Shiny new things
26th February 2011
Things have been a bit quiet with me photographically for the last month or so, as I started a new job, which has limited my photographic time. However this change in circumstances allowed new opportunities on the equipment front and I treated myself to not just one, but two new cameras - I know it's a bit greedy of me as I can only use one at any given time, but hey I managed to justify it to myself, and more importantly to Mike, so it can't be too bad :-)
The first is a Canon G12 compact, which I have been considering for a few months, since I dropped my small Ixus compact in London and broke it. Although I didn't use it often I always had it with me and it served me well on a number of occasions (including taking images of a hill fire which were published on the front page and inside spread of the South Wales Post newspaper) and I felt quite vulnerable without it. Although not as small as the Ixus, the G12 is much more rugged, controllable and the image quality is great, I can use it in situations that I wouldn't (or haven't) taken the SLR. I have used it on a few occasions now and have been really impressed with the results - a few examples are shown below.
My second new camera is a rather different proposition. When Canon upgraded my trusted 5D to the MKii I made the decision that other than the resolution uplift, the camera didn't offer enough to tempt me to trade up. For the past couple of years I have been happy with that decision, I was happy with the quality of the output I was generating and have instead concentrated on upgrading the lenses I use to L series glass. However recently I have found myself wanting a little more from the camera, like a fully weather sealed body to protect it in the dreadful conditions I seem to find myself shooting in these days, more selectable focus points to help compose when using a tripod, faster continuous shooting and of course more resolution (with better noise control at high ISOs). I considered the 1D mk iv briefly, but came to the conclusion that a full frame sensor is just too important to me (for wide angle shooting and depth of field control) to compromise on. So I had decided to hold off for a while until the 1DS mk iv was released which I reckoned must be pretty imminent. But then I started to hear from a variety of reliable sources that Canon's plans for the flagship camera might not match my requirements (see canon rumours.com). So after quite a bit of soul searching and internal debate (about specification v requirements, age of technology v cost, availability v pose factor etc) - I decided to bit the bullet and I'm now the very proud owner of a shiny 1DS mk iii. After extensive reading of the manual and considerable customisation of the camera functions, I gave it a workout at the botanic gardens - I am just blown away by the detail it can resolve. I guess I need to get out there and start using it in anger now!
The first is a Canon G12 compact, which I have been considering for a few months, since I dropped my small Ixus compact in London and broke it. Although I didn't use it often I always had it with me and it served me well on a number of occasions (including taking images of a hill fire which were published on the front page and inside spread of the South Wales Post newspaper) and I felt quite vulnerable without it. Although not as small as the Ixus, the G12 is much more rugged, controllable and the image quality is great, I can use it in situations that I wouldn't (or haven't) taken the SLR. I have used it on a few occasions now and have been really impressed with the results - a few examples are shown below.
My second new camera is a rather different proposition. When Canon upgraded my trusted 5D to the MKii I made the decision that other than the resolution uplift, the camera didn't offer enough to tempt me to trade up. For the past couple of years I have been happy with that decision, I was happy with the quality of the output I was generating and have instead concentrated on upgrading the lenses I use to L series glass. However recently I have found myself wanting a little more from the camera, like a fully weather sealed body to protect it in the dreadful conditions I seem to find myself shooting in these days, more selectable focus points to help compose when using a tripod, faster continuous shooting and of course more resolution (with better noise control at high ISOs). I considered the 1D mk iv briefly, but came to the conclusion that a full frame sensor is just too important to me (for wide angle shooting and depth of field control) to compromise on. So I had decided to hold off for a while until the 1DS mk iv was released which I reckoned must be pretty imminent. But then I started to hear from a variety of reliable sources that Canon's plans for the flagship camera might not match my requirements (see canon rumours.com). So after quite a bit of soul searching and internal debate (about specification v requirements, age of technology v cost, availability v pose factor etc) - I decided to bit the bullet and I'm now the very proud owner of a shiny 1DS mk iii. After extensive reading of the manual and considerable customisation of the camera functions, I gave it a workout at the botanic gardens - I am just blown away by the detail it can resolve. I guess I need to get out there and start using it in anger now!