Revenge

What ever you do, say, try to please your gf or this could happen to you.

Just kidding, this was part of a competition.

Canon New Camera – EOS 1D IV

Canon today announced the 16.1-megapixel EOS 1D Mark IV digital SLR, with extended ISO settings reaching 102,400. This replacement for the 1D Mark III also offers 1080p video recording and an enhanced autofocus system.
Load of sites with review, preview, skills, etc

“I set the ASA to high – and I pointed it towards an area lit by a single flood light. The image was overexposed by 4-5 stops. I then started to play with the settings, pointing my light into an area in complete shadow (my eye saw nothing but black) but on the rear of the LCD I saw sharp, green leaves as crystal clear as if it were shot in daylight.”

Canon USA

Canon Rumour

Review by Rob Galbraith

Crop Factor (50mm) VS Full Frame (85mm) – Bokeh Test

This comparison was done for me to see the different between FF and Crop at similar focal length. For those of you who are unsure about what crop sensor or full frame senser, please refer here. There have always been an issue of “Is Full Frame (FF/1.0x) cameras going to be better than Crop cameras?” These shots are there to show you the different in bokehs.

Popular portrait focal length is around 85mm on Full frame camera. 50mm f/1.4 on crop camera have focal length of 80mm. These were also shot at the widest apature to maximise the blur (Bokeh) in the background.

Personally, I think that the 85mm on FF cameras give me a much softer bokeh than the 50mm on crop cameras. It look smoother. Let me know what you think.

Another test on crop vs full frame can be found here.

5D Mark II VS 7D High ISO comparison

Question on everyone’s mind would be how will the new 7D compare to 5DII in term of noise? Just so happen that I was loaned the 5DII by a good friend of my Jo. On a BBQ lunch with another mate who was most likely have gotten the first shipment of 7D in Australia! and the test was on!

These tests are just a point and shoot with the same lens (Canon 24-70mm f/2.8) and the same setting at the given ISO rating. All I wanted to see was how will the ISO perform between the two cameras. Both camera have default setting with standard noise reduction and was shot on JPG.

I think it is enough to show that the 5DII is better in noise department, other than that the 7D might have more edge.

Let me know what you think =)

Model by Mandy =)

***UPDATE(03/11/09)***

One point i would like to add is that for someone coming from a XXD range, the 7D might be a better option because of the built in flash, most people tend to forget this little life saver. As an example, my mate use the 30D and he uses his on board flash all the time, he will miss that unqueness in his photography if the doesn’t have it. Sure you can carry samll other flashes but it is the splur of the of moment that make the special photo. It is there to just give you that little more creativities. One of my best shot was taken with onboard flash which I could never have gotten if it was a 5 or a 1 series. Besides he has all the EF-S 10-22mm lens meaning that he doesnt’ have to buy an ultra wide if going FF.

Canon still have a long way to go with their CLS system, Nikon one is far more advanced. Canon still rely with line of sight and infra-red while Nikon has light sensitive receptor which work much better and at longer distance.

Question to ask yourself would be:
1. Do I want low noise? Were you happy with your previous camera’s noise? (I shoot at $1600 all the time with my 40D)
2. Do I do a lot of post processing on the file? (I do hence i went with the 5DII – the more you butcher the file the more defect will show up, hence low noise to start with is always better. If you are shooting and no edit or minor edit, then the 7D would be fine).
3. How large are you going to print? (Think back a year from now, have you done any large prints? A3 and up?)

Okay, if you only have enough to buy the 5DII, get the 7D with a good lens or speedlite or other acc.
If you have a lot of cash, then get both – problem solved…hehehehe.

Shooting In The Park

More images

I had a chance to get out and do a shoot in a long while. Good mate of my named Jimmy had asked me to go and help him shoot at the new location. It was a nice day with calm hot weather. Here are a few shots. Shots were done with natural light as well as 2x speedlites into a translucent umbrella. Unmodified light were also used for far away shot.

For these two shots above, the one on the left was also filtered by Cokin Z-Pro Z121S (Grad ND8) to bring the sky down. The right shot was unmodify light.

A fair amount of post processing were done to it. Below is the original RAW shot.

Food Photography – Light Setup

Food photography can be challanging at time but also rewarding, not to mention that you may get to taste it at the end of the day. These are done for the new meny for a Thai Restaurant in Sydney. Set up is pretty straight forward. You just have to look around and you what you can.

LIGHTING:

When I got to the shooting location, designer’s backyard, the sun was blasting down on one half of the back garden and there is this glow on the shade side from the white sheets that was reflect the sunlight back. I decided that it would be better to setup on the shady side and use the soft reflected to help with the exposure. The speedlites were setup as a secondinary. The softbox acted as a filll light to soften the shadow while the top light gives it a bit of shine. For my food photography, I always light from the back.

More food images here