aaron lam • life through the lens » 1d mark III http://www.aaronlam.com/blog aaron lam photography Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:17:14 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 china. http://www.aaronlam.com/blog/2009/10/22/china/ http://www.aaronlam.com/blog/2009/10/22/china/#comments Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:41:48 +0000 aaronlam http://www.aaronlam.com/blog/?p=450 We had a FAST 1 week 3 city trip to China (Beijing, XianHua via Guang Xao, Hong Kong). I thought’d I share what equipment I travelled and matching pictures.

First off… I am not a telephoto shooter. Previously, I brought only a 70-200 f/2.8 IS on trips (monster to travel with). In fact, that’s the only telephoto lens I own (next down is the 100mm macro). I pained trying to decide about picking up a 135L or 200L or 70-200 f/4 IS or even a cheap 70-200 f/4. I wanted a black lens and something that wouldn’t duplicate the 70-200 I already had that I do use for shoots and wouldn’t think about getting rid of. I got an early great deal on the new 100mm macro L so I snagged it and brought that. What a great lens!!! Lighter than my 24L. Small, compact. It makes some weird noises but I feel it is faster at focusing than my old 100 USM Macro. This is definitely my new travel telephoto. Beautiful bokeh. I am not sure if it is better than the old lens but the IS is well worth it and makes it a useful all purpose telephoto. My old 100 USM will be on the market soon.

I also brought the 50L & 24L for night shooting. And my trusty 16-35L mkI as an all purpose 80% of time lens. I brought my 5DII as a lightweight traveller (we probably walked 6-10 miles per day). And 1DIII as a backup… which never left my luggage.

The 5DII was great EXCEPT… did have some low-light outer focusing points struggles. No surprise there. Nothing detrimental. And as the Classic 5D, dust was a mess inside the viewfinder. Not TOO bad on the sensor but after day 2 on the Great Wall… there were several dust bunnies INSIDE the prism box… not accessible with a simple blower. Just annoying than anything. But the pictures were gorgeous and a pleasure to carry all day compared to all my previous trips with the 1DIII (this was the first outing with the 5DII. Definitely more inconspicuous too.

Usage was probably 80% 16-35L, 8% 50L, 8% 100L, 4% 24L. Did I regret bringing the fast primes? No… they got some great night shots I know I wouldn’t otherwise have been able to get. But I didn’t use my 24L as much as I thought I’d would since the high-ISO on the 5DII was just that good. I think my 1DIII is really good in the ISO realm too but I was shooting at ISO2500 with confidence which I never had the confidence to do with the 1DIII.

I did not bring a tripod. Night shots were all handheld or camera set on railings, trash cans etc.

Here are some picts (I am a vignetting freak so most of the vignetting here is added in post):

100L Vignetting added in post, ISO800

24L ISO2500

50L ISO200 @ f/1.2 (I took variations at different ISO and apertures… this, probably by chance, turned out the best)

16-35L

16-35L

100L Slight T&S effected added in post

See rest of picts here.

]]> http://www.aaronlam.com/blog/2009/10/22/china/feed/ 4 new zealand. http://www.aaronlam.com/blog/2009/08/13/new-zealand/ http://www.aaronlam.com/blog/2009/08/13/new-zealand/#comments Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:45:02 +0000 aaronlam http://aaronlam.wordpress.com/?p=286 Working on Spartacus, I had the wonderful opportunity of visiting New Zealand twice this year. What a beautiful country! I mainly stayed in Auckland which is a very familiar and easy to visit city. The roads are complete crap though and I highly recommend a GPS unit even if you are just on foot. But the people are extremely nice and friendly. They take their time off very seriously and have not let work run their lives. I have to respect that.

For the rest of the pictures, click here.

]]> http://www.aaronlam.com/blog/2009/08/13/new-zealand/feed/ 0 canon 24mm f/1.4 L II. http://www.aaronlam.com/blog/2009/07/01/canon-24mm-f1-4-l-ii/ http://www.aaronlam.com/blog/2009/07/01/canon-24mm-f1-4-l-ii/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:09:25 +0000 aaronlam http://aaronlam.wordpress.com/?p=266

Okay. Why would you plunk down over $1500 for a prime, wide angle? There is just something magic about this lens to me. The Mark I version was a favorite lens of mine to shoot dogs with. You couldn’t match the background blur, color and build quality of that lens. I was always very happy with it but when Canon announced a Mark II version… I was intrigued. But I did hold off for some reviews… plus they weren’t in stock ANYWHERE. (I actually got a decent deal on eBay and used www.live.com 8% cashback program).

Well, the reviews all indicated marginally better sharpness and much better build quality. That’s exactly what I found too. It does focus a little faster and more reliably than the Mark I version. It’s truly a beautiful lens and take AMAZING photos. If you are looking for a fast wide angle… this baby is it!

]]> http://www.aaronlam.com/blog/2009/07/01/canon-24mm-f1-4-l-ii/feed/ 4 mieko… the japanese akita. http://www.aaronlam.com/blog/2009/05/03/mieko-the-japanese-akita/ http://www.aaronlam.com/blog/2009/05/03/mieko-the-japanese-akita/#comments Mon, 04 May 2009 01:03:36 +0000 aaronlam http://aaronlam.wordpress.com/?p=221 This is Laura’s co-workers dog Mieko… a Japanese Akita. Super soft… mmmm.

See all the pictures here.

]]> http://www.aaronlam.com/blog/2009/05/03/mieko-the-japanese-akita/feed/ 0 more fun with the ringflash. http://www.aaronlam.com/blog/2009/04/24/more-fun-with-the-ringflash/ http://www.aaronlam.com/blog/2009/04/24/more-fun-with-the-ringflash/#comments Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:05:35 +0000 aaronlam http://aaronlam.wordpress.com/?p=210 Just practicing for Evelyn’s wedding!

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