My first day with the MKII

[defordphoto]

Wow. Simply, freaking wow. Amazing camera. As many of you know I literally received the camera from UPS on Friday afternoon, unpacked it out of the shipping box and we hopped in the car to head to Richland, Washington to shoot the USSBA Sprint Boats on Saturday.

We arrived at the motel about 4 hours later and I then proceeded to unpack the camera and then charge two batteries. Once that charger was set it was time to get the camera strapped. I installed the wrist strap and my new Op-Tech Pro strap.

I installed the software on my laptop and then saw a problem. My laptop has only the small firewire plug so I can't set Personal Function settings. Didn't matter. Doesn't effect shooting.

I went over to the Sports Illustrated site and downloaded their recommended setting to a CF card and then loaded them into the camera. I reset the * focus to shutter button as that's what I prefer. More on that later. Otherwise I did my entire shoot with the SI settings.

I installed a Sandisk Extreme 1gig CF card and a UltraII SD card. then setup the camera for AC power so I can at least get a feel for it.

This camera just feels so nice. The balance is awesome. It's a bit heavier than the 10D, but it's not going to break my back as I'm used to 6-10 shoots with the 10D and 100-400L. The OpTech strap feels nice.

I look through the viewfinder for the first time. WOW! It's like a movie theater in there! Very, very bright and large as compared the to 10D/D60 that I also own. By now it's midnight. Gotta sleep. 6am will come early.

We arrive at the track and I have the 17-40 attached. With the 1.3, rather than 1.6, crop-factor this lens now really looks wide angle. The boats are in the pits and I go for a low angle, full-wide shot. I press the shutter-button for the first time.

As warned off go two shots in a millisecond! Whew! Man this thing is so, so fast. The two shots from the shutter sound like the closing of the doors on a Ferrari. Thump. Thump.

Sweet.

So now I go easier on the shutter and all's good.

Out on the track the AI Servo is absolutely perfect. No hunt at all. Not one time and out of 1519 shots I kept 1487. Amazing!

Color is phenomenal. I had read on some forums that some people were have problems with red. Not here. See below and in the gallery. All colors were right on.

I shot all these photos on TV mode, ISO320 and AWB. Speaking of which the AWB is very impressive. We have everything from bright sun to dark, ominous clouds and the AWB performed with perfection.

The toughest part of getting used to this camera is the menus. You lose the button-wheel that the 10D/D60's have. 1D and 1Ds owners will feel right at home as they also operate the same way. It didn't take long to get used to that.

The vertical shutter button, as many have said, it more sensitive than the horizontal and I found myself taking quite a few double-shots. But I also did with the horizontal button, though not as severe. Next shoot I will convert over to * button for focus and that will give more more control over the shutter and then I can punch the button when I need the shot and be less likely to hold it down for any length of time.

As a sidenote the OpTech Pro strap gets a huge thumbs-up! With the MKII and 100-400L attached and on my neck from 8am till 4pm I have no sore neck whatsoever. The wrist-strap also gets a thumbs up. Great combination.

And with the NP-E3 battery and shooting 1519 shots and the camera being on almost the entire eight hours except for eating lunch it still read full. Thumbs up on the NP-E3 for sure. I would have gone through alomst three sets of batteries on the 10D.

So, you can the gallery at: http://racefamily.racinglines.com/Galleries/2004/JetSprints/Richland0522/index.htm

There has been no processing on the photos in the gallery except Breezebrowser's default USM. The photos below have been processed.

Enjoy!!!

http://racefamily.racinglines.com/Galleries/2004/JetSprints/_L5C0111%20(Large).JPG

http://racefamily.racinglines.com/Galleries/2004/JetSprints/_L5C0126%20(Large).JPG

[Tapeman]

The photos look great!

Enjoy your new camera.

I'm jealous, I have to wait till late summer to order one. :D

[Jon Borcik]

Jim,

Those photos are absolutely dead on. Great shots... impressive!

I don't think they need a bit of post-processing.

? Did you have to adjust much in lens selection due to the 1.3 versus 1.6 crop difference?

Man I hope my 1DmkII comes soon! Even my cat is waiting for it!
(see my earlier thread)
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=33123
HAHAHAHHA

Looks like your enjoying it :D

[defordphoto]

Thanks Tapeman.

Jon: The 1.3 vs. the 1.6 was not even an issue with the boats. We shoot pretty close anyway. Media access to these tracks is actually in front of the catch fencing and literally on the track. We stand no more than 40-50 feet from the edge of the water.

I was also impressed with the AWB on the MKII. With the 10D the cloudy shots would be tinged brown, but very easily fixable. With the MKII, white is white whether it's cloudy or sunny. However, if I was printing these out for a client I would surely perk up the cloudy ones before sending them off.

[NILOLIGIST]

I see you are loving the camera!! I can't wait to see more...WOOHOOO!!

NiL,

[Mills]

Great Shots Jim! I am in many ways happy that you got yours ahead of me because you are a true Pro. Keep up the good work. The photos look awesome.

[neil_r]

I went over to the Sports Illustrated site and downloaded their recommended setting to a CF card and then loaded them into the camera. I reset the * focus to shutter button as that's what I prefer.

More info and the URL for the above would be great.

Getting more and more ticked off, Placed my order (and deposit!) on the 9th Feb with Canons largest UK dealer, they have over £4M on order with Canon and they are just not seeing any (well very low numbers).

As ever excellent pics from you that just add to my frustration :twisted:

N

[IanD]

Excellent images Jim. You and the MKII work well together.
Non photo question. I've watched a lot of sprint boat racing on the TV. Does the driver really benifit from the nav's hand signals? They seem to be going too fast to be able to see the hand signals and watch the course. If the nav can see the turns, then the driver must see them too. I love watching thses guys run.

[Belmondo]

Jim:
Great stuff. Nonetheless, as good as the Mk II is, it can't be any better than the person pushing the buttons, and you apparently have these boat shots 'wired'.

Have you made a direct comparison of image quality between it (Mk II) and your 10D? What is your sense of the difference in image quality?

Tom

[defordphoto]

Thanks for the comments all...

Neil: Get the SI settings at: http://www.siphoto.com/?canon1DM2.inc

With the MKII you can just download the settings onto a card and then upload then to the camera. Sweet!

Tom: No I have not compared yet, but I will when I have time. I am also curious to see the difference with some 100% crops.

[Canuck]

Jim,
Very impressive! It is great to see you are making good use of it. Does it feel more balanced w/ the 100-400, 10D vs Mk II?

[defordphoto]

Jim,
Very impressive! It is great to see you are making good use of it. Does it feel more balanced w/ the 100-400, 10D vs Mk II?

More balanced weight-wise? No. Not really. The camera does feel different than the 10D. Being that this was the first major shoot of the year for me I am surprised I am not more sore, but I was also using the new Op-Tech Pro neck strap and the wrist-strap, in which I give a thumbs up to both of those. In fact, gonna get the Op-Tech for my wife for the 10D this week.

[dn7elson]

Wonderful shots Jim. Looking at your web page, I'd be hard pressed to select a favorite (or even 6 :D ).

[CoolToolGuy]

Great shots, Jim.

I, too, am interested in the difference in the 1.6 vs 1.3 crop factor. When you get some car shots, let us know if you had to make any adjustments, or if your lens inventory still works for you.

I got my hands on a MKII on Saturday, at my local camera store. Quite a piece of hardware. Better sense prevailed, though, and my credit card stayed in my wallet. But I don't know how long I can resist... :roll:

[defordphoto]

Thanks Rick. I doubt anything will change for the cars either much. I'll just have to wait until they get a little closer before pulling the trigger! ;) The difference is not that great that I have noticed. I can also hook up the 1.4x TC if needed and I have a 2.0x coming in today, but I doubt I'll use them for motorsports. I don't see me adding any new glass soon. What's left? A 500? 600? I'll need a few more covers to afford those! ;)

One of the keys to getting great shots in motorsports is media credentials. Then you can (literally) sign your life away and shoot from scary places.

dn7elson: Thanks. It makes it hard selecting for a gallery too when I only had to toss 32 out of 1519 shots!

And the reason the galleries are so large is that I am also shooting for the teams too, so I do need to make as many photos available as possible for them to select from.

I could have very easily made a 500-600 photo gallery.

[dn7elson]

It makes it hard selecting for a gallery too when I only had to toss 32 out of 1519 shots!

That is truly amazing.

Any tricks for getting the reflected gloss on the cars or boats? Other than bribing the sun to shine brightly and burn through the clouds :lol:

[msvadi]

I've read your post several times. It's a poem.

[defordphoto]

It makes it hard selecting for a gallery too when I only had to toss 32 out of 1519 shots!

That is truly amazing.

Any tricks for getting the reflected gloss on the cars or boats? Other than bribing the sun to shine brightly and burn through the clouds :lol:

Lots of wax in the pits! ;) It's neat when you get it. I love it cause the boats don't have windshields so it's easy to get their eyes is they're not wearing glasses or goggles.

[defordphoto]

I've read your post several times. It's a poem.

It's the passion.

Thanks...:)

[dn7elson]

Lots of wax in the pits! ;) It's neat when you get it.

The local road track usually has various club car meets and wax is generally not in the tool box....it would take away room for the duct tape :lol: :lol: Having the sun out must help too :? If at first, you don't succeed...... :)

[martcol]

Oooomph!

They just go on and on If I got the right part, I really like this one (l5c0983). I am saving up for one of those...

Martin

[Jon Borcik]

Great Shots Jim! I am in many ways happy that you got yours ahead of me because you are a true Pro. Keep up the good work. The photos look awesome.

Hey Mills.... have you heard anything from CDW about delivery of your camera yet? I thought I saw you were #3 in line?

I've been shaking the trees with my order, but nothing in the pipeline for me yet! :cry:

I got a call today from another source out of the blue that has one for me if I want it... it will cost me a couple hundred more though.... decision... decisions! ! ! :shock:

[KennyG]

Nice shots Jim. Good to see the MK-II being used real world and not for pictures of the cat or ducks in the local park.

CTG, I go from 1.3 to 1.6 crop factor all the time and there is no need to consider lenses at all. The differences in real life are so small it isn't worth considering. Maybe landscape and architectural photographers would notice, but it does not bother the likes of Jim or I for the types of thing we do.

I met a Canon dealer at the race circuit on Sunday who was telling me he had 6 customers with MK-II's on order and when he got his first one in he called them all and not one was in a position to have the cash to pay for it. He shifted it on e-bay!!! I wonder how many dealer's MK-II lists are like this.

[defordphoto]

LOL Kenny! Actually I did get a picture of some seagulls that looked kinda cool. But they were not at the pond. They were at the local garbage processing area down the road. :shock:

[Tom W]

I will withhold comment until I see some ducks!! :)

j/k, Jim, great shots. It looks like you're going to do real well with this gem.

[defordphoto]

I will withhold comment until I see some ducks!! :)

j/k, Jim, great shots. It looks like you're going to do real well with this gem.

I'll try and get some ducks this weekend. The camera does make it easier to pay more attention to the artisitc aspects of photography rather than the technical. It does what you want it to, when you want it to.

[Tom W]

I will withhold comment until I see some ducks!! :)

j/k, Jim, great shots. It looks like you're going to do real well with this gem.

I'll try and get some ducks this weekend. The camera does make it easier to pay more attention to the artisitc aspects of photography rather than the technical. It does what you want it to, when you want it to.

Well, I'm living in the dark ages since I still think the 10D is the cat's @$$! Even though I have to pay a bit of attention to it, I generally let the camera do the work and it does quite well a good deal of the time. And it works faster and better than my Elan II did.

I just cannot fathom how fine that 1D-II must be.

I'm thankful in a way that I don't have $4500 laying around. :)

[defordphoto]

The 10D is an awesome camera and I'll keep mine for some time to come. At this point I have absolutely no intentions of getting rid of it. The MKII is remarkable. I would avoid seeing one in person as you will not want to let loose of it. The plastic in your wallet will leap out onto to counter begging to be used. :lol: They'll probably be $2500 in two years anyway...

[Tom W]

Thankfully, the only local camera shops sell a very limited array of Canon products, but a wide selection of Quantaray! :shock:

But, B&H is but a mouse click away! ;)

[theflyingkiwi]

Great shots RFM, it is the photos that you take that make me try harder to get my skills up to a level like that :)

reading your report, it almost makes me go out and buy a Mk11, but hate to say, with the 7g price tag in my country, I don't think so.

Anyway it is good to see someone enjoying shotting subjects with a camera that trys it very best to help you enjoy it :)

I guess that is why I still like my 10D :)

[defordphoto]

Thanks NZL. And that's how I also learned. From trying to achieve other photographer's levels. I am still not where I want to be, but am getting there. It's always a challenge and one I enjoy so, so much.

Do you ever get to the WSJ races over there? I met a bunch of those guys when they were here in the states last year. What a wild bunch of folks. Love every one of them though.

Enjoy your 10D. It's an excellent, excellent camera.

[Jon Borcik]

Jim... The wait is over.... Norman Camera just called me and said they have a camera with my name on it if I wanted it. After much internal debate... the deal was struck and the camera should be at my door step on Thursday 5/27. Woo Hooooo Can't wait! :D

Had to cancel my order with CDW. The wait was too painstaking!

[defordphoto]

Jim... The wait is over.... Norman Camera just called me and said they have a camera with my name on it if I wanted it. After much internal debate... the deal was struck and the camera should be at my door step on Thursday 5/27. Woo Hooooo Can't wait! :D

Had to cancel my order with CDW. The wait was too painstaking!

Awesome!! Good to hear. Actually I have a backup order with Norman Camera and they called me the day after CDW shipped mine so I had to let it go to the next person in line. The folks are Norman Camera are awesome.

Congratulations!!!

You will be amazed...

[photobuff]

Just taking a sec. to say the pics look incredible.....Was it kindof scary to put the 10D down and take over with an unchartered camera? Looks like the action with those boats is so quick that decisions "on the fly" would be frustrating, wihout the benefit of previous trial and error. Either way, the pictures turned out wonderful :wink:
Also, are you at the same vantage point for the majority of those pics? Maybe standing on a raised poduim area on a center island as the boats go around 360 degrees? You surely arent wading around that marshy looking area with all that speed flying by :D...but who the heck would know where you were with a 100-400mm lense....hehe.
I dragrace so you know my heart is with any pics that have to do with speed 8)

Steve

[defordphoto]

Yes. I had great hesitation going into this shoot with a camera I had zero time on. I had no time to study any settings or anything, but I had been reading the manual that we could print off the Net so I did go into it somewhat familiar with the basics. Hopping around menus was the toughest. Heck, I didn't even know how to delete a photo! :shock:

But, that's why I downloaded the recommended Sports Illustrated settings and just went for it. There were several moments where I pondered not even shooting the MKII but I could not resist and I'm glad I didn't. It didn't take long until I felt at home with the new camera and was shooting quite comfortably.

And then once arriving home and looking at the photos I was quite pleased with the results. I think I may shoot the next race all RAW, which I have never done with sports before...

[CyberDyneSystems]

RFM,

Awesome shots..

Would you mind telling me what metering mode you used for these?

Just curious.

[defordphoto]

Ummmm....let me check the SI settings...

13 1 - limits selectable AF points to 11 and links spot metering to the active AF point