Kirk L-Plate for the 5D Mark III

August 10, 2012 by

Got my Kirk BL-5DIII plate on Tuesday, and would like to share some thoughts about it. It’s a good design with some oversights.

Pros:

  • You can buy it right now. The RRS plate for the 5D3 is still backordered. Shipping to Hungary was also $27 less with this plate than it would be for the RRS. Both plates cost $140.
  • I really appreciate the second locking point at the strap loop. My 1D2 fell off from its RRS plate a few years back. The plate was on the 1D2 for a few years, and the thread in the tripod screw socket suddenly gave up. Fortunately the losses were just a remote switch and the EUR 70-80 repair cost of the socket. All in all, having a second mounting point could prevent this. This is a big plus.
  • It is light. Feels lighter than RRS plates.
  • I prefer its form factor compared to the RRS plate.

Cons:

  • The base of the plate around the screw does not fit flush against the camera body. There’s no precise locking point when you tighten the screw. I suspect that I could tear out the socket if I over-tighten. I definitely prefer RRS and Wimberley plates in this regard.
  • The front of the plate tends to punch a hole in your hand if you happen to handhold your camera. It is a major oversight! It was a painful discovery on my part, so I immediately reached for a file and rounded the offending corner. But this should be done by Kirk!

“Custom” Rounded Corner

Overall I’m satisfied with the plate, and would give it 3.5/5 stars.

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Gitzo 3532LS First Impressions

July 20, 2012 by

I had sold my 8 years old Gitzo 1325 tripod along with my 5D Mark II a few weeks ago, so I was looking for a new tripod. There was nothing wrong with the 1325, I just had an opportunity to step up. I was looking for something similarly spec’d. This boiled down to two choices: the new (2012) Gitzo 3532LS and the RRS TVC-33. They are shockingly similar in all aspects, except two: the “I’m an expensive tripod, steal me” pattern on the RRS and their prices. The RRS retails for $925 (which is about 960 EUR after shipping and import duties), but I bought the Gitzo for 680 EUR including shipping (both are net prices). That is, the RRS is 40% more. Simply does not worth it.

The 3532LS is a great tripod. But even the 1325 was a great one. Weight is about the same. Length is about the same (add or take a few grams and millimeters). Gitzo added some nice features to their newest generation, however:

  • Leg locks. On the 1325 I had to learn the exact torque that I should use to tighten the locks – tightening the upper ones a tad more than the lower ones. Just to avoid inadvertent unlocking. The G-Lock system does not let the legs to rotate, so this is not an issue any more.
  • Included spiked feet and snow feet. The spikes are rubber covered. The snow/mud feet looks a bit clumsy compared to the huge one I had for the 1325. But that size was really prohibitive – I had used them only once in 8 years. These smaller ones will find a permanent place in my bag.
  • Spare washers and grease is included (as well as wrenches and a dust cover).
  • Although I had no issue with the 1325’s top plate locking system (and I had carried it over my shoulder with the 500/4 attached a lot), the new secure locking system is a welcome addition.
  • Max load is doubled (25kg now).
  • The entire tripod seems to dampen vibrations much quicker and better than the 1325 did.
  • Weight hook at the bottom of the top plate. Great to hang your heavy bag (or a beanbag) here in windy conditions. I really appreciate this addition.
  • A carabiner hole on the rim of the top plate (I prefer to attach the strap with a carabiner than wrapping around the head).
  • Leg angle stops can be pulled out from the outside (there are finger recesses on both sides), so you don’t have to push them out from inwards. Nice!

The only negative thing I found was that after removing the top plate, some of the exposed edges were quite rough. Actually they were not deburred. I thought that they will scar my fingers in the worst moment, so picked up a file and deburred those edges.

I hope that this product will prove to be at least as reliable as it’s predecessor. It’ll stay with me for the upcoming decade – or even more.

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First Flight Shooting with the 5D3

July 1, 2012 by

Yesterday evening I went out to Lake Tisza for a two hour flight shooting test. Courtship feeding was in progress these days in the whiskered tern colony and I thought that that could be a good test for auto focus capabilities, and a chance for me to learn to use the new AF system.

I’ve used two lenses: a 500mm f/4L IS USM with the 1.4x II extender, and a 400mm f/5.6L USM. Both lenses had an 600EX flash attached to a bracket with a Better Beamer – for just a gentle touch of fill light. I shot handheld with both lenses. Yes, it is not the funniest thing to follow fast moving birds with about 6kg of glass and metal, but wanted to know how it feels with the smaller body of the 5D3.

Self-Shadow

The new AF system worked quite well. It was as good if not better than the aging system in my 1D Mark II. Coming from the 1D2, the ability to show the active AF points in the finder was a real boon – I could instantly refocus when the system catched the otherwise busy background.

I was surprised that I did not feel the need for the grip when shooting with the 500mm. Although the 5D3 is not that much bigger than the 5D2 was, it fits my largish hand much better. I was able to grip the body securely and maneuver the 500mm lens with it. I was even more surprised that with the 400mm I could use the grip – the rig felt somehow nose-heavy. Or I just missed the hand strap. This point needs more testing. But at the moment I think I will work without the grip for at least a month or so.

Images are first class, there’s nothing to complain about them. I really love the huge 22 megapixel files – I can crop them as needed later without risking my usual A3+ sized bird print quality.

For those interested in the f/8 thing. I started to avoid shooting with the 2x teleconverter since the 1DX specs arrived – just to see if there’s anything I miss with it. Actually I have gained a lot – better image quality (the 2x II is quite a lemon). I also had to push myself and move closer to the birds. It proved to be great fun – the closer you are the more you became a part of their lives. Bottom line: don’t feel a burning need for the f/8 focusing capability at the moment. I just let those images that would need the 2x go.

Courtship Gift

Regarding the bad things. There a few of course. The most irritating of them is the auto brightness control algorithm. On several occasions the screen remained so dark that I can’t see a thing on it (it was golden hour, so the sunlight was quite muted). When I pressed the play button sometimes brightness came back. So I ended up turning off the auto thing and controlling brightness myself.

Another observation that makes me sad is the inability to judge sharpness from the LCD. I do AF microadjustment check/recalibration before each shot for the actual working distance. But frankly I was unable to judge where the focal plane is without cranking up JPEG sharpening seriously. But that have a negative side effect on the histogram and blinkies. I would like to see the LCD image properly sharpened for the camera’s display (or even a custom function that would allow slightly over-sharpening it so that one can judge sharpness much easier) without affecting the JPEGs and the histogram. Maybe in the 5D4 or 5…

All in all I really love the 5D3. It is a joy to work with this camera. Is it perfect? Far from it. But if I treat is as a tool then I’m sure it will produce some great images in the upcoming 3-4 years.

Filed Under: My Photos, Photo Equipment Tagged With: , , ,

Canon 5D Mark III Initial Impressions

June 28, 2012 by

Finally got my 5D Mark III today! Spent the last 2.5 hours on updating the firmware and setting it up the way I use to use Canon bodies and did some initial tests. For the curious and impatient: it’s a 8 out of 10 body in my opinion.

What I like:

  • Construction. Feels more like an 1D than a 5D. No flexing and squeaking parts when you squeeze it. Also like that it is a bit heavier than the Mark II was – it fits my large hands much better.
  • Speed and responsiveness. This camera really reacts fast. Feels even faster than my aging 1D Mark II.
  • In the few shots I made colors seemed more natural than the Mark II, but I think future versions Capture One should improve their handling of the files.
  • The ability to reverse the top and back dials for manual mode. I usually shoot in Av, and prefer to use the mail (top) dial for setting aperture even in M mode. This was always working on the 1 series, and finally it is available on the 5D!
  • Like that Canon went forward in the level of customization – it’s still quite limited, and not enough for me, but at least the direction is good.
  • Depth of field preview button is finally on the right side.
  • The remote release socket is moved down to the position where it was on the original 5D. Mark II was a pain to use in the portrait position with a RRS L-bracket. I really appreciate this change.
  • The live view/movie mode switch. I don’t care about movie shooting at all, so it’s great that all the movie related stuff is moved away in still image mode.
  • The LCD. It is way better that the old one was. Finally Canon made and LCD with the aspect ratio of the images the camera produce.

All in all, it’s light years ahead of the 5D Mark II. Does it reach the level of the 1 series? Not really. There are few things that I strongly dislike (some are shared with the 1DX and I would dislike them even on that body):

  • No dedicated mirror lock-up button. This is ages old… Maybe sometimes somebody will listen… I would love to set mirror lock-up to the M-Fn button!
  • The USB port is a joke. It’s not deep enough, the cable does not sits in it snugly. I had to push it in a couple of times to make a secure connection.
  • Don’t like the on/off switch’s position. I managed to turn off the camera twice while changing the exposure mode.
  • Virtual level. Imprecise, and pain in the ass to use. I’ll continue to use the 3D level in eFinder Tools of my Viewfinder app or a simple 2-axis bubble level.

I dislike several things about the AF system from the user interface design point of view, some are cosmetic, some are pretty serious. It might be that I’m overly sensitive to UI design (this is what I do part time for a living), but these annoy me too much.

  • Illumination is worthless against bright backgrounds. I don’t see that the points are illuminated at all. I would prefer the strong illumination on the former 1-series bodies.
  • They way the grid is implemented. I always disliked this feature on Nikons and preferred the interchangeable focusing screen approach (I use the grid screen on my older bodies). The fact that the gridlines flash red annoys the hell out of me. Especially when I move the active focusing point with the joystick. Of course I can turn off illumination completely, but then I loose it completely…
  • Not to mention the infamous ‘AF point does not illuminate in AI Servo mode’ issue.
  • I ended up using the mode where all 61 points are always displayed (just to know where they are without fiddling with the selection around). When I leave the camera idle for a while (that is, when the bottom part of the viewfinder is not visible) then non-cross-type points are starting to flash. This is OK when I select them, but in this mode it is downright annoying. Imagine you are watching a bird to do something and the camera starts to flash the AF points (all of them except the central region with an 500/4 and 1.4x attached)…

All in all I like the camera – it definitely worth it’s price – but will stick with my 1D Mark II for occasions where the UI of the new AF system does not make me happy. Hope that Canon will fix the AF UI issues in the rumored upcoming firmware update.

Stay tuned for more as I use the camera regularly.

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The Sensor vs the RAW File

June 26, 2012 by

Your camera’s sensor records a lot more than finally appears in your master TIFF file. Actually it might have more pixels than those appearing in the RAW file.

Last year I did a little research about this topic, and the following graphic shows the “big picture”. There are two distinct regions on the sensor: uncovered, regular pixels, and ones covered with a black mask. The black mask is used to determine the black level (i.e. how black is black with regards to thermal noise and sensor design).

One step of processing a RAW file is scaling – mapping all the values between the sensor’s black level and white saturation level into the 0-1 interval. Yes, the blackest black on a sensor is not represented by a zero readout from a pixel. For example, on a Canon 5D Mark II, which is a 14-bit camera and thus each pixel theoretically can be of any value between 0 and 16383, the black level is 1023 and white saturation level is 15600. So you lose a bit at each end.

How the black level is determined varies by vendor to vendor – or Canon vs everybody else. Canon puts the entire image into its RAW files (including the black masked pixels) so a RAW converter have the opportunity to calculate the black level from these pixels on its own. On every other camera I tested (a bunch of Nikons, Leicas, Sonys and Phase One backs) the camera determines the black level and subtracts it from every pixel. That is, the camera does the black half of scaling.

This have severe effect on some applications – astrophotography for example – where one creates multiple exposures and averages them. With a Canon RAW file and proper processing noise in the darkest tone will oscillate around the black level. So noise from multiple averaged exposures will cancel out. With black scaled files however, half of the noise oscillation is cut down and there are no negative values that cancel out positive ones around the black level. All in all, a Canon is theoretically better for averaging than any other camera.

But why the default crop is needed? Why don’t we get all the pixels from the active sensor area? Because RAW conversion algorithms need a startup area. In other words most RAW conversion methods produce ugly artifacts around the borders. So the solution is to simply crop these out.

  ☕ ☕ ☕

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Climbing the Stromboli

June 24, 2012 by

In early June we spent a week long holiday in Sicily. The highlight of the trip for me (both as an experience and as an opportunity to take images) was the ascent to the craters of Stromboli.

We arrived to the island late afternoon, and our host mentioned that we can climb the volcano if we want with the last group that day. This was a fascinating opportunity – to climb the mountain in the best light. The funny thing was that we had no proper equipment – we just grabbed some shoes and pullovers. I always had a Petzl headlight with me, but the girls hadn’t, so I rented a couple of lights and joined the – mostly – properly equipped group.

I had only my vacation equipment with me – a Canon 5D Mark II with three lenses: a 24mm f/2.8, an 50mm f/1.4 USM and a 100mm f/2 USM. I used the 24mm almost exclusively – really like that little lens.

There We Go

Stromboli is an active volcano and it’s not shy to show off. You can see the ash clouds it pumps to the air from the beginning of the trip.

Speaking of the trip itself. The first 400-450m of the ascent is relatively easy. There’s vegetation everywhere, and you walk on soil. After our second break, at around 450m height, things start to get tough. There’s no vegetation from that point, just ash, rocks and wind. Wind that can be furious at times. This was the time to put on all the warm clothing and prepare for another 1-1.5 hours of walking on steep ash-covered slopes.

But the vistas were incredible.

Looking Back at the Village

So much, that I – being the only serious photographer – usually tailed off the group. Fortunately (or not) I had no tripod with me, so composing images was quite fast compared to my usual working methods.

As we approached the last slope, the view behind us turned incredible. Some ash clouds from the crater just floated above the tip of the volcano’s shadow – as if the shadow created them. Took some 10-15 images of the shadow from different angles and turned towards the final slope.

Smoking Shadow

Just about a minute before we reached the flat region before the summit, the Sun dipped below the horizon. Lights were still great, but as the night started to fall a foreign, surreal and hostile world started to materialize in front of my eyes. Squat down behind a rock, trying to stabilize my camera (and protect it from the furious wind).

The following minutes touched me deeply. I felt completely alone, with the wind, the smell of the volcanic fumes and the approaching darkness. The resulting image is my favorite from the entire trip.

Darkness Approaching

Then I heard a huge explosion. This was a complete surprise for everyone. The volcano shot up a huge fountain of molten lava. I had little time to change settings on my camera, so run up to the edge of the wall separating us from the craters – taking pictures on the way.

The following one is the second frame from the series. This one with my fellow group-mates is way stronger that the subsequent ones showing just the volcano and the lava.

The First Surprise

We spent a short hour on the summit, witnessing 3 or 4 eruptions. I really missed my tripod at that time.

The descent was easier physically but harder ash-wise. We literally “skied” down on ash-covered slopes. We had to unload the ash from our footwear twice during the downward part of the trip.

We heard several eruptions during the night, and went down to the port early next morning. The last frame was taken with the 100mm f/2 lens.

First Light

I definitely want to go back to photograph Stromboli – but that time with real photographic equipment (which dictates real climbing equipment because of the sheer weight of my camera bag).

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