Canon 6D

I had been thinking of getting another DSLR mainly because they arent making any more! If you are familiar with my blog posts you will know I prefer them over mirrorless for a variety of reasons, if not and interested look at my previous posts… already covered it extensively! I was considering getting a 7D mk2, but after much deliberation I decided on the Canon 6D I’ve had it a few months now actually, I love how light and compact it feels compared to some rigs I’ve used, even feels lighter than my 7D mk1. Also got the Canon 17-40mm f4 lens to go with it, (I already had some prime lenses that are full frame compatible, the Canon EF 50mm f1.8 STM lens produces super sharp images on the 6D) 17-40mm is a perfect range for my street photography, also got the Canon EF 24-105mm f3.5/5.6 IS STM lens for a bit longer reach should I need it, (Its also a very useful range on my 7D crop sensor) some people give it a bad rap, but it’s a fine lens really, sharp, and with the 6D being good with high ISO’s not being a wide aperture lens isnt such a problem, the IS helps too. Anyway, I will mostly be using the 17-40 and the primes with it.

 

Took me a while to find a decent one, being an old camera (all my cameras are old, but very capable in the right hands) most I saw were quite the worse for wear! I got one in like new condition with a low shutter count from my favourite used dealer, Harrison cameras of Sheffield, UK. Didn’t take me long to bond, for want of a better word, with the 6D, and I’m enjoying using it! I always shoot in raw mode whatever I am using, as I enjoy processing the files, I find the raw files from the 6D effortless to work on! Cant wait to see some large prints from it, its all the quality of a 5D mk3 in a lighter body, albeit with some minor sacrifices which aren’t a problem for me, in fact I prefer the lighter body (and the cheaper price) I find it funny that some describe the Canon 6D as an “entry level full frame camera” Entry level, really! I was using full frame cameras before digital was a thing! Even large and medium format…full frame cameras! 😂

 

I will still use my Canon 7D, it’s a quality image making tool and I have some fine crop sensor lenses to go with it, and off course I also have my trusty compact camera the Lumix LX100, another great image making tool and useful for travelling light and fast. Can’t imagine wanting any more camera bodies, if anything I might get some more lenses but don’t even need them really? As I’ve already said I am not interested in mirrorless cameras (apart from my compact) and I think we reached peak image quality a long time ago, how much IQ does one need? Surely the actual image itself, the subject, the framing, the creativity of photography is far more important and to the point. An average image taken with the most expensive equipment money can buy...is still an average image! “The photographer is the instrument not the camera” – Eve Arnold. Indeed, the biggest variable is the person behind the camera, ergo your equipment is to a certain extent…Irrelevant.  

Selected

Another one of my images selected by the Lensculture editors for their online gallery, this one for the street photography awards 2024. Dont know about being selected, I want to be elected 😀

I also have another street shot ‘Hull Fair 2023’ in the next open exhibition at Ferens Art gallery 2024. Hull, East Yorkshire, UK.

Took this on the South Bank, London. I was waiting around a while looking for the right person to pass by, and I was lucky not to get anyone else in the frame, as it was a busy day with lots of tourists taking selfies under the finger.

Good news

One of My entries for the Lensculture Portrait Awards 2024 has been selected by the editors to be featured in the online Competition Gallery. 

"Congratulations! One of the photos you entered has been selected by our editors to be featured in the Portrait Awards 2024 Competition gallery. The Competition Gallery is a highly curated group of images showcasing the best photos" 

Lensculture

From the Lumix LX100

 

Hull Marina, East Yorkshire, UK. One I made earlier with the aforementioned Panasonic Lumix LX100. A camera also known as the Leica Typ 109 (strange name for a camera) the Leica dlux 7 and the Lumix LX100 mk2. All more or less the same camera, the “improvements” in the LX100 mk2 IMO are gimmicky and irrelevant. 

 The "upgrade" that wasnt

Reasons to be cheerful part one

 

Mirror mirror on the wall which is the best camera of them all, the right answer is of course whichever you prefer, because for years now most cameras are capable of producing good quality images, even some phone cameras! But I thought I would put my thoughts in writing because I often get asked why I don’t like mirrorless cameras, its not that I don’t like them, it’s just a matter of preference, and here’s why…

Firstly coming from the pre digital era, I have in the past used big bulky 35mm film cameras like the Canon EOS 1N with booster attached, (yes I know smaller 35mm cameras are available, I’ve used and had many different cameras over the years) I prefer the look, feel and handling of a DSLR, to me it resembles what I would describe as a real camera.

I much prefer an optical, see through the lens, 100% coverage viewfinder, its clear and precise and what I see I know I will get in the frame as I don’t like to crop my images, I prefer to use the whole data and resolution etc available, and I love the skill, discipline of getting it right at the time of taking. People with mirrorless cameras often show me how “great” the EVF is…sorry but I’m not seeing anything better, if anything it often looks worse!  

Batteries last longer, I’ve not even purchased a spare battery yet for my Canon 7D because it lasts so long!

Lenses are cheaper, because everyone follows fashion, (I have always been a dedicated unfollower of trends and fashions) and must have the latest whatever, you can get some fine lenses for DSLR’s at cheap prices. I have an array of very good lenses which I like and rate, can’t see the point in spending a small fortune for more expensive lenses for a mirrorless system? I’m not even really interested in “full frame” cameras for the same and other reasons. Btw, I always shoot full frame because I don’t crop! Whereas most people I know who use “full frame” cameras heavily crop their images…ergo they are not shooting full frame!

Image quality, (read my first paragraph) people who use mirrorless seem to think the IQ is much better, again I’m not seeing it! I know plenty of people who use them and when I look at their images I’m not seeing anything better regarding image quality, don’t take my word for it, look for yourself @ streetshootetim. Having said that what constitutes a great image has little or nothing to do with image quality. And an average, boring image taken with the best equipment money can buy is still going to be an average, boring image!   

Pop up flash, the pop up flash on the Canon 7D is very good… for a pop up, I often find myself using it for street portraits. Something you don’t get on mirrorless cameras, some might do I’m not familiar with every camera on the market, but most mirrorless cameras don’t have an inbuilt pop up flash, apart from compact cameras. My compact Lumix LX100, unusual for a compact doesn’t have a pop up flash, but I’ve got a good Olympus flash that matches up well with it after a little modification.

All things considered… why on earth would I ditch something I prefer for something a lot more expensive and for something that I don’t prefer! And that’s not going to benefit me artistically or any other way, only I can create better images not the camera.

The art of photography is fast becoming the art of “my camera is better than yours” or the art of focusing on the equipment over and above any other considerations? I dread to think where its all going, especially with this AI, will cameras of the future suggest better framing your image, alter and enhance it to such an extent that the person operating the camera might become redundant!?!  

I would go so far as to say that there’s so many variables at play, peoples experience in processing being the obvious big one (I always shoot in raw, I enjoy processing raw files and it gives me all the dynamic range I need) but lots more variables too, that in fact it ALMOST makes the equipment side irrelevant! Personally I couldn’t care less what someone uses or doesn’t use, I only wrote this because I often get asked about it. Show me the results, at the end of the day that’s all that matters, its irrelevant how you got there. If anyone asks me what camera I use I feel like yawning! And reply with “my eyes” Update: 20/1/25 since writing this post I have got the Canon 6D, which I mostly use now. Another fine DSLR. 

Online reviews & Hull Fair

Thought I would try the Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens having used the older incarnation for a while, initially I was put off it by people online saying that it makes a rattling noise as if parts are loose inside and that the AF is noisy…I sometimes wonder about these people, have they got a bad case of OCD? In real world use its not an issue, the AF noise isn’t noisy at all, I barely notice it? And in every day normal handling of the lens I don’t hear anything unusual? Don’t know about you but I don’t hold a lens up to my ear and start rattling it about, looking for a problem that’s not there! And it’s a fine lens, love it. Pin sharp wherever you focus on, and I love the fact its f2.8 throughout the zoom range, it operates not unlike a prime lens! I took this at Hull fair in low light, ISO 400, f5.6, 1/125s on my Canon 7D, and I didn’t even have the IS switched on! Take reviews of equipment online with a pinch of salt (unless you hear it from me 😂) you don’t know how experienced or competent these people are and the internet, especially Utube is awash with self appointed experts. I once fancied trying an old Canon EF 35-135 lens from film days on my crop sensor, everyone online was saying its pants, I got one anyway, absolutely nothing wrong with it! Quite a good lens for what it is. The main thing is to learn how to get the best from your equipment, after that its all about the Art. Unforunately the art of photography is becoming the art of my camera is better than yours! 

”The photographer is the instrument not the camera” – Eve Arnold. 

Photography wise the fair is getting boring for me, I never see anything new or different, even the rides are in the exact same spot. In fact I find it an assault on the senses, and not in a good way, but in a crass, vacuous way. There seemed to be a glut on all things Octopus this year?, 2023. Even as a kid I didnt really get it. My old Ma says I would never go on any rides, the best part for me was seeing all the varied stalls down Walton street (they look indistinguishable now) getting a goldfish in a plastic bag, a bow and arrow set, or a crossbow 😂 As toys they were pretty effective and fun...for a kid. We couldnt wait to get out the following day to get up to mischief playing with them. Ethics and political sensibilities together with addiction to screen time has taken away real fun for todays kids, IMO.