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Tag Archives: camera
Redwood Forest, Morning
Redwood Forest, Morning. Muir Woods National Monument, California. February 28, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Filtered morning light in the redwood forest at Muir Woods National Monument, California.
I got up early on Saturday morning, February 28 and was on the well before dawn – through San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge, and on to Muir Woods. The park wasn’t open when arrived – though one can still get it – and it appeared that I was the second visitor to arrive. The sky was overcast, with occasional breaks that allowed the sun to filter through the redwoods at times – all of which amounts to pretty much ideal light for photographing the forest at Muir Woods.
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: muir, woods, national, monument, park, redwood, tree, forest, trunk, bark, green, foliage, grove, morning, light, vertical, san francisco, bay, area, nature, landscape, scenic, travel, stock, marin, golden gate
Aarrgg! Broken Camera!
Last night I joined The Nocturnes for night photography at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. Things began in the usual uneventful way – perhaps 40 photographers assembled as Tim Baskerville went over the “rules” of the game, I shot a few photos of the group, and then I headed off to start photographing the interesting shipyard structures under the light of a nearly full moon.
I began by working on improving a shot that I had attempted on another visit, a scene of a brick building with an attached green building in front of a metal roof structure with the power plant smokestack in the background, this time with some very interesting shadows cast by the overhead shipyard structures. Finishing this shot, I set up another of an overhead truss structure illuminated by moonlight with star trails behind. So far so good – and I felt like I was getting in the groove for a productive evening.
I composed a third shot, again with that shadowed wall of the brick building but this time with the base of a giant steel tower in front of it. I pressed the shutter release… and something didn’t sound right. Tried again, and still no go. I took the camera off the tripod and saw the dreaded Canon “err 99” message in the display. No panic, though; I’ve seen this before and know enough to remove the battery, card, and lens and give it another try. Ah, still no go. After removing the lens and jumping through a few other hoops I figured out that the mirror was in the “up” position, more or less waiting for the shutter to open… which it didn’t do.
So, perhaps 15 minutes into this night photography session I had an inoperable camera. I packed up and headed home, where I did a bit of Internet searching and found other descriptions of exactly this issue. It looks like I need to have Canon replace the shutter mechanism.
(I’m going to bring up one odd factor with Canon. It seems that a good percentage of the people who encountered this problem did so after exactly the same sequence of events that I followed in shooting long exposures with mirror lockup engaged. A number had even been using the 24-105 beforehand, as I had been. Hmmm… Later: I’ve been contacted by another photographer who had precisely the same situation and had some dialog with Canon about the situation…)
So, at the moment I’m without a camera. I’m giving some thought to picking up a 5D II a bit ahead of my planned schedule and either keeping the repaired 5D as a backup or selling it. (It would be a good deal for someone, especially with a brand new shutter.) Of course, as luck would have it, it appears that all of the body-only versions of the 5D II that were available last week are now out of stock…
Seems like a good day to take a hike. Without a camera. :-)
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.
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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
In Praise of the Canon 5D II, and Why I’ll Wait a Bit Longer
I’ve used the Canon 5D for the past few years, and it is a very fine camera for most types of photography and an excellent camera for my photographic purposes. I find the advantages of the full frame sensor to be compelling: potentially higher image resolution, a greater range of useful apertures, the ability to shoot at smaller apertures than on cropped sensor cameras, and so forth. Any criticisms of the camera that I might have are truly minor. (A mirror lockup button would be nice… ;-) Other photographers have agreed, and the 5D has probably been the most popular full frame DSLR until now. It is a favorite of those who shoot landscape, and I’ve seen people using it successfully to shoot almost any type of subject.
Given the relatively brief product life of DSLRs – they are often replaced by updated/new models in as little as 18 months – many had been expecting an update to the 5D for some time. When Canon announced and released the new 5D Mark II (5D II or 5D2 for short) this fall, the excitement among Canon photographers peaked. At some discussion forums I read you might find that half of the posts concerned this camera at times!
The specifications explain why the 5D II is such a compelling camera. The photosite density of the full frame sensor has been increased, and the new model has a 21+MP sensor, nearly double that used in the original 5D- but with higher ISO capability, greater dynamic range, and no increase in noise. It incorporates newer Canon DSLR features including “live view,” an exciting HD movie mode, Canon’s sensor dust reduction system, the ability to fine tune the auto-focus system to your lenses, increased “weather resistance,” and more. All of this and the price has actually dropped a few hundred dollars from the list price of the original 5D.
Many photographers have gone to great lengths to be the very first to get the new camera. They have signed up on “waiting lists.” Some have paid pre-order fees so that they would “have dibs” on the first boxes to arrive. Others frantically post on forum boards asking which dealers have one in stock, and are apparently ready to drive great distances to pick one up. I’ve even seen a few posts in which the writer offered many hundreds of dollars as a “finders fee” to anyone who would locate a 5D II. And you can be quite sure that all of these folks are paying full list price (and more) for their new cameras.
Not me.
There is a pretty decent chance that I’ll get this camera eventually, but I’m in no big hurry to be the “first on my block” to get one. Here are some of the reasons:
- My existing 5D produces quite good image quality already. While the 5D II is capable of “better” resolution, the difference is certainly one of degree and not a “night and day” difference. When I make good sized prints, sensor resolution is rarely the limiting factor – whatever enlargement limit I encounter is more likely due to focus issues, lens issues, camera motion issues, and so on. Already having a camera that is capable of capturing images with excellent resolution, I’m know that I do not need to rush to get the incremental improvement that the 5D II might provide.
- I prefer not to be a beta tester. There is a very good chance that problems will be discovered when the first production run of any product finds its way into the hands of end users. Nothing against the manufacturers (in the majority of cases), but when many thousands of photographers use a new camera it should not surprise anyone that certain subtle issues emerge. In fact, it appears that this may have already happened with the 5D II. I read today that Canon has released a statement acknowledging that they are looking into two issues: “black dots” that appear to the right of bright highlights in some images and banding issues that appear when certain settings are used. Based on my previous experience with Canon, I’m confident that they will resolve these issues, but I would just as soon wait until after that happens.
- Why pay list price? You don’t have to be an economist to know that the price of an item will be higher when the demand is highest. When a new product is released, typically after a marketing buildup and plenty of “buzz,” there are many buyers who are so excited that they will pay almost anything to get it. Now. No matter what. The manufacturers and retailers are willing to oblige them. ;-) You can get one of the first copies of a camera like this, but you are almost certain to pay a premium for the privilege. If you need the camera right now you don’t have much choice. But if you already have a camera that can produce fine images (like my current 5D) there is little rational reason to buy immediately at the higher price. In a few months we’ll undoubtedly see the price begin to drop.
Here’s my bottom line on the 5D II: I think that it looks like a really fine camera. It provides a very compelling feature set at a very reasonable price. If I didn’t already have a good camera that serves me pretty well, I’d probably plan to pick one up fairly soon. However, I’ll wait until the initial bugs have been identified and fixed in the manufacturing process and until the price softens a bit.
If you are ready to buy, you can purchase this product from B&H Photo via this link and help support this web site – thanks!