Digital Blasphemy

A twenty-year review of my ancient Canon EOS Digital Cameras 

It's something that I've been planning to do.  A review of my Canon Digital cameras and the image quality.  So make your own mind up and draw your own conclusions. 

There's lots of photos to look back on from my archive of images from around the globe.  To be honest, my camera equipment is now showing its age, it's a bit like me.

Semipalmated Sandpiper
 Porth  Hellick
 Isles of Scilly

Date: 02/08/2003

Model: Canon EOS D60  Canon Lens (mm): 300 and ISO: 100 Aperture: 7.1 Shutter: 1/400 Exp. Comp.:-.3

Program: Aperture Priority  Focus Mode: One-Shot AF

Gannet
At Sea
Isles of Scilly

Date: 27/08/2005  

Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark II  Lens (mm): 300 ISO: 160 Aperture: 4.5

Shutter: 1/5000 Exp. Comp.-0.7  Program: Aperture Priority Focus Mode: AI Servo AF

You'd think with the advances made In digital photography with SLR, Mirrorless  cameras, megapixels, sensors, autofocus, lens optics, and screens resolutions, and so on, you'd be thinking there'd be a massive improvement, in image quality. There has been in certain areas, an improvement, flip out, rotating screen and resolution, autofocus speeds, operating system, menus etc.  

I'm now starting to feel, a bit of a photography dinosaur, now after 50 years of photography, using a variety of different formats 35mm, 6cm x 6cm square images on 120, 126mm,  Slides, and print film, Polaroid's, medium format, Hasselblad's etc and finally Canon EOS Digital.  

Steve Young from Birdwatch Magazine ( my amigo) said back in the day,  digital photography, it's never gonna catch on,  in those days we'd sell prints to birders of rare birds, we've never let him forget what he said about,  Digital photography and how it is now mainstream.

Short-billed Dowitcher
Isles of Scilly

Model: Canon EOS 550D ISO: 200 Aperture: 6.3 Shutter: 

1/640 Exp. Comp.: +0.3 Program: Aperture Priority Focus Mode: One-Shot AF

 I owned full-frame cameras that we're at the time was the very best you could get,  I have other types that could rattle off 10 frames a second, which I rarely used the high frame rate, which would occasionally frighten off the bloody bird.  That's a good thing about mirrorless no shutter noise,  I've almost always had the latest high-end cameras from Canon. But for me at this moment in time, I seem to be reverting backwards in time.  All I'm using my camera and lens for is just to record what I've seen, I guess that's what most bird photographers do? 

Razorbill
Isles of Scilly

Date: 16/06/2004

 Model: Canon EOS D60 Lens (mm): 300 ISO: 200 Aperture: 5 Shutter: 1/2500

Exp. Comp.: -0.7 Program: Aperture Priority Focus Mode: AI Servo AF

 I've never really felt the need to use all those bells and whistles that we're on offer in the sub-menus. I'm a bit of an instinct photographer, a single shot at a time, when everything looks right, I Press the shutter

Black-capped Petrel
Off Auckland New Zealand

Date: 31/03/2008

Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark II  Lens (mm): 300 ISO: 400 Aperture: 5.6 Shutter: 1/4000 Exp. Comp.: -0.7 Program: Aperture Priority  Focus Mode: AI Servo 

But can I justify spending another £3.500+ on yet another Digital camera? for my low-resolution Birding Costa Blanca blogs. 

White Chinned Petrel
Little Barrier Island Hauraki Gulf.

 Auckland New Zealand

Date: 12/11/2003

Model: Canon EOS D60  Lens (mm): 300 ISO: 100 Aperture: 4 Shutter: 1/800 Program: Aperture Priority

Focus Mode: AI Servo AF

  I don't think I'll be winning any awards for my type of photography nowadays as it's mostly now from cars and hides.  I'm not getting down and dirty for a bird's eye view,  I find it hard just getting down there never mind getting up nowadays.  I'm not supplying rarity bird images for publishing and probably not reaching the minimum requirements needed, for publications.

Cream coloured Courser
Isles of Scilly
Date: 13/10/2004

Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark II  Lens (mm): 600 ISO: 100 Aperture: 8 

Shutter: 1/500 Exp. Comp -0.3 Program: Aperture Priority Focus Mode: One-Shot AF

My good friend and amigo Hadoram Shirihai, who's is the most brilliant photographer /writer/ researcher said to me this. .... His camera and lens is just a tool to help his research, which did wind me up no end because of the fantastic photographs he takes. And the camera for him was just like a brush is to a painter/artist.

Montague's Harrier 

Extremadura Spain

Date: 14/05/2016

Model: Canon EOS 550D  Lens (mm): 840 ISO: 200 Aperture: 7.1 Shutter: 1/1000

Exp. Comp.: -0.3  Program: Aperture Priority Focus Mode: One-Shot AF

My question is this?

Can you see any difference between theses photos taken with my various ancient relic Canon Digital Cameras the very top photo a Semipalmated Sandpiper is taken with a mere 6.3 megapixel D60  but it doesn't look any worse or any better than the Canon 760D 25 + megapixel Alpine Accentor photo?  

Great Spotted Cuckoo

Guadalentín Spain

Date: 17/04/2018

Model: Canon EOS 5D full-frame Lens (mm): 840 ISO: 100 Aperture: 7.1 Shutter: 1/800 Exp. Comp.: -0.7

 Program: Aperture Priority Focus Mode: One-ShotAF

 I'm I going mad?  

Honestly, I'm not seeing any major difference in images quality?  considering the difference in pixels size, density, crop sensors, and full-frame, and very little different between the cameras over the last twenty years of research and development.

 I must be missing something?

 I get it, that more pixels make bigger enlargements and finer detail possible, but do we need a 2 foot high Alpine Accentor photo?

Alpine Accentor
Pyrenees Spain

Date: 19/06/2017

Model: Canon EOS 760D Lens (mm): 840 ISO: 400 Aperture: 7.1 Shutter: 1/2000  

Exp. Comp.: -0.3 Program: Aperture Priority Focus Mode: One-ShotAF

 If anything digital noise looks a little bit worse on the Canons latest 1.6 crop sensors cameras.  (It might be different on the mirrorless camera? ) I guess because there cramming more pixel in the same crop sensor resulting in more noise.  Post-production noise reduction can be used with care, it does add a little softening and loss of image detail.

Wilson Snipe
Isles of Scilly
Date: 23/10/2007

Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark II Lens (mm): 600 ISO: 100 Aperture: 8 Shutter: 1/32 Exp. Comp.: -1.0 Program: Aperture Priority Focus Mode: One-Shot AF

Interesting comparison of images over time"

All images processed in the latest Adobe Camera RAW, only basic level's and sharpening applied, little or no noise reduction applied

Pied Wheatear
Isles of Scilly

Date: 16/10/2003

 Model: Canon EOS D60 Lens (mm): 840 ISO: 100

Aperture: 5.6 Shutter: 1/800 Program: Program AE Focus Mode: One-Shot AF

Desert Wheatear
Isles of Scilly

Date: 12/10/2010

Model: Canon EOS 40D lens (mm): 840 ISO: 400 Aperture: f8 Shutter: 1/3200 Exp. Comp.: -1.0 Program: Aperture Priority Focus Mode: One-Shot AF

American Golden-Plover
Tresco
Isles of Scilly

Date: 04/10/2006

Model: Canon EOS 20D Lens (mm): 840 ISO: 200 Aperture: 9 Shutter: 1/1000 Exp. Comp.: -0.7

Program: Aperture Priority  Focus Mode: One-Shot AF

Buff-breasted Sandpiper
St Agnes
Isles of Scilly

Date: 17/09/2006

Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark II  Lens (mm): 840 ISO: 200 Aperture: 5.6 Shutter: 1/2000 Exp. Comp.: -0.7 Program: Aperture Priority Focus Mode One-Shot AF

Royal Tern
Cuba

Date: 13/01/2008 

Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark II  Lens (mm) DO: 400 ISO: 125 Aperture: 5.6 Shutter: 1/2000 Exp. Comp.: 

Program: Aperture Priority Focus Mode: One-Shot AF

Short-tailed Albatross
Chichijima Northern Pacific
Date: 01/05/2008

Model: Canon EOS 40D  Lens (mm): 400 ISO: 125 Aperture: 6.3 Shutter: 1/1000  Program: Aperture Priority Focus Mode: AI Servo AF

Kagu New Caledonia South Pacific

Date: 09/04/2007

Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark II  Lens (mm): 135 ISO: 250 Aperture: 5.6 Shutter: 1/80

Exp. Comp.: -1.0 Program: Aperture Priority

Focus Mode: One-Shot AF

Conclusion my personal view

My favourite Canon Digital camera body of all time fast accurate autofocus and

pin-sharp images never miss a shot

Canon 1D Mk Il only 8.2  megapixels and a 1.3 crop

King Penguin
South Georgia South Atlantic

Date: 20/03/2006

Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark II  Lens (mm) DO 400 ISO: 200 Aperture: 10 Shutter: 1/200

Exp. Comp.: -1.7  Program: Aperture Priority Focus Mode: One-Shot AF

The Canon D60 is a bit of a relic at only 6.3 megapixels it's a bit slow autofocusing using a telephoto lens and challenging for seabird photography, but I've used it and done it and the results are fine.  I've seen it for sale on eBay as low as 99p in working order with a lens attached, I think I paid about £1.300

Southern Royal Albatross
Kaikoura New Zealand
1/11/2003 

Model: Canon EOS D60  Lens (mm): 130 ISO: 400 Aperture: 6.3 Shutter: 1/640Exp. Comp.: 0.0 Program: Aperture Priority Focus Mode: One-Shot AF

below is my list of the Canon cameras I've owned and or still have

EOS 550D/Rebel T2i/Kiss X4 

EOS 650D/Rebel T4i/Kiss X6i

EOS 760D/Rebel T6s/8000D

EOS 5D 

EOS-1D Mark II 

EOS-1D Mark III

EOS D30 

EOS D60

EOS 10D 

EOS 20D

EOS 40D

EOS 50D

Mirrorless Canon EOS M

my wish for rain has come true

Thanks to the rain God

hope you've enjoyed my review

Have a great day

Cheers BT