Canon

I decided to see how good the Canon G9 is at shooting video during a recent trip to Centralia, PA. For those that don’t know, Centralia is a city that lit an underground coal mine ablaze during a routine garbage burning. Many decades later, almost everyone has moved out and the ground is still burning. I went with Josh to try shooting some HDR photos and we made this video to kill some time. While the quality of the recording is good, my video skills leaves much to be desired. The G9 has camera shake aplenty in video mode and the microphone is sensitive to wind. Maybe we’ll try it again at a less remote location. Caution: I say “shit” at some point in the video.

I fought the temptation for months, but Canon’s instate rebate program sucked me in just two days before it expired. I bought the Canon 2.8L 70-200mm IS lens and am battling with buyers remorse. Okay, maybe not. This is pretty much the powerhouse of Canon’s L series, with the ability to take some of the sharpest photos I’ve ever seen. It weighs a ton, and my hands are not going to love me for this, but I’m really excited to take this out into the field and put it through its paces.

For the last year, I’ve been switching between my Canon 24-70mm 2.8L and Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 to capture wide angles and some zoom shots, but the only long lens I have is an ultra-slow Tamron super zoom. For financial reasons, I was torn between this lens and the new Tamron 70-200mm, but the IS put this one over the top. I’ve been doing a lot more photography of people at podiums from a distance and I need the extra few stops of protection to avoid camera shake.

I’m taking the new lens out to Centralia this weekend to see what it can do. Barring rain or accidental death, I’ll post photos on Monday.

Iron Maiden
Originally uploaded by GLK Creative

This entire set was shot with a Canon G9 point and shoot. For those on the fence about getting one, stop thinking, The G9 is the best sub-pro camera and handy in situations where you are forbidden to bring in a pro camera.

Case in point: For some reason or another I got shut out of shooting the Maiden show in Jersey. After being asked not to bring any cameras into the venue with removable lenses, I figured I might as well bring along the G9.

We were in row 20 from the stage with pretty good sight lines but no way to get a clear or steady shot. I set the camera on aperture priority and started firing at whatever I could get. If I timed the shot with the lights, I could get some decent highlights, but the grain at 800 and 1600 sucked. Luckily, a little post processing and some creative license later and I think we have some usable shots.

These are definitely not tack sharp shots taken with my 24-70mm L lens, but they are better than nothing. Or at least, better than the army of camera phone shooters I had to dodge.

I got a nice pick up by IronMaiden.com. Take a look here. I guess I’m not good enough to get a press pass, but good enough to land above Rolling Stone and The New York Times on Maiden’s own site. Go figure.