Presenter, Journalist and Technologist
Posts tagged Photography
Canon EOS-1D X Hands On
Canon EOS-1D X
Since working on a pilot photography show for TV last year I’ve been properly bitten by the DSLR bug – boy, is it infectious.
My camera is a low-end Canon EOS 550D, although occasionally I get let loose with a 7D or a full-frame professional Canon EOS 5D Mk II. Nevertheless, the 550D is a great camera that is entirely capable of taking terrific shots in the right hands (not necessarily mine) and what’s more, it sports Canon’s excellent HD movie-making capabilities.
Personally, I couldn’t be happier with my 550D and feel more restricted by my clumsy camera work and a limited collection of lenses than by the camera body itself.
However, a pro-photographer has a different set of requirements. When there’s a livelihood resting on the ability to get top quality shots first time, every time, the more control a camera body can give you the better. Reliability, flexibility and speed are essential when covering news and sporting events that tend not to take place in ideal conditions and will very unwillingly repeat themselves just because your camera’s auto-focus or exposure engine couldn’t keep up.
With that in mind I headed over to the Canon Pro Solutions 2011 event in London during October for a hands-on preview of Canon’s latest pro-camera, the EOS-1D X.
Take a look at what I had to say about it in my piece over at Computer Weekly.
F-Stop TV show helps you take better photos
2 years ago
by David
in Television
Earlier in 2010 I co-presented a pilot for a new television show, F-Stop.
The aim of the show is to ‘help viewers go from zero to hero with their digital camera’. It was produced and directed by Roy Jones from Lightly Frozen and my delightful co-presenter was the multi-talented Samantha Baines.
Canon EOS 5D Mk II sporting a follow focus
The show is primarily studio-based featuring interviews, how-tos and competitions but, aptly, the on-location VTs are shot using a top-end DSLR camera, the awesome Canon EOS 5D Mark II.
As a camera nut myself I must confess that I thoroughly enjoyed watching the mechanics of DSLR videography – the follow focus, matte box, a plethora of lenses and filters – finding it altogether a more tactile (although potentially more fiddly) experience than filming with a traditional all-in-one HD Cam.
I think the beautiful results speak for themselves and I’ve very kindly now been allowed to include a short excerpt of me at work on the show.
In this item I take my own DSLR, the brand-new Canon EOS 550D, to Farningham in Kent where I demonstrate how taking your camera out of its automatic mode can give you so much more creative control over your shots.
Enjoy, and do check back for news of what happens next with the show.
