Invertalon

From Pittsburgh Aviary... Shot ISO 6400 and 12,800 mostly (a few lower, but very few). Loving the performance at high ISO! 6M3C3320 by invertalon, on Flickr 6M3C3333 by invertalon, on Flickr 6M3C3376 by invertalon, on Flickr 6M3C3389 by invertalon, on Flickr 6M3C3242 by invertalon, on Flickr 6M3C3258 by invertalon, on Flickr 6M3C3270 by invertalon, on Flickr

I really am loving it! I have been nothing but impressed with it. My dream camera was the 7D + 5D2 combined into one, and Canon not only delivered that but even better. AF system is simply incredible. I seriously have not had an out of focus shot yet with this camera that was not user-error. It can basically AF in near darkness (to the point you can't even make out detail in viewfinder) and is extremely accurate in servo. The 6FPS is a nice increase in FPS and is perfect for me. The high ISO is amazing and will really benefit my shooting in the fall at all the parks for Halloween when I am shooting at f/2 or faster at ISO 6400 or 12800. Having the ability to comfortably go up to 25,600 now is even better. So I am excited for that. It was a pricey upgrade, but in the end was worth it. I am extremely happy with it!

And one other one I processed... These were taken along the Lake Erie Shore. 6M3C3036 by invertalon, on Flickr

6M3C3056 by invertalon, on Flickr

Thanks for the responses! Looks like I will pass... Was not sure how it was, but that clearly shows (the video). We will go later in the season!

Hey for those who have been before, how is season pass preview day crowd wise? This year it is April 27th, a Friday evening. How does it compare with other Fridays and such in June? We were thinking of driving up from Cleveland to ride Leviathan and Behemoth and such... Quite the drive, not sure if it will be worth it to get there for preview day if we could... Want to make it worthwhile... Was at the park in Fall, so don't need to ride about 80% of the stuff in the park, mainly Leviathan... Not sure if it is packed this day or pretty light crowds, etc... Appreciate any help!

6M3C1604 by invertalon, on Flickr

I know this has been said or joked about before, but I just have to say it... What will open first... Flying Turns or The Voyage with Timberliners?? On a serious note, this will delay my return trip back to HW another year... Love the park, but I am waiting until those trains are on those tracks before I drive 8hrs to go ride it. Loved it opening year, but 2 years later when I rode it... Got quite bad (and I dig aggressive rides... Love Wildcat, the old Raging Wolf Bob's (old track/trains <3 ) , etc.. Hopefully 2013 is the year!

Oh yes, I know which lens you are talking about, the MP-E 65mm f/2.8... Would be pretty crazy to shoot with! Rumor has it Adobe is going to release LR4 capability this week sometime we we can finally really play with the RAW files... CS5 is driving me nuts! I am so happy spring is finally here... Although it almost felt like Fall never ended with how mild our winter was this year! (not complaining one bit!)

Took these in the front yard earlier today... Had quite an active bunch of bee's! 6M3C1404 by invertalon, on Flickr 6M3C1406 by invertalon, on Flickr 6M3C1415 by invertalon, on Flickr 6M3C1447 by invertalon, on Flickr 6M3C1418 by invertalon, on Flickr

Here are few taken with my new 5D Mark III... This camera is absolutely sick... Canon hit a home run in my eyes with it. I could not be any happier. Now I just can't wait to do some real shooting... Might stop at the airport tomorrow if the skies are nice in the morning. These are just a few test shots from the last few days: (click on the pictures to see them higher quality... TPR compresses them and softens them up a bit...) ISO 1600 by invertalon, on Flickr 6M3C0858 by invertalon, on Flickr 6M3C0874 by invertalon, on Flickr 6M3C0983 by invertalon, on Flickr This is another panoramic... Click on it and view at 100%... It's huge... Sad the lighting/skies were not better though... Another time though. Panoramic Pittsburgh by invertalon, on Flickr I also can't wait for Adobe to release an update so I can actually edit RAW files... I can with Canon's software but I don't like it and CS5 is a pain when you have a lot of photos.

Cool video! That night was pretty wild up here in Cleveland as well. I love lightning/thunder though, as long as no other destructive force is present

Nothing "major", just maybe a toe or two from stubbing them. My one pinky toe won't move anymore, it just kind of stays put.

Mine:

I like what I see from the new 5D: ISO 25,600, mind you. and compared to 5D2 at ISO 6400...

Yeah it is... The samples that came out on Canon's website flat out suck. Way excessive noise reduction. The ones Digital Rev did at the announcement look fantastic. ISO 12,800 looks really, really good. He said 12,800 is almost like 3200 on the current 5D. That is just awesome. I really hope it is 1.5-2 stop improvement! Sold my 35L and 5D II grip already... Once this this does ship, I have to unload my 5D2... I can't wait!

Got my preorder in... http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/03/02/Canon-5D-Mark-III

Yeah, when I had my 7D although it *can* be noisy at higher ISO, I had NO problem using 6400/12,800... In the end, noise is only a big deal when pixel peeping... Not the full image. I mean, check this out from a Halloween party... ISO 12,800... Looks great (taken with 7D). IMG_8161.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr I mean sure, it has some noise and a little less detail but it still did great... The difference between the 5D2 and 7D are not that significant... About one stop and more detail at high ISO, but its not all that drastic. I only felt the lower ISO suffered a bit with the 7D... In a weird way, ISO 100/200 were fine, but 400-800 felt overly noisy and then 1600 and up were great relative to many other cameras. Shooting RAW and using lightroom, I would keep noise reduction on pretty light to avoid ruining details and just adjust sharpening and such. I try to avoid using much noise reduction regardless of ISO. I saw some full 100% images from the D800... They looked pretty good, although it does seem to show some heavier noise then usual IMO. I would take less MP for better dynamic range, noise and detail any day. I am really excited the Canon will be under 30. Another thing I do miss about the 7D vs. the 5D2, better metering. The 5D can be a pain sometimes. I hope the new 5D uses the new 256 zone metering and improved WB as well.

Ill tell you what though, I find myself shooting at high ISO often (6400 is not uncommon for me). I have used/needed 12,800 as well before, just wishing for more. Even on sunny days I will shoot at ISO 200-800 to get enough depth of field or high enough shutter speeds to freeze fast moving subjects (coasters, for example!) I am really excited though... Imagine a f/1.4 lens at ISO 25,600 or 51,200... Talk about being able to shoot in darkness! Another good benefit of even higher native ISO is even cleaner lower ISO... ISO 800 on the current 5D2 should hopefully have the noise of ISO 3200 on the newer 5D. That is nice! I am also glad they stopped pushing the megapixel as well. I was hoping it wouldn't be 30+ like Nikon did with the D800. Funny how Nikon was always sticking with lower MP (12 or whatever) and Canon was made fun of for pushing higher to 18 and 22... Now Nikon released a what, 36MP D800? While Canon stayed lower with 18 on the 1Dx and now the rumored 22MP of the 5Dx/5D3.

Looks like Canon might be unleashing the new 5D next week... 61pt AF, 22MP, 6+ FPS, 100% viewfinder... Sounds great. I would expect native ISO 100-25,600 expanded to 102,400. Hopefully! Sadly, price is expected to be around $3500... Ouch. I hope its not anymore then $3200 if it does break $3000.

I notice the vibration a little on Diamondback, but I *really* am going to assume that is a track issue, not a train issue. Why would it be smooth the rest of the ride, but not at that specific point each time? I believe it is really the track alignment. Raptor has a very similar feel after the MCBR as it switches direction into the first flatspin. No matter where you sit, the entire train kind of "shimmy's". Not a wheel or train issue. Batman at GL had the same thing in the Cobra Roll, and you always heard it. There was also a point at the end of the ride with the same sound/vibration. Behemoth at Wonderland was butter smooth. I did not feel one bit of shake/vibration (just rode it last year, so not judging based off opening year or anything). Think about it, if it were the trains it would happen anywhere on the ride with similar stresses. Not just one point every time. If you pay attention on B&M's, it happens at the same point, usually at a track connection. This could be due to foundation settlement, for example... Just slightly mis-aligning the precision fit between the two pieces of track causing the wheels to track a bit differently.

Thanks man... Yeah, those parks are simply wonderful to photograph. I am at the point now where I have thousands of pictures from each of those parks that when I go, my main goal is just to do get something different. So bringing my 14mm along with me did just that. That 14mm has became one of my favorite lenses to use at parks due to the perspective. I am excited to use it this year at CP and wherever else. Real, if you want to check out a full size image from that lens email/PM me, you will be blown away at the detail at 100%. Appreciate the compliments everyone. Hopefully they are something a bit different from the norm to look at.

Andy, The 14mm lens is my Samyang 14mm f/2.8... A cheap third party lens (got mine for just about $300), but the image quality is out of this world. The resolution matches or exceeds the 14L which costs just over $2000. Incredible value. Here is a link to a test done with the lens: http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/532-samyang14f28eosff It does have some distortion, but is fixable in Lightroom/Photoshop, and is not a problem for me. It is just amazing how sharp this lens is from edge to edge across the image... But being a fixed 14mm, it is not that versatile, although, it was stuck to my camera most of the trip! Just so much fun to use.

Actually was not too bad. Believe it or not many of these shots had quite a few people in them, but due to the long exposure anything that moves basically disappears. Most of these shots were 20-30 seconds, many people don't stand still that long! Thanks! 30 seconds for that one. Started the shot when the train was on the first midcourse and ended when the train went out of sight.

Have some new photos from a recent trip to IOA/UNI... There have been enough normal shots posted, so this photo TR is showing off these wonderful parks at night. More high-resolution daytime and many more night photos can be seen on my Flickr page here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/invertalon/sets/72157629122153571/ Now on to the photos: Welcome to Universal! MIB Mummy Rip-a-dip-a-rocket-a RIP Jaws... Lake View Terminator One more MIB Citywalk Welcome to IOA Love this park at night... Ready... Set... Go! This part is really beautiful with all the lights and such. Fountain! Train HP Hogwarts Still my favorite area... JP Why, hello! Never been back by this ride at night... Looked awesome, hence this picture. Love this shot... 14mm can fit almost anything in the frame, no matter how close (right up to that railing in this shot). The End!