A New Camera...
I have used a
Sony Mavica as my primary digital
camera for quite some time. I chose this camera for it's image quality.
I sacrificed the ability to interchange lenses in favor of saving money, and
because the lenses I have did not provide compatibility with digital SLRs at the
time.
In November 2008 I purchased a used Mavica
online to upgrade to a larger image resolution and because the viewing screen on
mine had developed some lines across it that did not affect the pictures but
made shooting a little difficult.
Over the next several months I got more
involved with making images for the sake of photography and began to find the
limitations of the Mavica. Thinking I could revert to my film cameras and
vast array of lenses, I started shooting film. My trip to the
Cranberry Wilderness with Mike was
one such outing. Earlier this month I took the boys and our film cameras
to Cooper's Rock, just up the street from our house.
What I found in these two outings was that I
had forgotten what working with film actually meant. After the trip to the
Cranberry Wilderness, I spent an entire weekend scanning negatives and getting
the images adjusted for use on this web site. The amount of time it took
was untenable. And there were other problems. The exposure
management of the film cameras was a little difficult. There is no way to
evaluate the success of a shot in the field so it is when the film comes back
that one learns if the great image made in the field is really that great.
Quite a number of images I made were un-great...
Then there's the cost of film, processing, and
the time it takes to get the film back. To add insult to injury, the
processing options are not very good, which has led me to less than satisfactory
processing of my film. The long story short, was I wasn't going to be
able to achieve, with the time and services available, the quality of imagery
that I had hoped, and the cost of shooting film was going to be a problem, both
in terms of time and money.
That left me to reach the same conclusion I had
made any number of times I thought of shooting with interchangeable lenses - I
was going to have to get a digital SLR and find a way to attach my lenses.
I had already decided I would buy a Canon because there is a wide variety of
successful lens mount adapters that make it possible to attach my lenses to a
Canon digital SLR and achieve infinity focus. The first camera they made
that appeared to be an option was prohibitively expensive (~$8000) so I kept
waiting. The next one they came out with was more affordable but would be
a budget crusher (~$2500), so I continued to wait.
I should interject here the main criteria for
me was that the digital camera have a 24mm x 36mm sensor. The reason for
this is because my lenses are made to cover a 24mm x 36mm image frame. A
different sized sensor would result in changing the effective focal length of
the lenses. From a practical standpoint that means that my ultra-wide
angle lenses would not yield ultra-wide angle shots. My normal lenses
would produce short-telephoto shots, and my long telephotos would become extreme
telephotos.
I was hoping
Pentax would eventually get on the
full frame sensor band wagon and produce a camera more in my price range.
As of this writing they have not done so and do not appear to have plans in that
direction.
Finally I grew tired of waiting. But all
this waiting did have it's merit. The lens adapter mount "industry", if it
could be called that, had made some advancements. When I first started
looking, the adapters simply bridged the gap between the screw mount lenses I
have and the bayonet mount of the camera. They adapters were nothing more
than flanges. And worse, many were imprecise resulting in cases where
infinity focus was not available.
Infinity focus is important because one needs
to be able to take pictures of subjects in the distance as well as close-up.
If the adapter does not give infinity focus, the photography using it will be
limited to close-working distances. This is not a full solution and
impractical for my needs.
I re-engaged my lens mount adapter search and
found that the new products had brought a new feature to the game - chips
mounted to "fool" the digital camera into "thinking" that there is a compatible
lens mounted, enabling assisted focus. What this means is that while the
camera cannot auto-focus legacy lenses like mine, with these adapters, it can
give a signal when the image is correctly focused. For me this is a huge
benefit, as I am very particular about having my images in good sharp focus.
It took me a considerable amount of time to
determine, to the best of my ability, which products of this type were going to
work. The web sites and discussion groups had information that in many
cases was out of date, not well researched, and in many cases, unreliable or
inaccurate. Sifting through this to make a purchase decision was tough,
especially because the products are fairly expensive (~$100 for a single
adapter). I decided I would roll the dice on the product that in my
research had come out the best.
I purchased and in two days received the
Haoda M-42 to Canon
EOS electronic mount adapter with autofocus confirmation.
I am
happy to report that the product works perfectly on almost every last
Super-Multi-Coated Takumar lens (and the matching Super-Takumar that came
before) ever made. There are three lenses (Super-Multi-Coated Takumar
1:3.5/24mm, Super-Takumar 1:3.5/28mm (early version with 58mm filter),
Super-Takumar 1:2.0/35mm (early version with 67mm filter) ) that do interfere with the Canon 5D Mk II mirror. But since the kit
lens covers the same focal lengths and I have other 28mm and 35mm lenses
that do work, I do not consider it a problem.
It should be noted
that the two K-mount lenses I have use a different mount that does not
provide assisted focus. Additionally, most K-mount lenses (without
irreversible modifications) will not work with the Canon 5D Mark II because
they aperture control protrudes deeply and would interfere with the camera
mirror. I got lucky with the two special K-Mount lenses I own because
both are manual lenses and do not have the aperture control device.
The
product is exactly what I want. With that item accounted for, It
was time to turn my attention to the camera itself. During my
"procrastination" phase, Canon released the 5D Mark II with improved
features over the 5D. Of interest to me is the full frame sensor, the
high-speed compact flash memory compatibility, dual battery option, and HD Video.
The camera still costs a big chunk of change, but I had gotten to the
point where having all those lenses (and then some), I was anxious to get
back to "systems photography" like I am accustomed. So I put together
my list and went shopping:
-
Canon EOS 5D Mark II 21.1MP Full
Frame CMOS Digital SLR Camera
-
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM
Lens (comes with camera at a slightly reduced price)
-
Canon BG-E6 Battery Grip for Canon
5D Mark II Digital SLR (provides ability to use second
battery on-board)
-
Canon LP-E6 Battery Pack for Canon
5D Mark II Digital SLR (second battery for use in battery grip)
-
Eveready AA Lithium Batteries
(spare "throw-away" batteries "just in case")
-
Lexar Professional Series UDMA 16
GB 300x CompactFlash Memory Card (high-speed card required for
HD-Video)
-
SanDisk Ultra 4GB Compact Flash
Memory Card 30mb/s (spare high-speed card "just in case")
Camera and Lens
10/21/09
The
camera provides the full frame sensor and lens compatibility I was seeking.
The 24~105mm lens provides a good range of focal lengths and the system
compatibility with the camera, enabling rapid, integrated shooting. It
doesn't make much sense to get a camera body like this and be relegated only
to manual, screw-mount lenses. I view the screw-mount lenses I have as
extensions to this system, providing me a stop-gap range of focal lengths,
some of which are rarely used and not likely to be purchased as Canon Lenses
(the fish-eye and super-telephotos fall into this category). As I
recover from this purchase I can evaluate and act on the need for other
Canon lenses. I am considering the Canon EF 70~200mm 1:2.8L IS USM.
Filter
The
lens has a 77mm filter mount. If there is only one filter to have, it
must be the polarizing filter. In 77mm size, the circular polarizer
(required for this camera) is as expensive as some entry level digital
cameras... I was fortunate to have a 77mm polarizer in my collection
of gear so dodged this bullet, though I am afraid I will end up buying
another to benefit from a better anti-reflective coating...
Battery Grip
I
have always gone out with at least two batteries. I have often used
both batteries and found myself charging one in order to be able to shoot.
Consequently, I decided to start out with the Battery Grip because it holds
two batteries and comes with a battery clip so that regular double-A
batteries (AA) may be used as a back-up alternative to the rechargeable
batteries made for the camera.
Batteries
I
purchased an extra Canon rechargeable battery and AA Lithium batteries as a
secondary back-up. Reviews of the camera claim up to 1500 images on a
pair of Canon batteries, I suspect I will be charging batteries "on
location" a lot less often...
Memory
I'm
not sure if I should be surprised or not the camera does not come with
Compact Flash Memory. If I think of the memory cards as a the
modern-day equivalent to film, I guess it makes sense to let the consumer to
choose their own memory card. It also artificially reduces the cost of
the camera to leave it out of the package. In any case, I purchased a
16GB UDMA card to avail myself of the full performance this camera is
capable of providing. As a cost-saving move, I purchased a second,
smaller card to have as a back-up/overflow option.
At the end of the day, this is
supposed to be all about making images. Sure, I have a fondness for
cameras, but I really do own them to make images. In the spirit of
sharing what this camera can do, with the kit lens as well as my screw-mount
lenses, here are some images I made - some right out of the box sitting in
my kitchen...
Super-Multi-Coated
Takumar 1:4.0/200mm (above)
Super-Multi-Coated Fish
Eye Takumar 1:4.0/17mm (above)
Super-Multi-Coated Macro
Takumar 1:4.0/100mm (above)
Super-Multi-Coated Macro
Takumar 1:4.0/100mm (above)
Canon EF 24~105mm 1:4.0 L
IS USM (circular polarizer) (above)
Canon EF 24~105mm 1:4.0 L
IS USM (circular polarizer) (above)
Canon EF 24~105mm 1:4.0 L
IS USM (circular polarizer) (above)
Super-Multi-Coated
Takumar Zoom 1:4.5/85~210mm (above) - see 100% crop below
Super-Multi-Coated
Takumar Zoom 1:4.5/85~210mm (above)
Super-Multi-Coated
Takumar Zoom 1:4.5/85~210mm (above) - see 100% crop below
Super-Multi-Coated
Takumar Zoom 1:4.5/85~210mm (above)
Canon EF 24~105mm 1:4.0 L
IS USM (circular polarizer) (above)
Canon EF 24~105mm 1:4.0 L
IS USM (circular polarizer) (above)
More
October Images...
