A Belated Trick or Treat for Me

[Pumpkin_Man]

Hi Folks:

I FINALY DID IT. I said that sooner or later I woudl "trick or treat" myself to something, and this is it. Below you will see my brand new Cannon 5D Mark II camera, which I will be using on a photo shoot for the very first time tonight.

I can't wait til I 'test drive' this little gem on a 'haunted road trip,' which I may be doing next March, to Bachelors Grove.

Mike

[Belladonna]

Whoah! NICE camera!!
I am green with envy.

[Andybev01]

Ooooo.....I am green with envy.

What did you take the pictures with?

[Pumpkin_Man]

It took me a while to save the money, but I am very happy, and I can't wait to see what this baby can do in the field. I already shot a few test shots around the house and outside, and they came out better than anything I ever saw done by a digital camera.

Mike

[Pumpkin_Man]

Andy, I took the posted pictures with a Cannon Rebel XT digital, the same camera, infact, that I used to photograph the Bartonville Insane Asylum and the St. James Sag cemetery. It takes great pictures, but the 5d Mark II is going to take FABULOUS pictures. The rebel xt is a 12 megapixual. The 5d Mark II is a 21 Megapixule.

Mike

[Spookymufu]

WOW, I wouldnt know how to use all the bells and whistles on it. What did that run ya mike (if you dont mine me asking)?

[Pumpkin_Man]

I don't mind at all, Spooky. It ran me $3499.00. That price included the camera body, lens, 8 gig smart card and a camera bag.

I am only beginning to find out hat this camera can do in the field. I was able to use a "silent shot" mode, which keeps the sutter from clicking. That way I don't get compalaints from the people who attend the concert that I was photographing today.

Mike

[NeverMore]

I was able to use a "silent shot" mode, which keeps the sutter from clicking. That way I don't get compalaints from the people who attend the concert that I was photographing today.

Won't scare away any wildlife you may try to shoot either. Nice camera.

[Spookymufu]

Thats a perty camera, very nice Mike!

I was looking at the Canon PowerShot SX10, about $400 but it will have to wait, I cant afford it now....

[adrian]

mike thats a REALLY nice camera man!! good for you!! i'm happy for ya

[Pumpkin_Man]

Spooky, the Powershot is an excelent camera for the money, and it will give you good results. I actualy thought about something like that for my "gadget bag,' but the 5D Mark II is so versitile, I really don't need it. My niece has the Power Shot, and she swears by it.

Thanks, Adrian. I am very happy with my new aquisition.

Mike

[MacPhantom]

Oh Mike!! I am positively green with envy!!! I'm a Canon freak myself, but I haven't yet made the jump to digital SLR. When I do, I'll have to be content with the Rebel series, but if I ever win the lottery, baby.......

My next camera is probably gonna end up being the G11. I've been waiting for the G-Series to offer a swivel screen... But I have had my eye on the SX20 for the zoom as well........

How's it working out for you, Mike? Run into any surprises so far, good or bad?

[Pumpkin_Man]

I just printed out a photo that I shot at the Madrigala last Friday, and it came out absolutely fabulous. Yesterday I had a photo shoot of an agreement signing involving the president of my college and Bradley University, and the Public Relatins dept said they were some of the best work they've seen me do.

During Christmas Vacation, I am planning on getting a flash unit, an extra battery for that flash and an extra battery for the camera.

Tonight I'm taking photos at the Guitar Ensambo concert, and at the Percussion Ensambo which immediately follows. The nice thing is that I can crank up the gain all the way up to ISO 6500, which makes challenging lighting situations a lot easier.

So all the suprises have been good ones so far.

By the way, the Rebel series are great cameras, and I think some of them run 14 megapixules, but I can't swear to that. I know the one I used to take the photos that I did at the Bartonville Insane Asylum last October was a 12 megapixule Rebel XT. I also used the Rebel XT to take the photos of the St. James Sag, some of which I printed out and are hanging on the wall of my cubical at work. So if you can get yourself an XT while you save up for something better, it's well worth the investment, and it can come in handy as a back-up in case of an emergency.

Mike

[MacPhantom]

Wow! I've never owned a digital camera that didn't produce unusably noisy photos at anything over ISO 400! But then, I've never had a digital SLR...

I've been far too naughty this year, but perhaps Santa will give me another chance next year and bring me a Rebel XTI.

[Pumpkin_Man]

When ever you boost the gain, you increas the grain. Itt's the same way with emulsion based film cameras. If you tried to puch-process a lower ISO film, or used a highly rated ISO film, you got more light sensitivity but with more grainieness. The great thing about my 5D mark 2 is it's 21 megapixual rating. I shot the guitar ensamble at 6400 ISO, and you can't see any grain at all. The Rebel XT will only go up to ISO 1600, but you won't see a lot of noise in that either. The REbel XT does not have a full 35mm frame size CMOS senser like my camera does, but it's a MAJOR step forward for you if you like taking great pictures, and you can boost the gain well beyond ISO 400 and still get good clear images.

The number of megapixules is THE decodomg factor in digital cameras. The Rebel XT that I used is 12 megapixules. The basic quality jpeg setting will produce an image that will take up about 1.5 meg file size. As you increase the quality, you also increas the file size. 1 meg or higher is usualy printable, provided that your dpi is propery let. My new camera shoots a minimum jpeg quality of 5.6 megatives. If I shoot in RAW, SRAW 1 or SRAW 2, the file sizes will get considerabley bigger.

At any rate, definately save your pennies, because Cannnon makes a great camera. You will get great results with the Rebel. Go to Adorama.com when you're ready to purchase. They usualy have a packaged deal that will include a lens, SanDisc card and camera bag.

Mike