Canon Professional Services – Silverstone event

SDK^ · 27 May 2006 at 14:25

Psilonaught said:
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

Psilonaught · 27 May 2006 at 14:47

yep your right, at large print sizes I guess there would indeed be a bigger difference!

I guess the ISO noise levels are probably a lot better as well

themask70 · 27 May 2006 at 15:11

You lucky person, would love to play about with some of thoe lenses, but i dont hav any l-series lenses or pro camera bodies so i cant be a member of CPS

. Oh well, something to save up for...

mrgubby · 27 May 2006 at 15:12

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

The question is though , how often does Mr/Mrs Amateur do that in real life ? . For Motorsport photography you're better of spending the money on bribes to get the other side of the fence

Darryn · 27 May 2006 at 15:29

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 will be buying one in the next 12months and would like to have a play to see what to expect.

Also, the first picture is fantastic, infact all of them are mighty impressive.

Joe T · 27 May 2006 at 17:35

Very cool day out there mate. One day I *WILL* have a play with some top lenses - as if my 120-300 2.8 wasnt enough, I want a D2X and a Nikon 300 or 400 2.8!

dod · 27 May 2006 at 17:59

SDK^ said:
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.

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.

SDK^ · 27 May 2006 at 18:11

dod said:
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.

DreederOcUK said:
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 :confused:

Samiad · 28 May 2006 at 11:02

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.

busterboy · 28 May 2006 at 11:23

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

Pete.. You know as well as I do its all to do with skimpy leather suits..horse whips and batteries..

On a serious note (just picked up on this thread) I am glad you got to try the big primes that Canon have on offer.. Yes they are heavy but can be hand held for 30 minute periods without a problem, After that the biceps start pumping..

Every word you have written is absolutely spot on about the equipment you were using, A steep learning curve for the 1D series cameras indeed, I found out how easy the 350D was again when I purchased one only a couple of weeks ago. Picking the 1DMkII back up again puts your brain back in gear..

Your shots are more than good, They are very good. Crystal clear sharp and the contrast and colours are spot on.

Glad you enjoyed your day..

Gregeff · 28 May 2006 at 12:01

Wow! That Portrait is stunning :eek:

Raider · 28 May 2006 at 13:10

I would NEVER go to an event like that.

As soon as I got back home to my Canon 350D + Sigma 70-300mm I'd end up hitting my credit card pretty hard

Playing with kit that you can't afford = dangerous

SDK^ · 28 May 2006 at 13:36

Samiad said:
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

morgan · 28 May 2006 at 17:41

Psilonaught said:
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!

Its all in the details!:

Full image:

thentake a 100% crop:

F5.6, 1/640 @ ISO 800!!!

This is a 100% crop taken with the 1Ds MKII and the 600mm F4 IS L. Bear in mind I was a couple of hundred meters away, the amount of detail the camera registers is just unbelivable. And it can do that for 8 FPS!!

If I was in the motorsports/sports business I wouldnt hesitate to get a 1DS mk2. The main thing that amazed me was the mp's...having the ability to crop hard and still keep details is worth its weight in gold.

My favourite lens from the day (which I would have liked to take home for my work) was the 85 F1.2L..saweeet! on the 5D it was too nice

morgan · 28 May 2006 at 18:59

forgot to mention the autofocus...in ai servo it seems so intelligent...tracks the subject perfectly and very fast to react. Great new I guess is in 2/3 years time that technology may be passed down to the 5d/30d series cameras - prosumer dslrs....and it will be affordable then (I hope

)

dod · 28 May 2006 at 20:15

morgan said:
This is a 100% crop taken with the 1Ds MKII and the 600mm F4 IS L. Bear in mind I was a couple of hundred meters away, the amount of detail the camera registers is just unbelivable. And it can do that for 8 FPS!!

I thought the 1DS MkII was only 4 FPS??

Samiad · 28 May 2006 at 20:35

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

Serial numbers are required

Thanks for this,

morgan said:
forgot to mention the autofocus...in ai servo it seems so intelligent...tracks the subject perfectly and very fast to react. Great new I guess is in 2/3 years time that technology may be passed down to the 5d/30d series cameras - prosumer dslrs....and it will be affordable then (I hope )

Only if the 1 series gets a better system to replace it, don't forget that!

themask70 · 29 May 2006 at 18:34

Raider said:
I would NEVER go to an event like that.

As soon as I got back home to my Canon 350D + Sigma 70-300mm I'd end up hitting my credit card pretty hard

Playing with kit that you can't afford = dangerous

Lol, me too

Mohain · 29 May 2006 at 20:30

There's an unbeatable quality to the image that comes from the 1D MKII.

/dreams ...

matty · 29 May 2006 at 20:53

pretty cool looking stuff

*jealous*