Friday, May 11, 2012

Congratulations Erika


   Congratulations to Erika and her classmates on completing their bachelors of social work program at Winona State University. These ladies have put so much time and effort to earn their bachelors degree, I know they have a bright future ahead of them.

    I am very proud of Erika for pursuing her bachelors degree and doing so well in school.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

5D Mark III and a Trip to The Dog Park


  It is finally here, I've waited over a month after I ordered the camera to receive it, due to it being recalled and the long pre-order list. I now finally have my 5D Mark III. I've been waiting for this camera to be announced in the beginning of the year and it wasn't until the week after my birthday that it was announced by Canon. After having my Canon 30D for over 6 years, a 1.6x APS-C crop sensor camera body. I have been through a lot with that camera and have taken it across the country from Washington D.C., Texas twice, and Colorado. When I was in Washington D.C. I went with my classmates from the MSU Reporter to the Lincoln Memorial at night in the pouring rain. Luckily I had a rain covered camera bag, but that couldn't keep the body dry enough when I took it out too shoot. After that the shutter button on it has never been the same. Now that I have a back up camera body I will be able to part with it and send it in to get the shutter button repaired.

Canon 5D Mark III
   First off this camera feels so great in my hands, the ergonomics of it are fantastic. In fact the overall feel of the camera is outstanding, from the battery door to memory card door and the soft touch grip of the camera, it just has a better build to it. This is all exciting to me because I am coming from a Canon 30D. The new auto focus system with 61 AF points compared to my 9 point AF of the 30D are in no way equal. 99.9% of the time I use the center focus point which is the fastest functioning AF point. When I picked it up and set sights on our Bernese Mountain Dog Aspen, the 5D Mk III just nailed the focus on his eyes even in a dark room. Compared to my 30D it search for seconds to find something in a dark room and a dark subject.  That improvement alone amazed me. The image quality output and large rear LCD are beautiful.

   I am very excited to be shooting with a full frame (35mm) digital camera and look forward to taking more photos and sharing them with everyone. Check out a few photos below I shot the first day I received the camera. All the photos were shot with a 24-70 L f/2.8 . I will be spending a few weeks just trying to figure out all of the custom functions and play around with making videos as well.

  My future posts may consist of reviewing the camera and answering any questions people have for me. Please leave your comments and questions below. Thanks!

   Of course Aspen had to be my first model.
Aspen

2 Puppy Old English Bull Dogs at the North Rochester Dog Park

A boy throws Frisbee at the dog park in the late afternoon