On a technical note: shooting with the 5DM2 in the light rain caused no problems, even though people have complained online about poor weather sealing. Of course I was nervous about the whole time. All the shots were taken at ISO 400 with the excellent Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS. Noise levels at ISO 400 were almost nonexistent which helped as the light was generally low. Also, almost everything was shot at f2.8, not because of low light, but I wanted paper thin depth of field to separate the participants from the crowd in the background.

DPReview recently posted their extensive review of all the camera’s functions and features. So if you’re looking for a feature run down, check that out (if you haven’t already). These are my first impressions after playing with it this week.

Feel

After using the 5D Mark I for three years, the Mark II feels very familiar in hand. While no where near as heavy and bulky as the 1 Series, the Mark II definitely feels more solid than the 50D and lower end cameras. Canon advertised improved weather sealing over the Mark I, but as has been reported over at Luminous-Landscape and other places, there seems to have been an alarming number of cameras failing due to moisture exposure. This is a bit disappointing, as I will now take fewer risks with my camera in dubious weather.

I was able to buy a BG-E6 battery grip, but I’ve only got the one battery that came with the camera in it. For now that’s okay, I wanted the grip more for handling purposes anyway. I like to shoot in portrait orientation a lot so the additional controls are very handy for me.

I did need to order a new L bracket for this camera, since they changed the shape ever so slightly. I ordered the Really Right Stuff, BGE6-L. I’ve used both RRS and Kirk plates and both deliver quality products, but the RRS plates feature the really nice addition of a fiducial mark on the back of the plate that helps to center the camera on the ball head in either horizontal or portrait mode.

New Features That I Like

There are quite a few new items to explore even though they are subtle additions. The first, that is anything but subtle, is the gorgeous 3″ LCD on the back. Not only is the LCD 1/2″ bigger, it sports a much higher resolution than the Mark I. Normally I ignore manufacturers when they push spec upgrades like this, but in this case, the difference is like night and day. All of the menus and playback are much smoother, crisper.

Another feature, that has been seen recently in the lower end cameras, that I find very useful is the Quick Control Screen. This feature displays the current shooting settings on the rear LCD, and allows them to be changed from there. You say, “when is that ever going to be useful”. Well when I’m out shooting landscapes, or night scenes, or macro, I’ve usually got the camera mounted on a tripod. While on a tripod the top LCD is many times not very convenient. Being able to see and manipulate the shooting settings from the rear LCD is very useful.

Live View is another feature first seen on Canon Point-and-Shoots and lower end dSLR’s. This mode flips the mirror up, and displays on the rear screen a live preview image through the lens. Previously, when new photographers recently upgrading from digital P&S cameras complained about needing to use a view finder I wrote these complaints off as coming from newbies. I felt that this functionality was primitive and unneeded. However, after having now used it, I can say that this feature does infact become useful, especially when working on a tripod. Part of the Live View preview can display a live Histogram. With that there’s no need to ever blow an exposure again. Another handy function is that you can zoom into the scene and check your focus.

Canon has added two additional custom shooting mode settings to the dial. With the Mark I there was only one and that limited its usefulness. these modes allow you to save all your current settings and quickly switch between them. For instance I can set the camera to enable mirror lock-up, and auto exposure bracketing for when I’m shooting HDR’s etc. These modes allow easier access to some of the cameras more buried functionality. Now granted, I wish Canon would stop being stubborn, and give us a dedicated button for mirror lock-up (like everyone else), but at least this is better than nothing.

Video

Up till now I’ve never gotten into shooting video, concentrating exclusively in still photography. When I heard that the Mark II would be able to shoot 1080p HD video, I thought “that’ll be cool to play with”. Before the release of the camera I went to the launch event at B&H. At the event the camera’s new features, image quality, etc. were gone over. WHen we got to the video discussion we learned that the camera’s video capabilities, while impressive from a quality standpoint, were crippled by the lack of control over the apeture. Everybody who was so interested in the camera for the video use two minutes earlier imediately deflated.

Well, several months later (June ’09) Canon did something that I would have bet large sums of money against, they released a firmware update to allow full manual control of exposure during video capture. At this point I became interested again. I loaded the new firmware (quite an easy operation) and started playing. Based on suggestions from experienced video folks I purchased an external microphone, a Sennheiser MKE400. This mic conveiniently slips into the hotshoe on top of the camera and plugs into the external mic socket on the side of the camera. It makes a huge difference in sound quality over the on-board mic.

Closing Thoughts

Due to work and personnel constraints I’ve not yet been able to shoot with this camera as much as I would like. From what little I have done so far this is a worthy successor to the original 5D. When I’m able to shoot more, I will update this post with additional comments as they hit me.

Jay has a wonderful philosophy on photography that he discussed while displaying a slide show of his past work. He breaks photos down into having three primary characteristics: Light, Color and Gesture. Light and Color are fairly self explanatory, but Gesture is trickier to describe. Gesture in this context is the form, action, or attitude of the subject.

He also delivered a few wonderful tips that can help our own photography:

1. “Always have your camera with you, it’s easier to take pictures that way”
2. The 180° rule – take a picture looking one way then turn around and take one looking the other, or shoot the same object from different vantage points. The idea here is to capture opposing lighting or opposing subjects.
3. “Be responsible for every square millimeter of the frame.” In other words be aware of everything going on in your frame to avoid extraneous stuff distracting from your message (i.e. trees growing out of people’s heads) or the flip side is purposefully using those elements for effect.
4. When shooting people on the street, it’s usually easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. If you’re shooting kids however, ask the parents. “They tend to get freaky about that.”

Events and Workshops

A recent trend here in NYC is for the major camera shops to host lectures, workshops and presentations. Many of them are free. Here are some links to the event calendars:

• Adorama Workshops
• B&H Events
• Calumet Events
• Apple Stores: SoHo, 14th St

These are great opportunities to hear from famous photographers, camera gear venders, software venders, etc. at little or no cost. Many require registration however, and the photographer workshops tend to fill up quickly. So keep an eye out for the upcoming events.

I realize this has nothing to do with photography, but I just wanted to say well done boys. Of course, now I’ve got to go another eight months with no college football. Guess I should use the time to work on my portfolio.

Canon PowerShot G10

A great photographer, Jay Maisel says “Always have a camera with you, it’s easier to take pictures that way”. This is great advise, you never know what you might miss. This is especially true here in New York City, where there’s always something going on.

For my entire photographic career I’ve shot with SLR’s or dSLR’s. I’m used to them, the form factor, the heft, the control placement, etc. The heft part of that statement is usually the problem, it’s just too much to carry around all day. After much debate I told my wife, I want a G10 for Christmas (luckily for me, she obliged). So after a couple of weeks of use, here’s my mini-review…

Build

One of the things I like about the G10 is that even though it’s very compact relative to my 5D, there is a nice heftiness to it. The metal body feels nice and solid in the hand. Before my decision to get the G10, I looked at the Panasonic LX-3, and in comparison, the LX-3 felt like a a small, plastic toy, particularly the controls.

The exposed metal parts have the same textured black paint as the L series lenses, and is quite nice. Canon has also added more metal dials to the top of the camera, harkening back to the old days, that control the camera Mode, ISO, and Exposure Compensation. A dedicated dial for Exposure Comp, on a point-and-shoot, really? For sure, Canon is targeting this camera at serious photographers, not mommies at birthday parties.

On the back of the camera is a nice, big 3″ LCD. The camera has an optical viewfinder, but it’s fairly useless and mostly you’ll be using the LCD for framing. Which, after getting used to shooting that way, there are a number of advantages most prominently is the great feedback and shooting data that can be displayed overlayed on the frame. A real time histogram is an amazing thing.

The one big problem I have though is the placement of the control dial. On Canon’s dSLR’s, the control dial is positioned where the thumb naturally rests on it. On the G10, the dial is where the palm of your hand is. To get at it, you have to pivot out the bottom of your hand, causing a much less secure grip on the camera. The problem is that the LCD takes up so much of the back of the camera, the control wheel has no place to go, and so it’s crammed at the right edge of the body, under your hand.

Shooting Capabilities & Image Quality

The G10 is capable of producing high quality photos. It has a 28-140mm (35mm equiv.) f2.8-4.5 image stabilized lens, and can record 14.7 megapixel RAW files, as well as, capture movies. It has all the same manual and semi-auto (M, TV, AV) shooting modes as a dSLR. Shooting performance is closer to that of a dSLR than a typical point-and-shoot as well, with focus and shutter lag well within reason.

Bryant Park Ice Skating

There has been much debate online since the introduction of the G10 about its image quality. On this front I’m a bit baffled. At lower ISO’s the G10 produces incredible images, rivaling dSLR’s from just a couple of years ago. For anything below ISO200 the G10 can produce beautiful prints up 12″x18″. At ISO’s over 400 the noise really gets bad. Well, duh. As good as this camera is, it’s still based on a small, Point-and-Shoot 1/1.7″  CCD sensor. ISO 800 & 1600 should only be used when you must, to get the shot.

For my use, the convenience of a small, light camera that I can carry with me all the time, this camera means that I’ll won’t miss a shot because I didn’t have my 5D with me.

Other Stuff

With the upgrade from the G9 to the G10, Canon actually took away a couple of features. The camera now only shoots 640×480 movies vs. the 1024×768 of the G9. Is this a deal breaker for me? Obviously not, if I wanted to shoot HD video and video quality was the point, I’d go for a dedicated video camera or the new 5D Mark II. Also in the G9, there was a time-lapse feature that for reasons unknown has been dropped from the G10.

Conclusion

So far, so good. The camera has performed to my expectations, and is a great deal at around $420 online. I can easily recommend it to any serious photographer looking for a good walkin’ around camera.

As I spend more time with the camera, I will update this review.

Well, after 5 years of no updates I’ve finally decided to scrap the old website and venture into the world of blogging. Woho

I’ve also started hosting my photo galleries with zenfolio at: rohandp.zenfolio.com. From there you will be able to view, comment and order prints of all of our photography. Take a look and let us know what you think.

We’re going to be adding links to some of our favorite sites, location reviews, how to articles, and much more going forward check back… As for now as they say on TWIP “it’s time to take the lens cap off” and go shoot.