dynamic range on the 1ds mk1

[scrivyscriv]

<p>Can't find much talk about it, not even many comparisions to other Canon sensors.<br>

How good is it? Bout how many f/stops can you expect, and how does it check out in real life? My application for it is very specifically wedding images, and more specifically, improved dynamic range in outdoor wedding images. You know, the traditional white dress & black tux, or mixed-race couples with a wide skin tone difference: Weddings 101, "Exposure."<br>

I'm hitting the edge of what I believe my Rebel XT sensor can deliver, and need to either upgrade bodies, find the magic DR button(tongue-in-cheek), or start shooting film again(yeah right).<br>

This post is also open to suggestions of how to maximize DR on my existing Rebel XT versus upgrading to the 1ds, as a compare/contrast of the dynamic range on the 1ds mk1.<br>

"I heard" opinions are great, but "I have used" opions are even better :)</p>

<p> </p>

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<li><img src="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a161/scrivyscriv/Carisa_n_Al0258.jpg" alt="" width="516" height="774" /> </li>

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[lad_lueck]

<p>You've certainly picked one of the most difficult situations for DR!<br>

Although I love my 1Ds, if you're a pro, you should be looking at a newer body. Either the 1Ds 2 or 3, or the 5d or 5d2.<br>

Here's what my cam did: <a href="http://home.earthlink.net/~ladlueck5/DR.htm">http://home.earthlink.net/~ladlueck5/DR.htm</a></p>

 

[scrivyscriv]

<p>Lol. I'd love to have the budget for a 1ds mk3, or even a mk2... I doubt my computers could even handle the files from a mk3!<br>

How will either of the next two generations of 1ds benefit me professionally that a mk1 won't? Of course we can talk about sensor MP's and such, but I just need straight talk about final image quality!<br>

Good handling on the illustrating photo. I'm not there yet!</p>

[elliot1]

<p>You can view the information you want here:</p>

<p>http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/eng/DxOMark-Sensor/Camera-rankings</p>

<p>Unfortunately dynamic range has only improved marginally over the last few years. With difficult lighting as in your sample image, your only choice is to expose correctly, preferably with no blown highlights as you have done and fix it on your computer.</p>

<p><em>"...the magic DR button" </em> Actually there is one, but is is not in you camera. You need good image processing software and you need to learn how to use it so you can 'coax' the DR to higher levels. Photoshop will work and easily fix your posted image. I prefer DXO software (version 5) as you can batch process and I feel it does a better job in 'fixing' photos.</p>

<p>You may indeed have outgrown your Rebel XT, especially for wedding work, but you won't find the DR much improved even with Canon's newest releases. You improvements will have to come through software.</p><div></div>

[myrjola]

<p>I haven't really done wedding photography, but the first photo made me think that at least in that case a bit of fill flash might have reduced the required DR performance a bit, even if it's not a magic bullet to solve the DR issues in every case.</p>

[lad_lueck]

<p>The 1Ds was the FIRST generation of electronics for the 1-series. The later two generations do have more DR. In the op's case, he needs all the help he can get, as he really needs to get all the highlight AND all the shadow tones.<br>

I love my 1Ds, but later cameras will give him another stop, maybe two, of DR.</p>

[keith reeder]

<p>In the first image above, I reckon that you've caused some of your problems youself - -0.67 EV is going make the shadow areas very dark, and PP shadow recovery is going to mean noise.</p>

<p>Evaluative metering and 0 or +0.3 (say) EC would've been my starting point for that scene - it's easy enough to manage any highlights in PP without the risk of noise issues spoiling the shot...</p>

<p>Aside from that...</p>

<p>The Canon 40D was rightly credited on its release as having the highest DR of any camera in its class (and beyond) and AFAIK it hasn't been superseded - you could do a lot worse than find space in your bag for one or two of those...</p>

<p>And yes, I use the 40D - frequently in very high DR situations like sunlit white birds against dark sand BGs (my local beaches are made up of sand <em>and coal dust</em> ) - and it does a great job.</p>

 

[scrivyscriv]

<p>Ah, touche, Keith. I metered on the whites and underexposed a half stop or so to keep from blowing them. I used spot meter, if I remember correctly. I just have a hard time balancing the two extremes in Gimp or CS3... It's my personal lack of knowledge of using the software that causes me the most frustration, really. I am just pulling my Curves technique together and am working on a good camera/software combination to yield the widest DR possible.</p>

<p>I hadn't heard about the 40D having the widest DR, but I'll definitely check that out. I wouldn't mind having a sensor and processor newer than the 1Ds by any means, especially if it's in the same price range. I checked out your website - that opening picture is sharp! I'd love to see more of your gallery when you get it up again.</p>

<p>Mika, to address your comment, I consistently used fill flash (on camera) throughout the wedding the sample photo was shot from, but several issues bar a wedding photographer shooting my style from being able to use fill flash in this instance. The first is my shutter speeds: Outdoors, shooting as wide as I comfortably could, my sync speed tops out at 1/200 and my speeds were waaay higher than that. Second was the recharge time: even using FEC -1.5, the flash recharge wouldn't let me do a quick burst series at some important moments. Ha, I'm not a run-n-gun photographer, but I do like a few tight bursts at important points :)<br>

Hence, my shopping for a wider DR sensor for outdoor weddings :)</p>