When it blows, it blows.

It won't be news to anyone from New Zealand that we've been having some pretty wild weather lately. This culminated in Greymouth exactly a week ago with some of the worst winds locals have ever experienced. 160km + winds ripped through the town - and especially up on the hill in Cobden where we live.

Although we got off relatively lightly, it was still pretty scary, and we decided to evacuate from our house in the dark. The kids found it all rather exciting, but watching sheets of roofing iron flying down the road as you're evacuating your house isn't something I'd like to repeat too often.

We stayed the night at friends (thanks Tim and Niki) and then went back home the next morning to survey the damage. Fortunately the rain that was forecast didn't eventuate until late the next day, so there was no water damage to worry about - and a quick lesson in tiling a roof (cheers Eric - aka Spiderman, and foreman Rob) meant that we got the tiles back in place and tied down before the rain came. All in all pretty lucky really.

We had patches of tiles like this come loose all over the house - but luckily none of them dropped off the roof and smashed, so we were able to fit them back into place and tie them down (the next day of course).

The neighbours Pohutakawa tree didn't survive the battering though... so neither did our fence!


We used to have a tunnel house - one of the selling points for buying the house in the first place. Oh well, maybe we didn't need one after all?


Houses up and down our street fared much worse than we did - some lost their entire roof and are dealing with water damage now. The clean up continues, and we are all just thankful that no one was seriously injured. Hopefully one of those 'once in a lifetime' storms that won't come again in a hurry?

And BTW, what was the only thing I took with me when we evacuated the house (apart from my family of course)? You guessed it - my camera gear. I'm not completely stupid! :-)

Don't ya hate it when...

Don't ya hate it when you visit a blog a few months later and 'nothing' has changed...

OK - slight dig at myself, cause yeah - it's been a while. Same old same old. "Too busy, too tired, too busy - blah, blah, blah".

It's not like nothing has been happening - I've always got HEAPS I want to write about. It's just finding the time. Maybe I'll be better at this when I have retired?

My 'big' photography buzz recently was seeing my 8 year old daughter Emily take away a 'Highly Commended' in the adult section of a local photography competition. The judge had no idea she was only 8 when giving out the awards, and you should have seen his jaw drop when he called out her name and she came forward (thanks Simon).

The whole family is getting involved in photography - which I think is fantastic of course - but it's really not through any 'pushing' on my part (honest). Emily and her brother (Joshua who is 7) both really enjoy it, almost despite of me, and when we are out taking photos they just go off and do their own thing.

Part of Emily's Prize for the competition was a membership to the local camera club, which we've had converted to a Family Membership. So now we have monthly competitions to shoot for, and now Emily's on at me to go out and shoot for the competitions.

Here's one of Emily's entries in this months 'Landscape' Competition at Camera Club... She's only 8 for crying out loud!!!

And here's another...


Not to be outdone, this is Joshua's entry - taken when he was 6!


I think I need to go out and take some more photos. I feel a competition entry coming on...

Backup for Weddings

Winter is here, and I've decided to get serious about the coming wedding season. That gives me about three months to get ready, although I've started my advertising campaign now. There are good signs already. I have flyers up advertising the business in a local jewelers, and had an engaged couple in on the first day they were on display. No contacts yet, but the jewelry store wants to work in with me even more to offer 'package deals'. So I'm encouraged.

So with a 5D, 17-40mm f4, 24-105mm f4 and 70-200mm f4, and Canon Speedlite, I figure I'm pretty set. But if I'm really serious about shooting weddings again, I really needed a backup camera. I could look at a 40/30/20D - or even earlier 10D as a digital solution - I certainly can't afford another 5D (haven't even started paying for the first one yet). But I don't really want to go back to the cropped sensor again. A quick flick around Trademe (a NZ internet auction site similar to ebay) is usually good for inspiration - and it was there that I saw it... at a price I couldn't believe!

I started out with film cameras, way back when digital wasn't even science fiction, let alone science fact. And back then, as a Canon devotee, the EOS 1 was King. Oh, what I wouldn't have given to have owned an EOS 1.

Then, a few years ago, I did own one (a pretty bunged up, well used one - but an EOS 1 nonetheless), just before digital hit the mainstream. I think I owned it for about three months, and then I 'went digital' with a Nikon D70. So in a strange twist of fate, the camera I had wanted to own all my life was mine very briefly, and then the world moved on and I was swept away with it all. Now digital was King - and it still is. Film is dead (saw a great catchphrase for a group recently that said "film isn't dead, it just smells funny") and those amazing professional film cameras are now going for a song.

Which gets me back to what I saw on Trademe. A mint condition Canon EOS 1N (an 'upgraded' EOS 1) complete with battery grip, for NZ$350.00. That's just a crazy price for originally a $2k+ pro series camera - and I couldn't resist. And hey, guess what - it also happens to be full-frame :-)

It arrived about a week ago, and the weather has been consistently miserable since then. I have taken some shots with it, but have yet to finish the first roll of film. Seems to be functioning as it aught, although I have noticed that the 'L'ow drive setting flashes when it's set, as if something is wrong. It still releases the shutter, even with the flashing, so I'm presuming nothing is actually wrong and it's working as it should. If it bugs me too much I will change it to 'S'ingle frame drive mode, and hopefully the flashing will go away? Anyway, for $350 bucks for an EOS 1N if that's all I've got to worry about then I'm definitely up on the deal!

So my plan is to use the 5D as my main camera at the wedding, probably switching between the 24-105mm f4, and 17-40mm f4. I will attach the 70-200mm f4 to the EOS 1N and maybe use it during the service if there's enough light, and for some nice tight head and shoulder bride images during the bridal party shoot.

That's the plan at this stage anyway.

I am also thinking I might need a 'low light' lens option - and will opt for either the 50mm f1.8 or the 85mm f1.8 - or both. That will probably complete the kit. And then all I need is some weddings to use it all on!

I haven't quite discounted the 10D backup option yet either. They are also coming up for auction at ridiculous prices - and you can always use a back up for the back up - right?

Fuji S6500FD digicam

My fun with the Canon 5D continues, and I am still enjoying full-frame digital photography and all that it entails.

I've slowly figured out how to set up the 5D for my shooting style, and now I just have to get off my butt and get out there a bit more. Took a 2.5 hr drive to Okarito last week to catch the sunset, but it was pretty disappointing. I think it's more of a sunrise destination so I'll have to try again soon.


Of more note recently is my new digicam purchase. A friend came for advice on his next digicam upgrade, so that got me looking (and drooling) at all the new models.

I've had a Canon A710 IS point & shoot compact for 'snap shots' for a couple of years now, but to be honest I very rarely used it. Image quality was ok, but the slim, compact style digitals just really aren't me. I much prefer a truer SLR style experience, and have always liked the look of the Fuji line of 'bridge' cameras (not quite SLR, not quite point-and-shoot).

I decided to sell my Canon compact, giving me enough money to get myself a Fuji Finepix S6500FD (called the S6000FD in America). It's a 6.3MP camera, but with the use of Fuji's 'Super CCD' technology most reviewers believe it performs more like a 10 megapixel equivalent. Noise is also kept under control in this 6th generation CCD sensor, going up to 3200 (although only really useable at 1600). Still, that's pretty impressive when many other brands peak at 800 and are only really useable at 400 or lower. Shooting RAW should elicit even better performance, so I'm excited about the potential this camera could give me for a light, go anywhere, high quality digicam option - especially for travel images.


A couple other features of note in relation to the S6500FD - it has a manual zoom lens that goes from true wide angle 28mm to a very respectable 300mm at the telephoto end. The fact that it is a manual zoom lens, and not the electronic style, is also a huge selling point for me - I dislike the 'rocker switch' style zooms as they tend to be fairly imprecise.

The big selling point with this particular model, however, is the FD (Face Detection) hardware built into the camera. Hit the detection button and in 0.05 seconds the camera detects up to 10 faces in the viewfinder, locks on, focuses, and exposes for perfect portraiture. Combine this with 'natural' balanced flash which boosts the ISO to give more exposure to the ambient light in the background and you have a fairly impressive wedding and events camera. Not that I'm doing weddings mind you.

Should be arriving any day now. I'll talk more about my impressions of the camera after I've used it for a couple of weeks. See you then (if not before). BFN.

Canon 5D and 'Hot' Pixels

So I've just got this brand-spanking new 5D, right. And I've taken it out on its first landscape shoot to a favourite spot of mine where I 'test' a lot of my gear and put it through its paces.

I'd heard, and read, a lot about the 5D's low noise - especially with long exposures, so I was very keen to experience this for myself. I enabled the custom function that extends the camera's ISO capabilities, and set the camera to 50. I also put long exposure noise reduction to 'on', and set my tripod up for some long exposures.

The previous night I had been reading a few commentaries on the internet - in particularly one from Ken Rockwell - that claimed there is little to no benefit in shooting RAW. I had been surfing on this topic because, to my horror, I discovered that shooting RAW with the 5D only gives me about 220 images on a 4 Gig card! Whereas turned to high quality jpeg nets upwards of 1000 images. That's more like it, I thought.

So anyway, the high quality jpegs were in the bag (so the speak), and I headed home to marvel at them in Lightroom. And marvel at them I did. Wow, the sensor on the 5D is incredibly noiseless at ISO 50 - even with 30 second exposures. I was impressed.

But hang on a minute. What are those little spots through the images? They seem to be in exactly the same place all the time. Don't tell me I've got dust on the sensor already? I haven't even changed the lens on it - ever. A closer look was called for.


A 'Hot' pixel from the 5D - at 300% enlargement, from a 15 second exposure.

On closer inspection it turned out that dust wasn't the problem at all. My brand spanking 5D has 'hot pixels' - about 6 of them, that show themselves during long exposures (of about 2 seconds or more).

I was gutted, crushed, inconsolable. How could this be? I'd never had this happen on any of the dozen or so camera bodies that I've used or tested over the years. Yet here it was, on the supposed 'King" of them all, the 'noiseless' 5D. My initial thought was to send the camera straight back to Canon and complain bitterly. Luckily, I slept on it over night and decided to do a little more investigating.

Internet discussion on similar problems with the 5D (and other cameras) shows mixed views. About half who responded to another disgruntled 5D owner with hot pixels said 'send it back and complain bitterly'. My thoughts exactly.

But there were others who claimed that hot pixels were to be expected from all camera sensors, and a 'few' hot pixels out of 12.8 million isn't too bad. And anyway, they said, there is a difference between 'stuck', 'dead' and 'hot' pixels. Dead pixels are just that - dead, and won't show any information no matter what settings the camera is on. They always appear as black spots, beause no information is reaching them at all. Stuck pixels are the opposite - the always appear as bright white, because the are 'stuck' and blow out the information they receive. Whereas hot pixels only show up when the exposures are longer (typically over 1 second) and function perfectly normally on speeds below this.

Further testing with my 5D showed that the sensor was indeed fine under 'normal' shooting conditions. No bright or 'stuck' pixels at all. It was something of a relief. But I still wasn't happy.

Then I hit upon a site that claimed cameras could be 'cured' of hot pixels. Apparently all sensors do indeed have them, but they are 'mapped out' before leaving the factory. By activating 'sensor cleaning' from the menu with the lens still on, the camera 're-maps' those pixels, and viola - no more hot pixels. Trouble is, it didn't work.

Lots of people claim it does fix hot pixels, (or maybe it fixes 'stuck' pixels) and I have no cause to doubt them. Maybe I did something wrong? But whatever the case, it didn't fix my hot pixel problem. So I'm sending my 5D back - right?

Well no, actually, because I followed the final solution to the whole 'hot' pixel problem and it worked a treat. Shoot RAW. That's it. Just shoot RAW. That was my problem all along (thanks for nothing Rockwell). I ALWAYS shoot RAW, that's why I've never come across this problem before. I can practically guarantee my other cameras have also had a few hot pixels, but the RAW processing 'maps' these out so they don't appear in the final image. Works great.

So now I have a perfectly functioning 5D, and yet another reason to shoot in RAW. And the solution to the 200 odd images I can store on a 4 Gig card? That one's easy. I've just purchased an 8 Gig card as well.

Confessions of a True Gear-Head!

Doesn't seem that long ago I was writing on this blog about my new Canon 30D - how much I loved it, and how it would see me right for quite some time with my photography. Oh the subtle (and maybe not so subtle?) irony of it all!

Truth is I 'was' happy (notice the use of the past tense) with the 30D, and it is a great camera. The 17-55mm f2.8 and 10-22mm Canon EF-S lenses I paired it up with are some of the best glass I've ever owned, and it was/is truly a great setup.

So why am I using the past tense in all of this?

Well, yeah, I've gone and changed cameras (but not systems), and now - finally - have the 5D as my weapon of choice.


I say 'finally' because really that's the case. I've lusted after the 5D since it came out, and always wanted to own one since I reviewed it for D-Photo. But at $5000NZ for the body, it was a little out of my price range. So I opted for the next best thing - the 30D with its reduced sensor size (and reduced weight/size/specs/price).

So how come I have the 5D now? Well partly it's a change in my financial circumstances (at least I think I can afford one), and partly it's due to the great deals that are out now with the 5D.

Yes, we all know that Canon are about to 'upgrade' the 5D. It has served Canon well over the past 4 years as the camera of choice for those who wanted/needed a full frame sensor but didn't want to (or couldn't afford to) - make the leap to the 1D series (there's some SERIOUS $$$$). And although four years is a long time in the digital technology business, the 'need' to upgrade doesn't make the 5D obsolete. It makes it a bargain.

I'm sure the 'new' 5D (or 7D or 9D or whatever they'll call it) will have live view (don't want it), 16MP (not even sure I need all 12.8 of the 5D's), in-built sensor cleaning (now that would be handy), Digic III processing (what - the 5D's not fast enough?), and a few other tweaks and cosmetic changes. Hey, I know it will be a nice camera.

But I'm a landscape photographer (largely), and what the 5D doesn't have, I don't need. At ISO 50, with a 30sec exposure, this thing is NOISELESS! I don't know what I can happily blow up the 12.8MP sensor images to - haven't tried yet. But I'm willing to bet it's BIG. As big as I'll need anyways.

My 'kit' came with a Canon 24-105mm f4 'L' IS lens - and oh my lordy, what a lens! It's solid, beautifully made, balances well on the 5D (haven't decided whether I need the 5D's vertical grip yet), and makes crisp, clear, contrasty, colourful images.

It also means that my 17-55mm EF-S f2.8 and 10-22mm EF-S f3.4-4.5 won't work on the 5D with its full-frame sensor, so out they go. That's kinda sad - but not too sad when you consider what I've replaced them with. The aforementioned 24-105mm f4 'L', and a 17-40mm f4 'L', to go with my earlier purchase of a 70-200 mm f4 'L' - and my f4 'L' lens trinity is complete! Yeeehaaa!

I believe the saying is "Happier than a pig in mud"?


"West Coast Realtor" - Canon 5D and 24-105mm f4 'L' lens.

Canon 70-200mm f4L Initial thoughts

Well, I weakened, and I bought one.

Not brand new - I got it off an internet auction site here in NZ (Trademe) - but it's close enough to mint condition. So now I have my own white(ish) 'L' lens. So what do I think of it?

Hey, it's Canon, it's white, and it an 'L' series lens. What's not to like! But seriously, take one look at the image of Emily on the left and you'll see what's not to like. This lens is 'sharp'. And I mean 'tack' sharp. Wide open at f4 her eyes are in blazingly crisp focus, while the rest of her softens out beautifully into a creamy background. Wow.

Not only that, but it's a joy to hold, focuses quicker than you can say 'snap', and is extremely well balanced on the 30D with grip attached. The supplied lens hood fits snuggly (at the moment), although I have heard that the plastic varieties loose their grip after a while. Time will tell on that.

It's a big lens, but it's not a 'really big' lens, if ya know what I mean. You'll definitely get noticed wielding this baby down at the local sports field on a Saturday morning, but you'll be able to carry it around comfortably most of the day and it won't need a tripod (or even a monopod with good light) to support it. I didn't go for the IS version, and only time will tell if I regret that decision or not. But hey, even if I do, I can always sell this lens down the track - probably for as much as I just spent - and upgrade to the IS version if I feel I simply have to.

Here's another of my girl that show's the lenses potential. It's a fantastic portrait lens, but I'm looking forward to taking it out on some sporting shoots as well so I can really get a feel for what it's capable of producing with the 30D. Some even claim that it is their favourite landscape lens, but I think I'll need a little more convincing on that?

And speaking of landscapes... I downloaded a new 'Picture Style' for my 30D off Canon's website last weekend and loaded it onto the camera. It's called 'Autumn Hues', and I've installed it in preparation for an Autumn shoot down to Arrowtown that I'm planning. Adding the style was very easy to do - once I'd found all the software updates on Canon's website and installed them on my iMac. Canon's site has all the information set out step-by-step, and you simply follow your nose. I'll be interested to see how it performs as opposed to the 'normal' or 'landscape' picture style settings. I suspect it's nothing you can't create yourself by boosting certain colours later on in Photoshop? But anything that can be achieved quickly 'in-camera' and not later on the computer gets my vote.

I've also bought 20 rolls of Fuji Velvia 100 for the Pentax 645, so I'll try them out with the Autumn colours on the trip as well. Should be magical.