Posts Tagged Canon
The story beyond the still
Posted by Michal in photographers, video on 18/03/2010
Just came across a fantastic HD video contest on Vimeo, called The Story Beyond the Still.
It’s sponsored by Canon and the winner can get either Canon 7D or 5D Mark II, there are also other prizes like Canon lenses or a trip to shoot a short film with one of the judges, and the author of the video which opens the series, Vincent Laforet.
So what is it all about?
It’s the first ever user-generated HD Video Contest where photographers become filmmakers, and we all see beyond the still. Last month the contest kicked off when Canon asked photographer, Vincent Laforet, to interpret a still by telling the story that lived beyond it using the Canon EOS 7D.
And here is his video:
And now the story continues. More from the site:
It was the first chapter of seven, ending with a still photograph of its own for the Vimeo community to then interpret. After 112 entries, Josh Thacker was chosen as the very first winner and now, once again the question is posed to you, what do you see beyond this still?
There are six more chapters to come, so really plenty of time to get creative and submit something equally intriguing. Among the judges is the brilliant Phillip Bloom, whose stunning HD videos are always beautifully shot and edited.
If you fancy submitting your video, there are only 4 days left to send the third chapter.
26-gigapixel picture – the biggest in the world
Posted by Michal in inspiration, photography on 18/12/2009
Woah! Have I already told you that I’m in love with Canon 5D Mark II? Have I?
Just like Canon 350D made DSLRs more accessible to millions of users worldwide a few years ago, last year Canon 5D Mark II ushered in a new era of high-spec, mid-range DSLR hybrids, capable of taking stunning images up to 21MP in size – even in low-lighting conditions – and producing some superb HD videos at the same time.
Now we have another proof – as if one was needed – of how stunning this camera is.
A German agency AFB Media in association with Dresden-based newspaper Sächsische Zeitung produced what they claim is a record-breaking, 26-gigapixel panoramic image of the city. Done using Canon 5D Mark II, obviously.
How did they do it? It took them almost three hours to produce the picture. Well, not just one picture. The camera – linked directly to a laptop, as there are no memory cards big enough to store such an amount of data – captured over 1600 individual full-format images. Altogether, they’ve recorded over 100Gb of data.
They’ve used a 400mm lens and a special engine to ensure precise movement and timed the whole process to produce a consistent image which reflects the movement of the sun.
If printed, this photo would measure 105×35 metres. That’s almost the size of a football pitch. A great achievement indeed.
You can read all about the process here (the amount of geeky detail is a bit scary). You can obviously see and play with the enormous picture there too.
To really experience the awesomeness of the whole project, make sure you’re fully zoomed out and then click on one of the 11 thumbnails on the page.
Of course, to break this record they could’ve used any other high-end camera, but I think the fact they’ve opted for Canon 5D Mark II says a lot about its status as the most versatile and powerful DSLR on the market now.
If only the price made it more accessible.
Here’s a video from the shoot:
UPDATE (13/03/2010): It looks like this is no longer the biggest picture – see my post on a 26-gigapixel picture of Paris.
Weekend at the museum
Posted by Michal in photography on 03/11/2009
Last weekend was one of those rare occassions when I ended up in a museum.
The V&A to be precise, one of my favourite places in London.
And it was my first visit there with a good camera. We went there with friends to see the newly opened ceramics section and I have to say that taking pictures in low-lighting conditions with a camera that produces great images at ISO 3200 with no visible noise is a real joy.
I’ve posted some of them on my Posterous and enjoyed a lot of traffic to the post, which is great.
By the way, Posterous creates simple galleries from multiple images, pity they don’t com with an embed code yet…
Image problems with Canon 7D
Posted by Michal in photography on 28/10/2009
When Canon released their fantastic 5D Mark II last year the excitement didn’t last long. Within weeks it turned out that this new high-end camera was having problems with strange black dots which appeared on some images.
Subsequent firmware updates removed the problem, yet Canon’s reputation suffered a little as a result. In this dog-eat-dog world of digital SLRs every little cock-up dents your reputation and may be – and often is – ruthlessly used against you.
Nikon seems to release newer and better cameras at the same breakneck speed as Canon, yet their high-end gear doesn’t suffer from random and unexplained issues.
So you’d think Canon would learn from its mistakes, right? Well, to be fair, it has. But only to a degree.
Its latest addition to the DSLR family, the Canon 7D, was a result of worldwide consultations with photographers, who told Canon what they want, what should change, and what should go. As a result, the camera boasts some radical improvements, including 19 cross-type AF points, something the 5D Mark II could do with, 8 frames per second, dual DIGIC 4 processors etc. And an improved on/off button, my personal pet hate and something Canon should have addressed years ago.
So what do you do now with this camera which does what people want it to do? Erm, you spoil the fun. Again.
This from Canon’s today’s press release:
In images captured by continuous shooting, and under certain conditions, barely noticeable traces of the immediately preceding frame may be visible. This phenomenon is not noticeable in an image with optimal exposure. The phenomenon may become more noticeable if a retouching process such as level compensation is applied to emphasize the image. Canon is currently investigating and analyzing the cause of this phenomenon, and we are planning to release a firmware update to address this issue.
It’s fair to assume that people who invested in this camera did so because it’s cheaper than the 5D, but also because it can take almost twice as many pictures per second than the 5D Mark II. Therefore to give them a product which cannot function properly during a continuous shoot is simply damn silly. Yes, the firmware will hopefully fix it, but it’s another dent in Canon’s reputation. I wish they didn’t rush their products to the market like that.
Nikon execs must be rubbing their hands in joy….
Hopefully Canon 1D Mark IV, which is about to be released, has been thoroughly and more rigorously tested.
UPDATE: Canon has now released a firmware update, which corrects the above issue. You can download it from here.
Image © Axel Bührmann via Flickr, used under Creative Commons licence
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Don’t you just love spring?
Posted by Michal in photography on 05/05/2009
From our recent trip to Henley-on-Thames.
MY SOCIAL FOOTPRINT: