Canon have just release the remarkable new Canon EOS 5D II a full frame 22 megapixel pro SLR. New Features include a new larger CMOS sensor, HD movie recording capability and the new DIGIC 4 processor.Compact, lightweight with environmental protection,  the tough little EOS 5D  successor boasts a newly designed Canon CMOS sensor, with ISO sensitivity up to 25,600 for shooting in near dark conditions. The new DIGIC 4 processor combines with the improved CMOS sensor to deliver medium format territory image quality at 3.9 frames per second, for up to 310 frames.

Triggered from the Live View Mode, HD video capture allows users to shoot uninterrupted at full 1080 resolution at 30fps – for amazing quality footage with incredable levels of detail and realism.

The integration of HD movie capability into a high-end 21.1 Megapixel camera opens a multitude of new possibilities for photojournalists and news photographers. With its full frame CMOS sensor and outstanding ISO performance, the EOS 5D Mark II will appeal to any photographer in search of the best SLR camera equipment available – from studio and wedding to nature and travel photographers the Canon EOS 5D has you covered.

Weighing in at over £2000, it’s a camera mainly for the professional or even serious enthusiast. A little further down the food chain but still very capable are the Canon EOS 40D, Canon EOS 450D, Canon EOS 400D and the brand new Canon EOS 5oD.

cross processing

Before digital cameras, people used to take photos on film! But you knew that of course. Cross-processing came about by processing negative film in chemicals intended for processing slide film…hence cross-processing.

The process gives a really cool effect that has been made popular by the advertising industry. This same effect can be simulated using photoshop and here’s how…

Fork macro shot

Mightier than the Sword

Somethings you don't want to see close up!

I bought some bellows from China on Ebay and although they don’t allow for autofocusing or even control the auto exposure, they are still quite usable. I will be posting some of my pictures taken with them on here in the next couple of weeks…let me know what you think

The process/technique is known as High Dynamic Range processing or simply HDR. HDR and Tone Mapping is a process which two or more differently exposed images (normally one properly exposed, one underexposed by one stop, and one overexposed by one stop) to produce a single image with much higher dynamic color range. Why would we do this? Well, a digital camera sensor is capable of capturing about 3-5 stops of color dynamic range where the human eye is capable of seeing about 11 stops of color dynamic range. What this means is that you see a beautiful scene and then photograph it and then get home and review your images and you are disappointed that your images are just not the way you remember seeing the scene. There is nothing technically wrong with your images, they just are not what you remember seeing when you were there.

Machu Picchu HDR

HDR used to great effect

Yachts in Monaco Marina