Canon R5 New to RF Shooters and the R5 - Photo Thoughts

[Deleted member 1297]

I just found this great new forum of RF users which is exciting as I am only 30 days into my new R5. I came from the 5D4 world and have found that the R5 is a learning curve but I am up to the challenge. I mainly photograph Landscape, Equestrian Hunter/Jumper, Planes and Hot Rods. So I am hoping all of you on this forum with your vast knowledge and expertise is willing to help a new R5 user. I am looking forward to seeing your wonderful and amazing photographs.

I currently only have the RF 70-200 F/2.8 lens and this is one of my shots today straight out of the camera and no edits yet. I use DPP4 to download my photos so the question is does it look clear/sharp? Again 70-200mm @ 130mm, 1/2000th shutter speed, F/4.5 and ISO200. Mechanical shutter and Case2.

 

[Copterdoc]

I just found this great new forum of RF users which is exciting as I am only 30 days into my new R5. I came from the 5D4 world and have found that the R5 is a learning curve but I am up to the challenge. I mainly photograph Landscape, Equestrian Hunter/Jumper, Planes and Hot Rods. So I am hoping all of you on this forum with your vast knowledge and expertise is willing to help a new R5 user. I am looking forward to seeing your wonderful and amazing photographs.

I currently only have the RF 70-200 F/2.8 lens and this is one of my shots today straight out of the camera and no edits yet. I use DPP4 to download my photos so the question is does it look clear/sharp? Again 70-200mm @ 130mm, 1/2000th shutter speed, F/4.5 and ISO200. Mechanical shutter and Case2.

It looks good. Just my opinion but I would be happy with that image. Strait out of the camera, it is a good shot. I might have gone F5.6 or even tighter. Since I have not shot with that lens yet I'm guessing. I'm always learning but I try and understand the reason I suggest that is that would give a greater depth of field and the edges of the house might (?) be a little sharper but that is a guess. It is also about the "look" you are trying to achieve. That is a great lens for this type of photo for sure. The key is getting the depth of field and shutter speed combo to stop motion and have the focus sharp. It's always a bit of an experiment with any lens. It gets better with use and practice.

A concept I tend to think is important is that with higher density photosite (pixel) sensors the longer the focal length the more the motion of the subject in the shot tends to carry across more photosites. A higher shutter speed will tend to help stop the motion better. We know that shutter speed and aperture both control exposure by limiting light, aperture by volume and shutter by time on the sensor. The beauty of the new Canon R5 is that it is very good at compensation for this at higher ISO settings without noise, especially in relatively well-lit environments as in your image.

In truth what you or I might see as soft or "not crisp" most people will not. That is not to say we should not strive to increase our sill performance. JMHO

 

[Rhino]

The shot is fine in terms of clarity and sharpness. My style is a bit different...less DoF.
The 70-200mm f/2.8 is a workhorse. That’s my bread and butter lens. It’s versatility is terrific!

 

[Hali]

I think it looks very nice, and there is quite a learning curve going to that EVF and having all that room to use for focus points, as well as the eye-AF. I think that looks really nice as is. I am assuming you've been shooting with the EF equivalent of the 70-200 and found what you like for your style and what you shoot. Does this lens/camera combination come close to what you liked about the 5D1V? To me it is quite sharp on the horse and the rider looks good too as the jump, the background is pleasantly blurry and doesn't compete with the subject. It's a win for me as far as it goes being SOOC.

 

[Deleted member 1297]

I am using a RF 70-200 lens and I am getting more use to it. Overall I think the photos are more crisp/sharp then the 5DIV. All though that was great dslr camera.

 

[Deleted member 1297]

I am using a RF 70-200 lens and I am getting more use to it. Overall I think the photos are more crisp/sharp then the 5DIV. All though that was great dslr camera.

 

[Greg]

In my time I have taken many pictures of horses, mostly in harness. I have found the main difficulty is correct exposure with a bay or darker colour. If the sun is in front of the camera even more difficult, the coat of a horse sucks all the light there is very little reflected light.

I assume your intention is to picture the horse, it is not exposed for the horse. As a guide, if you cannot easily identify the parts of the bridle it's too dark. You cannot separate the rider's leg from the saddle. It's not easy in bright sunlight to expose well. You will find it much easier on an overcast day when there is less contrast. Modern cameras are amazing but still a million miles away from the human eye.

Next time get the sun behind you. The much older members here will know the golden rule, in the days of the Box Brownie, always stand with your back to the sun. Still true today, although we have a lot more tolerance to play with.

Your shot is what I call Reportage. Have a go at different angles, get right down to the ground it will make that 2 foot jump look like 10. Set the shutter to servo and fire off 20 frames as the horse clears the jump, you should be able to get a couple of frames with it flying.

 

[Normware]

In my time I have taken many pictures of horses, mostly in harness. I have found the main difficulty is correct exposure with a bay or darker colour. If the sun is in front of the camera even more difficult, the coat of a horse sucks all the light there is very little reflected light.

I assume your intention is to picture the horse, it is not exposed for the horse. As a guide, if you cannot easily identify the parts of the bridle it's too dark. You cannot separate the rider's leg from the saddle. It's not easy in bright sunlight to expose well. You will find it much easier on an overcast day when there is less contrast. Modern cameras are amazing but still a million miles away from the human eye.

Next time get the sun behind you. The much older members here will know the golden rule, in the days of the Box Brownie, always stand with your back to the sun. Still true today, although we have a lot more tolerance to play with.

Your shot is what I call Reportage. Have a go at different angles, get right down to the ground it will make that 2 foot jump look like 10. Set the shutter to servo and fire off 20 frames as the horse clears the jump, you should be able to get a couple of frames with it flying.

I was just going to post the same thing about "sun to the back" and about changing angles. It is a nice photo to record someone riding - dropping down creates drama. In the days of film, shooting with a motor drive or power winder could burn through a roll of film (36 shots) in seconds and if all you got out of it was one or two shots, it could be a very expensive day. With the R5's high speed ability it is very easy get a more dramatic shot. I have to check my shutter release as I have set it to single ,as I am trying to slow down.

Great post

 

[Greg]

I'm finding 20 fps too fast. 1 would like to dial in the speed I want

 

[Normware]

The speed is based on the shutter selection (electronic , Mechanical etc) Electronic goes up to 20fps. It also depends on the drive selection
Page 450 in the manual I believe.

You have
Single shot
High speed continuous + 12 fps - 20 FPS
High speed continuous up to 8 fps
low speed continuous 3 fps

 

[Don Bauer]

The speed is based on the shutter selection (electroninc , Mechanincal etc) Electronic goes up to 20fps. It also depends on the drive selection
Page 450 in the manual I believe.

Yoy have
Single shot
High speed continuous + 12 fps - 20 FPS
High speed continuous up to 8 fps
low speed continuous 3 fps

Crystal clear to me! I love that the R5 will find an animals eye and follow it