Resisting Temptation: Canon 5D2

January 16, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 9 Comments

I shoot with a Canon 5D. It is a really fine camera for my purposes, and after a couple of years of fairly substantial usage it is still working quite well.

Canon recently introduced the 5D2, which appears to be a very fine upgrade to the 5D line in pretty much every important way that we could expect in a camera sold at this price point: 21 MP sensor, a high quality video mode, dust reduction features, bigger and better monitor, and so on.

I’ll almost certainly get one… in due time. I resolved to not be an early adopter of the new camera, for several reasons. Early adopters typically pay list price of more for their cameras. To the extent that some glitches are not always discovered in pre-release testing, it is not uncommon for the first production run to have a few “issues.” And, most important, my current camera works really, really well. The 5D2 could, indeed, be “better” in some ways, but not so much better that I must rush out and replace it immediately.

But now that the 5D2 seems to be reaching the retailers in larger numbers, I’m starting to see interesting deals. For example I saw a couple for $2700 that included immediate availability and free shipping. I saw another legitimate price that was even lower. There have been a couple of deals on the 5D2 bundled with the EF 24-105mm f/4 L. (Those won’t appeal to me since I already own that lens.)

Note to self: Be strong, Dan. :-)

If you are ready to buy your 5D2, you can purchase this product from B&H Photo via this link and help support this web site – thanks!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Beach and Rocks, Late Afternoon

January 16, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Warm late afternoon winter sun shines on the sand, rocks and surf at a beach Santa Cruz, California.

Looking more or less south towards Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay, and in the distance the Monterey Peninsula, this photograph was made from atop a slender finger of coastal bluff that almost splits this beach in half. In fact, getting between the north and south sections would involve some serious wading if it were not for the large “natural bridge” that cuts through the rock more or less directly below where I stood to make this photograph. Except for correctly a slight camera tilt, little post-processing was applied to this photograph – the intense colors come from the very late hour just shortly before sunset.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: beach, california, county, Dusk, evening, nature, pacific ocean, sand, Santa Cruz, seascape, seashore, sky, Sunset, travel, water, waves, winter, monterey, bay, surf, foam, cliff, bluff, sand, rock, boulder, coast, shoreline, shore, sea, seascape, landscape, travel, scenic, people, nature, walk, afternoon, late, light, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Cliffs, Sand, and Surf

January 15, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Late sun illuminates sand, cliffs, and surf near Santa Cruz, California.

I suppose I must count myself lucky for living in a place where I get head to out in the late afternoon for the coast, wander around on the beach shooting photographs of scenes like this as the sun drops toward the horizon… and be home in time for dinner. :-)

Another in what will be a series of perhaps a half dozen photographs from this spot north of Santa Cruz, California, where I photographed this past weekend. In this photograph the sun is dropping beyond the horizon and the very last light is hitting the beach in the center foreground.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: beach, california, county, Dusk, evening, nature, pacific ocean, sand, Santa Cruz, seascape, seashore, sky, Sunset, travel, water, waves, winter, travel, scenic, coast, shore, landscape, surf, cliff, bluff, sky, pink, blue, cloud, rocks, reflection, foam, foot steps, stock, panther

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Monthly Archives: January 2009

Resisting Temptation: Canon 5D2

Beach and Rocks, Late Afternoon

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.