Ah Kodachrome.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Canon Cinema Caravan
I'm not sure why but I love this video. It always makes me want to go out and shoot.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Thoughts On Full Frame - The 5D Mark 2
The last two weeks have been absolutely draining. On top of working 9-5 and taking photos for Mammoth Printshop, I shot and edited a wedding reception for a friend of mine, shot and edited a full wedding for another friend, shot and edited engagement photos, shot Rush Week at Auburn for FlipFlop Foto, and shot Bid Day as well as another full wedding for another friend that same day, and shot photographs for The War Eagle Reader at Auburn's Fan Day on Sunday.
I've been busy, and I've needed a little help from my friends.
Specifically, the Canon 5D Mark 2. I've been shooting with the 5D for two weeks, and I'm blown away. I don't think I'll ever be able to move back to cropped sensor cameras.
Shooting full frame gives you a wider angle of view, so when you're used to using a lens from a certain distance you'll have to move in a good bit closer to achieve the same composition. That also means your depth of field will be more shallow because you've moved closer to your subject.
I’ve run into some subtle vignetting when shooting wide open, but it hasn’t been enough to bother me. Actually, I rather like the effect. It’s a very subtle way of bringing the viewer’s eye towards the center of the image. And, if I don’t like it for a certain photo, I can easily take it into Lightroom or Photoshop and adjust accordingly.
This camera's high ISO/low noise performance is INCREDIBLE. Coming from the cropped sensor Rebel XT and 7D, the 5D is just a beast. A very clean, quiet, awesome beast. High ISO looks great, but the expanded low ISO setting of 50 is another awesome feature perfect for really bright sunny days and long, virtually noise free exposures.
(No noise reduction applied in post)
In addition to having great noise performance (even without in camera/post processing noise reduction), the sharpness straight out of camera is fantastic. I'm constantly being shocked to find that the images I've shot even from a distance are crisp, which I was not used to while shooting with the 7D, even when using the same lenses. I was very disappointed in the 7D's SOOC sharpness, but the 5D gives me a breath of fresh air. A lot of people will say that every camera's RAW file needs a certain amount of sharpening before its usable. This may be true, but its great having most of the work done for you before you even get into post.
(Taken at f/1.8)
The 5D's 3.9 frames per second shooting speed won't win any races. Compared to the 7D's 8fps its just downright slow. That being said, the 5D isn't geared towards sports/wildlife shooters. I was reading a few 5D Mark II user posts on http://dpreview.com/ and saw a great comment that compared the 5D Mk 2 to a truck, and the 7D to a sports car. The 5D is great for landscape and portrait work where resolution and dynamic range are crucial. The 7D is more geared towards sports photographers who need to be sure they get the shot in a short amount of time.
Something else that’s different with the 5d compared to the other cameras I’ve used in the past is the need for speed in the cards you use. Even shooting in the sRAW size it takes forever to write files to the CF card if I’m using a standard speed. The two 4 gig 30mb/s cards I have do the trick fine.
In that same vein, the file sizes are MASSIVE. I haven’t even used the full resolution RAW file yet because my computer would simply tell me to go screw myself. Thank goodness for the sRAW file sizes, effectively using 10 or 5 megapixels.
Something I really do miss from the 7D is the electronic level which is absent on the 5D. This made it easy to be 100% on your leveling in camera instead of finding later that it was slightly crooked, forcing you to sacrifice image area for straightening. Another thing I'm not a fan of is the on/off/scroll wheel on/off button placement. Its really awkward to have to shift your grip to turn the camera off, and the actual lever isn't really the easiest thing to move. I also don't understand why Canon makes turning off the back scroll wheel an option. Why would anyone want that feature disabled while shooting? When I first opened the box and started playing with the camera I thought I had a dud because the aperture wouldn't change when I moved the scroll wheel in Manual mode. There's got to be a reason, so if you know it, tell me.
Another thing I miss from the 7D is its AutoFocus. AF on the 5D is slow and has to search for objects in low light. The AF points (the few there are) are clustered in the center and would be better served scattered throughout the viewfinder.
Video on the 5D is everything I want and nothing I don't.
I've been busy, and I've needed a little help from my friends.
Specifically, the Canon 5D Mark 2. I've been shooting with the 5D for two weeks, and I'm blown away. I don't think I'll ever be able to move back to cropped sensor cameras.
Shooting full frame gives you a wider angle of view, so when you're used to using a lens from a certain distance you'll have to move in a good bit closer to achieve the same composition. That also means your depth of field will be more shallow because you've moved closer to your subject.
I’ve run into some subtle vignetting when shooting wide open, but it hasn’t been enough to bother me. Actually, I rather like the effect. It’s a very subtle way of bringing the viewer’s eye towards the center of the image. And, if I don’t like it for a certain photo, I can easily take it into Lightroom or Photoshop and adjust accordingly.
This camera's high ISO/low noise performance is INCREDIBLE. Coming from the cropped sensor Rebel XT and 7D, the 5D is just a beast. A very clean, quiet, awesome beast. High ISO looks great, but the expanded low ISO setting of 50 is another awesome feature perfect for really bright sunny days and long, virtually noise free exposures.
(No noise reduction applied in post)
In addition to having great noise performance (even without in camera/post processing noise reduction), the sharpness straight out of camera is fantastic. I'm constantly being shocked to find that the images I've shot even from a distance are crisp, which I was not used to while shooting with the 7D, even when using the same lenses. I was very disappointed in the 7D's SOOC sharpness, but the 5D gives me a breath of fresh air. A lot of people will say that every camera's RAW file needs a certain amount of sharpening before its usable. This may be true, but its great having most of the work done for you before you even get into post.
(Taken at f/1.8)
The 5D's 3.9 frames per second shooting speed won't win any races. Compared to the 7D's 8fps its just downright slow. That being said, the 5D isn't geared towards sports/wildlife shooters. I was reading a few 5D Mark II user posts on http://dpreview.com/ and saw a great comment that compared the 5D Mk 2 to a truck, and the 7D to a sports car. The 5D is great for landscape and portrait work where resolution and dynamic range are crucial. The 7D is more geared towards sports photographers who need to be sure they get the shot in a short amount of time.
Something else that’s different with the 5d compared to the other cameras I’ve used in the past is the need for speed in the cards you use. Even shooting in the sRAW size it takes forever to write files to the CF card if I’m using a standard speed. The two 4 gig 30mb/s cards I have do the trick fine.
In that same vein, the file sizes are MASSIVE. I haven’t even used the full resolution RAW file yet because my computer would simply tell me to go screw myself. Thank goodness for the sRAW file sizes, effectively using 10 or 5 megapixels.
Something I really do miss from the 7D is the electronic level which is absent on the 5D. This made it easy to be 100% on your leveling in camera instead of finding later that it was slightly crooked, forcing you to sacrifice image area for straightening. Another thing I'm not a fan of is the on/off/scroll wheel on/off button placement. Its really awkward to have to shift your grip to turn the camera off, and the actual lever isn't really the easiest thing to move. I also don't understand why Canon makes turning off the back scroll wheel an option. Why would anyone want that feature disabled while shooting? When I first opened the box and started playing with the camera I thought I had a dud because the aperture wouldn't change when I moved the scroll wheel in Manual mode. There's got to be a reason, so if you know it, tell me.
Another thing I miss from the 7D is its AutoFocus. AF on the 5D is slow and has to search for objects in low light. The AF points (the few there are) are clustered in the center and would be better served scattered throughout the viewfinder.
Video on the 5D is everything I want and nothing I don't.
Mammoth Shop Tour from Zac Henderson on Vimeo.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
BTS Video
So fstoppers.com had a behind the scenes video contest. I wanted to submit something, but I also wanted to wait on the 5Dmk2 to film it. As the deadline drew near for submissions, I realized that I was just making excuses. So, instead of sitting and doing nothing, I called Tiffany and we made a quick and dirty BTS video for the latest installment in the T-shirt Fashion series. Its nothing special, and I feel like I look super goofy, but I felt lazy not making it so here it is.
BTS Video from Zac Henderson on Vimeo.
Behind the scenes video for F/Stoppers.com
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
More Video
I had some spare footage lying around on my HD and so I thought I'd make another video.
Shot for Mammoth Printshop
Shot on a Canon 7D with a 50mm 1.8II
Time lapse segments were shot with a Canon Digital Rebel XT using a graphing calculator as an intervalometer.
Shot for Mammoth Printshop
Mammoth Clips from Zac Henderson on Vimeo.
Shot on a Canon 7D with a 50mm 1.8II
Time lapse segments were shot with a Canon Digital Rebel XT using a graphing calculator as an intervalometer.
Monday, July 26, 2010
New Fashion Photo
Another fashion shoot down. Several more to go. I wasn't 100% on this one, but I've grown to like it more with time.
The 5D mk2 still hasn't shipped yet. I ended up buying a demo from Adorama instead of a brand new body. This should be interesting because I'll be able to express thoughts about not only the 5D, but also about buying demo products.
From what I've gathered a "demo" camera/product is basically one that has been taken out of a box and used by employees to demonstrate how the product works. This does mean that the camera has been used, but should be in much better condition than a previous owner would have put it through.
Adorama has not received the new demos from Canon as of yet, but the person I've been talking to at Adorama assures me it should be here before the 7th of August.
The 5D mk2 still hasn't shipped yet. I ended up buying a demo from Adorama instead of a brand new body. This should be interesting because I'll be able to express thoughts about not only the 5D, but also about buying demo products.
From what I've gathered a "demo" camera/product is basically one that has been taken out of a box and used by employees to demonstrate how the product works. This does mean that the camera has been used, but should be in much better condition than a previous owner would have put it through.
Adorama has not received the new demos from Canon as of yet, but the person I've been talking to at Adorama assures me it should be here before the 7th of August.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
High Fashion T-Shirts
I'm working on a T-Shirt fashion shoot for Mammoth Printshop that merges the simple T-shirt with high fashion photography.
Basically the idea is that I'll be shooting models done up with high fashion makeup, hair, etc, as well as a large production feel for the sole purpose of advertising a T-shirt. This past weekend Tiffany (my model of choice + my fiance) and I shot a test image for the series. Right now its waiting to be approved by the owner, so we'll see if he goes for it or if he wants something a little more down to earth.
Here is a short short video of us setting up. You may notice us putting tin foil on the outside of an umbrella. This was just an experiment to see what it would look like if the light from the flash goes through the umbrella fabric, bounces off of the foil, and then travels back through the umbrella fabric onto the model. I'm not sure how much of a difference it made. I don't know why I didn't shoot a comparison shot. Anyway, the two shots in the studio below were shot with that umbrella as the key.
Basically the idea is that I'll be shooting models done up with high fashion makeup, hair, etc, as well as a large production feel for the sole purpose of advertising a T-shirt. This past weekend Tiffany (my model of choice + my fiance) and I shot a test image for the series. Right now its waiting to be approved by the owner, so we'll see if he goes for it or if he wants something a little more down to earth.
Here is a short short video of us setting up. You may notice us putting tin foil on the outside of an umbrella. This was just an experiment to see what it would look like if the light from the flash goes through the umbrella fabric, bounces off of the foil, and then travels back through the umbrella fabric onto the model. I'm not sure how much of a difference it made. I don't know why I didn't shoot a comparison shot. Anyway, the two shots in the studio below were shot with that umbrella as the key.
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