Listening to the Voices in My Head

Over the past few days, I have been putting the new Canon 5DmkIV to the test.

And for the most part, I will have to say it's passed with flying colors.

It isn't made for sports or fast action photography, or wildlife photography, but you know something? I was able to track and photograph birds flying overhead, with amazing accuracy. With the high speed continuous shutter not being as loud as its' predecessor, it can be used for wildlife photography without scaring away your subjects, most of the time (there are always some that are camera shy).

Over the weekend, I used the 5D4 at the Perth Zoo (not many moving subjects) and at Herdsman Lake, in Selby, where there were a lot of moving subjects.

Perth Zoo:

Silver Gull doing a flyby - The AF tracking kept the gull in focus



AF focusing, AI Servo mode, kept the dragonfly, in flight, in focus.



Auto ISO works a treat, and the new sensor; even in shady conditions, you don't get excessive noise.



Details, sharpness and better dynamic resolution.



Herdsman Lake:

AI Servo Auto Focus Tracking keeps the running Purple Swamphen in focus.



Tracking a Kite overhead, the 5D4 kept the subject in focus.



Nankeen Night Heron coming in for a landing.



Straight from camera, the dynamic range is heads and shoulder above the 5D4's previous incarnations.



To sum up: it's not just a few extra tweaks or a new coat of paint. Many of the above shots I would not have been able to do with the 5D3. Not saying the 5D3 is a bad camera, but it's successor is just that much better.

In the process of shifting close to 500 photos taken over the past few days to HD storage.

Have wiped down the camera, and will be doing same to the lenses, as there was rain, and salt spray from the ocean/waves/breakers.

Also found out the hard way that my hiking boots are about 1cm too small. No wonder toes felt like they were breaking.

#canoncollective #canonaustralia

Handheld Canon 7D2, 100-400mkII with Canon 1.4x mkIII extender using 'back button' focusing.

I have been using the Kipon EF Mount Adapter on my Olympus EM1 using both the Canon 100-400mkII L f/4.5 and the Canon 70-200mkII L f/2.8 with interesting results.

I have found that of the lenses that Kipon didn't test, the 100-400 performs better on speed of focus, and locking focus than the 70-200mkII. This includes when using 1.4xMkIII extender.

Lighting: HUGE thing they don't mention is that you have to have nice bright ambient light to use autofocus, but need to switch to manual focus in dimmer light. I suggest using a flash if you have to do this.

Also, with or without the 1.4x extender, when using the 100-400, when zooming about 50 to 60% (200mm to 300mm) the image in the viewfinder goes dark, f stop misreads to 0.09. It does return normal when I get to the full 400mm zoom.

Focus Speed: Today, it was cloudy, rather dim ambient light. The 100-400mkII focusing speed is fractionally slower than using the Olympus Lens with the MFT adapter. The 70-200mkII is extremely slower, if it would focus at all.

I think part of the problem with this is that it's the "Mark One" adapter, mostly tested with older lenses. You have to really dig to find out which lenses were tested with this adapter before it was put out on the market. The older Canon L glass were tested as were the 'kit' lenses. Who knows, maybe Mark Two will be address these issues.

Do not take this to mean it's of no use. For the price, it's a great way to extend what lenses you can use with your MFTs kit. Just remember, if you're using the MkII lenses, make sure it's nice and bright outside and expect it to be a bit slower to focus.

"Canon Photo 5" is no more. It's been superseded by "Canon Shine".

It's turned into an internet popularity contest. If you have a large Twitter, FB, or other blog/media site friends list, no one who doesn't have one stands a snow balls chance in hell. Those with huge friends lists will get 'voting swarms'. The 'winner' becomes their free of charge spokesperson for Canon ads, getting little else than a bit of international viewing.

This is a damned shame, and really makes me sad. It does. I was really looking forward to this years Canon Photo 5. Sorry, Canon Australia. You've dropped the ball on this one. No more inspiration in a little brown box.