Reviews of the new Canon 6D Mark II keep coming in, and the feelings of users still seem mixed. Chris and Jordan from The Camera Store TV made a fantastic hands-on review with the latest Canon’s model. They will give you all the good and the bad sides of this camera, both for photography and the video. There definitely are both sides, and it’s up to you to choose which ones will prevail when it comes to your decision to buy this camera.

VIDEO

Advantages

The first advantage Chris points out is that Canon 6D Mark II is very good at high ISO. It doesn’t produce much grain even at very high ISO values, which makes it a great camera for low light conditions.

He also notices a good anti-flicker ability in sodium-vapor lights. You may find yourself shooting under those in some halls, sports arenas or gymnasiums, and 6D Mark II deals with these lights without any white balance issues.

6D Mark II features 45 AF points, all of them being cross-type. According to Chris, the AF tracking is good, and the shutter is stable.

Finally, the camera is fairly easy to operate, and everything is familiar. If you are already a Canon user, you shouldn’t find anything difficult to get used to.

Disadvantages

Judging from Chris’s and Jordan’s experience, Canon 6D Mark II seems to have more disadvantages than advantages. Or at least, they are more serious.

First of all, it only has one SD card slot. Considering that even some cheaper and crop sensor camera have two slots, Canon should have definitely reconsidered this before production.

Chris discusses the relationship between cost and value of this camera. Does it really give you what you should be getting for $2000? One of the points here is the lack of pop-up flash. Although it’s a full frame camera, it’s an entry-level full frame, so it should probably have a feature like this. There’s also the 90% viewfinder coverage, which isn’t a deal-breaker, but it would be expected.

Although the 6D Mark II features a new sensor, it was the biggest disappointment for Chris. It has a low dynamic range, which means you can’t get as many details in post-processing. Even some official comparative tests show that the dynamic range results are disappointing in comparison with other cameras. For example, Canon 5D Mark IV is better at pushing shadows and highlights than the 6D.

When it comes to the video, Jordan jumps in with a few of his conclusions. The first comment, of course, is the lack of 4K video. It has the 1080p, but the quality isn’t as good as you’d expect, according to Jordan. The headphone jack is also missing, and it seems like there is a place where it should have been integrated. All in all, Jordan definitely don’t recommend it as a primary video camera.

So, is the 6D Mark II good for anything? According to Chris, it could be good as a backup camera. But neither he nor Jordan recommends it as the primary one. After all the hype about this model from Canon, it seems that its performance is not exactly stellar. But of course, it all depends on your wishes, needs, and preferences.

[Canon 6D Mark II Hands-On Field Test | TheCameraStoreTV]

Total solar eclipse is coming on August 21, and I guess your cameras and protective filters are ready. But before you start filming or photographing this phenomenon, would you like to see the first ever photo of it?

Prussian photographer Johann Julius Friedrich Berkowski was the one who took the first correctly exposed daguerreotype of total solar eclipse. It was on July 28, 1851, in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad). No one before him managed to do it; it’s not an easy task even today. But Berkowski made a breakthrough 166 years ago.

Berkowski was a local daguerreotypist, and the Royal Prussian Observatory commissioned him to capture the total solar eclipse. No one before him did it, as the photos would turn out under or overexposed, or there was an insufficient contrast between the corona and the moon.

As published in the Acta Historica Astronomiae, Berkowski used a small refracting telescope, attached to the hour drive of the 15.8-cm Fraunhofer heliometer. The exposure time was 84 seconds, taken shortly after the beginning of totality. According to the same journal, A. Busch, the director of the Royal Observatory, observed the eclipse at Rixhöft. Later on, he published some details about the daguerreotype Berkowski had captured – but without mentioning his first name.

Busch ordered R. Trossin, a local artist, to make an enlarged steel engraving from Berkowski‘s daguerreotype plate. As for Berkowski, he made some daguerreotype reproductions of the original plate himself. To this day, one of them is still preserved at Jena University Observatory.

166 years ago, a truly impressive photo of the total solar eclipse was made. And today, we are only weeks away from the opportunity to make our own (at least you guys in the US). So, get your gear ready, and don’t forget to keep yourself and the camera safe.

[via DPReview, Acta Historica Astronomiae]

The Hot rod on Fire Shooting inspired me to this one. But there was a huge difference, this photograph was done with only one exposure. We got it done after a lot of preparation – a nearly 3-Meter-long diy fire torch, two strobes and a 4.4 Seconds exposure created this image.

VIDEO

Planning did take much longer this time, because we had to build a small pond including a platform for the reflection. Additionally, I had to cut down some branches from a tree to get enough space.

First of all thanks to the Muckendorf-Wipfing fire department for the heat-proof suit. My shopping list was huge, from odorless lamp oil (thanks a lot to the Facebook group Feuerspucker und Feuerkünstler for all the information), to a cooking pot, an aluminum bar, carabiners, chains, damp sheets, till a pool liner and much more.

I love taking lots of time for just one photograph. I’m sure that comes from my wet plate photography. The moment when you see everything worked out like you imagined after the shooting is priceless.

I used again the 35mm lens and my Canon 5D. I started with only one strobe, but had to add a second one later to get a better light on the wedding couple.

Safety first, because of that we did a lot of precautions before the shooting, to moisten the whole backyard for example. Beside of that, it is helpful to have many helping hands. Thanks to Alex, Wolfgang and Sebastian for that! Also, a big thanks to Veronika and Andreas for your patience. In exchange for that you got a unique photograph and a memory you will remember.

About the Author

Markus Hofstätter is a professional portrait, events and sports photographer based in Austria. He has a passion for analogue and wet plate photography. He loves travelling to visit new places and meeting new people. You can find out more about him on his website or blog, follow his work on Instagram or Facebook or reach out to him through Twitter. This article was also published here, and shared with permission.

I’m a landscape photographer. And I’m part of a crazy lot. I had this realization during a sleep deprived afternoon. My hazy mind was trying to get me through the rest of the day. It was also trying to comprehend how I arrived at the miserable state I was in.

It wasn’t hard to come 5 reasons why we landscape photographers definitely have a screw loose.

1. WE WORK CRAZY HOURS

Good light happens when it happens. Unless you live at the extreme upper or lower latitudes of our planet, that means sunrise and sunset. Sunrise shots are rough if you like sleep. A 5AM sunrise might mean getting up at 2AM to reach a location. On the good days, we get 30 minutes of excellent light on either side of sunrise. Then trudge out of wherever it is we trudged in. We’ve put in a full 8 hour day before most folks have had their second cup of coffee.

Getting to that sunrise location might include a significant hike. In utter darkness. Over uneven terrain. On a narrow path along a cliff edge. In coyote or bear country. That’s a smart place to be when you’re half awake, right?

The sunset shoots don’t deprive us of sleep. Instead, they deprive us of food. While most others are enjoying dinner and drinks, we are laden with gear and out at a location. Our stomachs remind us how long ago lunch really way. And our tongues promises to declare mutiny if we reach for another energy bar.

What about astro photography? The best of both worlds. We are sleepy and hungry. And usually cold. If you’re a night owl, maybe you’re just hungry and cold. It’s kinda scary, too. Every stray sound is surely a wild animal that wants to eat us.

2. WE TRAVEL VAST DISTANCES FOR BRIEF MOMENTS

Landscape photographers will travel hundreds or thousands of miles for brief moments of light. That travel may include multiple planes, trains, and cars. Throw in a physically exerting hike in extreme cold or hot temperatures… you get to wondering pretty quickly “Why am I doing this?” That’s of course if we have the mental capacity to compose a sentence due to the sleep deprivation.

Did I mention we are carrying some serious gear all the way? Good glass is heavy. Solid tripods are heavy. Of course, we have a backup camera body. You brought water and energy bars, right? Water is heaviest when it’s not in our bodies. Surprisingly heavy. Depending on the weather, we might also be hauling camping gear.

Astro photography is almost a guarantee of a long day’s journey. We have to get well outside of any city for a dark sky. And I use the term “city” loosely. The lights of a small town are enough to ruin a night sky photo.

Have you ever felt you’ve found The Middle Of Nowhere? I have. I also think landscape photographers are mapping the areas of the planet not covered by mobile phones. I’ve pretty sure I’ve found half of the 3% of the United States not covered by AT&T.

3. WE GET UNCOMFORTABLE FOR OUR PHOTOS

Getting out of bed and getting to the location is just the beginning. We want unique angles and strong compositions. We want our own unique take on the landscape before us. Sometimes we push ourselves hard to achieve that.

As a seascape and water lover, that means getting wet. To capture the photo above, I was in rushing ocean water with surges about thigh deep. I was wearing denim. Why? It was January. It was cold on land. It was raining just 40 minutes before I took the photo. I hadn’t planned to get in the ocean that morning. However, that’s where the photo was. I left cold and damp (and grinning).

The truly dedicated spend several days off the grid for the epic photo. Bug bites. Inclement weather. Blisters. Sunburn. Cuts. Scrapes. Standing still. Yeah… standing still. That’s a lot harder than it seems. We find a perch that has the composition we want, set up all the gear, and… wait. Sometimes we wait hours for the light to be just so. I have a deeper appreciation for the unsung folks in museums, banks, and shops that simply stand the majority of their day.

4. WE INVEST HOURS IN A SINGLE FRAME

The planning, travel, and field time alone are hours of time invested in a photo. There is a bunch of learning we do up front. Countless hours spent learning our camera system. We toil over endless frames to determine the sharpest focal lengths and apertures – for every one of our lenses. We learn filter systems and specialty gear, too.

For our very best work, we invest another large chunk of time in front of our computers post processing. We pixel peep. We root out dust spots. We squint as we adjust tone, color, contrast and sharpness. We selectively brush in effects. We mask. We unmask. We round trip through plug-ins. We blend layers. We retouch again.

How many post processing tools have you learned over the years? I can rattle off close to a dozen without breaking a sweat.

5. WE CAN’T WAIT TO DO IT AGAIN

After the planning, the learning, the traveling, the hiking, the sore muscles, the cuts, the bruises, the joys, the disappointments – the hours invested in a single frame… we cannot wait to head out again for another adventure. When the soreness has left our bodies and the chill has left our bones, we begin planning again. The cycle repeats.

Even after the most dreadful shoot that tests our will and yielded no keeper shots, in a few days we want to try again. Perhaps it’s the chase of the next great photo is the thrill. The next amazing frame is just around the next bend in the trail, over the next peak, around the next rock.

I WOULDN’T HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY

Landscape photography is a labor of love. Outings can take days, weeks or even months of planning. Our muscles ache from an arduous journey to reach our chosen location. Mother Nature may or may not cooperate. Some days we leave with no photographs to show for our efforts. Although I’ll argue we always leave a shoot with something more. Experience matters in my book.

Landscape photography has hurdles and challenges – like any genre of photography, really. There are pain points. A hefty investment of time is required. It takes focused effort to learn the craft and create a great photo.

We are landscape photographers. We are crazy. We may be certifiably mental. We are genuinely nutty. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What did I miss? Share your top reason landscape photographers are just a wee bit batty.

About the Author

Scott Davenport is photo educator and landscape photographer based in San Diego, California. If you’re visiting San Diego and want to meet up for some 1-on-1 coaching, you can contact him, or join one of his workshops. You can check out his store for various photography products, too.

He is active on social networks, so other than his website, make sure to follow his work on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. This article was also published here and shared with permission.