Let there be light… March 29, 2009
Posted by Leonard Low in Gear, General Comments, Speedlite.Tags: canon, Flash, Gear, Speedlite
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And there was light: specifically, the Canon Speedlite 580 EX II. It’s specifically designed for Canon EOS cameras, and has through-the-lens metering and enormous light output: a Guide Number of 58m at ISO 100.
I kinda left it to the last minute to buy it, but I decided I should get it in case I needed it to shoot pictures of Earth Hour happening. More on that in the next post…
I’ve taken the plunge… March 7, 2009
Posted by Leonard Low in Contains Images, Gear.Tags: 5D Mark II, camera, canon, EOS, Gear
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So, this is my new digital SLR, which I bought from Ted’s. This is something I’ve waited for, something I’ve wanted for something like 7 years… so I’m rewarding myself for my patience and I’m getting one that I think will be very enjoyable to use for a few years.
The camera I’ve bought is a Canon EOS 5D Mark II. It was only released in January this year, so it’s Canon’s most recent model in one of their best lines (second only to the 1D series), and for me its most notable features are a full-frame sensor with 21 megapixel resolution and amazing performance even at high ISOs, and the ability to record Full HD video (1080p).
I’m pairing it (initially) with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens (also shown above). At RRP AU$650, this is a pretty expensive piece of glass, but I’ve gone with this instead of a wide/zoom lens because of my interest in low-light and dance photography, which both require good optics and as much light through the lens as possible. The exceptional high-ISO performance of the body, and the wide aperture on the lens will allow me to get slightly faster shutter speeds for freezing great dance shots in available light. Zoom will also be one less thing to worry about when I’m trying to concentrate on getting my exposure, lighting and composition right in class! If I need to, I shall just “zoom with the feet” as they say. 
So far in class I’ve been trying to mess around and do serious photography with a 6-year-old Samsung Digimax V4… which was “groundbreaking” when I first bought it. Now, however, it’s been utterly painful and has forced me to make one compromise after another, making it difficult for me to learn when I’m struggling to make the camera do what I want.
Hopefully it will help to have some decent equipment.
