The new Canon EOS 5DS is on steroid, with 50.6 Mega pixels, or more than double the number of pixels of the Canon EOS 5D mark III! However, I am only mildly excited and I tell you why further down. Spoonbill with breeding colors photography season has officially started!!! And that is very exciting…
Roseate Spoonbill banking in flight – Tampa Bay, Florida
ISO 200 | f/4 | 1/5000 sec. | Manual mode | AI servo rear focusing
This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens, the Canon EOS 7D mark II on tripod in the water.
At last, I was able to create a banking in flight photograph with the wings perfectly straight! 🙂 This image above celebrates the start of a new season for Spoonbill with breeding colors photography. Awesome!!
There is a way to increase your chances of creating such photographs, and I invite you to participate to the workshops to get precious in the field instruction.
Roseate Spoonbill landing – Tampa Bay rookery, Florida
ISO 400 | f/5.6 | 1/5000 sec. | Manual mode | AI servo rear focusing
This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens coupled with the 1.4x extender, the Canon EOS 7D mark II on tripod in the water.
The landing Spoonbill image above was also created on my first morning expedition to the Tampa Bay rookery. Follow the 4 angles of success and a perfect sun angle as above will give you absolutely no shadows on your subject. The second bird in the background gives a nice plus to setting up the scene for a spectacular landing. The opened beak is icing on the cake!
Roseate Spoonbill landing – Tampa Bay rookery, Florida
ISO 200 | f/4 | 1/5000 sec. | Manual mode | AI servo rear focusing
This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens, the Canon EOS 7D mark II on tripod in the water.
The image above was created towards the end of my first outing, with a harsher light. The stronger the light, and the more it is important that your shadow points at your subject. In this case, it is not perfect, but we are pretty close to total success.
What to think about the new Canon EOS 5DS and Canon EOS 5DR?
The 50.6 Mega pixels seems an amazing number. It is like we are now shooting with middle format bodies! However, I do not think I will trade the mark III for the new 5Ds. The specs are not very different, besides the huge increase in pixels. In fact, the frame per second rate decreased to 6 FPS. Will the high ISO/noise performance stay equal with the increased number of pixels? The way I see it, the new bodies will be amazing for landscape photographers and portrait photographers, but action photographers (as myself) will not necessarily see enough of an improvement to lose money in doing the trade.
More pixels does mean more leeway in framing wider and still getting a very good definition on a cropped version. That means less risk of clipping wings!
I have a feeling the new 1D body that is soon to come will be more attractive to me as an upgrade, though no doubt pricey… I vote wait and see.
Used gear for sale!
Canon EF 300mm f/4 L IS
I am putting my 300mm for sale at $950. Quite a saving versus the price in store for a lens in mint condition that delivers pro results for a very small price. You may contact me by email at steven.blandin@gmail.com if you are interested 🙂
Florida Spoonbills and Shorebirds instructional photography tour / $890 / limit 5 people / March 7th-8th 2015:
SOLD OUT!! Contact me at steven.blandin@gmail.com to be added to the waiting list for next year.
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Steven