hollywood

just a shoe

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Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso6400 - f/2.8 1/25 sec - Michael Grobe

Shoes taken off as a guest reads in the comfy chair in the library...
Shot through a glass table at the wrap party for “2012”. Iso 6400 on the Canon EOS 5D Mk II is great for those low light events.
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2012 - almost done

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Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 16-35mm 1:2.8L II USM - iso6400 - f/2.8 1/10 sec
- Michael Grobe
This Saturday we celebrated the exclusive Uncharted Territory wrap party for Roland Emmerich´s next blockbuster “2012”. Roland invited the in-house unit generously to his house for a really extraordinary festivity at an extraordinary and beautiful place. Our effects work for the movie is almost done, the last shots are to be finaled, soon...
I am wrapping up to go back to Germany for holidays... Munich beer-gardens, Schnitzel, Weisswuerste, Brezen and Radler are waiting...

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Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso6400 - f/2.8 1/50 sec

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Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso6400 - f/2.8 1/8 sec

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hollywood hiking

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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.

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Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso400 - f/4 1/640 sec - Michael Grobe
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hollywood moon

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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.
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More 600mm f/4

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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.

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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....

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Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM - iso100 - f/5 1/800 sec - Michael Grobe
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Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM

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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...

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Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 600mm f/4 L IS USM - iso100 - f/5 1/500 sec
Photo by Greg Strasz

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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
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