Delaware River Scenics

Here are some scenics from a walk along the Delaware River shore between Riverton and Palmyra, New Jersey. These are all made with the Canon EOS RP and RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens.

There is something about the RP and 24-105mm lens that doesn't seem quite right to me. I think I'm seeing a lack of contrast and dull colors from what I'm used to with my DSLRs and EF lenses. But, the RF zoom lens is a rental and I don't really want to take off the UV filter lest the front element get scratched. Also, I'm unable to use software I have lots of experience with due to the RP's .CR3 RAW files.

I'm now leaning against purchasing the lens from LensRentals rather than returning it. A problem is I've already sold my EF version of the same lens.  I have until Tuesday to decide.

Reading Terminal Market

I brought the EOS RP and RF 35mm lens into the Reading Terminal Market in downtown Philadelphia. The 24-105mm was to big to carry around in that cramped space and f/4 probably would not have been ideal.

These are single file images processed with Photomatix Pro 6. All are ISO 400, f/2.8 and shutter speeds ranged from 1/60th to 1/250th of a second. Here are some samples.

Christmas Morning Walk

I took a walk this morning over to and around Waterford with the EOS RP and RF 24-105mm lens. These are familiar scenes and the results aren't really distinguishable from the Canon DSLR bodies and lenses. But, five file hand held HDR images would have a tendency to even out the end product regardless of the equipment used. And not being able to run Canon's DPP software on my current MacBook Air leaves me without a lot of processing options.

50mm

24mm

24mm

37mm

58mm

RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens

The Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens I rented from Lens Rentals arrived at a local FedEx location this morning for pickup. I made a quick stop at Cohoes Falls in some hazy weather to try it out with the EOS RP. It's a nice setup, the lens is in excellent condition and I expect to use Lens Rental's "Keep It" option to purchase the lens at the end of the week's rental.

I also picked up the grip for the RP which really balances out the camera and lens combination. The camera without the grip is fine with the 35mm lens but the zoom is quite a bit larger and heavier.

Here are some samples.

45mm

105mm

105mm

85mm

24mm

Nothing

I've had nothing to add to the blog over the past several weeks. The trip to Maine fell through, primarily due to weather. Weather at home has kept me from being outdoors and using the EOS RP.

I'm increasingly committed to moving over to the Canon mirrorless system. It's complicated planning that migration. Things I need to sell, things I need to keep, things I need to purchase.

Another RP body and some RF lenses would be necessary. The good RF lenses are not cheap. Of the two basic f/2.8 zooms, the 24-70mm is $2,300 and the 70-200mm is $2,700. A cheaper option is the RF 24-105mm f/4 which is currently $900.

Then there's grips, batteries and adapters. All things considered, I want to be out shooting.

My last 5D Mark III is definitely going to be sold along with my EF 24-105mm f/4L lens. But I've got to be absolutely sure before I sell that camera.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE 12/20/19:

I decided to rent the RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens over the holidays. I barely made it under the wire for normal shipping to have it by Christmas Eve. It's scheduled to be shipped back on New Year's Eve, but, LensRentals' quote to buy this copy of the lens, after rental fee discount is only $855 which includes tax.

As I said, a new lens is $900 plus tax so I'll have a week to evaluate the lens and if I like it I can keep it for less than getting a new one.

Stay tuned.

One Step Forward, One Step Back

A new beta version of Photomatix Pro lets me process RAW files from the EOS RP in HDR software. There are still some rough spots in the beta software. It doesn't seem to save the EXIF data from .CR3 files to the finished product. It's not a settings issue because it saves all the information in .CR2 file HDRs.

Thinking maybe it was my older version of MacOS, I decided to update to the latest MacOS, Catalina, despite knowing that it would render the only version of Canon's DPP software I can get running useless. The new OS didn't help things and now I have to use Photoshop Elements to resize, crop and process single RAW files I don't want to run through the HDR software.  I may end up going back to a Windows machine after over 8 years with two Apple computers.

Here are some shots from this morning's walk around Peebles Island.

Canon Full Frame Mirrorless

A really good sale on Canon's EOS RP body convinced me to grab one before the current deal is scheduled to end at the end of the month. It's likely that there will be an extension since prices of electronics rarely go up in the month of December, but you never know.

The RP is a full frame mirrorless body with a 26MP sensor, basically an EOS 6D Mark II without the trappings of a DSLR like a mirror, pentaprism, focusing screen, etc. One problem is that it produces new .CR3 RAW files that my HDR software will not process. The version of Canon's software that I can run on my MacBook Air also will not process these RAW files. For the time being I have the camera set to produce both RAW and JPG files with lens corrections being done in the camera on the jpg files. It's not ideal but eventually I will be able to use my usual workflow.

Also on sale was the RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM macro lens. While the adapter that came free with the camera lets me use any of my lenses on the RP, the RF mount lenses are newer designs made for the mirrorless cameras.

Here are some samples from today.

5 file HDR from jpg files

f/6.7, 1/45 sec., ISO 200

f/8, 1/20 sec., ISO 200

f/8, 1/45 sec., ISO 200

5 file HDR from jpg files

High School Guys and Dolls

Last evening was the dress rehearsal of my local High School's production of the musical Guys and Dolls. I used the full frame 5D Mark III with the 70-200mm f/4 lens and the crop sensor 7D Mark II with the 17-55mm (27-88mm eq.) f/2.8 lens. The usual problems with lighting resulted in about six hours of processing for three hours of shooting followed by an hour of uploading the 358 over five gigs of files. You can view the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/guysanddolls.

Women's Playoff Soccer Under the Lights

It has been several years since I've owned a lens fast enough (light wise) to shoot field sports at night. I bought my 200mm f/2.8 prime lens as an economic way to obtain that kind of lens.

While I did shoot a handful of frames with the full frame 5D Mark III and 70-200mm f/4 lens the vast majority of the 475 files I ended up with were made with the 7D Mark II and 200mm f/2.8 lens. The way I shoot at night is with manual settings based on the level of lighting on the field. I meter the grass and under expose a bit. This avoids ridiculous swings in exposure based on the color of the jerseys in the frame.

On Elmore Field, the settings are 1/750th of a second and ISO 3200 with an f/2.8 lens and the same shutter speed and ISO 6400 with an f/4 lens. I added 111 images to the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/hwsoc2019. I get one more chance this Saturday with the Empire 8 conference final between Hartwick College and Utica College.

Here are some samples, all with the 7D Mark II and 200mm f/2.8 lens.

Forecast Was Spot On (Additional Photos Added)

I was back at Waterford Harbor shortly after sunrise and the water level was right where it was predicted to be. And you could tell be debris lines that it had receded a bit since the highest level.

Here are some shots mirroring the ones I posted yesterday showing the approximately two more feet of water. There are more scenes but those will have to wait as I have to get moving to shoot a college soccer match at noon today.

Here are the additional scenes I had to put off processing. For reference, the level from Irene in 2011 was 5 to 6 feet higher. You can read a blog post from that time, with water levels about a foot below the highest level reached here.