What’s Up?
Yesterday I answered more than 140 e-mails, many dealing with Used Photo Gear stuff; the Used Gear page here has really been hopping. I did, however, have time for a chilly swim–the pool was down to 71 degrees yesterday, some core exercises, and an ice bath.
If…
If what you read below inspires you to purchase a Canon EOS 5DS R I would of course greatly appreciate your using my B&H affiliate link for your purchase; it won’t cost you a penny more and is the best way to thank me for the work that I put into the blog every day. This blog post took well more than four hours to assemble.
The Streak
In spite of having been buried by travel, teaching, the exhibit, and several major writing projects for the last two months, today’s blog post marks 79 days in a row with a new educational blog post. Again, please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. 🙂
|
|
Canon 7D Mark II sharpness test image courtesy of and copyright Patrick Sparkman |
Bill Lloyd Was Right: Canon EOS 5DS R versus EOS 7D Mark II
With regard to the side by side comparison image in yesterday morning’s blog post here, the left hand image–see the JPEG above–was made under stringent testing condition by good friend Patrick Sparkman with the Canon EOS 7D Mark II. The right hand image–see the JPEG below–was of course also made under stringent testing condition by good friend Patrick Sparkman with the Canon EOS 5DS R.
Here is Bill Lloyd’s comment on the original post: 5DS R on the right, 7DII on the left, betcha.
Kudos to Bill. 🙂
|
|
Canon EOS 5DS R sharpness test image courtesy of and copyright Patrick Sparkman |
The Results
Nearly all who commented felt that the right hand image was dramatically better on all counts.
These two comments summed up the consensus:
Lance Krueger: In answer to your five questions, the image on the right is dramatically better.
Jim Amato: Right photograph: Sharper, cleaner, higher degree of pleasing contrast, best image quality. Dramatic difference: Much sharper, tonal differences, more contrast with all tones. Letter E shadow and “lace” work more defined and pronounced. That is my 100 cents worth.
Patrick and I agree, but only 100%.
Patrick’s Testing Protocol
The camera body test was set up as follows: Tripod-mounted Canon 600 f/4L IS II, Mongoose Head locked down.
I clamped the dollar bill target to the Michael Tapes Lens Align calibration set-up mounted on a sturdy on a tripod to ensure True Parallel alignment.
The target was illuminated by ambient indoor light and was approximately 30 feet from the lens.
The lens had Image Stabilization and autofocus turned off. WB was set to 4200K. The lens was focused manually using Live View at the highest magnification, and was refocused for each camera body but was not moved otherwise. The images were created using manual exposure. Large RAW, 10-second with mirror lockup.
The images were processed in DPP 4, and all the of the settings were left at zero except for setting Sharpness at 3, and checking the boxes for Peripheral Illumination and Chromatic Aberration correction.
Each image was then similarly cropped to a 1200 pixel square; this approximated a 100% crop that was easily duplicated for each image. After the identical RAW conversions in DDP 4 the TIFFs were imported into Lightroom where I used the export utility to create a JPEG. No sharpening was applied; file sizes were limited to < 300kb.
Patrick’s Initial Reaction
After completing the test Patrick called my cell and said, “The results are amazing. The 7D II images look as if they were photographed through a fog filter when compared to the 5DS R images. The big thing is the improved contrast but the sharpness differences are astounding as well.
Simplifying Things
Let’s say that I am standing right next to you with the same lens photographing the same bird at the same distance and that our sharpness techniques are equal. I am using a 5DS R and you are using a 7D II. Your bird will of course be larger in the frame. But when I crop my image so that the bird is the same size in the frame as your bird, my image will be sharper with more pleasing contrast and be of overall higher quality. And those differences will be just as dramatic as they were in Patrick’s tests.
I am pretty sure that this statement is correct: the two images–your original and my cropped to the same subject size–will have virtually the same pixel dimensions. Please feel free to correct me if my understanding here is not correct.
Patrick pointed out the following: in the situation above if the bird flaps the guy (or gal) with the 7D II will clip the wings while the person with the 5DS R will get the shot.
More Thoughts From Patrick via e-mail
In my opinion, while the image quality of the 5DS R is certainly a bonus over the 7DII, the great advantage for my photography comes from the ability to have the equivalent of a 1.6 ratio zoom on the l600 II (or any lens) as compared to the 7DII. When I use the 600 with a 1.4 teleconverter, I will have an 840-1344 zoom versus the 7DII where I have only 1344. This will in fact greatly aid flight shooting; I can work with the 600 alone, be able to acquire AF on the subject easier due to the full frame view at 600mm, and then crop down to the equivalent 960mm of the 7DII (or to any effective focal length in between 960 and 600. All that while getting better image quality than we have ever had before. And when I can get closer to the birds image quality will be off the charts.
Thanks for loaning me the camera for the test.
My Original Gut Feelings
Right from the get-go I was floored by the quality of the 5DS R images. I have long claimed not to have a great eye for fine detail and that remains the case. But when I looked at the 5DS R images I knew that they were sharper, that they offered far more fine detail, and that the image quality was far superior to anything I had ever seen before. I did not, however, realize that the increase in pleasing contrast was a huge contributing factor (even though in retrospect that seems to be obvious).
In short, I was extremely gratified that the results of Patrick’s test confirmed my gut feelings.
The Big Question is Why?
So why are the 5DS R images so much better than the 7D II images? As far as I can figure, there several possibilities:
1-the softness and low contrast look of the 7D II images might be due to the low pass anti-aliasing filter that is immediately in front of the sensor. The converse with the 5DS R might be that the cancellation of the low-pass filter effect allows for sharper, higher quality image files with greater fine detail.
2-it is possible that the sensor (and thus the quality of the pixels) on the 5DS and the 5DS R cameras is much better than on the 7D II.
3-some combination of 1 and 2.
The bummer is that a friend in San Diego had a 5DS that could have been loaned to Patrick for the tests…
From Rudy Winston
I asked Rudy Winston, one of Canon USA’s most knowledgeable technical folks, why the 5DS R images were so superior to the 7D II images. He had lots of interest to say:
Assuming when you say “images were cropped to the same size on the dollar bill,” you mean that the same (or virtually the same) number of actual pixels were used to record both files, I’m not stunned by what you see here.
The absence of a low-pass filter will indeed give a somewhat sharper initial result, out of the camera. There are other things I don’t know about these files (in-camera JPEGs? If RAW files, how processed? etc.), but again, assuming equivalent handling, right off the bat, that’ll give a 5DS R file an edge in terms of how crisply it renders fine detail.
To some degree, that difference can be minimized for an EOS 5DS, EOS 7D Mark II, or other camera body shooters by using sharpening like Unsharp Mask to counter the impact of the softening from the low-pass filter immediately in front of the sensor on those cameras (and nearly all others in our line).
Here is another equalizer that–to some degree–many folks by-pass: the Digital Lens Optimizer feature that can be accessed when RAW images from a recent EOS camera and a compatible (i.e., recently-introduced) lens are processed in Canon’s DPP software. Digital Lens Optimizer is an optional form of “smart sharpening” (my choice of words, not Canon’s), that applies specific sharpening based on lens parameters for each individual image. When truly minute detail is needed/desired, it’s an interesting tool to try on a Canon RAW file.
Finally, in at least some situations, the mechanics of the 5DS series are designed to minimize the impact of mirror shock, and so on — which can contribute to slight changes in image quality when viewed extremely critically. I know you said that these were shot with mirrors locked-up and so on, which probably neutralized most if not all differences between the architecture of these two cameras, but it’s something to keep in the back of one’s mind when making other real-world comparative evaluations.
To your question about the sensors of 7D Mark II vs. the 5DS series: they’re definitely not the same, in terms of being identical, although the pixel size on each is VERY similar. Canon hasn’t revealed precisely what differences may exist at the sensor level between the 5DS and 7D II sensors, but it’s clear that they’re not exact twins at the pixel level. Any differences that might be contained within the full-frame 5DS-series sensor would, of course, be on top of the impact of no low-pass filter which we get on files from the 5DS R. But we’re not claiming any specific, quality-based differences at this granular level.
And, just to reiterate something I’m sure you have already been made aware of: the CMOS image sensor on the EOS 5DS and 5DS R *are* identical. The only difference is the cancellation of the low-pass filter effect, immediately in front of the sensor itself on the 5DS R.
Hope this is helpful to you! — Rudy Winston
What About Frame Rate (and other 5DS R negatives)?
Yes, the 5DS R is much slower than the 1D X and the 7D II. At times I will miss those higher frame rates but not nearly as much as you might think. Why? regular readers know that I have never been a hold-the-hammer-down type of shooter. For flight photography I rarely take more than two or rarely three at most images when the bird passes through the ideal zone. I will most miss the high frame rates of the 1D X and the 7D II during intense high interactions such as bird altercations or copulations. But for me the trade-off in image quality is well worth it. Remember also that my great skill is in designing gorgeous images of static subjects. With birds in flight and in action ? Not so good.
The only other 5DS R negative is the fact that if you are doing any video or Live View work you need to have an extra battery or two in your pocket or vest. Heck, that is recommended even if you are just having a great morning. In an effort to save weight, I have stayed away from the vertical battery grip with the 5DS R.
And yes, the 5DS R is a bit on the pricey side for hobbyists.
Am I Serious?
Very. Yesterday I ordered a second 5DS R. When I head to Japan it will be with two 5DS R bodies and a single 1D X as a back-up.
What about the cameras that I already own?
Please remember that images from all previous Canon cameras are fully capable of producing outstanding, high quality images that have been honored many hundreds of times in prestigious international photography contests. Many of my images have done so over the past 13 years. But the fact is that images from the 5DS R are simply better.
That said, please understand that your skills, your vision, your heart and determination, are of far greater importance to the quality of your images than either your lens or camera body choices. I have long railed against the fact that many folks believe that if they go out and buy a $12,000 lens and a $6000 camera body that they will instantly become a better photographer. Nothing could be further from the truth. To become a better shooter you need to study, practice, look at as many great images as possible every week (can you say BPN?) and subscribe to the BAA Blog :).
|
|
birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris/The Top 100
|
birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris/The Top 100
If you missed the announcement of the new e-book click here for complete info that includes details on getting a signed copy.
Feedback Requested
If you ordered via download or have already received your CD, I would love to hear what you think. Please do leave a comment.
Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂
To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Gitzo tripods, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. We sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. I just learned that my account was suspended during my absence; it should be up and running by Monday at the latest.
I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and visiting the BAA Online store as well.
Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack!
Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right 🙂
