Canon 550D Birdwatching Video - Huge Zoom Ability

The 550D has an amazing feature for video - much the same as cropping for stills - but it allows you to be getting the equivalent to around a 4500mm (!!!) lens for SD (not HD) video but I guess it may appear on one of the next pro spec cameras too. Basically it crops the video to give 7x magnification but still deliver 640x480 resolution

On 550D, the 70-200 lens is equivalent to 112-320 due to the crop, then with 2x teleconverter it goes 224-640mm, with the 7x magnification that makes it 4480mm. I'll be putting some samples on YouTube once I've edited them but quite stunning zoom capability.

Canon Rumours - Now Canon Fact! Canon 60D announced

Canon rumours have now become facts - Canon have announced the 60D, 18Mp camera. Details are on DP Review

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1008/10082620canoneos60d.asp

New Canon Camera Rumours - Will there be a Canon 5D Mark III announced?

Apparently Canon are announcing details of new cameras on Thursday 26 August. Sony and Nikon have also revealed details of their new cameras over the last week so will Canon announce a Canon 5D Mark III to replace the Canon 5D Mark 2?

How could Canon improve the 5D Mark II? A tilting screen as suggested for the Canon 60D rumours could be one possibility. For video I think the ability to shoot 720p video as well as 1080p would be great as often the highest resolution isn't needed. The ability to crop image for video as per the Canon 550D would also be good.

The original Canon 5D was announced in August 2005, will Canon announce its successor 5 years on?

http://www.canonrumors.com/category/photography/canon-60d/

Differences between Canon 5D Mark 2 and Canon 550D

Having now had the Canon 550D and Canon 5D Mark II for several months I thought it appropriate to be able to give a comparison between them.

Apart from the worse high ISO performance on the Canon 550D the main frustration is selecting the video mode. Considering the Canon 5D2 was the first Canon to feature video recording they have actually made a far better job of the feature than on the 550D. It is very frustrating to have to turn the selection dial all the way to video when switching between taking stills and video. At least on the Canon 5DII all you need to do is press the Live View button to move into recording mode which is far quicker and simpler.

Model portfolio shoot - YouTube smoking video

This is from a recent shoot with model Penny. Some smoking video from the modelling shoot is available on YouTube.

Photobox iPhone App -Photobox2Go

Photobox say 'A very good app and one that if you're a keen photographer or just love photos I would highly recommend'

I've now loaded it on my iPhone and will give my verdict shortly

Canon Lens repairs

After an unfortunate incident a few weeks ago where some of my cameras dropped out of a bag and down some stairs  I needed to get one of my Canon lenses repaired. Luckily only one lens was seriously damaged - the Canon 5D and 5DII were both intact after the fall along with the 70-200 IS lens. The 17-40 L was less fortunate and needed a repair to the rear mount.

I can highly recommend Miles Whitehead camera repairs in Kent. Miles did a great job replacing the mount that had broken internal lugs. The lens is now good as new and safely stored in a new kit bag!!