Cameras

So what can I say, sometimes I do things a little backwards. Normally, its the people who are used to their point and shoot cameras that need a little extra help with, and take a little longer to learn about the more complex settings of a Digital SLR camera. Well, after using my Canon EOS 20D for two years and picking up a Canon SD890 as an anywhere/anytime take-along camera, its the point and shoot camera that I’m still learning about after two months later.

When I tried to shoot the flurries outside here in Chicago yesterday during my lunch break, all I had with me was my SD890 (again anywhere, anytime). Trying to catch the giant snowflakes whizzing around my car window with the normal modes from the SD890 just wasn’t working. They snow was flying too fast and the shutter was taking too long. Everything was coming out blurry.

The Solution
Flipping through the Scene (SCN) options, I found the ISO 3200 setting and gave it a shot. To my amazement, the photo appeared on the screen almost instantly, way faster than using the normal shutter mode. After a few attempts, I was able to snap the photo on the right here, which was just what I was looking for. While you can only see the biggest snowflakes in this small thumbnail, click on the image to view the large size on Flickr to see the tiny flakes in more detail.

Not only was I happy to get the photo I wanted, I was also excited because I had a way to capture a wider range of photos for moments that wouldn’t be possible with slower shutter speeds. Remember, I’ve been shooting mainly with a DSLR, so this was a new problem to me.

Drawbacks
Of course, something this helpful will also come with it’s share of drawbacks. The first is in relation to the photo’s size, which isn’t too bad. Shooting with the SD890 in ISO 3200 mode puts your image size to a maximum setting of 3M, which is roughly equivalent to 3 MegePixels. It also restricts the resolution of your image to 1600×1200. Still, that’s pretty decent to use in cases where you would otherwise miss out on a shot altogether.

Now, just like with DSLR and even film cameras, the higher the ISO setting for film or an image processor, the more “noise” you will see in your photos. Depending on the situation, this can mean quite noticeable degradation in the fine details and quality of a photo. For example, the photo on the left here was taken in ISO 3200. Now, this is just a set scene and there’s no real reason why it has to be taken in the SD890′s ISO 3200, but it proves the point about the image noise that can result.

Once again, click on the photo to view the larger size on Flickr. If it was taken with the normal shooting mode of the camera (which I should have done for further comparison here), the details of the handwritten note on the Post-It would be a lot more legible, and you could probably even read my own chicken scratch on the pages underneath the bottle of water. With a proper settings and exposure time, this image, and all of the camera’s 10MP glory, would have been so much better.

What took so long?
Why did it take so long for me to figure this out? I can’t really tell you, other than the fact I don’t really read instruction guides as much as I should. I have known for years now that, for low-light and night photography, raising the ISO setting will allow you to shoot with faster shutter speeds. But I guess I never applied that line of thinking to a point and shoot camera like the SD890. Live and learn, I guess.

As a follow up to my post on my first photos with the Canon SD890, I thought I’d upload and share a few of the video clips I’ve shot with it and help give you an idea of what’s is capable of, and what it’s not.

The first one I shot was taken back in September, when it was still nice out here in Chicago. A little background, a few coworkers and I spent most of the summer rollerblading during our lunch break, and this little clip was me following them down the overpass on our normal route. As you can tell, the audio isn’t that great on a windy day when you’re whizzing down a fairly steep hill, but it kind of clears up near the end.

No doubt about it, now is certainly a great time to be a fan of digital photography and especially Digital SLR cameras. Not only is the technology making leaps and bounds over cameras from just a few years ago, competition between more than a few name brand camera makers is pushing down prices and getting that technology into the hands of consumers faster than ever.

Even though I’ve only had my new Canon Rebel XSi for about a month now, I still like to look toward the future and for a replacement for my EOS 20D. As a big fan of Canon and with an existing investment in their lenses and accessories, there’s no trouble sticking with their expansive offering of prosumer models. The trouble I’m facing right now, though, is deciding between the fan favorite and battle tested EOS 40D or the new shining star, the EOS 50D?

(Photo Credit: Amazon)

Canon EOS 40D
The Canon EOS 40D is indeed a fan favorite although it has only been out for just over a year now. It comes with a great track record and it’s 10.1MP would be a nice upgrade from the 8.1MP sported by my 20D. It can shoot at 6.5 frames/sec and utilizes the DIGIC III image processor paired with it’s CMOS sensor.

What also makes the 40D very appealing right now is the slight freefall that it’s price is experiencing with the recent release of the 50D (below) and the huge anticipation for the HD, 1080p video shooting EOS 5D Mark II, retailers are apparently making room on their virtual storeroom shelves by emptying out their stock in the 40D. A few hundred dollars saving on a body-only purchase of the 40D over the 50D can go along way in procuring a top notch lens that I can use for all my cameras. Very tempting.

(Photo Credit: Amazon)

Canon EOS 50D
Now, with all the advances in technology I was just mentioning earlier, the latest and greatest in the 50D sounds like a no brainer, right? On paper, the 50D boasts a 15.1 MP CMOS sensor and the new and improved DIGIC 4 image processor for quicker photo processing and writing out to storage media. It also features a brighter LCD review screen with a higher resolution than the 40D, and an HDMI output jack for viewing photos directly on your HDTV or monitor.

So where does the tough choice part come in? Even though the 50D is only beginning to make the rounds with photography enthusiasts out there, I’m starting to see a concerning contrast between the rave reviews and marketing fluff from Canon and some initial reviews and feedback from photographers that have used the 40D and made the switch to the 50D. Just this afternoon I was reading a few customer reviews over at Amazon and picked up on a theme starting that bigger isn’t necessarily better in terms of megapixels and new processor and it doesn’t automatically mean better photos. And at the end of they day, isn’t it really the photos that make all the difference?

The Verdict
Well, there really isn’t a verdict at this point. I do plan to keep an eye on the type of reception that the 50D receives as more and more people rack up the exposures with it. I realize that there is no one camera that will be perfect for everyone or every situation, but in a technology race with Nikon, Sony and others, it wouldn’t suit Canon well to just push out cameras that beat the other guys in the numbers alone at the sacrifice of quality and user satisfaction. I’m not in a position to say that is the case here, since I haven’t had the chance to use either of the cameras yet. I will say, though, if the price on the 40D continues to fall in comparison to the 50D, that might push me to try it out next year and save my coin for the EOS 5D Mark II in the years to come.

Time to wait and see.

The first assignment for my shiny new Canon Rebel XSi was at the Allstate Arena for an American Hockey League match-up between the hometown Chicago Wolves and the near-hometown Rockford Ice Hogs. To make matters more interesting (from a hockey perspective anyway), the Ice Hogs are the minor league affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, of which we’ve been big fans of this year.

Personally, I’ve played hockey since I could walk and have been a fan my entire life, so being able to shoot at hockey games is a combination of both passions. This was only the second time I went to a game fully intent on taking photos, and the last time was with my Canon EOS 20D. That gave me a good base comparison for how the Rebel XSi would fare in similar use.

The Seats

To start, I was behind the 8-ball from the opening face-off because we were sitting in one of the Suite boxes that was directly behind one of the goal nets. Great seats if you’re a fan (which we are, and we loved the seats), not so great if you’re trying to take photos through the giant protective netting that goes from the top of the glass up to the rafters. I knew that if I was going to get the types of shots I wanted, I’d have to sneak my way into some other seats (which I did).

For the Hawks game last year, we had the perfect seats, both from a fan’s perspective and for taking photos with my telephoto lens. Where I moved to this game with the Wolves, I ended up setting right near the goal line about 40 rows up. The best shots I could get from there were of the opposite end of the ice to clear the glass that was in front.

The Camera

So, to what really matters, the photos. Initially, the auto-focus wasn’t playing nice for me, which was do in most part to the netting and the glass that was in the foreground of my shots. I tried to stick it out, but ultimately had to switch to manual focus for the climatic shootout at the end of the game.

Being indoors and in a constant lighting environment for the entire game meant I didn’t need to play around with too many settings between shots. That made taking pictures quicker, but didn’t really test the entire range of features and usability like other situations would warrant. Overall, though, I was fairly impressed with the outcome.

One of the first noticable differnces from my Canon 20D was that the Rebel weighed a little less (about half a pound less according to the Canon specs). That is, however, until you put the telephoto lens on and then you don’t notice the difference that much. The large LCD screen was a big upgrade from the tiny little window on my 20D, so that made reviewing photos much easier. It also was a change for me to see and control all the settings on the screen itself, since the 20D has the display panel on the top of the camera, but that was only a minor adjustment.

The Photos

Out of about 350+ photos that weren’t total throwaways when I shot them, I ultimately ended up with about 40 or so keepers, which I’d say was pretty good. One of the issues I need to learn to correct when using the Rebel has to do with the Auto Focus settings. Even when I wasn’t shooting through glass or netting, I still had more than a few shots that seemed like it would only focus on a single point in the frame and not multiple areas like my 20D would. I adjusted the focus settings to use mutli-area and tried the different AI and Servo modes, but to be honest, it was mainly trial and error at the time. I need to do my homework on that one.

I do struggle a little with indoor shooting from a white balance perspective, so trying to get the right balance in some of these photos, both during the shot and in the digital darkroom, was a little bit of work. Compared to the shots I took at the United Center last March (when everything turned out with yellow and orange tints), I think these came out a little better, but not the level I wanted to.

With a fast-paced sport like hockey, I like to throw my camera in continuous shooting mode and catch some of those moments in action. For hockey, some of the obvious favorites are slap shots, body checks, and face-offs. I was also fortunate enough to get a few shots of the shoot-out after the game finished overtime in a tie, so that was neat as a fan and as a photographer.

The Rebel XSi, however, was only able to shoot at 3.5 shots/second, while my 20D made it up to 5 shots/second. If I had brought both cameras with me (like I intend to do on vacations and maybe future games), I would have switched to the 20D for that part of the game.

You can view all the photos from the game at on Flickr here.

As mentioned previously, I’ve had the Canon PowerShot SD890 for about a month now, and the first real test I ran it through was our trip to Door County, WI last month.  I thought I’d share some of my initial reactions and first photos using this little guy.

For a camera so small, a good part of the backside of it was the screen, which was larger than I’m used to.  I’ve shot with Cindy’s Nikon E5600 from time-to-time, so using the LCD instead of the viewfinder isn’t that big of a change for me, but the nice, clear screen on the SD890 made it very effective.  Even in bright sunlight, where Cindy’s Nikon sometimes suffers, it was still bright enough to get a good shot.

I was pleasantly surprised with how well the SD890 captured true colors with even the basic shooting modes.  I had some success with adjusting white balance and exposure settings, but even out of the box or with one of the program (SCN) modes, it held up to the Canon name.  As you can see with the colors in the photos here, everything looks crisp and vibrant, and for the few times we had clear skies that weekend, these shots came out great.

When the clouds started to roll in, I did have a little trouble adjusting the exposures to compensate.  In all fairness, that is one of my current weakpoints and something that I’m always working on.  That aside, I’m pretty happy with the SD890 as my everyday, everywhere camera.  Even my wife has started taking a liking to it, which is good because once we’re back in Maui next year, my quality shooting time is going to be spent with my DSLRs.