This collection of photos is from the last couple of weeks. The trend seems to be a short jacket, tight jeans and leather boots.
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Photo 1 is blurry because the subject was approaching the camera which wasn't set to track focus in AI Servo mode. Photos 2 and 3 were taken at 105mm from across the street. Photos 1 and 3 are cropped.
The first thing you notice when you pick up the camera, is the weight— it's a comparably heavy camera which gets even heavier when you add a lens (so the camera strap is important in avoiding fatigue when carrying it). The second thing you notice is the rear view-screen— it is HUGE and VIVID with a purplish tint that prevents image distortion when the oil from one's face rubs-off on the screen and allows photos to be reviewed in direct sunlight. The camera also has a backlit monochrome LCD on the top-right of the body, with buttons and a scroll wheel for quickly changing various settings. If the button functions are memorized, the settings can be changed without looking away from the viewfinder, which displays the settings on a status bar along the bottom.
One of the first adjustments I had to make when using this camera, was becoming accustomed to the weight— my right hand and wrist began to hurt after shooting for a few minutes. I only noticed this after I moved my hand away from the shutter button. Having become accustomed to continuously holding my lightweight S60 pocket camera in my right hand with my index finger extended over the shutter button, I instinctively began doing the same with the 50D. Unfortunately, the 50D weighs more than a 2 lbs. and has a taller body, so it puts quite a strain on the wrist and hand. I had to keep reminding myself to hold the camera, with my left hand cradling the lens, relax my right hand and index finger and only use it when I need to compose and shoot. After a couple of months, I became used to this technique.
Child's portrait at f/1.4; the reason for buying the camera and lens.
The accompanying photographs to Gary Voth's article, The Forgotten Lens, convinced me to choose a 50mm prime lens over the multi-function lens that Canon ships when the camera is purchased as a kit. They are exactly the kinds of photographs I would be taking.
The lens focuses fast enough to capture kids moving around (but not fast enough if they're running around). The AI Servo mode accurately tracks focus of an initially stationary object, which subsequently begins moving within the frame. The lens also takes fantastic head and shoulders daytime indoor portraits with no flash (aperture set to an f-stop less than 2 at ISO 100). Evenings require the ISO bumped up past 1000.
It should be noted that I did sometimes get out-of-focus shots in broad daylight, even though the camera reported focus lock. I don't know if it's my shooting, the camera or the lens. It's easy for a novice to blame the equipment, so I shall refrain from doing so.
In terms of sharpness, the following (taken from the Digital Picture review) should be noted:
Although it is soft wide open, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens is sharp at f/2 and very sharp when stopped down to f/2.8 or narrower. Corners are soft until f/2 for 1.6x FOVCF bodies and f/2.8 on full frame bodies...[I have also found that in bright daylight, the lens exposes 1/3 stop higher than I feel necessary].
It is precisely the softness of this lens, wide open, that makes this lens ideal for indoor portraits of children. At f/1.4 this lens also takes great macro shots with beautiful bokeh. It can be used at the minimum focal distance of about 1 foot to photograph plants, flowers and products.
I found the 50mm lens with the 50D body rather limiting for landscape photography and large (5+ people) group shots, requiring me to stand quite further back than I am used to with my Canon S60. This is due to the 1.6x sensor/lens crop-factor which makes my 50mm lens look like a 80mm (50mm x 1.6) lens. My next purchase will likely be a wide-angle lens.Update: I purchased a 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens (see below), as Canon's wide-angle lens offerings did not appeal to me as they lacked USM and full-time manual focusing.
I bought the Canon 24-105mm online from Vistek on Feb. 10, the order was processed on the 11th and it was delivered on the 12th. I began photographing with it on the Friday, the 13th.
I would definitely recommend this lens as an general outdoor walk-about lens, which gives an equivalent 38-168mm lens on the 50D body. I have only photographed with this lens in an urban setting so I can recommend it for street photography and for urban landscapes. Because of the crop-factor, whatever field-of-view you lose on the wide end (38mm), you gain in the zoom end (168mm).
It is also a good lens for indoor photography near windows and wherever there is plenty of light. It focuses fast and accurately. I have yet to take a blurry, out-of-focus photograph with this lens (unlike the 50/1.4).
A more detailed review will appear later.
My camera bag (photographed with a Canon S30).
I would strongly recommend purchasing a camera bag for this camera. It's handy for carrying all the accessories, cables and extra lenses. My Canon branded Tamrac bag, which came bundled with the camera, included an extra battery and a battery grip, as a sales promotion. The bag has lots of pockets and compartments and is well padded.
I had a difficult time configuring the inside of the camera bag, that I received with the camera, using the velcro partitions. The bag should have come with some diagrams showing suggested configurations— for example, I wanted to know if the camera could be safely stowed lens-down, rather than horizontally.
After a discussion on IRC, I found that the camera could be safely carried lens-down in the bag. This was fortunate because after I bought the 24-105mm lens, I wasn't able to configure the bag with the camera stowed horizontally and also have the 50mm not roll around when the camera was out of the bag. Once I configured the camera to stow vertically, it was much better.
Shutter priority 1/640s, f/1.4, stabilized on railing.
Here is a list of settings I have customized (from the factory defaults):
In general, I would say this camera has a poor user interface— in situations where a single button would have sufficed, it always requires an additional button press.
This is a (growing) list of things about the camera's interface that I expected to work in certain way, or things that make me wonder why they are a certain way (perhaps later, as I learn the camera, I will understand why) and things that generally bother me when I interact with the 50D:
Live View allows the rear LCD to be used as a viewfinder; the camera achieves this by moving the mirror up (Mirror Lock-Up) and exposing the CCD sensor to the scene continuously. A Rule-of-Thirds grid can be overlaid on the screen to help composition, as can a histogram light-meter which is updated in real-time.
When you press the shutter button and expect the camera to auto-focus, nothing happens. You have to use the dedicated auto-focus button and one of a possible three focus methods. The first one, which is fastest, is a cheat, the mirror drops blanking the LiveView and the camera performs the auto-focus as if you were using the view-finder, and then displays the image again when focussing is complete— this is annoying to say the least. The second method, uses phase-change to detect focus, while keeping the image live but it takes a long time as the camera incrementally adjusts the focus. The third method uses face detection technology and is quite fast but is only useful when photographing people.
I find it useful and faster to use AF through the viewfinder, then switch to Live View and manually adjust the lens at 10x magnification before shooting. I avoid Live View if at all possible; it's one of the few dissappointments of this camera. Since it wasn't a requirement when purchasing the camera, it can be safely ignored without affecting the final score of the camera.
I love this camera and 50mm lens combination for the amazing indoor daylight portraits it takes at f/1.4 with very pleasing bokeh. It takes really clean (without noticeable sensor-noise) night photographs at 400 ISO and a stabilized (against a lamp-post, or on a tripod) camera. At 1600 ISO, hand-held shots can be taken at 1/100s+ speeds at wide apertures and then downsampled to 11MP to reduce noise (if necessary).
It's easy to take great photos in good light in full auto mode with this camera; the auto white-balance (AWB) is correct most of the time (setting the white-balance to Flourescent manually when shooting compact flourescents seem gives a yellow tinge to the photo— the Tungesten setting gives a better white balance) and the auto ISO selection is reasonable most of the time. As the saying goes— it's not the camera that takes the picture, it's the photographer— so the photographer's skill in setting the correct aperture and exposure are required when photographing in less than ideal conditions— low-light or night-time photography where the camera always compensates by popping-up the flash to deliver properly exposed (viewable) photos rather than pleasingly exposed ones.
Due to the sensor crop-factor, the focal length of all lenses increase by 1.6x— so a 50mm lens acts like an 80mm lens which does not make it as good a walk-around lens as it would be on a full-frame camera like the 5D or the 1D. I would not recommend the default kit-lens which is bundled with the camera and would suggest buying the body alone and depending on your budget, either the low-end 50mm or the mid-range f/1.4, as your starter lens. (This review looks at the three Canon 50mm lenses, el-cheapo, mid-range and high-end.)
Night photography at 1600 ISO, f/2.2 at 1/125s handheld.
There are two areas where this camera can be improved. The first area is the poor design of the user interface. The most egregious example of poor design is the requirement of having to press the review button before pressing the zoom button, if one wants to zoom into a photograph to check the focus, right after taking the photograph. It is clear from this that the Canon engineers are not avid photographers. The second area that could stand improvement, is the implementation of auto-focus in LiveView mode. The current methods of auto-focusing in Live View mode seem like a technological stop-gap measure rather than the future of photography. One cannot just half-press the shutter button and have the camera focus when using Live View mode; there is a dedicated Auto-Focus button and a choice of three different methods to choose from. It's usually faster to manually focus the camera (though face-detection focusing is pretty accurate and fast) and then switch to Live View in 10x mode to tweak the final focus.
In general, despite some minor disappointments, this is a superb camera when paired with a good lens.
My guess is that Canon cameras were used to photograph the 2008 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
Note that the site is in Russian, but that doesn't really matter as the subject matter is universal.
Superb black and white photography and portraits of celebrities (including Einstein) by Ernst Haas.
His behind-the-scenes photographs on the set of The Misfits are the last memorials to Marilyn Monroe's career.
Other than the first photograph in the series, I can't say I was impressed with his photographs of Audrey Hepburn's wedding; the photos have a distant quality, rather than an intimate quality to them.
His colour photography is breathtaking in framing (see "Locksmith's Sign" in the New York series), composition and contrasts— he makes photography look so easy.
The Moon. Shutter Priority 1/640s, f/1.4 [1 of 15]
A few weeks ago, just before bed, I happened to take a look outside my window, just before getting into bed when I noticed that the sky was clear and the moon was out— I just had to take some pictures.
Before getting dressed, I checked my journal entry where I recorded the camera settings for the last lunar eclipse I had photographed. I then got dressed and hopped out onto the balcony with my 50D and began photographing the moon. I leaned the camera on the balcony railing for stability, but because of the distance and my 50mm lens, even the slightest vibration like the shutter clicking added jitter to the photograph.
As I was coming back in, I bumped the base of the camera on the sliding door quite severely (if it had been a piece of wood, it would have nicked the wood). Once inside, I carefully checked the body of camera for a dent or a paint bruise— nothing, not even a scratch— phew!.
Update Wed Dec 03 15:54:47 2008: I was re-reading the manual last night and I realize I should have changed the metering mode from Evaluative to Center-Weighted as the subject I am photographing is in the center, and surrounded by blackness.
Update Sat Dec 06 20:17:04 2008: I was taking some night photographs of the freshly fallen snow and playing with the metering modes, I found that Partial Metering produced better exposed photographs (at -2/3 EV).
After a month of using the camera, I have to retract my statement about the top-side LCD being "old school". I have found the top-side LCD handy when needing to quickly change the AF modes between One Shot, AI Focus and AI Servo.
The alternate way to change the focus mode, is to use the rear LCD via the QuickControl menu (after pressing the joystick).
Beautiful models, beautiful, hair, beautiful makeup, beautiful clothes, beautiful lighting— all the ingredients (plus a good camera and lens) necessary for beautiful fashion photos (without beautiful clothes, the photographs become erotica).
My guess is that she uses a Nikon.
If you look at the model's eyes in the closeup photographs of the third shoot, you can see the photographer's lighting rig.
Her black and white shoots are also superb.
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The WWI Memorial in front of Old City Hall, taken from across Queen street, the day after Rememberance Day. [1 of 3] | Bench on the Track 3 platfrom at Exhibition station. I think it's a combination of the the texture of the wall and the lighting that makes this photograph interesting. [1 of 1] | VIA Rail sign on the train-wash hanger at the Willowbrook train yard. Again, the texture of the corrugated metal and the various shades of grey make it interesting. Taken from the moving train in Sports mode.[1 of 1] | A night-shot in Program mode showing the old (now removed) signage (left) and the new signage at the Port Credit station parking lot. [1 of 6] |
Both the bench and the war memorial look better after having been converted to black and white. For some reason, the reflection of the train windows onto the concrete is more prominent in the thumbnail than on the actual photograph.
The parking lot signs look good in both modes. The VIA Rail sign looks a bit better in colour. The contrast has been tweaked on some of the photos.
Stunning black and white photography of the animal kingdom from Nick Brandt. Try to guess the lens he's using for each photograph.
Black and white photography is my holy grail. I see the world in colour, not as shades of light and darkness. One exercise I perform when I review my photos, is to preview them all in black and white, just to see how they would look— there are some that I think will look great in black and white, but they don't; then there are ones I don't expect to look good, but they look surprisingly good.
During some housekeeping on my Mac, I found a New Yorker magazine ad from the 70s (I didn't note the issue) for Polaroid Land (I assume it means "landscape") Cameras, ranging in price from $200 for the top-of-the-line camera with a f/3.8 lens and 1/500s shutter speed (top right), down to the $25 el cheapo (bottom left).
After a suggestion by a faculty member, I am considering the Canon EF 17-40mm L wide-angle lens. Pricing is quite varied:
The reviews are very favourable, as is the comparison with the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L (twice the price for twice the light). The primary advantage over the 24-70mm f/2.8L is the weight (approx. half) and the wider angle.
He also suggested that I could likely negotiate it down to $700, or if I waited until Boxing Day, I could avoid the sales taxes. My lack of people skills make negotiations impossible and I have a low tolerance for shopping-frenzy crowds.
I am hesitating on the purchase because I prefer a versatile lens— usable both indoors (meaning faster than f/4) and outdoors and I prefer a prime (less glass means more light). Canon's wide-angle prime lenses, however, are quite "sucky".
Update Sat Nov 22 16:15:07 2008: David responds with some suggestions:
What's your budget? Canon has a 24 mm f/1.4L for $1300, with a less expensive f/2.8 at $500. 28mm f/1.8 and f/2.8 can be had for $600 and $300. I don't see the half-stop going from 1.8 to 1.4 being worth $700 IMHO.
Gruber shoots (only) with 50mm and 28mm, both f/1.8.
Note that once you get into the f/3.5 range getting any kind of bokeh is difficult at these focal lengths. You probably want to stay below f/ 2.8 if you want any meaningful blur.
Remember that you'll replace your body before you replace your lens, and if you ever stop being interested in photography, lenses don't depreciate as much as bodies.
My budget is virtually unlimited, but at this early stage, I refuse to buy a lens that cost more then the body ($1400) just as a sanity check— I don't want to buy optically fantastic lenses that collect dust at home.
Eventually, I want a (indoor/outdoor) wide-angle lens (24mm or less), a 50mm (I'm happy with my f/1.4 USM) and an indoor sport lens— 85mm (f/1.8 or f/1.2L) or 100mm.
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Two photographs looking south-west and south from the Rogers building at Church and Gould. Overcast skies are great for photographic panoramas and on-location movie shoots, since they bring their own sun. | |
Sample photographs with Jim's lens at 28mm. My verdict: this is an outdoor lens; indoors, in low light, it delivers blurry photographs unless using 1600+ ISO.
Jim brought his EOS3000 and I got a chance to use his EF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 II lens which was the camera's kit-lens.
The wide end (35mm equivalent at 1.6x), is a deep breath of freedom when compared with my 50mm (80mm equivalent at 1.6x). However, being used to shooting at f/1.4 indoors this lens takes some getting used to. Today was a pretty bad day to test this lens outdoors as it was mostly overcast. In general, I would say this lens lacks crispness.
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I spent an hour this afternoon shooting 56 photographs in program mode and aperture priority. Most of this shooting was work-related— I will be using these photographs for the departmental website homepage background. I did sneak one photograph of four fashionably dressed students; it's cropped and sharpened. |
A motorized tripod is available, for mounting DSLRs, for gigapixel panorama photographs.
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A three-image panorama of the demolition of the United Metropolitan Church's rectory along Shuter street, taken last Thursday. In the background is St. Michael's Cathedral. The camera was held in landscape. | A two-image panorama looking north up Royal York road from the train stopped at Mimico GO station. The original panorama is about 6k pixels wide and clear enough that the sign next to the schoolbus can be clearly read. The two-different shades are because I didn't exposure lock. The colours also look a bit strange because the train had tinted windows. |
Some more desktop backgrounds (I have configured my Mac at work to rotate them every hour and my Mac at home to rotate them after every wake from sleep).
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Two pairs of photographs showing the original and the modified photograph of a jellybean display. I used the Color Adjust tool in Preview to change the exposure and contrast (both increased a touch), temperature (weighted towards blue), saturation (increased) and black level (increased a touch to give the shadows more depth). Av, f/1.4, ISO250, WB: flou. [2 of 2] | |||
I found the originals dull and boring (through no fault of the camera; it was the lighting in the store) so I tweaked the settings to make them more delicious. The green beans need a lot of "healing" as the bit of sugar, visible as white spots, are too distracting at such a close distance. Perhaps if I had stood further away...
I'm sure you will agree that the adjusted images look better than the originals.
The previous night, I played with the camera in Manual mode and learned about the light-meter and what happens if you ignore it. So, here are the steps (I have used) to take a photograph in Manual mode:
The conditions you want before you can take the shot are: first, for the light meter to be centered at 0 and second, for a shutter-speed that is fast enough to capture your photograph.
So, being used to taking photographs where the camera is ready to shoot in under 2s, you can image why I thought shooting in Manual was so terrifying, especially when I was trying to capture the GO train pulling into the station at 20km/h. I would say it took me more than 10s to set the camera and take the first photograph, see it was blurred, under-exposed, etc. and then a few more seconds to re-compute the settings and re-shoot.
I'm sure there are short-cuts to my method, especially if I memorize the exposures/shutter/ISO settings based on known conditions (and note them down in my moleskine notebook) and set the camera before attempting my first shot.