This image has been greatly reduced in order to be able to upload to the website but the clarity is still resident in the photo
The Canon 5D s-r camera body has just been released. Apparently, the end of August is when June rolls around in Tokyo–the camera appears in the USA almost 3 months later than the “release date” that was promoted. Many are still waiting to get the camera, so I’m fortunate to get mine in August.
This panorama composed of 2 shots originally had over 68 MB in the file, but I reduced it to 1 MB for the web. Printed from the original file, the detail would be dramatic in this vista of John Day Painted Hills in Oregon.
Really fortunate. The resolution in this precision instrument is beyond any I’ve experienced, even when I shot medium format slides. Crisp detail that is so sharp I have yet to apply any sharpening in Photoshop to any image I’ve taken with it. And even hand held it delivers this level of sharpness. Zoom in to 300% and a normal image will start to show pixelation. This enormous image won’t. I just checked the file size for one of the raw images that I’ve yet to open or process. File size is 63.77 MB and dimensions are 5792 x 8688. Bit depth is 16. Everything about the file is huge. Looks just like the Mark III, but has different initials on it.
That translates to mean that some serious computer power is going to be required, or serious patience with slow processing. I have 28 GB of RAM in 3 channels and 2 solid state drives and a fairly fast video card. No sluggishness…so they have not made a camera that is too big for existing technology.
This is a crop down to one bloom from my first picture with the 5D s-r. There were 40 blooms in the original photo, so this is a small fraction of that image. Note that despite the major amount of cropping, that every cilia (hair) is visible on the leaves. That’s sharp!
The big thing is the clarity achieved on every shot. I can’t wait to visit Utah or another of the grand landscapes. There it will truly shine. It makes flowers look great, so it will be a boon to my nursery. You must click open the photos and see them full screen to get the real effect. Of course, if your monitor is not color correct, you will only see what it can do. Most new monitors and screens are pretty good.
This image retains clarity despite being downsized considerably for the web. No sharpening was done.
The images in this article are all hand held. I wanted to see what the performance would be and if the details would be lost without a tripod. I was impressed. Even the shutter sounds different since they have made the 5D s-r for less vibration in the action of taking a picture.
I’ll include the first snapshot I took with this camera. I hand help a snapshot of some 40 pink petunias. The photo at right is one that is a crop from a little piece (1 flower) of that total first image. You will note that in the crop you will see every cilia on the leaf beside the flower. That’s sharp resolution! Get yours and find your own test of it’s performance. I think we’ll be impressed and find it expands our photographic universe.
Finally, a check list of what to get for the new body: Very fast and very big SD drive and Compact Flash drive. I am using 128 GB for each, and very high speed. Expect to pay about $200 each for ones fast and large enough to go with this camera. A battery grip and extra battery. Same as the Mark III, but if you’re using both you’ll want a grip on each. You’ll also need a plate for attaching to the tripod. I forgot to get an extra and had to order that small item. So long as you don’t mind the Canon strap that’s supplied then you’re equipped unless it made you outgrow your camera bag. Be sure all your lenses have good glass (I change the filters periodically since they take the brunt of the wear) and be sure to use the best lenses Canon offers since this camera will know the difference. The photo at the top of the page was taken with the 24mm tilt shift lens, hand held with a vertical shift making a more square format for the finished picture. I did adjust the tone and so on in the fountain image, this is not a simple test shot out of the camera, but did have some Photoshop treatments applied. But the clarity is there and I think the results are good. Agree?