Photography News Issue 54

Canon feature 20

Photography News | Issue 54 | photographynews.co.uk

Full in the frame The full-frame 35mm camera has so much to offer the keen photographer: excellent image quality, great handling and huge supporting lens systems. Join PN for a hands-on experience using Canon full-frame DSLRs

Words and images byWill Cheung

Full-frame cameras have been around for over 100 years and despite the growth in smaller formats, the interest in 24x36mm format cameras is as strong as ever. APS-C and Micro Four Thirds format cameras are popular for good reason and they deliver excellent image quality in very portable packages, but there remains something really special about the 35mm full-frame format. Indeed, it is whymany smaller format camera users aspire to owning one. For some photographers the appeal is purely physical; that full-frame cameras are bigger is a major attraction, not just for those with larger hands, but also to photographers who prefer more space and easier access to controls. Also, most 35mm cameras provide a viewing image with an optical, reflex system rather than use an electronic viewfinder, so there is a purity in the viewing image. Then there is the matter of image quality. Bigger sensors give superior image quality with even more detail in your shots and this becomes more evident when you make big prints. Fine detail remains cleanly and crisply resolved with no smudginess detracting from your beautifully created compositions. Start climbing the ISO scale and full-frame holds the advantage here, too. The smaller the sensor, the greater the risk of digital noise and the image debilitating consequences that come with it. So, at higher ISOs, full- frame holds sway which is important if the situation or poor lighting means you have no option other than to shoot at ISO 3200, 6400 or beyond. I recently got the chance to use two of Canon’s full-frame models. The 26.2-megapixel EOS 6D Mark II is aimed at the first-time full-frame user or current full-frame shooters looking to upgrade their existing camera, while the 30.4-megapixel EOS 5D Mark IV has the feature set to appeal

to the more experienced or professional DSLR photographer. Using lovely cameras is one thing but having the chance to use them in a beautiful city with an award-winning pro standing next to you offering advice is something special, which explains why I was in Milan with CanonAmbassador and two-timeWorld Press Photo Award winner Giulio Di Sturco.

Milan is Italy’s second biggest city and famous for its manufacturing (Alfa Romeo, Pirelli), its football teams (AC Milan and Inter Milan), its fashion (Armani, Versace) and its history and culture. The first stop for most visitors is the Duomo, Milan’s cathedral, and it was very high up on my shooting list, too. As was the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which is next to the Duomo and is the world’s oldest active – and surely the most architecturally awesome – shopping centre. I also had some extra organised scenarios to shoot: models by ultraviolet light, chaps showing off their parkour skills and muscles, and a studio shoot featuring a Dutch chef who literally creates art with food. The chef studio shoot was lit by powerful continuous lights so shooting handheld at ISO 400 was no problem. For this shoot I used the EOS 5DMark IVwith several Canon EF lenses including the 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM, 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM and the 11-24mm f/4L USM. The latter was brilliant for a strong foreground, although getting in this close meant I came away splattered with blue yoghurt and beetroot juice. I retreated and swapped to the 24-70mm for the shot shown on the left. Exploring the high ISO skills of the EOS 6D Mark II and EOS 5D Mark IV came next in the ultraviolet studio. With the recently launched 85mm f/1.4 I was able to shoot at wide apertures at ISO 800 and got shutter

Bigger sensors give superior image quality... Fine detail remains cleanly and crisply resolved with no smudginess detracting from your beautifully created compositions Above The ceiling of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shot in the low light of early evening. The exposure was 1/30sec at f/4 and ISO 800 using a handheld Canon EOS 5DMark IV fitted with the 11-24mm f/4 at 11mm. Left The 24-70mm f/2.8 set to 30mm and fixed to an EOS 5DMark IV was used for this portrait lit by continuous lighting. The exposure was 1/125sec at f/10 and ISO 200, the shutter speed was fast enough to freeze any action and the small aperture gave plenty of depth-of-field.