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Commentary, Equipment, Photographs: Nature

Canon EOS 5D II: Notes on Today’s Photograph

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Since today’s photograph (“Redwood Forest, Morning“) was one of the first landscape photographs I shot with my new Canon EOS 5D II, I was interested to see how the camera would perform and what print quality might look like.

This photograph was a bit trickier than may be apparent. It was overcast and early in the morning, I was in the bottom of a deep valley, the wind was blowing, and the light was constantly changing. In addition I used a 85mm lens (the excellent EF 85mm f/1.8) on a full frame DSLR, so I had to shoot at a rather small aperture for DOF reasons, necessitating a very slow shutter speed in order to work at my preferred ISO 100.

With all of those challenges, when I made the first small test print of this photograph last night I was very impressed with the level of detail in the photograph and I’m certain that it will work as a very good sized print – in fact, this particular image almost needs to displayed large.

When a new camera body is introduced there always seems to be a string of reports of poor performance. Sometimes there is some truth to the reports, but it is my opinion that many of the reports are the result of poor technique, unrealistic expectations,  obsession with “issues” that are irrelevant in actual photographs, and general mistrust of any Big Company that sells expensive camera equipment. I read these reports and think about them a bit, but I don’t assume that they are correct until I see evidence – preferably evidence that I produce myself. The first direct evidence comes from looking closely at photographs on the monitor as I work on them in ACR and then in Photoshop, but the real evidence comes when I make a print. After doing both of the above – and contrary to some rumors you may hear – there are no issues with noise in the shadows and the overall image – even with the increased number of photosites – seems excellent in every way to me.

Does my Canon EOS 5D II produce excellent image quality? Yes. Am I seeing unusual or troubling amounts of noise? No. Are banding problems in the shadows impairing my photographs? No. Do carefully made photographs using this equipment have the potential to produce excellent prints? Yes.

Am I pleased with the results from my 5DII at this point? Yes.

Commentary, Equipment

Notes on Today’s Photograph

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Commentary, Equipment, Tests

Canon EOS 5D II: Early Observations on Image Quality

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I posted earlier today about increasing availability of the Canon EOS 5D II at places like B&H, so I thought it might be useful to begin posting on some of my experiences with the camera during the couple of weeks (and perhaps a thousand frames) that I’ve had it. Here is a copy of something I posted elsewhere earlier this week, in response to a post concerning image quality from this camera:

I’ve shot with cropped sensor bodies extensively in the past. I have shot with a full-frame 5D for the past two years. I recently began shooting with a 5DII and have done a thousand or so frames with it.

I cannot see image quality problems in my images, even in those that stress the ability of the camera in ways that should produce them if they are there: shooting wide dynamic range scenes, using high ISOs (up to 1600), inspecting at large on-screen magnifications, and making careful prints.

My photos have very low noise all the way through the shadows to pure black, even in some photographs where I’ve pushed the shadows either during RAW conversion and/or via the shadow/highlight tool in post. I’m seeing very highly detailed images with smooth tonal transitions. As far as I’ve seen the 5D II has a rather substantial dynamic range – as reported in a number of tests – and it is at least as great as that of the 5D.

Let me repost a couple of 100% magnification crops that I posted elsewhere from the 5DII.

The first was shot at ISO 100 at, IIRC, f/16 using a 35mm prime with the camera on tripod. The crop is a 100% magnification section from the very far lower right corner of the shot. The dark areas were pushed slightly, too, so if there were noise anywhere it would certainly appear here – but I don’t see it even at this resolution, which would be equivalent to a print width of five or six FEET wide. Seems like pretty good resolution to me! (It also speaks well for the EF 35mm f/2 lens.)

The second example is pretty much a noise “torture test” – it is a very dark section of a much larger image. (Again a 100% crop). It was shot using a 100-400mm zoom handheld at ISO 400 in cloudy conditions. There is some noise in the shot, but that is entirely normal – and this noise would be completely invisible even in a very large print. (The pattern on the lighter fabric near the left side of the frame is that of the fabric itself.)

My observations from 100% on-screen pixel peeping are confirmed by the more important test of printing.

(If my post has helped you with a purchase decision, making your purchase from B&H through this link will help support the blog. Thanks!

Commentary, Equipment

In Praise of the Canon 5D II, and Why I’ll Wait a Bit Longer

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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!