Artists Portraits Shot With The Original Canon EOS 5D

Photographer Mike Kobal posted a series of portraits he shot using the original Canon EOS 5D (still on sale on eBay). As you probably know, the EOS 5D was a game changer, the first affordable full-frame DSLR. Lots of professional photographers were excited by the possibility offered by a full-frame sensor. Sure, it was not a perfect camera, it was a new kind of tool. As Mike Kobal writes:

A craftsman is only as good as his tools. Certainly a true statement, one could add, a good craftsman knows the limits of his tools. The 5D was the first affordable full frame camera, very exciting break through and the sensor beat pretty much anything out at the time except for a few medium format offerings. I loved mine because it was compact, I could easily pack two. I did not have to take out a loan either, all I had to do was sell my 1Dseries bodies. Af was not as good, well, it sucked but I found a way to work with it. Buffer, when shooting raw, wasn’t great either and neither was the LCD. But what mattered to me most was there, a full frame sensor, producing very sharp files thanks to a weak AA filter and it was damn good in low light compared to anything else available. Color depth and dynamic range weren’t great and it was a problem in underexposed beauty shoots.The answer to that was to not underexpose. The 5D was great for my type or work. As a sports photographer I would have never touched it. 12mp was plenty for most publications.

Check out Mike's work on his site.

A lot happened in the evolution of full-frame sensors since the days of the original Canon EOS 5D (it was 2005 when the original Canon EOS 5D was released). Digital sensor technology made leaps forward, and the tech is getting cheaper. Take the Canon EOS 6D (price & specs) for instance, Canon's entry level full-frame DSLR which is selling good and is becoming highly popular. DPreview published their in-depth review of the EOS 6D just a few days ago.

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