 IS.
I have very few complaints about this camera and it is one for the shortlist if you are looking for plenty of zoom power.
For additional info, see Photography Bay’s Canon SX10 IS Reviews and Resources.
Ken Rockwell has published his impressions of the Canon 5D Mark II:
Any image defects you see are most likely due to your own lack of expertise, and you had better have some extraordinarily good lenses to take advantage of the resolution.
For the latest news and reviews on the 5D Mark II, be sure to stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Canon 5D Mark II Reviews and Resources.
Phil Holland has posted a thorough review of the Canon 5D Mark II. The review is packed full of samples at a variety of ISOs for all you pixel peepers out there. You can even cash in by downloading the RAW files to tinker with.
The body and autofocus alone make it my camera of choice. However, if I shot more street work, shot weddings, or just needed to finally get rid of that pesky Canon D30 finally (you guys know you’re out there) I’d say the 5D Mark II is a great buy.
For the latest news and reviews on the 5D Mark II, be sure to stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Canon 5D Mark II Reviews and Resources.
In this article, guest blogger and stock photographer, Rich Legg of LeggNet.com, provides his impressions of the first two weeks with the Canon 5D Mark II. You can learn more about Rich and how to connect with him at the end of this article.
I have been living with my 5D Mark II for two weeks now, and while I will leave the detailed reviews to the professional reviewers, I thought I’d share my thoughts so far.
I make my living as a stock photographer shooting exclusively for iStockphoto and Getty Images. In addition, I supplement this income with freelance work. My workhorse camera body for the past couple years has been the original 5D, and it has served me well. When Canon introduced the new 5D Mark II in September, I jumped at the chance to upgrade my production camera to this 21 megapixel beauty. Shooting primarily stock photography, I didn’t need all the features of the 1DS Mark III (focus points, weather sealing, etc.) but I really wanted to up the resolution of my images. The new 5D fit my needs perfectly.
I placed my pre-order the morning of the announcement in September and waited. Thankfully, my local dealer (Pictureline) was one of the first retailers in the US to receive stock. With my early pre-order, I was able to walk out of the store with the camera on the morning of November 25th.
My initial thoughts on holding the camera after un-boxing was that the body felt more rugged than its predecessor. After further inspection, I believe the main reason for this is the combination of the improved rubber gripping and the rougher finish on the magnesium body. In a side-by-side comparison with my original 5D, the older camera is extremely smooth in contrast to the new textured surface of the Mark II. I do wonder though if the smoothness of the original 5D has been enhanced by wear. Otherwise, with the exception of the larger LCD and a couple new or repositioned buttons, the camera handles just like it predecessor. [Read more…]
There has been an uproar among new Canon 5D Mark II users over the past couple of days. Slashgear has a post featuring this issue as a potential killer for Canon, particularly after the autofocus debacle from the 1D Mark III. Slashgear summarizes the issue:
Facing the toughest pixel-peepers, images taken with the new camera shown clusters of black dots/edges on the right side of blown highlight areas.
Industrious pixel-peepers have been burning the midnight oil with speculation as to what is creating this problem. One DPR forum member may have found the source of the problem:
Just picked up my 5dII, and sure enough, I see black dots out of the box.
At iso 400 and iso 6400, with a 50/1.8 and 85/1.2L II. I took a few dozen shots, and they are easily duplicated.
I then turned the settings to “Disable” for highlight tone priority, lighting optimizer and noise reduction.
No black dots.
He’s got comparison pics to prove it too. See the full forum post here.
For the latest news and reviews on the 5D Mark II, be sure to stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Canon 5D Mark II Reviews and Resources.
Pro Photo Home has published a review of the Canon 5D Mark II‘s video capabilities with some very harsh words about the feature (like a “disaster”).
The point here is to review the video mode for the regular purchaser of the cam. They will most likely be disappointed in the video mode. I didn’t bother to mention how “fiddly” the whole operation is compared to a proper pro camcorder with zoom controls, a shoulder mount, etc., etc.
For the latest news and reviews on the 5D Mark II, be sure to stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Canon 5D Mark II Reviews and Resources.