Canon Professional Services – Silverstone event

[SDK^]

Today I was playing with some very high end Canon Gear at the CPS event at Silverstone - It was one of the best days I have ever experienced.

I started the day by testing a Canon 1DMKIIn with a 300mm F2.8 & Canon 500mm F4 and both with a 1.4x extender. It goes without saying that these are amazing lenses; the ability to isolate a subject at distance is stunning.

These are not the best photos in the world but they demonstrate the depth of field and sharpness.

500mm L IS F4

I also tested a Canon 1Ds MKII with an 85mm L F1.2 MKII and a 14mm L F2.8. These lenses combined with the full frame high resolution of the 1Ds were awesome. It took a while to get used to the 14mm on the 1Ds; it's the first time when looking through a viewfinder that I felt I'd taken 5 steps back. I would be standing directly in front of a subject but through the viewfinder it was around 3 meters away from me.
They both had bullet proof build quality and felt perfectly balanced on the 1 Series.


The super wide 14mm L F2.8 taken on a Canon 1Ds MKII

Photo taken on a 1Ds MKII and an 85mm F1.2 MKII, the sharpness of the eyes is stunning !

I wanted to test a Tilt & Shift lens and a Canon Macro flash but time ran out of time.
Take your pick from the whole Canon lens lineup.

The only problem now is I really want a 1Ds and 1D MKII with a 500mm F4, 85mm F1.2 and 14mm F2.8 - Anyone got a spare £12k they want to give me

 

[SDK^]

So, how did you go about getting to play with all those toys then?

Canon Professional Services (CPS) are holding three 1 day events in May, it's the first time they have done this type of thing but after chatting to some of the organisers today their view was it had been a success so they will schedule more in the future.
To be a CPS member you need to own 2x Pro Canon bodies (10D & 20D also qualify) and 3 Canon L lenses.
Canon posted me an invite to one of the events.

 

[SDK^]

This is a better example, it was taken under superior lighting.

Again - 100% crop, RAW, no processing.

 

[SDK^]

im impressed, what one item would you most like to have took home?
p.s is that your sillhouette in the iris?

Apart from the girl She was very hot !!
Probably the 85mm F1.2

Yup - That's me in the iris

 

[SDK^]

The 1D series is certainly not a camera that you can just pickup and start shooting with. It took me a while to figure the control interface. I already knew that ISO and AF mode, required two button presses but didn't realise it was the same for changing settings in the menu, deleting images and even navigating them on the LCD.

Towards the end of the day it was becoming easier but the amount of customised settings both on the camera and lenses is mind blowing.

Even the telephoto primes have settings no other lenses have
- A focus preset which can be set by a button and activated by a metal ring located at the end of the lens.
- Manual focus override buttons located on the end grip of the lens.


There is still so much to learn

 

[SDK^]

very nice but it's good to know i can't see any improvement in clarity or sharpness over my standard 350D and a decent L lens. I won't be upgrading the body any time soon!

Yeah, remember these are 800x600 saved for web images. The difference won't be obvious in small priints but above 10x8 the 1Ds 16mp quality will really show through.
The viewfinder in the the 1D series is much better than my 20D - It's very clear and a lot sharper.

As for lenses; I use a Canon 100-400mm L IS lens for motorsport but it is a long way behind the telephoto primes.
The photos I posted above have not been sharpened in Photoshop and are sharper than processed images from the 100-400 !!!

Post a 100%, unsharpened, RAW crop of an eye from a half body portrait and see how it compares to the one above

 

[SDK^]

I bought a 1d MkII last week (it's had to go back, long story) but for the short while I had it absolutely loved it. The menu takes a bit of getting used to but the sheer quality and speed was amazing. Even jpegs straight from the cam looked nicer than the ones from the 20D for some reason.

I read your thread on that forum, sorry to hear you had problems with your 1D but I'm sure once it's sorted you'll be loving the camera
Like most things, once you get used to how the system works then it feels great.

My question is how do you get to attend such events?

Ive got a CPS membership thingy, but for the last few months Ive not been told of any events at all, id have loved to come down and have a play with the 500mm.

I've no idea how Canon selects people. I've been a CPS member for over a year so maybe that made a difference

 

[SDK^]

Any tips for getting in CPS? I have enough pro bodies and L lens to get in, but haven't had any invites or anything. I don't think I've registered any lens online if that's what you are supposed to do.

You need to register your gear at http://www.cps.canon-europe.com/membership/whatisCPS.jsp

Serial numbers are required