Canon EOS 1DS Mark III
alles in obi
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso100 - f/16 1/100 sec - Michael Grobe
Recently joined the shooting of the 40th anniversary commercial for OBI as vfx supervisor on the set in Slovenia. Always love helicopter shoots. The image above shows the difficulties of shooting a helicopter properly. To get the desired motionblur on the rotor blades, a shutter speed of 1/100 sec was used, but that means tracking the helicopter with the camera to achieve sharpness of the hull. So the camera goes into AF servo mode for focus tracking and you shoot continous bursts of images to capture the peak moment. Aperture was set to f/16 to be able to shoot a bright target in full sunlight with that slow shutter speed, for a wider aperture a Neutral Density (ND) filter would be needed but wasn't handy at the moment.
Shooting the helicopter wasn't the main task obviously, the usual set photography on a commercial or movie set to collect data for the vfx post production is mostly of technical nature and not to achieve creative results. You bring home hundreds or sometimes even thousands of images for texturing, digital environments and mattepaintings together with HDR 360° panoramas for lighting the computer graphics.
The commercial can be found here.
biomorph
10/11/2009 00:34 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM - iso800 - f/7,1 6 sec - Michael Grobe
Biomorph: organic architecture. The famous roof tensile structures of Frei Otto.
island in the fog
29/12/2009 00:10 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso100 - f/4,5 1/2500 sec - Michael Grobe
A distant memory of the last summer... a sailboat on the ocean near Santa Monica, Los Angeles. Not really a view one can enjoy here in Germany during the winter.
digging in mud
26/10/2009 23:46 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - 420mm (EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM +1.4x)
- iso3200 - f/4.0 1/8 sec - Michael Grobe
And another night at the Oly-park in Munich again. The Olympia-lake has been drained partially, a great opportunity for some unusual low light mud photography.
pangolin
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 300mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso100 - f/8 13 sec - Michael Grobe
Another night at the Olympiapark in Munich, photographing the timeless architecture.
Pangolin - das Schuppentier.
Incredible detail and sharpness rendered by the EF 300mm 1:2.8L IS USM in this 13 sec long exposure.
Detailed crop of image above.
on the road again
01/09/2009 00:21 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - 420mm (EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM +1.4x)
- iso100 - f/4.5 1/250 sec - Michael Grobe
The ultrasharp 300mm f/2.8 works exceptionally well with the 1.4x Teleconverter resulting in a very sharp 420mm f/4 capturing this beauty on the road again.
4th of july
05/07/2009 09:11 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso1600 - f/3.2 1/140 sec - Michael Grobe
Watching the fireworks sent off into the sky at the hollywood bowl behind the hills to celebrate Independence Day.
jumping america
25/05/2009 11:47 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso100 - f/4.5 1/1600 sec - Michael Grobe
san francisco
03/05/2009 23:13 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso100 - f/2.8 1/3200 sec - Michael Grobe
Hiking in one of San Francisco´s parks.
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso100 - f/4 1/1600 sec - Michael Grobe
View to the bay from Alcatraz. The gulls and birds have taken over the small island long ago.
alcatraz
28/04/2009 09:12 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso1600 - f/8 1/160 sec - Michael Grobe
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso1600 - f/4 1/60 sec - Michael Grobe
Locked up in Alcatraz. Great location, if one ignores the other 300 tourists on the island...
There are some photographic opportunities once you aim your cameras away from the crowd. The boat trip to Alcatraz was part of a weekend in San Francisco.
hollywood hiking
13/04/2009 05:41 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso400 - f/6.3 1/800 sec - Michael Grobe
Hiking in the Hollywood hills on a Saturday afternoon. Two colleagues jumping on a hill, Los Angeles Downtown in the distance and some color processing in Lightroom.
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso400 - f/4 1/640 sec - Michael Grobe
runway beauty and the plane
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso1600 - f/4.5 1/80 sec - Michael Grobe
End of a long and fascinating shooting day at the airport.
hollywood moon
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso100 - f/8 1/400 sec - Michael Grobe
Moon over Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, Los Angeles. Sometimes one can find Hollywood on top of a parking garage.
Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM
Update:
Here is the short movie edited from the material we shot back then with the Canon EF 600 f/4 L IS USM on the 5D Mk II.
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso1600 - f/4.5 1/25 sec - Michael Grobe
Due to some late hours and pressing deadlines I have neglected this blog for a while. But I have been shooting...
In this case I had the opportunity to shoot my new Canon EOS 5D Mark II with the amazing Canon EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM, one of the worlds finest super-tele lenses. Since the 5DM2 arrived right before Christmas, I have been using it extensively and comparing it to my Canon EOS 1DS Mark III. My conclusion: the Canon EOS 5D Mark II delivers image quality on par with the Canon EOS 1DS Mark III and adds the long awaited low light capabilities up to usable ISO 6400 (12800 and 25600 are for emergencies only, when you need to get a photo at all). So both cameras make up a great team for all occasions, I still will grab the 1DS Mark III first for a shoot, as it has all the additional features of Canon`s Pro series bodies: weather sealing, superior autofocus (a real difference to the autofocus of the 5D Mark II), 7 brackets for HDR shooting (only 3 with the 5D Mark II, which is a deal breaker for professional use on a movie set), faster frame rate and a lot of other advantages.
But... when the last sun-rays hit the lens, the 5D Mark II starts to shine. While it can´t beat the Nikon D3 and D700 with its low light sensitivity, it comes close.
I was shooting the EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM at one of the photo shootings for a soon to come Hollywood movie together with colleagues (equipped with two Nikon D3´s). That lens is simply amazing. While you hate the weight and bulkiness (5.36 kg), you fall in love with the image quality it delivers. The shot below shows the beautiful bokeh and the incredible detail you can capture, when the lens is connected to a 21 MP 5D Mark II. The crop is at 50% magnification (1200x800 pixels at 100% scaled down to 600x400). Obviously a lens of that focal length requires a sturdy tripod and careful shooting technique: mirror lock up, remote release and either spot on autofocus or manually adjusted focus via live-view.
And what about the video capture....
of course we shot some video footage with the EF 600mm f/4 L and the 5D Mark II in HD video mode. More to come here, once I had the chance to edit the material. First impressions: I have a laughing and a crying eye (we say that in German, I guess it doesn´t translate properly to English). Why? Stay tuned...
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM - iso100 - f/5 1/500 sec
Photo by Greg Strasz
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM - iso100 - f/5 1/500 sec
50% magnification (1200x800 pixels at 100% scaled down to 600x400)
Photo by Greg Strasz
Here is the short movie edited from the material we shot back then with the Canon EF 600 f/4 L IS USM on the 5D Mk II.
600mm from Greg Strasz on Vimeo.
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso1600 - f/4.5 1/25 sec - Michael Grobe
Due to some late hours and pressing deadlines I have neglected this blog for a while. But I have been shooting...
In this case I had the opportunity to shoot my new Canon EOS 5D Mark II with the amazing Canon EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM, one of the worlds finest super-tele lenses. Since the 5DM2 arrived right before Christmas, I have been using it extensively and comparing it to my Canon EOS 1DS Mark III. My conclusion: the Canon EOS 5D Mark II delivers image quality on par with the Canon EOS 1DS Mark III and adds the long awaited low light capabilities up to usable ISO 6400 (12800 and 25600 are for emergencies only, when you need to get a photo at all). So both cameras make up a great team for all occasions, I still will grab the 1DS Mark III first for a shoot, as it has all the additional features of Canon`s Pro series bodies: weather sealing, superior autofocus (a real difference to the autofocus of the 5D Mark II), 7 brackets for HDR shooting (only 3 with the 5D Mark II, which is a deal breaker for professional use on a movie set), faster frame rate and a lot of other advantages.
But... when the last sun-rays hit the lens, the 5D Mark II starts to shine. While it can´t beat the Nikon D3 and D700 with its low light sensitivity, it comes close.
I was shooting the EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM at one of the photo shootings for a soon to come Hollywood movie together with colleagues (equipped with two Nikon D3´s). That lens is simply amazing. While you hate the weight and bulkiness (5.36 kg), you fall in love with the image quality it delivers. The shot below shows the beautiful bokeh and the incredible detail you can capture, when the lens is connected to a 21 MP 5D Mark II. The crop is at 50% magnification (1200x800 pixels at 100% scaled down to 600x400). Obviously a lens of that focal length requires a sturdy tripod and careful shooting technique: mirror lock up, remote release and either spot on autofocus or manually adjusted focus via live-view.
And what about the video capture....
of course we shot some video footage with the EF 600mm f/4 L and the 5D Mark II in HD video mode. More to come here, once I had the chance to edit the material. First impressions: I have a laughing and a crying eye (we say that in German, I guess it doesn´t translate properly to English). Why? Stay tuned...
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM - iso100 - f/5 1/500 sec
Photo by Greg Strasz
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM - iso100 - f/5 1/500 sec
50% magnification (1200x800 pixels at 100% scaled down to 600x400)
Photo by Greg Strasz
death valley IV
07/12/2008 04:35 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso50 - f/2.8 1/2000 sec - Michael Grobe
Sand dunes at Stove Pipe Wells.
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso200 - f/4.5 1/ 25 sec - Michael Grobe
The road to nowhere.
death valley III
02/12/2008 09:46 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - Leica APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 1:2.8 1/800- iso100 - f/2.8
- Michael Grobe
Blindfolded lady of the sand dunes
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso100 - f/4 - 10sec - Michael Grobe
death valley II
02/12/2008 08:58 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - Leica APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 1:2.8 1/2000- iso100 - f/4 - Michael Grobe
Dried Mud in Stovepipe Wells.
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - TS-E 24mm 1:3.5 L - iso100 - f/3.5 1/640 - Michael Grobe
Thirsty bushes at Ubehebe Crater.
