Tony Lopez, right, coils a rope while Steve Gray, left, rests against one of the winches on Illinois Marine Towing's "Albert C." fleet boat on 20 October 2010 in Lemont, Ill. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 25mm | Exposed 1/1250 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 100

The second of two images I “rediscovered” while going through photographs for my master’s project.  One thing that I noticed throughout that day on the Albert C. was that my shutter speeds were remarkably high all day long–relatively large apertures (for limited depth of field) combined with the all-white ship resulted in a great deal of main and fill light all the time.  What was amazing about that was I only needed my flash a couple of times, and even then only inside the pilot house.

Tags: Asian Carp, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L, EOS 5D Mark II, Master's Project, photojournalism
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Capt. Dan Egan goes through one of the logs on Illinois Marine Towing's "Albert C." fleet boat on 20 October 2010 in Lemont, Ill. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 70mm | Exposed 1/5000 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 200

In preparation for weaving together a narrative for my master’s on Asian carp, a river flowing the wrong way, and people’s livelihoods caught in the mix, I have been going back over some of my photos for the project, and in the process I have found a couple that I had not toned and ranked only “one star” in Lightroom.  This image, and the one I will post tomorrow, is now a three star image storytelling image and shaped up nicely with some simple white point, black point, and curve adjustments.

Tags: Asian Carp, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L, EOS 5D Mark II, Master's Project, photojournalism
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Berries and ice, Durham, N.C. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens | Exposed 1/125 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 1600

Holly glistening after the thaw, Durham, N.C. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens | Exposed 1/80 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 800

Tags: 100mm f/2.8 Macro, EOS 5D Mark II, nature, weather, winter
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Melting ice, Durham, N.C. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens | Exposed 1/80 sec. @ f/4.5, ISO 800

I made this image last Thursday during the second winter “storm” of the season in Durham.  It was a dusting to this Midwesterner’s eyes, but a pretty one at that.  Many of the images I created seemed to be a touch melancholy.  It seems a fitting image for today, which carries a decidedly somber mood.

Tags: 100mm f/2.8 Macro, EOS 5D Mark II, nature, weather, winter
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Mode dial lock modification - image from usa.canon.com

What?

Canon is now offering to modify 5D Mark II and 7D camera bodies with a mode dial that locks in place to prevent the dial from moving accidentally.  Unfortunately, it’s not free of charge: $100 per camera body.

Why?

You know the frustration: you’ve set your camera to “aperture priority” and then you sling it over your shoulder.  You pick it back up to make a quick image and suddenly the viewfinder blacks out far longer than you expected.  A second-long exposure in bright daylight?  “Oh, ” you realize, “it slipped over to shutter priority which was set for making blurs.”  But the decisive moment?  It’s long since gone on account of a technical problem.

I’m going to make a broad-spectrum criticism here: the mode dials on pretty much every camera suck because most of them do not lock in any way, shape, or form.  Nikon locks the “sub-dial” beneath the mode dial on many of their bodies, but even they are not blameless.

Time to celebrate?

Maybe.  I own both bodies, and I’m not really thrilled at the thought of contributing $200 into Canon’s coffers for something that is really a fix, not a “modification.”  And I’m disappointed that there’s no suggestion that a locking mode dial will be a standard feature of future camera bodies.  Finally, a mod for the 5D Mk. II really gives me pause: this camera was announced over two years ago, so shouldn’t owners be looking for its replacement, not pouring more money into the existing body?

I think this one is worthy of discussion, so what do you think?

Tags: Canon, EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D, equipment, repairs
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Scenes from our kitchen

Misty Martinez laughs as Herbie looks on at the Thanksgiving preparations in our kitchen, Durham, N.C. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 16-35mm f/2.8L II lens @ 35mm | Exposed 1/50 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 800, flash fired @ +2/3 EV

We’ll actually be going over to Carrie and Andy Olson-Manning’s house for Thanksgiving dinner later today.  However, while her husband, Andy, prepared the turkey in their kitchen, Carrie and her friend Misty came to our house to make some side dishes while we did the same.  Naturally, the dogs came, too!

Carrie Olson-Manning makes Swedish meatballs in the hours before Thanksgiving dinner, Durham, N.C. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 16-35mm f/2.8L II lens @ 25mm | Exposed 1/125 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 800, flash fired @ +2/3 EV

Elizabeth drizzles some more rum over the glazed sweet potatoes as they await their finish in the oven on Thanksgiving Day, Durham, N.C. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 16-35mm f/2.8L II lens @ 25mm | Exposed 1/20 sec. @ f/4, ISO 800, flash fired @ +2/3 EV

Tags: Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II, EOS 5D Mark II, holidays, photojournalism, Thanksgiving
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Portrait diptych: Brett Witte, left, and Heather Calkins, right, on the bow of the US Fish & Wildlife Service's electro-shocking boat on Oct. 7, 2010 on the Cal-Sag Channel, south of Chicago, Ill. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 85mm f/1.2L II lens

Tags: Asian Carp, Canon 85mm f/1.2L II, Chicago, diptychs, EOS 5D Mark II, Master's Project, photojournalism, portraits
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Fallen, Sandy Creek Park, Durham, N.C. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS Mk. II lens @ 160mm | Exposed 1/60 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 800

Parting Thoughts on the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS Mark II lens

When I first received the new 70-200mm lens from Canon Professional Services, I was instantly reminded why I sold my old 70-200mm f/2.8 (non-IS) a few years ago: it’s big and it’s heavy.  But it lets in a lot of light, and you can achieve very nice, selective focus with it.  I didn’t have  an opportunity to make any portraits with it, which is too bad because I think it would be an excellent lens for that application.  I did take it out on the street, but I was very conscious of walking with an enormous white monstrosity: subtlety is not an option with this lens.

A Worthwhile Upgrade?

The image quality is remarkably high (although I wouldn’t consider its resolution to be any greater than it’s f/4 stable-mate, and while the image stabilization is improved over the previous version, I did not think it any better than the aforementioned 70-200mm f/4L IS.  That said, this is the first zoom lens that I would consider using with the 2x teleconverter on a regular basis.

If you currently own the older IS version of this lens, you might wonder if it’s worth the upgrade.  I would offer that I believe the image stabilization is certainly better, but if you shoot sports, that might not matter to you at all.  The image quality is higher, and will enable you to use the 2x teleconverter freely.  If neither of these features interest you, then you can probably pass on this lens and wait for something “better.”

Scattered leaves floating in the water, Whippoorwill Park, Durham, N.C. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS Mk. II lens @ 80mm | Exposed 1/40 sec. @ f/3.5, ISO 400

Tags: Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS Mk. II, EOS 5D Mark II, landscapes, nature, Reviews
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