Photography Gear Reviews

New Lens Vs Old Lens

We compare the Canon 16-35mm F/4 IS against the older Canon 17-40mm F/4 in a landscape photography setting to see if the upgrade is worth the money.

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After a recent video some said I should get the Canon 16-35mm to replace my 17-40mm. So I have. But I’ve been talking recently how the gear doesn’t make the photographer so I’m not totally convinced this purchase was required. So I thought I would put it to the test, possibly prove myself wrong, and help you when it comes to making your next lens purchase decision.

Sharpness

There are certain things important to me in a lens when shooting landscape photography. Sharpness is important up to a certain extant. Once an acceptable level of sharpness is reached then I am happy. Most photographs are viewed at a reasonable distance and a normal viewer is not looking at minute details or pixel peeping an image. The overall story is much more important.

Lens Distortion

When working with super wide angles like 16-20mm, distortion can become a real problem and is extremely distracting and prevalent in cheaper lenses. The Canon 17-40mm handles distortion reasonably well so I was interested to see if Canon 16-35mm F/4 IS would be better.

Chromatic Aberration

The coloured soft edges in high contrast areas of an image look extremely unpleasant and can make an image look cheap. Also known as chromatic aberration, one major benefit of a high quality lens is the ability to control it. These days, it can be controlled in post-processing but it results can be hit and miss depending on the image. The Canon 17-40mm can be susceptible to chromatic Aberration, can the 16-35mm improve matters.

When conducting a camera lens review I am also looking at build quality and extras such as IS. Image stabilisation is not important to me for stills. For video, it is much more important so it is still something I look for.

In the video I pit the two lenses against each other at Ribblehead viaduct in the Yorkshire Dales. The Limestone pavement provides some big foreground interest for a shot, something I really wanted to include in the lens review.

Canon 6D Mark II Real world Review

I review the Canon 6D Mark II DSLR camera and head to the Lake District to put it through it’s paces from a landscape photography perspective.

If you have seen my camera reviews before you will know I am not interested in repeating all the specs and obvious elements. I want to get the camera out into the real world and use it exactly like a photographer would. In the video we look at the abilities of the camera mostly from a landscape photography perspective when we headed to Loughrigg Fell in the Lake District.

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Full Frame Sensor

The whole point of the Canon 6D Mark II is the entry into using a full frame sensor. This has a number of advantages. It usually includes improved dynamic range (not so much in this case - read on), better low light ability and least obviously - the potential to use better glass, particularly at the wide end. High end lenses like the Canon 16-35mm L are perfect for landscape photography and on a full frame camera you get the full 16mm wide end coverage. Putting this lens on a cropped sensor camera effectively increases the 16mm to a more narrow 25mm which can be limiting in some situations.

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Build Quality

Build quality of the camera is the usual Canon quality. It is a plastic build but it feels solid and secure and the weight also benefits from this. It has a flip out screen, which is missing from the higher end cameras for the sake of durability, but I find them particularly useful. When the camera is low down near a stream, or close to the ground, having the screen point up towards you is a real back saver. The flip screen means you can also use the Canon 6D Mark II for vlogging. Not a cheap vlogging option, but it is possible.

Image Quality

Next is the image quality. There are not many cameras out there today that provide poor image quality. This camera is no different. Image quality is superb for stills and you can quite happily use the 26MP sensor to create massive prints. Sadly though dynamic range was not as good as I would have hoped, especially at low ISO. This might put off some landscape photographers who might be looking at rivals from Sony and cameras like the Nikon D750. Personally when it comes to stills I am not concerned too much about dynamic range. Using bracketing can easily capture all the dynamic range in a landscape scene.

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Portraits and Focusing

The dynamic range of the camera improves dramatically as ISO increases. Therefore, like many full frame cameras, The Canon 6D Mark 2 is excellent in low light. Any noise that does appear has a film grain type feel rather than the harsh noise often associated with crop sensor cameras. This means the camera lends itself to shooting portraits as well as landscapes. Depending on the lens you attach to the camera it is capable of capturing stunning portraits. However I would be reluctant to use it at a wedding or for any other professional portrait work. The focus system covers a smaller area of the frame than higher end cameras like the Canon 5D Mark IV which can be limiting when you have to focus and re-frame more often that you would like. Having said that, for most, that will not be a problem. The focus system is still very accurate and fast. It also has the dual pixel autofocus system for video. This Canon system is really second to none for video focus and it very very rarely misses including when using face detection.

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Video Quality

Video quality is reasonable but again the dynamic range can be limiting. When I was out in the mountains getting detail across the frame was not easy and I was often left with blown out skies. This could probably be improved by using a flatter picture setting rather than sticking with the built in presets like I did. There is also no 4K option and the 1080p quality is softer than the Canon 5D Mark IV and more in line with the cropped sensor Canon cameras. However the ability to shoot 1080p at 60fps does provide the option of producing some slo-motion footage.

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Conclusion

Overall I had a superb time using this camera. If you were to buy it, you would be very happy. Just be aware it is not a professional level camera. We should not be expecting it to be though given the price point of £$1600. Indeed, the camera only comes equipped with one SD card port. To remove the slight limitations mentioned above you are looking at upgrading to the pro level Canon 5D Mark IV which is more than double the price. The Canon 6D is an all round performer suitable for all different genres of photography and will perform them all to a good standard. In many respects the upgrade to full frame is something many photographers aspire to and this camera allows you to do it much sooner with only very slight downsides. It is a shame the dynamic range is not better at low ISO but that is being hypercritical. An all rounder at a great price point for a full frame camera. A solid 4 out of 5.

How to Choose a Vlogging Camera

What is the best vlogging camera for 2018? We look at everything from a phone up to the Canon 5D Mark IV to help you decide what is the best camera for starting your vlog.

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In this video we’re going to look at several cameras and decide which is the best for vlogging.

First we need to decide what we are going to shoot and the level of production quality required. I am a photographer so I feel an extra level of pressure to get high quality images but it’s absolutely not required. The story you tell is absolutely the most important thing……and you, of course…we need to give our audience a reason to watch, and provide them value. 

Once we have that nailed we need to start looking at the gear. At the moment there really isn’t a perfect vlogging camera. There isn’t a camera out there that strikes the right balance between image quality, features, focusing and weight.

Budget also comes into it so we’re gonna take a look at a few cameras and discuss the pro and cons of using them for vlogging.

4K is not really required for vlogging. When you look at the Youtube analytics a growing majority of people are watching content on their phones and tablets and they are far from having 4K screens. 1080p is the sweet spot at the moment and it makes post processing easier and quicker and storage is much less of an issue.

The cameras we discuss in the video are:

  • A phone
  • Compact cameras like the Sony RX100v and Canon G7X
  • A GoPro
  • An Entry level DSLR like the Canon 800D
  • A top of the range camera like the Canon 5D Mark IV. 

At the moment I am using all of these for my vlogging in addition to the drone. It makes shooting very complex especially when I am trying to capture some nice landscape photographs at the same time. It’s more than reasonable to vlog with just one of these solutions but the perfect vlogging camera really doesn’t exist yet.

If you are going to start a vlog then good luck. Film your first video and upload it and forget about it. Then do that again and again and again.

Stay to the end for a peek at my very first video.

Out.

Canon 5D Mark IV vs Sony RX100 V

Comparing the Canon 5D Mark IV and the Sony RX100 V.

How does the best compact camera compare to one of the best overall cameras on the market?

On the face of it this may seem like an extreme comparison. And it is. However with modern cameras and as electronics get smaller, the gap between top end and lower end is not as big as it used to be. We compare the Canon 5D Mark IV and the Sony RX100 V to test where that gap lies today.

We compare various aspects of each camera to see how they shape up. We are going to look at:

  • Weight
  • Cost
  • Lenses
  • Focusing Speed
  • Bokeh
  • Sensor
  • Image quality

Weight

When it comes to carrying a camera around all day, lighter is better. The best compact cameras really excel in this department and the Sony RX100 V is no different. It is light but well made, compact and easy to carry around all day. The Canon DSLR is heavy. Fact. Score one for the Sony.

Cost

These are both expensive cameras but they will reduce in cost overtime to fall in line with more budgets. The Canon is about three times the cost of the Sony so that is round two to the RX100V.

Lenses

The Sony scores an early point in this round thanks to actually coming with a lens. It has a fixed 24-70mm lens that is a perfect range for many situations. The DSLR on the other hand does not even come with a lens. Lenses are hugely expensive and add significant cost to the ownership of a  DSLR camera. However, the ability to change lenses means the camera is much more versatile allowing shots from a super wide to a super zoom. This round is a tie.

Focusing Speed

The focus system on the Canon 5D Mark IV is one the best ever to be placed into a camera. It is fast, accurate and rarely misses but also functions in very low light. However, Sony claim the focus system on the RX100V is the fastest ever to be produced focusing in just 0.05 seconds. In the video we put this to this test and discover the Sony is ever so slightly faster. Impressive.

 Bokeh

During testing both cameras were packing a 24-70mm lens capable of shooting f2.8. My old friend Optimus Prime stepped in as model and some carefully positioned fairy lights were employed to create some bokeh balls. The Sony produces a decent amount of blurred background but the quality of this, or bokeh, is not massively high. The bokeh balls are small, squidgy and misshapen and not hugely pleasant to look at. On the other hand the 5D produces beautifully round bokeh balls that are dreamy and delicious. Score one for the Canon. Not surprising given the larger lens and larger sensor.

Sensor and Image Quality

The Sony boasts an impressive one inch sensor considering the overall size of the package. It is right in line with Sony's current trend of creating great sensors. It produces excellent images in most conditions including low light. Sadly size matters when it comes to sensors. Having the ability to physically capture more light gives the full frame Canon 5D mark IV the juice to capture some truly spectacular images. This is two points to the Canon.

Adding up overall we have a tie game. This is fitting. Whilst the Canon 5D Mark IV is a much better camera in terms of image quality, it is not for everyone. It is expensive and DSLR's can initially be more complicated to use than other cameras. On the other hand the Sony RX100 V is very straightforward and easy to pick up for the first time and start capturing images. It is less versatile than the camera but also cheaper and lighter.

Overall we are not currently at risk of retiring our DSLR's but the compact camera definitely packs a much bigger punch than its small form factor would suggest.

Please leave a comment down below and let me know which you prefer and and what you think of the extreme comparison.

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What’s in my Camera bag in 2016?

The camera gear of 2016

Here I reveal all the camera gear in my bag in 2016. We look at the bags, camera bodies, camera lenses and the accessories that can make or break a shot.

The requests have been flooding in for me to make this video and I have finally buckled under the pressure. Here I bear my soul and reveal much of what currently makes it into my camera bag. Sadly my Canon 70-200 is out on loan and the DJI Mavic Pro drone is yet to be purchased.

Is camera gear everything?

Whilst the camera gear is not the key to good photography we cannot help to love it a little bit. Despite that we can not all afford to buy good camera gear. If you fall into this camp, I am planning to create a video around shooting with budget gear very soon.

I have posted links below to check out all of the camera gear below. Follow the link to see all the individual review.

Review Videos - https://www.firstmanphotography.com/category/reviews

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Camera Gear Links

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