Photography Notebook: A Full Frame Camera Choice
Once I spent some time getting to know a small-frame DSLR camera, my next step was to buy a full-frame camera. (I had prepared for this purchase by buying several EF lenses beforehand and getting used to them on my small-frame camera bodies.) A full-frame camera is one which has a sensor as big as a frame of 35 mm (36 x 26 mm) film.
In the spring of 2012, Canon announced the availability of the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. I purchased this camera in June of 2012, and now I use it with my EF lenses. Note that the EF-S lenses that worked on the Rebel cameras will not work on the 5D Mark III.
Why a Full-Frame Camera?
Sensor size--this has a big impact on the quality of the photos you can take with a digital camera. Most definitely, I have learned, quality optics, lenses, and a quality build in the sensor itself play a determing role. But given two cameras of similar technical quality, I'd prefer the one with the larger sensor.What Pictures Did I Take?
Featured Equipment Purchase on Amazon | Canon EOS 5D Mark III Photos Slideshow by Most Recent |
Comments
My goal in taking photos with my
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
camera has been to extend my work in documenting where I live. I enjoy taking photos
that show scenes near the lakefront, river, and city at various times of the year. I have favorite landmarks that I visit often
to take photos in different seasons.
You can view photos of this camera organized by use with various EF lenses. You can view these photos sorted by most interesting. |
What Issues Came Up?
- In shooting (rapid-fire) photos at a dance performance, my
camera gave an error--it said it
couldn't take more photos. The light indicating pictures were being
processed blinked, and I had to wait until the camera would
take another photo.
At first, I panicked! I then realized what had been going on (acutally after reasoning through possible issues): I realized my camera was writing to a slow SD card (slow write speed). The camera was working on writing to the slower card, but eventually the photos became a backlog so big that the camera wouldn't take more photos until the ones I already took could be written to the card. I rectified this by buying a newer and higher-speed Compact Flash Card which I keep in the primary slot of the camera. Essentially my old SD cards work fine in the new camera, but their write speed is fairly slow. For the slower pace of landscape and cityscape photography, this isn't much of an issue. But for rapid-fire photos such as at a dance performance, you need faster write speeds. The faster CF I got provided this.
- On first owning the camera,
I got this photo (with alarming, black triangles in the opposite corners):
At first, I panicked! I thought there was something wrong with the camera shutter. The effect would be apparent only at the wider-angle focal lengths. Later, I realized I had put the lens hood on crooked!.
- I realized that with the purchase of the more expensive full-frame camera and lenses, I had more, expensive equipment out in the field. At first, I panicked! I then updated my renter's insurance to reflect the additional value of the camera equipment and its use as business equipment in the field. Thus, it is insured inside or outside my home against loss as well as business equipment (my company actually owns it).
- I realized that although I was keeping my old Rebel T1i camera as a spare body (I've realized through my previous experience to have a spare camera body on important shoots as well as to be ready for when your main camera will go in for repair), the EF-S lenses don't work on the full-frame camera. What to do with this set of EF-S lenses? I sold them on Amazon trade-in. The key: Always keep all the original packaging and materials for your purchases, as that original packing, manuals, cables, etc., is key for getting the most from a trade-in or sale of your used equipment.
Sources Consulted
- EOS 5D Mark III: official reference site.