For Landscape photography: EOS-5D Mark II vs. D7000 vs D5100 vs.??

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

Just a few observations:

1) My Alpha 900 + 24-70/2.8 ZA weighs 2150 grams while the SLT 55 with 16-80/3.5-4.5 weights 1050.

2) I don't think I could tell my A2 prints from my former Alpha 700 (12 MP APS-C) and Alpha 900 (24.5 MP full frame) if not presented side by side.

3) Proper technique is more important than megapixels. Stopping down to f/22 eliminates 75% of the pixels. Not using MLU reduces resolution by 50% with a 200 mm lens in my tests. Just a few examples.

I prefer full frame, but there are a lot of savings with smaller formats, and with proper technique results can be very good.

Best regards
Erik

indeed, many prints don't really (and probably shoudn't) be viewed close up and you can certainly print much larger.  however, l like landscapes with fine detail that attracts the viewer to spend time viewing at various distances including close.

that said, my experience (and resolution testing with Imatest) indicates that even with the best lenses (eg 100L) that resolution is not directly proportional to linear pixels between Canon APSC and full-frame cameras.  the APSC cameras are about 15% lower in resolution (or full-frame higher) than one would expect from the difference in linear pixels.  for me, the practical result is that the 7D is pushing the limit at 16x24 and the 5D2 can comfortably go larger than 19x29

[torger]

Yes you're right that 5D pixels are considerably sharper than 7D, so one could probably upscale more there. I have personally more experience with 7D prints than with 5D prints so far.

Just for fun, here's an example of a picture from the 7D, shot with TS-E 24mm II at f/8. There's some tilt, maybe a little shift too, don't remember for sure. According to my experience this is as sharp as it gets on the 7D with this lens. 100% crop without sharpening to the left, 100% crop with mild deconvolution sharpening, and then the full image to see from where the crop is taken. For a high ppi print (300-400) I would probably sharpen a bit more, with some halo even, and for a low ppi print (less than 200) I would probably not sharpen at all to avoid pixelation around high contrast edges, but it depends on print technology and what the printer driver does too.

The 7D has 4.16 um pixels, I would not really mind if fullframe is eventually pushed this far (46 megapixels).

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

Just to put things in perspective. Large prints can be made from modest size images. I have seen decent A2 prints from 6MP APS-C cameras, like the original 10D.

This picture  hangs on my wall printed on nearly A2 size paper. It has a few artifacts, but looks quite OK if viewed at arms length. It was shot with Minolta Dynax 7D (6MP APS-C).


I also have a 70x100 cm print on my wall from a Sony Alpha 100 (10 MP APS-C). It's OK if viewed at 100 cm or more.

So I certainly prefer the Alpha 900 with it's 24 MP, but if the image is compelling, smaller formats will do fine. But I also feel, I wish I had the camera I have today when I took that picture.

The Iceland image is available here: http://echophoto.dnsalias.net/ekr/images/Samples/Iceland_Sample2.jpg, this license applies: http://echophoto.dnsalias.net/info/licensing/cc_license.html

Best regards
Erik

Yes you're right that 5D pixels are considerably sharper than 7D, so one could probably upscale more there. I have personally more experience with 7D prints than with 5D prints so far.

Just for fun, here's an example of a picture from the 7D, shot with TS-E 24mm II at f/8. There's some tilt, maybe a little shift too, don't remember for sure. According to my experience this is as sharp as it gets on the 7D with this lens. 100% crop without sharpening to the left, 100% crop with mild deconvolution sharpening, and then the full image to see from where the crop is taken. For a high ppi print (300-400) I would probably sharpen a bit more, with some halo even, and for a low ppi print (less than 200) I would probably not sharpen at all to avoid pixelation around high contrast edges, but it depends on print technology and what the printer driver does too.

The 7D has 4.16 um pixels, I would not really mind if fullframe is eventually pushed this far (46 megapixels).

[BernardLanguillier]

Yes you're right that 5D pixels are considerably sharper than 7D, so one could probably upscale more there. I have personally more experience with 7D prints than with 5D prints so far.

Just for fun, here's an example of a picture from the 7D, shot with TS-E 24mm II at f/8. There's some tilt, maybe a little shift too, don't remember for sure. According to my experience this is as sharp as it gets on the 7D with this lens.

Are you sure that the man in the distance is accurately focused? It feels like the focus is on the man in the foreground.

I feel like I am getting much sharper pixels from my D7000 when the image is critically focused, there should be little difference between the 2 hence my question.

Cheers,
Bernard

[Steve Weldon]

Yep, my main target this time is 8x10 shooters. I am positive that they will find the focussing speed of the J1 to be out of this world! :-)

Cheers,
Bernard

You just keep right on at it..  I'm sure you're going to convince them all.

The funny part about this.. it's just a matter of time before cameras that fit on the head of a pin will provide superior images to what we use today.

And when we finally get there, it will still be about how we see and how we apply it to an composition..

[thierrylegros396]

Anyone who has autonomy problems with D5100 ?

The battery indicator is low after only 60-70 shot (half in Live View), with battery fully charged !

I've seen in "Chasseur d'image" forum that some guys cannot do more than 150 shots (without Live View), but others more than 600.

Have a Nice day.

Thierry

[John Nollendorfs]

Thiery:
I'm quite sure what you are asking about D5100 battery life. But I routinely get 600+ exposures from a freshly charged battery not using live view. Of course, I routinely leave the preview screen closed, and only open it view critical shots. Also  when shooting tethered, using Control my Nikon, I toggle off the live view when not necessary.

Live view, and the preview screen really eat the battery. Use them sparingly, and you should easily be able to get 4-500 shots on a charge. I always keep a spare fully charged battery handy. Have never run out of battery.

[thierrylegros396]

Thanks for quick answer

First and second charges were strange, the battery and the charger were hot, and very low autonomy.

But after the third charge, battery and charger were only slightly warm, and I've done 95 minutes of video (with Live View and screen On).

So, it seems that the battery is now OK, but I've never had such strange things with other batteries

Have a Nice Day !

Thierry