Dan Chung´s Blog

Eos 5D's arrived today

My brand new Eos5D's arrived today just in time to take this photo of rehersals for a requiem at St Paul's cathedral.  I'll update my progress with the 5D when I've had more time to evaluate it.   But so far I am so impressed!

Ricoh launch GR Digital

Ricoh have finally launched their digital version of the GR1 range of compacts.  The film version has been a favourite take everywhere camera of many photojournalists for years.  Sadly the specs don't seem that impressive, especially compared to the company's own budget 8 megapixel GX8 compact which I've been using for a few months.  Still the proof will be in the pudding, I'll wait and see what the shutter lag, buffer and low light performance is like.  For now you can see more details in Swedish here

Hands on with the EOS5D

I've just had a brief hands on with the new Eos5D and WOW! it is the camera I have been waiting for.   Since the launch of the Eos1DS I have been using full frame Canon digital SLR's for everyday assignments, my biggest complaint to date has been that the 1 series cameras are too big and heavy.  Enter the 5D, in answer to many of the demands of working photojournalists we now have a 12.8 million pixel full frame body at about half the price of my current 1DSmk2.  It feels wonderful in the hand, especially without the optional grip.  The build quality seems excellent, more robust feeling than my 20D, with all the controls falling in the right places. The shutter is snappy enough with a claimed 75ms response time (compared to around 55ms on the 1D), and the AF seems almost as fast as a 1Dmk2.  The camera shoots at 3 frames a second which for the way I work is fast enough about 95% of the time, what's more important is the delay between pressing the button and the shot been taken is acceptable and consistant (and I have a 1Dmk2 for sports and action events anyway).  People who insist on 5 or 8 frames a second cameras for news and features must have quickly forgotten that we used to shoot regularly on Canon D2000's (and even FM2's and Leicas before that)  at around 2.5 frames a second and rarely missed the action.  I shot a lot of the Euro 2004 soccer championship on my 1DS at 3 fps.

I've seen sample images taken with the 5D up to 1600 asa and I can say they look almost indistinguishable from my 1DSmk2, which is certainly plenty good enough for magazine and newspaper use. Unfortunately I couldn't get samples to post here but dpreview has some up already. The JPEG images are crisp at default settings and I'm expecting great things of the RAW files once the new processing software comes out. 

Personally I will be adding 2 of these to my bag ASAP.  This is me with what I hope to be carrying in a couple of months, note the shiney new 1Dmk2n also in the shot with the new 430ex flash atop it.

Hands on with the Nikon D2X

Well, along with several other shooters I've been using a late pre production D2x at London fashion week.  I've posted a small gallery of low res images here.  As a long term Canon user I can say I'm quite impressed with the D2x image quality especially at low ISO.  The overall handling of the camera is the same as the D2h except that the screen is better and the menus are even more complex.  The camera is fast in operation and the AF seemed no worse on the walking runway models than my Canon 1DmkII.  I got the best results with Nikon's marvellous 200mm f2 AF lens which I love.

Ok, the bad news, with the pre-production sample I was using, in Jpeg fine at 800 asa with noise reduction off there seemed to be faint but visable diagonal stripe noise across the whole image.  With noise reduction on there was some bad detail loss and what I can only descirbe as a pastel like effect.  I'm not sure how much of this can be avoided by shooting NEF as Nikon did not have the latest Nikon capture software at the event.  I'm also not sure whether the noise would actually be apparent in newsprint as it is only obviously visable at 100% magnification, so for majority of news photographers it is unlikely to be a big issue.  I did not get a chance to try over 800 asa though.

Would I change from my trusty 1Ds and 1DmkII cameras back to Nikon, I don't think so as I've got used to the full frame and faster shooting rates that those cameras offer.  If you are on the Nikon system there is real food for thought now, if you don't need corrected ultrawides and seldom go over 800 asa then you now have a real choice.

800 asa crop of image centre at 100%, D2x, 28-70 f2.8 (Click to enlarge)

The same image full frame downsized to fit on screen

800 asa crop of image centre with Noise reduction on, 17-55 f2.8

Nikon UK announce pricing for D2x

According to their latest press release Nikon have announced pricing and availability for the eagerly awaited D2x and 300mm f2.8 VR lens. The suggested retail price for the camera will be £3499.99 and lens £3999.99. The lens is available now and the camera on February 25th.

Canon post EOS1DMkII firmware version 1.1.0

Canon have promised improvements to the AI Servo focus of the 1DmkII and 1DSmkII with the latest version of their firmware.  It also features reduced startup time and support for the new WFT-E1 wireless transmitter.  You can download it here

Leica R to EOS adapter heaven

No your not seeing things, this really is a Leica lens on an EOS body.  Patrick at Aperture photographic was kind enough to supply me with one of these adapters that allow various R lenses to be mounted on your favourite EOS.  It has no coupling with body so there is no auto aperture, just stopped down metering, and of course no autofocus.  So why try it?  well the answer is simple, Leica lenses rock! 

I've just spent the afternoon wondering around with a current ROM version Leica 35mm f2.8 R lens on my trusty EOS1Ds and been really impressed with the results.  If you click on the picture on the left you will see the full frame image, and below a 100% crop of the same image.  I haven't done a full comparison with my Canon 35mm f2 but the difference in colour and sharpness is an obvious improvement.  Somehow the Leica image just looks more "natural" and resolves more detail.  I can't wait to try some of Leica's other glass.   

A word of caution though, only certain Leica lenses work as some designs have a rear element that sticks out too much and could hit the camera mirror.  A good guide to compatibility can be found here

Other adapters are available from companies like Cameraquest that allow mounting of Olympus, Nikon and Contax manual lenses on an EOS body.  I'd really like to see what some of them will do.

Olympus expand E system

Olympus have been pushing hard to persuade people that their Four Thirds system digital cameras are the way forward. This month the company launched their new E300 camera, currently the cheapest available eight megapixel SLR costing less than £700 with kit lens. Whilst this and the flagship five meagpixel E1 camera are slower and less robust than some Nikons and Canons they do have some advantages. The reduced chip size of the Four Thirds system allows for smaller, lighter body design and the E300 has even managed to get rid of the Pentaprism with the use of an elaborate four mirror system and a sideways swinging mirror. The cameras also have a unique Ultrasonic wave cleaning system for the sensor said to eliminate the problem of dust blobs. The 2.0x magnification of the E-series cameras is a boon for telephoto shooters as the company offers both a 150mm f2.0 and 300 f2.8. The 150mm has the effective field of view of a 300mm f2.0 on a film SLR, and the 300mm a 600mm f2.8. Wideangles are more of a problem but a 11-22mm f2.8-3.5 is apparently on the way.

Photography students in the UK are currently being offered a special package from Olympus of an E1 and 14-54mm lens at half price in attempt to win them over to the system.

While many Canon and Nikon users are unlikely to change to the E-system there are times when a small discreet SLR might be advantageous, in fact the E300 with a fixed lens is not much bigger than my Epson digital rangefinder. Legendary former AP shooter Max Nash is currently using Olympus E1 cameras for his daily work.

Nikon D2H now $1999

Several websites have been reporting that Nikon USA has dropped the price of it's D2H body to an amazing $1999.  It remains unclear if prices in the UK will drop to match this, but dealers have been speculating about a £1400-1500 price point.  Current theories abound on the internet about the motives behind the drop, some say the camera will soon be replaced with a D2???, some that it is a move to compete more with Canon's eight mega pixel EOS20D as no new Nikon D100 replacement is in sight, still others say that the upcoming D2x is so good that there is in fact no place in the lineup for a D2h.  The move also seems to have annoyed many existing D2h owners who were hoping for good trade in values against the D2x.  While it is true that a lot of photographers have complained of the D2h's less than accurate colour reproduction and high ISO noise, better quality can be achieved by shooting in the Nikon NEF format and converting using the Adobe Photoshop CS RAW plug in or Nikon capture.  For $1999 it is still a very usable and well built pro SLR, a real choice for many on a budget who would otherwise be looking at D100's or used Canon EOS1D's instead.

JVC launch Everio microdrive video camera

JVC have launched a palm sized video camera that uses a 4gb microdrive instead of tape or DVD.  The Everio comes in 2 different forms, the "cube" style GZ-MC200 and the Vertical style GZ-MC100.  Both use Mpeg 2 to record up to 2 hours of high quality video on the Microdrive and feature a 10x zoom.  This camera proves that you can do full res high quality video on a CF card, I'm sure it won't be long before all new prosumer digital cameras offer the same functionality.