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Canon 7D mkII Review

November 21, 2014 by Jason Savage 1 Comment

Canon 7D mkII Review

Canon Cameras

Now that I’ve had a couple weeks to do some shooting with Canon’s newest APS-C sensor camera, I thought I would finally weigh in on some of its pros and cons and why I’m excited about this new addition in Canon’s lineup. I’m not going to cover everything in this camera, but just some of the highlights that I feel are important to most photographers. I took a series of shots yesterday to highlight the different ISO, lens & teleconverter combos.

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Canon 1DX Autofocus

March 7, 2014 by Jason Savage 1 Comment

Montana Birds
Montana Wood Duck, Canon 1DX

The other day I finally had to peel my eyeballs off the computer monitor and take a break from seemingly endless days of photo editing. Whenever I need a quick break to recharge and clear me eyes, the local duck pond is usually where I head just down the road from my house.
On this evening we had the last of our winter storm lingering with some pretty cold temps, but nice evening light. I shot this image at about -15f while laying out on the ice to get eye level with some of the ducks.

One thing that I have been increasingly impressed with is the Canon 1DX’s quick reaction time when using multi-point autofocus. In this case I had my multi-points right on the wood duck anticipating his lift off and in a split second having to move the camera to keep up, hoping my autofocus points would follow along on the duck and keep focus. This would be a case with some systems where it would be hit or miss, but the 1DX continues to impress me with its accurate and blazingly quick reaction times. Looking forward to more birds this spring with the 1DX!

Canon 1DX 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS  f8  1/2000 ISO16000

Fall Aspens

October 10, 2013 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Fall photography montana
Fall colors are going strong in Montana right now. Photographed this aspen stand not too far from home last night just after sunset.

Canon 1DX, 70-200mm 2.8L IS mkII, F11 0.3 sec ISO100

Fall Colors Montana

September 30, 2013 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Fall colors & aspens in Montana. Here I’ve used a 15mm fisheye lens to get just a little bit more into the scene and to exaggerate the distorted angle of looking up through the trees.

Canon 5D MarkII, 15mm 2.8 Fisheye, f16 ISO 100 1/250

Montana Aspens Photography

Where in Montana?

September 25, 2013 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Big Sky Montana

Here’s my image for today’s “Where in Montana” I do every Wednesday over on my Facebook page. Head over and take a guess, test your Montana geography skills. Winner gets a free, signed 8X10 of today’s image.

Here’s the link

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jason-Savage-Photography/182683738430817?ref=hl

Good luck!

Pronghorns

September 10, 2013 by Jason Savage 3 Comments

Pronghorn

Canon 2x teleconverterSince switching all my camera bodies to full frame last year, I’ve been using Canon’s 2x mkIII teleconverters much more frequently now. In the past the mkII version wasn’t the greatest as far as sharpness was concerned, but with the improvements made to the newer version, I’ve been nothing but impressed.

I frequently pair it with my 500mm and 300mm lenses and sharpness, contrast, and speed have  not only been acceptable, but very good.

For this shot of the pronghorns taken in central Montana, I paired it with my 500mm giving me a 1000mm to help fill the frame. I rarely leave home these days without this converter being in my bag.

Custom Shooting Modes

September 8, 2013 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Canon 5d mkIII mode dial
Last month I was hiking up Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park when I decided to stop and set up a landscape shot featuring the Olympic Mountains and some wildflowers dotting the hillside.

I had everything set up, my tripod adjusted, and was taking a few shots, when out of the corner of my eye a blacktail doe wandered into my frame. I had literally two seconds to adjust my camera settings in order to freeze the deer’s movement in-frame and include her in my shot.

Not an easy thing to do and most of the time when things like this happen we end up missing the shot while fumbling frantically to switch our settings. However luck and preparation were on my side this morning as I was using my Custom Shooting Mode, C1, on my Canon 5D mkIII for my landscape settings.

For those who aren’t familiar with using the Custom Shooting Modes on your camera, they allow us to preset or program custom settings into a designated mode that can be quickly accessed on the camera. Canon’s 5D mkIII has three custom shooting modes located for easy access, C1,C2,C3. Each mode is programmable and located on the mode dial. You can program any settings you like into each mode, so when you switch to that mode, your settings are ready to go and you’re not left navigating endlessly while you miss that once in a lifetime shot.

On my camera for example I have C1 set up for shooting landscapes. I have programmed all the usual settings we start out with when shooting static scenes.

C1: Aperture Priority, ISO 100, f11, mirror lockup, 2 second timer.

This makes it quick and simple when I want to shoot a landscape and especially when I need to switch back and forth between shooting situations.

Blacktail deer Hurricane Ridge, Washington
So for my blacktail deer on Hurricane Ridge, I was shooting my landscape in C1 and when the deer entered the frame, I quickly switched my mode dial to AV mode which was already set for action at ISO 800 f5.6 with no mirror lockup or 2 second timer. I was able to fire off two frames and get one with the deer right in the middle.

Now by itself my landscape shot was not a very interesting one nor one that I really cared for. But with the deer in the foreground it made the shot more interesting and added a little something extra. This was the absolute perfect example of the convenience of the Custom Shooting Modes and also an example of how they can help us capture shots that we ordinarily may have missed.

Canon 5D Mark III firmware update 1.2.1

April 30, 2013 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Canon Eos 5D MKIII Review
Finally! Canon released their new firmware update today for the Canon 5D Mark III. Lots of great improvements, but most importantly for a lot of wildlife photographers it now has the ability to autofocus with lenses/extenders with a maximum aperture of f8.

Here’s a few other highlights

Uncompressed HDMI output
Improved focussing when using Canon’s Speedlight autofocus assist beam
Fixes compatibility issues with Eye-Fi cards

There’s a bunch more bug fixes and improvements. Visit Canon’s page for more info and to download.

Canon 5DMKIII Review

July 31, 2012 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Canon Eos 5D MKIII Review

So I picked up the 5DMKIII a few weeks back and I thought I would post a brief review for all of you who are still on the fence with upgrading or jumping into a new system.

Just to clarify I had been shooting with a 5DMKII for the last few years as one of my main camera bodies.

Initially I was hesitant to upgrade, as the preliminary reviews I read indicated that image quality wise there wasn’t much of a difference. In fact the 5DMKII appeared a tad sharper at low ISOs when shooting RAW (I’ll get to this in a bit).

However, since my will power is very weak when it comes to new Canon equipment, I tossed logic aside and sold off my 5DMKII for it’s replacement.

First thing I did was compare image quality, as this was my biggest concern since my 5DMKII was primarily used for landscapes. The reviews that I had read seemed to hold true, the 5DMKII was indeed a hair sharper at lower ISOs when shooting RAW. In turn the 5DMKIII was going to require a bit more sharpening.

To be clear on this, we’re talking a very minimal amount and as some reports suggested, it’s the result of a more aggressive anti-aliasing filter in the 5DMKIII. Whether this is true or not I do not know. One thing is for sure though, sensors these days seem to be tied together more closely with post processing and benefit to a higher degree than in the past. Things looked really nice after a bit more of sharpening in post, so this whole issue really fizzled after some real-world shooting. Also I was pixel peeping like crazy as well.

That aside, the camera is a blast to shoot with. The new auto focus system (which is really the high point) is amazing, ergonomics are well designed,lots of news bells and whistles, and overall, just a very well rounded camera.

Eos 5D MarkIII Review

Here are a few pros:

Viewfinder: Big improvement over the 5DMKII, it’s color and increased size are stellar. Not to mention they finally put a glass cover on it, similar to the 1DMKIV and 7D.

FPS: The increase from 3.9 to 6 frames per second is definitely welcome and necessary with the new auto focus system.

Menu System: I really like the new layout of the menu system (same as 1dX). It’s well organized and easy to navigate with some things like Mirror Lockup no longer buried in Custom Functions (although, it still would be nice to have a dedicated button on the outside). Definitely a step up from previous systems.

Build Quality & Ergonomics: The build and design on this camera is excellent. One thing that stands out is the handling. Like the 7D, the back has a contoured grip which really feels nice and comfortable in your hand. Button layout is great (except the new zoom placement) and everything is well thought out. In addition it has improved weather sealing over the MKII and of course a magnesium alloy body. Also the smaller size over the 1D series makes this a great choice for those wanting to travel lighter.

Odds & Ends: Exposure compensation has now gone from 2 to 3 stops on the top LCD screen, Silent Shutter, Multi Exposure Mode, In Camera HDR, Mode Dial Lock, Depth of Field Preview Button relocation, and Dual Card Slots are all new welcome features.

Sensor: As I said the new sensor has some differences when compared to the 5DMKII. It’s also been upped from 21mp to 22mp. The ISO performance has been improved as well. Canon claims 2 stops, but from what I’ve seen this is only as it relates to shooting JPEGS. In RAW I can really only see a 2/3 stop improvement past ISO 800. Not much, but welcome. Now I haven’t done any scientific comparisons, but things like color, white balance and dynamic range seem to have been improved. Considering these characteristics, I have been more impressed with these files than with the 5DMKII. Very nice indeed. Sensor size remains full frame and forces wildlife photographers to lose the crop sensors. Not a huge deal to me, but may be for some.

Autofocus: Last but not least is the Auto Focus. All I can say is Wow! I was expecting a decent system after reading early reviews, but this system is in a league of it’s own.

Now my 5DMKII had been used primarily for landscapes, so I didn’t use it’s servo modes much or put it through many difficult shooting situations. But I have used Canon’s 1D series and the 7D auto focus systems for wildlife, so I’m well aware of difficult situations and the limitations imposed by certain systems.

My hope was to start using the 5DMKIII for wildlife as well as landscapes, so I was eagerly waiting to test this new auto focus out. All I can say is, it’s by far the best system that I’ve ever used and has allowed me some new creativity in difficult shooting situations.

For example, a couple weeks back I was photographing Blacktail fawns in Olympic National Park. The fawns were running and playing with each other in the rainforest on a rainy Washington day. I was shooting in very low light at ISO 6400 and the camera was nailing it. Every shot. Pretty amazing and I was very happy with the results. A very difficult situation with low light and fast subjects.

In addition, the new auto focus system comes with six different “Case” modes to choose from that depict particular shooting situations. At first this seems a little daunting as there are 3 different sliders in each “Case” that can be adjusted, but after spending some time scouring the Internet and messing around a bit, they become a bit easier to figure out.Gary Luhm also has a great tutorial on his website for choosing and modifying the different “Case” modes that I found as a good starting point.

Canon 5D Menu

Now the Cons:

Price: This seems to be the big gripe that is all over the photo forums and I think it’s rightly so. Canon’s aggressive pricing lately has left many scratching their heads and keeping their wallets in their pockets. Whatever the reason for the increases, they seem to be drawing a new line in the sand that a lot of photographers aren’t willing to cross. With this camera, as great as it is, I feel that it should be priced closer to $3000 than the MSRP of $3500. It may get there over time, but I think it has kept a lot of folks sitting and waiting and less sales for Canon.

Zoom Button: Say it isn’t so! Who knew I would miss the placement of the zoom preview button. Canon’s image preview zoom button has been in the same location for as long as I can remember. Now it has moved to the button array on the left side of the camera and you have to use the upper dial near the shutter button to zoom in and out when previewing your images. You can, however, reprogram it so the “Set” button in the middle of the back rotating dial acts as the zoom button and also program it to start out at a higher zoom magnification so moving the upper dial back and forth isn’t necessary, but’s it’s still awkward and a pain to get used to.

Card Speeds: Now I haven’t tested this, but it has been confirmed that when using a secondary SD card that the camera defaults to the read/write speeds of the slower SD card. Not a huge deal for stills, but I can see it being a bit of a pain for fast action.

Auto Focus at F8: For those that are using a 2X converter on F4 lenses, the ability to auto focus at F8 is disabled on this camera as well as the newly released 1DX. I don’t really have an opinion on this, as I don’t use 2X converters, but I can see how this would be a problem for those who regularly use them. Not sure if a firmware can ever fix this, but I know a lot of wildlife shooters are waiting to see.

Quality Control: Now this may not reflect the camera as a whole as it’s just my experience, but I did have to send the first one back as it had a bunch of dust and fibers behind the optical lens of the eyepiece, enough so that it looked like I had recently returned from a trip to the Sahara. The second camera had a big piece of who-knows-what stuck to the sensor which required a wet clean right out of the box. So hopefully it was just me with bad luck that week, but needless to say, when dropping over 3k on a camera body, these sorts of random oversights during assembly are a bit of a concern. Also as a disclaimer, I’m completely anal.

So that’s it, my likes/dislikes. Overall a superb camera that really establishes itself as a “Do it all camera”. The quality is fantastic for landscapes, like it’s predecessor. Auto focus puts it into new uses for wildlife photographers, photojournalists, wedding photographers, etc.

Some wildlife guys and gals may have reservations about switching from a crop to full frame sensor, but in my experience it can force you to improve your skills as a photographer. This, coupled with the improved quality, makes it an easy switch.

So if you want a camera that’s going to do it all, and you want something lighter and easier to pack around than a 1D series, I would highly recommend!

Canon Powershot G1X

January 10, 2012 by Jason Savage 4 Comments

Canon Camera
There’s a lot happening right now in the world of photography. A majority of the top camera manufacturers have made some exciting announcements this week, unveiling some new arrivals within the compact camera market. Canon being one of them with the announcement of the Canon Powershot G1X.

The advancements in technology that have been made over the last few years have  opened up the doors for some dramatic changes to camera features and image quality, especially in some of the new smaller formats. One of the problems that I’ve found with previous generations of these compact models is excessive noise and low image quality. I’ve previously used a Canon Powershot G10 which was a great little camera with a fantastic design, but very lacking in the image quality department.

Photographers have tried hard to love these upper level compacts, designed and marketed as a smaller camera to one who already owns a DSLR  or one who is looking for the best in compact features.They offer convenience with image quality and responsiveness being the major hurdles….

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About

Based in Montana, Jason works as a freelance and commercial photographer, specializing in travel and outdoor photography.

His work has been featured in National Geographic Traveler, Time, Outside, Audubon, Outdoor Photographer,The Nature Conservancy and many others.
His images have also been featured in numerous advertising campaigns, books, and calendars around the world.

Contact

Jason Savage Photography
546 Fox Meadow Ln.
Hamilton, MT 59840
jason@jasonsavagephoto.com
406-202-0709

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