Through A Glass Darkly - The New Canon Camera Is Seen

I am possibly fairly nearly almost positive that I have seen the new Canon EOS 5D MkIV camera*. It was at the Flour Factory restaurant/bar last night in Queen Street in Perth - just down the street from a new camera shop...**

Canon Australia brought an example of the new camera to the venue, and if you got there early and there was some residual light, you could see it. You could certainly see the large prints that Hugh Brown had taken with the camera. And you could see Hugh Brown.

Canon Australia let him have a go with this newest of their DSLR range because Hugh has been a Canon shooter from waaaaay back - some 17 years. He is thoroughly familiar with the operation of the marque and has used them for great photojournalism in appalling conditions.

I do mean appalling - he's taken Canon cameras to horrible depths in mines and terrible heights on volcanos. He's subjected them to dust and acid fumes and heat and cold to an extent that would leave our speck-of-dust local photographers unconscious with anxiety. And apparently the Canon cameras just keep on ticking... I can't tell you what his lungs are like, though...

Well, Hugh's impressed with the EOS 5d Mk IV. He got a rotten night to try it out on - rain and mist - but even given the poor atmospheric conditions he could show the improvements in the image noise that the new camera makes over older Canon models. Once he got into the dry conditions of the Fremantle markets he made a delightful environmental portrait - all on the spur of the moment, as the new EOS 5d Mk IV has added yet another step level of ISO performance.

A quick cut-away to the food. Brad isn't quite sure what it is either...

Note to equipment enthusiasts: There are two new Canon lenses coming out that you can marry with this camera  - a new 24-105*** and a new 16-35. If you are going to get a new top-of-the-line camera you might as well pop for a new lens as well. No-one is ever sad with a new lens.

Now Perth photographers are a sort of laid-back bunch in many respects. They do not whoop and cheer at these events like an Oprah show. But they do listen pretty darned carefully to a technical presentation and then to a candid report of the goods on offer. Every one of the listeners will make their own private assessment and that will be the principal determinant of whether they will spend their money, but I must say I am impressed with their good sense and good manners in giving strict attention to the speaker. Well done, folks.

At the end I was able to track down the elusive Canon EOS 5d Mk IV in the ( rather attractive ) hands of one of the other photographers. We'll have to wait a little for the appearance of the new lenses, but remember that ALL " L " lenses fit this camera and they ALL look good. Saul mentioned that people can pre-order the new camera....and as they are going to be in high demand that is a good idea. You can always call here to the shop and offer money - and you will engage our instant and complete attention.

* It was a dark place...

* And more of that anon...

***I should advise this for all the people who want to use this camera for video work. The old 24-105 was great and the new one will have even better and quieter performance.

The $49 Photographic Insurance Policy

It costs $49 and it has three legs and you need one in your car right now. And you can't get it at Marlowes.

This is not a column about studio shooting with tripods. The one you see in the pictures would be awful in a studio. If that is what you are looking for, go look through the Cullmann, Gitzo, and Manfrotto tripod range and look for the big, heavy ones - the heavier the better.

This is about a small, boxed $ 49 aluminium tripod that is light enough and cheap enough to live in the box in the boot of your car. Cause one day you gonna get caught...

You'll be out with your camera doing some completely different thing and the light will start to fade. Dusk will roll in and as you come around a bend on the street or road you'll see the most glorious sunset, beach scene, cityscape, or set of clouds over a darkening mountain that life will ever present to you. There will be a parking spot right in front of the best vantage point. No-one will be crowding in front of you. Even the ice-cream wrappers and Red Bull cans will all be cleaned away into the bin.

The scene will be perfect.

And you will need to shoot it at a very small aperture with a low ISO and a long shutter speed. Longer even than the marvellous anti-shake system you paid for in the new camera will accommodate. You will need a tripod and you will need it fast.

Open the boot, take out the $49 Vectra Delux and take the best 30-second photograph of your life....

Okay, that's the end of the drama. The Vectra is one of those tripods that has plastic fittings for the head and legs, though the basic struts are aluminium. You don't want to put a heavy DSLR on there, but you can put a medium one or one of the mirror-less cameras on it. You can put a small video camera on it and use the head to pan and tilt, if you need to. There is even the convenience of a quick-release plate - again in plastic. If you do not put too much weight on it, you'll be fine.

And the important thing is you'll actually have the right tool for the job instead of trying to prop your camera on the bonnet of the car with two jumpers and a Red Bull can out of the rubbish bin.  Make like the Boy Scouts - Be prepared.

* Note. It also doubles as a really light stand for of camera flash if you use the little accessory foot that you get with speed lights.

Sigma In The Theatre

In the theatre and in the dark - that's where I see this new lens from Sigma. And believe me, here in Perth we have dark theatres. The operating theatres in the hospitals are all pretty well lit, but after that it all gets pretty dim...

Back to the lens - if you are in the position of recording a stage performance you are likely to be restricted by for things:

a. Permission. You need it  - you can't just lob out with the DSLR at the next performance of "Die Fledermaus" and stand up in the middle of Row B and start blazing away. They will grasp you by the collar and throw you into the street - a particularly awkward thing if the theatre is up a flight of stairs...

b. Position. You can't stand up in Row B because the people in rows C, D, and E will draw pistols on you. You'll be restricted to a position further aft or down the sides of the venue. If the performance is so poorly attended that you can indeed stand up in Row B with nothing but silence behind you, is it worth recording the stage? Decide that for yourself...

c. Silence. While this is primarily the province of the camera, we have still heard some other lenses that focus with the sound of a battleship turret traversing. No good. You need to be quiet and you need to have a lens that will be so too. This does not apply during performances of Arab dance music, rock bands, and Wagner. In these cases you are prohibited from firing off siege mortars but pretty much everything else is masked by the din from the stage.

d. Light. This is necessary to see what is happening on stage, but Perth stage designers and lighting technicians are frugal people - they only use as much as is necessary. If there are pretty girls or Disney characters on stage you might get some colour but if it is just Ibsen or Shaw these can be played pretty much in the dark and they pretty much are.*

Thus you need to gather all the light you can for photography - and you need a camera that will get the ISO numbers up into the nosebleed range as well. Fortunately these are becoming more common these days and Canon and Nikon buyers can get some pretty hot cameras right now. And hotter ones coming, too.

Still, it is nice to have a big aperture lens, and here is where the f:1.8 of this lens comes in. The 50mm to 100mm range is also just perfect for side and back-of-house shots. You may want to attach a tripod - there is a rotating tripod mount ring for this purpose and thankfully it has smooth click stops at the horizontal and vertical points.

You'll also appreciate the provision of a raised white index dot at the point of mounting - I would assume that the Canon-mount version of this lens would have a raised dot as well. It allows you to feel for the correct meeting position of camera and lens in the dark if you need to change things. Some lens makers omit this and it is a real curse trying to index things by feeling the back of a bayonet mount or diving down under seats to see by the light of a pocket torch.

Please note that other photographers might appreciate the fast nature of this lens - field sports shooters who work under lights - nature photographers who might be in the gloom of a forest or bush area - surveillance workers who need to see at dusk. All would benefit.

Please also note that the new designs and finishes of Sigma lenses are really top-notch. There is no reason to regard them as anything but truly professional optics - backed with a two-year warranty.

This new lens is available right now in store and from the on-line shop. I have to give it back but you don't...if you buy it.


* I'm not really complaining. It's restful there in the dark.

Update Your Experiences With The New GoPro Hero 4 Firmware

We've just gotten news from the distributors of the GoPro products that there are firmware updates for the popular Hero 4 model. Apparently the new instructions will effect these changes:

1. Built -in video trimming will enable you to save short highlight clips from your videos right on the camera. You can send them to others with the GoPro App. This feature works with the Hero4 Black when you have the LCD Touch BacPac.

2. Chinese language UI - this will be over the front and rear LCD screens and HDMI output.

3. ISO 800 and 3200 - There is a feature called Protune video that captures darker video in low light with reduced noise and graininess at 800 ISO. 3200ISO will give a brighter image but more noise.

Big, Fast And Heavy - Mitacon For E-Mount

If thou hast a Sony E-mount camera and wouldst see in the dark, hie thee hence and look at the Mitacon f:0.95 lens that has just arrived.

It be called the 50mm f:0.95 Speedmaster and presenteth itself in what may well be the most imaginative case we have yet seen. Even the Japanese - normally the masters of packaging - have not done something as artistic as this. Definitely not a cardboard box that you toss in the bin...

The lens itself is well-built. It is of the HLS design and features an aperture ring without click stops - I think this is deliberate so as to allow easier use during video work. The focusing mechanism is slow, but steady.

The price is moderate, considering the remarkably large maximum aperture of 0.95. Combined with the sort of extended ISO capability of some of he Sony cameras, this should make low-light shooting even more practical.

In-store right now. (Available here) Videographers please take note.

Low Light High ISO Hasselblad

Looks like Hasselblad have released a new camera designed to get a higher ISO going for the medium format world. Called the Hasselblad H5D-50C.

It uses a new CMOS sensor with a range of ISO from 100 to 6400. And a whopping 14 stop dynamic range! Which beats every camera I have ever owned all hollow.

The shutter can go from 12 minutes to 1/800 of a second and if you are in a hurry to stack more images in it can zip through at 1.5 FPS. Thats a lot of data writing onto a big sensor so this thing hustles.

It matches H series lenses and all the other viewing accessories. and works with all the normal Hasselblad software.

Nikon D4s In Stock Now

Folks,

Saul and the Rental Boys* - Thomas and Jason - asked me to mention that the new Nikon D4s is in stock now and an example is also available for rental.

High-speed, high-rate photography. Fashion shoots. Low-light shoots. Heavy duty photography. All possible with he D4s - it is the flagship of the Nikon fleet.

Call in now and try the best.

* Not a pop group, but it could be. Depends on the singing.

Back In Black - And Better For It

A month or so ago I reported on a chrome version of the Voigtländer Nokton 50mm f:1.5 lens that was passing through the shop stock. I am ashamed to say that I made fun of it for looking like a refugee from a the set of  "Metropolis". The lens is a good performer but I considered the aesthetics over the top.

Two more examples of this lens have come in - these are in black. The appearance is greatly improved, and should you elect to take it out with your Leica or Voigtlander or Fuji  or Ricoh ( with adapter ), you will have a wonderful street shooting lens. Discrete where the other was garish.

Build quality? Superb metal finish and  smooth operation. Aspherical formula.

Night Vision

No, we aren't talking about those big pairs of binoculars you use on the conning tower of a submarine - or those green electronic scopes that snipers use. We are referring to the new course at Shoot Photography Workshops that aims to make a low light lansdcape artist of you.


The presentation is to be done by a recognized expert in the field - Greg Hocking. Greg is an AIPP Australian Landscape Photographer of the Year, an International Hasselblad Master, and a winner of numerous WAPP Curators awards. Better yet, in view of the fact that he has been clambering over slippery rocks in half light lugging cumbersome photographic gear - for years and years and has not disappeared over the edge into the surf - he is careful and lucky. This is a very good thing to learn.

Come along to the Shoot Photography Workshops on Sunday, the 19th of August and find out how you can share this luck and expertise. He'll be detailing the sort of cameras and lenses that you will need, as well as the tripods and special accessories that make for success. He'll be showing you what to look for in the darkening landscape. And it is not just talk - you'll get a hands-on chance to try it yourself under Greg's supervision.

This accounts for the timing on the day - the course runs from 2:00 in the afternoon to 7:00 in the evening. You'll get an full spectrum of information provided by Greg and a full spectrum of light provided by Nature.

Cost is $ 295 - spaces are filling rapidly, and you can include yourself by booking on the website:

                                                      shootworkshops.com.au