What’s Up?

It started work on this blog post on Sunday while laying over–heck, it was only 7 hours, not 8 as I originally figured–at the Delta lounge in LAX. It was 1:02 PM Pacific time as I began to type. My flight to Tokyo was set for 4:50pm. As I said, one breath at a time.

I got a lot done on my MCO to LAX flight and got a lot done on Sunday afternoon. I can’t wait for the Snow Monkeys!

I added lots more to this post on my layover day in Tokyo, that being Tuesday February 9, 2016.

8771 was shot at full frame. 8772 was shot at 1.3 crop. 8773 was shot at 1.6 crop. 8774 was shot at 1:1 8775 was shot at 4:3 8776 was shot at 16:9

EOS 5DS R Crop Mode/Sometimes You Can Be 100% Wrong and Ignorant and It Doesn’t Mean Squat…

I am not sure how this all started but in the blog post here good friend Patrick Sparkman commented:

David. I never said that I would use the in camera crop. I would never use that and only crop in post processing. Obviously, if I could get closer to the subject, and fill the frame on the 5DS R I would. But that is not always possible, so the 5DS R allows for significant cropping in post and still maintain good image quality. I hope that answers your question.

Then I chimed in out of ignorance:

As far as I know, there is no such thing as in-camera cropping as there is with some Nikon bodies…

Next, good friend and multiple IPT participant David Policansky posted this:

Artie: This from the Imaging Resource website: “Also, in what we believe is another EOS camera first, Canon has added crop shooting modes for both 1.3x and 1.6x crop factors.” That is what I was talking about. Check your 5DS R camera body manual! 🙂 David

So I did, and learned that I was wrong. And I learned a lot more. Here goes:

#1: If you convert in Adobe Camera RAW or Lightroom or anything but Canon Digital Photo Professional 4, there is no such thing as Crop or Aspect Ratio after the fact. Why? Only DPP 4 recognizes some (but not all) of the six choices.

#2: If you choose either the 1.3x (crop) or the 1.6x (crop) setting at the bottom of the fourth RED menu, the image will be “cropped” as you look through the viewfinder (the cropped pixels are grayed out). When you view the images on the rear LCD, you will see the crop marks. When you bring the image into DPP 4 (only) for the RAW conversion, you will see the crop marks. If you proceed to convert the image you will be left only with the cropped version. It is possible to get rid of the crop marks and work with the full frame image by going to the Crop tab and hitting Clear.

#3: If you choose 1:1 you will see the crop in the viewfinder as above. You will see the square crop upon playback. But that is the end of it. You will not see the square crop even in DPP 4.

If you choose either 4:3 or 16:9 you will not see the crop through the viewfinder and there will be no crop marks on your image. At this point you should be asking, “What’s up with that?”

Strangely enough when you choose 4:3 or 16:9, you will be viewing only the cropped portion of the images in the selected proportion when you work in Live View. And that is also true when you pick the 1.3x (crop), the 1.6x (crop), or the 1:1 Aspect Ratio.

All of the above makes no sense to me. Does any of it make sense to you? If so, please leave a comment and explain it to us.

If 1.3x and 1.6x are indeed “crops” and the 1:1, 4:3, and 16:9 are all indeed Aspect Ratios, then why not have each of those three do the same thing? Beats me.

Of note: in all cases you always have the complete, un-cropped RAW file to work with.

This image was created through the spotlessly clean window of my room in a luxurious Tokyo hotel with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 100mm) and the monster mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/8. Center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF on the tallest building and re-compose. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. The View from the Top

Using the 1:1 the Aspect Ratio…

Well, obviously I made it to Tokyo in one piece. And continued work on this blog post to maximize your learning opportunities. When I first glanced out the window and framed the image in my mind, a square crop was obvious. So I went to the menu and set 1:1. And I must admit that having the square crop in the viewfinder made it a easier to fine tune the image design “in the field” if you would :). So there are times when the seemingly useless feature can help.

NIK Tonal Contrast Trick

As one might expect, the view from my room was quite hazy/smoggy. So when I went to run my NIK Color EFEX Pro 50/50 recipe I experimented with the High Pass setting for Tonal Contrast; wow! What an improvement. Goodbye haze, goodbye smog.

So What Else Did I Learn?

I learned that the 5DS R does have a Crop/aspect ratio menu item, that it makes very little if any sense, and that it would not seem to be of any practical use.

But then I figgered something out that might be of actual use for comparing the quality of image files from a 5DS R (in terms of sharpness, contrast, and fine feather detail) with the image files from a 7D II. Or those from a 5DS R with those from a 1D Mark IV or a 1D X.

To compare the 5DS R files to 7D II files first fine a static subject be it a detailed sign or a sleeping bird or animal. Both cameras should be Lens Align Focus Tuned to the lens you will be using. First set up tripod with the lens on it and lock everything down. Set the 5DS R to 1.6x (crop), mount the camera, and make a few images. Now simply switch to the 7D II, make a few images and compare the results.

More From Patrick Sparkman

When I mentioned the testing idea above to Patrick Sparkman, who recently did a second round of testing with a refined protocol, he said, and I quote:

Here are the PDFs from two Lens Align tests. Exact same setup, same lens, distance, didn’t even move it during camera changes. Same camera settings, and selected the same area on the target to analyze. The sharpest average for the 5DS R is 2527, and the 7dII is 1718.That is what we are seeing. I am through testing cameras now. The 5DS R always wins. I must admit though, that when I do the basic processing with Lightroom and NIK, that the two are pretty close. They are both great cameras. For 2 1/2 times more money though, the 5DS R gives a lot more versatility and that is why I like it so much. And the images are definitely sharper.

Have fun on your layover, and call me if you get bored!

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Selling Your Used Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog or via a BAA Online Bulletin is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charges a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly–I offer free pricing advice, usually sells in no time flat. In the past few months, we have sold just about everything in sight. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 500mm, the EOS-7D, and the original 400mm IS DO lens have been dropping steadily. Even the prices on the new 600 II and the 200-400 with Internal Extender have been plummeting. You can see all current listings by clicking here or by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the right side of the yellow-orange menu bar above.

Stuff has literally been flying off the shelves for the past few weeks.

New Listing

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III Professional dSLR

Multiple IPT veteran Steve Leimberg is offering a used EOS 1Ds Mark III Professional dSLR in excellent condition an the insane, record-low BAA price of $999. The sale includes only camera, the battery, the battery charger, and insured ground shipping via major courier. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Steve by e-mail.

The 1Ds Mark III produces superb 21.1 mp files and Autofocus is superb as well. The 1Ds III suffered none of the AF system problems that some encountered with the EOS-1D Mark III. I owned and use one for about three years. If you have been looking at pro bodies and you let this one go you will have only yourself to blame. artie

Think Tank Airport Security V2.0 Rolling Camera Bag

David Ramirez is giving away a lightly used Think Tank Airport Security V2.0 Rolling Camera Bag in excellent condition (used only three times) for only $200. The sale include ground shipping via major courier.

Please contact David via e-mail. Photos of the bag are available upon request.

Price Drop!

Canon EOS 1D-X Professional dSLR

A New Lowest-ever BAA Price: $2999 for like-new!
Price Reduced $200 on FEB 8, 2015.

John Norris is offering a used EOS 1D-X Professional dSLR in like-new condition for $2999 (was $3199). The sale includes an extra battery, the battery charger, the front cap, everything that was in the original box, and insured shipping via UPS Ground. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact John by e-mail or by phone at 214-957-3535 (Central time zone).

Two 1D X bodies served me well as my workhorse dSLRs since their introduction in March 2012. I always appreciated their ruggedness, the great AF system, and the powerful battery that drove AF even with the 2X III TC quickly. artie

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Typos

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