Canon EOS 5D Mark II
last struggle of winter
20/03/2010 01:48 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM - iso100 - f/2.8 - 1/1600 sec
- Michael Grobe
The last bits of snow a few days back in the munich outskirts. But now the temperatures are going up again, spring is around.
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mulholland night
25/02/2010 19:21 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM - iso100 - f/2.8 - 1.6 sec
- Michael Grobe
Driving along Mulholland Drive at midnight. The million lights of L.A. shining through the bars of an electricity pylon. Btw... love David Lynch movies...
catch the wave
12/02/2010 20:22 Filed in: photos
the little sun
22/01/2010 04:14 Filed in: photos
last thought of winter
11/02/2010 17:09 Filed in: photos
winter night sun
17/01/2010 23:45 Filed in: photos
daisy and the snow
11/01/2010 03:22 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM - iso3200 - f/2.8 - 1/100 sec
- Michael Grobe
Daisy, Europe´s current low-pressure system brought lots of snow all over Germany and really cold temperatures. All that snow makes a lovely backdrop for some night shots. And at 1am, there aren´t too many guys plowing through the white scenery, it is quiet and one can enjoy the freshly fallen white stuff. If those cameras were just built with bigger buttons, so that you can easily operate with gloves on, it´s quite difficult to do that properly with modern DSLRs.
happy new year
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM - iso3200 - f/8 - 0.8 sec
- Michael Grobe
I wish everyone a happy new year!
These shots have been taken on Munich´s Olympiaberg, the highest point of the city with views all around. A couple of thousand people gather there each year to celebrate and make the little mountain disappear peacefully in fire and smoke.
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM
- iso1600 - f/2.8 -1/5 sec - Michael Grobe
famous details
30/12/2009 23:25 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM - iso400 - f/2,8 - 1/50 sec
Architectural details to be found on one of Munich´s most famous roofs. Frei Otto´s roof tensile structures.
A tele-lens can be a great tool for capturing details, despite it´s bulkiness the 300/2,8 becomes my favorite lens.
the roofs of munich
29/12/2009 23:53 Filed in: photos
last sunset in berlin
24/12/2009 12:17 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso100
- f/2.8 1/400 sec - Michael Grobe
Enjoying the last sunset before Christmas reflected in the Nikolassee near Potsdam, Berlin.
distorted night
09/12/2009 01:22 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM - iso100 - f/5,6 -
HDR exposure blending of 3 shots - Michael Grobe
The Olympiapark is becoming a favorite shooting ground... but then again, there is so much detail to be explored, each time I take my camera there, I find new opportunities. Spotted this one walking by the Olympic Stadium and chatting to a friend. First hesitated as I had to shoot through a fence. But then positioning the lens inches away from the fence got rid of any obtrusive lines in the out-of-focus area. Shot as a bracketed exposures to blend dynamic range detail together, I guess it was worth the freezing hands...
the last guest
17/11/2009 22:44 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - TS-E 24mm 1:3.5 L - iso6400 - f/4.0 1/10 sec - Michael Grobe
The last guest in “Seehaus“ at the “Kleinhesseloher See” in Munich´s English Garden.
The lamps are indeed beer mugs...
Canon EOS-7D - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso1600 - f/4.5 -
HDR exposure blending of 3 shots - Michael Grobe
digging in mud
26/10/2009 23:46 Filed in: photos
the last adventure
15/09/2009 03:00 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 16-35mm 1:2.8L II USM - iso400 - f/8 20 sec
- composite of 15 images - tree-lighting by Udo Smutny and Michael Grobe
Another night out in the woods to create some light paintings in darkness. The barbarians, knights and wizards where shot on a small wall lit by a campfire, the moon and a 580EX II flash a few days later during a medieval gathering of old friends. Even the photographer was wearing a chain mail that night, which added another 15 kg to the usual 20 kg of photographic equipment, that he is lugging around.
The guys gather once a year in battle gear, to celebrate the old times as fantasy-role-players. They started almost 25 years ago, spent uncounted nights in a small wooden hut guiding their characters through quests and fantastic adventures...
... and maybe, when they are all retired in years to come, they gather again, grab out those 50 year old documents and finally finish the last campaign fighting the return of Borbarad, the master of demons.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 16-35mm 1:2.8L II USM - iso3200 - f/6.3 1/2 sec - Michael Grobe
l.a. gun club
27/06/2009 05:00 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso3200 - f/2.8 1/160 sec - Michael Grobe
Should we go to the movies or... to the gun club?
Completely impossible back home in Germany: you go to a gun club shooting on a friday night with your friends, choose the weapon and with a short instruction you get it handed over together with the ammunition. In a basket over the counter. Then you walk to the shooting range and shoot as long as your supply lasts.
If you asked yourself, what would happen, if anyone goes crazy with the guns there, a quick look at the personnel assures you, that they would use their loaded guns.
scheimpflug in alcatraz
09/06/2009 11:08 Filed in: photos | techniques
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - TS-E 24mm 1:3.5L - iso100 - f/3.5 1/1600 sec - Michael Grobe
Tilting Canon´s TS-E 24mm Tilt + Shift lens rotated the focal plane for an unusual depth of field. Called the bird in focus “Scheimpflug”, but it wouldn´t listen...
And I like crushing the blacks in this one, something that we always avoid in the world of feature films. Guess that´s why I like it once in a while...
california moon
31/03/2009 09:56 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM - iso100 - f/4 1/1000 sec - Michael Grobe
Dark of the Moon: Poems of Fantasy and the Macabre, Arkham House, 1947
More 600mm f/4
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM - iso250 - f/8 1/2500 sec - Michael Grobe
Need to get one of these amazing Canon Tele lenses one day... love the 600mm, but the 500mm f/4 is substantially lighter and a bit smaller, so you can even hand hold it for a while. The 600mm is simply too heavy.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM - iso100 - f/5 1/800 sec - Michael Grobe
100% crop (actual pixels): the 600mm with the 5D Mark II reveal the heat distortion around the engines of a jet. Sometimes reality looks like a crazy bump map....
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM - iso100 - f/5 1/800 sec - Michael Grobe
Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM
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
