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Return from Maui
14 May 2010, Wednesday

07   08    09    10    11   12    13    14 May 2010          Tech Details

Today we returned to sunny San Diego. The babies had a blast!

 

Katie checks out mom's luggage tags, Maui. 8:39 AM.

Katie checks out mom's luggage tags, Maui. 8:39 AM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 200, Canon 50mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/4.5 at 1/125, no flash.

This is cooler (more blue) than I'd like. I was too lazy to attach my flash, which would have resulted in the great colors I got for all my other shots today. Without fill-flash, I should have tried Shade white balance, since this is in shade. I could have warmed it up in Photoshop, and dodged (lightened) Katie's face, and burnt-in (darkened) her distracting white pants. Better, I should have cropped-off her pants and the blank space on the right, all and all would have resulted in a much better print here.

 

Ryan checks out the window ledges, Maui. 9:07 AM.

Ryan checks out the window ledges, Maui. 9:07 AM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 200, Canon 50mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/4 at 1/80, no flash.

 

Ryan and Katie hug each other!!! Maui. 9:09 AM.

Ryan and Katie hug each other!!! Maui. 9:09 AM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 200, Canon 50mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/3.5 at 1/80, no flash.

The 5D Mark II's meter isn't very smart, so it was mislead by the dark background and tried to make everything too light. I had to dial-in -1 stop exposure compensation.

 

Ryan and Katie check out the view. Maui. 9:11 AM.

Ryan and Katie check out the view. Maui. 9:11 AM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 400 (flash), Canon 50mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/10 at 1/200, Canon 220EX flash on-camera with 1/4 CTO gel.

I still had exposure compensation at -1.

 

Ryan getting on the plane, Maui. 10:21 AM.

Ryan getting on the plane, Maui. 10:21 AM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 200, Canon 50mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/2.2 at 1/40, no flash.

Kids move fast, and this is a grab shot. Canon's Auto ISO isn't programmable, so it usually shoots at 1/40 with a 50mm lens in dim light. On my Nikons, I can program Auto ISO to shoot at at least 1/125, which lest me stop kid motion better. In this case, a Nikon, as I program it, would have shot at a much higher ISO and shutter speed.

 

Katie gets away, Maui. 10:21 AM.

Katie gets away, Maui. 10:21 AM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 200, Canon 50mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/2.8 at 1/50, no flash.

I shot this nine seconds after I shot the previous image. Katie is fast!

I had sharper images, but I deliberately picked this one to show her blinding speed. So much for me whining about the inability to fix faster shutter speeds in Canon's Auto ISO!

The crappy light is exactly that: crappy fluorescent light that looks nasty.

We flew from Maui to Honolulu.

 

Ryan and Katie in the terminal, Honolulu. 11:26 AM.

Ryan and Katie in the terminal, Honolulu. 11:26 AM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 200, Canon 50mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/3.5 at 1/60, no flash.

The terminal and signs are blurred because I'm panning to track my speedy kids. That's why they're sharp.

 

Katie looking under the concrete fence, Honolulu. 11:33 AM.

Katie looking under the concrete fence, Honolulu. 11:33 AM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 400 (flash), Canon 50mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/5.6 at 1/160, Canon 220EX flash on-camera with 1/4 CTO gel.

Katie couldn't see over the barrier. This is what she saw:

 

Honolulu Airport. 11:33 AM.

Honolulu Airport. 11:33 AM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 200, Canon 50mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/10 at 1/640, no flash.

 

Honolulu Airport. 11:33 AM.

Kane, Honolulu Airport. 11:33 AM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 250, Canon 50mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/2 at 1/40, no flash.

Since the sign was dark, I dial-in -1 stop exposure compensation to keep it dark. I straightened it in Photoshop's Lens Distortion Filter, and I also corrected the nasty yellow cast from the nasty fluorescent lights.

 

Looking out the window, Honolulu Airport. 11:57 AM.

Looking out the window, Honolulu Airport. 11:57 AM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 400 (flash), Canon 50mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/5.6 at 1/80, Canon 220EX flash on-camera with 1/4 CTO gel.

 

Ryan gives Katie another hug, Honolulu Airport. 12:05 PM.

Ryan gives Katie another hug, Honolulu Airport. 12:05 PM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 400 (flash), Canon 50mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/5.6 at 1/125, Canon 220EX flash on-camera with 1/4 CTO gel.

I dodged this a little, and pulled out some of the excess yellow from the crappy lighting.

 

Ryan gives Katie another hug, Honolulu Airport. 12:05 PM.

More of the same hug, Honolulu Airport. 12:05 PM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 400 (flash), Canon 50mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/5.6 at 1/80, Canon 220EX flash on-camera with 1/4 CTO gel.

I also dodged this a little.

 

Katie all ready for takeoff, Honolulu. 1:08 PM.

Katie all ready for takeoff, Honolulu. 1:08 PM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 800, Canon 28mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/3.2 at 1/40, no flash.

The light from the plane window obliged nicely: it falls off naturally towards the sides.

 

Kai, Honolulu. 1:25 PM.

Kai, Honolulu. 1:25 PM HST.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 200, Canon 100mm f/2, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/6.3 at 1/400, no flash.

The jet's hot exhaust blurred the bottom of the image. This is otherwise a sharp shot because I was able to open the window as we flew in the pattern, before we climbed to high altitude.

We enjoyed a pleasant flight home for the next several hours. I was even smart enough to have remembered to reset the clock in my camera for the trip home, so my time stamps aren't 3 hours off.

 

San Diego. 9:31 PM PDT.

San Diego. 9:31 PM PDT.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 3,200, Canon 28mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/1.8 at 1/15, no flash.

VR and IS are no replacement for fast lenses when shooting motion. In this case, we're flying at 250 knots. The f/1.8 28mm lens let me shoot at 1/15 of a second at ISO 3,200. If all I had was an f/4 VR lens, like NIkon's 16-35mm, I would have had to have shot at 1/3 of a second, which would have let the lights on the ground blur horribly.

 

Swirl, San Diego. 9:36 PM.

Swirl, San Diego. 9:36 PM.

Canon 5D Mark II, ISO 200, Canon 28mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/1.8 at 1 full second, no flash.

Here's what you get if you use a long shutter speed. All I did to get this was to fix ISO 200, and the camera did the rest. Note that for a 1-second exposure, I can shoot ISO 200 at f/1.8. If all I had was an f/4 zoom, I'd have had to have used ISO 1,000 for the same thing, or ISO 500 with a pro f/2.8 lens.

 

San Diego from the air, 9:36 PM.

San Diego from the air, 9:36 PM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 3,200, Canon 28mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/1.8 at 1/25, no flash.

As we descended, the lights were brighter and this was shot at 1/25. The blurs at the edges aren't motion; they're coma in my 28mm lens. If I wanted to hump Canon's huge 24mm f/1.4 L II with me, it might have been a little better at coma, for four times the price.

 

Touchdown, San Diego, 9:38 PM.

Touchdown, San Diego, 9:38 PM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 3,200, Canon 28mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/1.8 at 1/8, no flash.

The runway is very dark, thus the exposure at f/1.8 at ISO 3,200 was only 1/8 of a second. This is perfect; it gives just the right sense of motion.

 

Katie running away again, 9:54 PM.

Katie running away again, 9:54 PM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 200, Canon 28mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/2.8 at 1/30, no flash.

I dodged much of the lower half of this snap. I also straightened the lines a bit in Photoshop.

 

Ryan and the luggage conveyor, 9:59 PM.

Ryan and the luggage conveyor, 9:59 PM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 200, Canon 28mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/2.5 at 1/30, no flash.

I lightened this a bit in Photoshop, and also tried in vain to make the colors from the nasty fluorescent lights less nasty. Hey, I was asleep and the kids were moving too fast for me to try to set a more precise white balance.

 

A bag approaches, 10:00 PM.

A bag approaches, 10:00 PM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 200, Canon 28mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/2 at 1/30, no flash.

 

Ryan gets one! 10:00 PM.

Ryan gets one! 10:00 PM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 200, Canon 28mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/2 at 1/30, no flash.

 

Ryan gets another! 10:00 PM.

Ryan gets another! 10:00 PM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 200, Canon 28mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/2 at 1/30, no flash.

I had to lighten this a lot; the 5D Mark II's meter was mislead by the reflections from the stainless steel conveyor.

 

That was the last bag. 10:01 PM.

That was the last bag. 10:01 PM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 250, Canon 28mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/1.8 at 1/30, no flash.

 

Van in the hole. 10:22 PM.

Van in the hole. 10:22 PM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 800, Canon 28mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/1.8 at 1/25, no flash.

Ah ha! Someone carefully parked their van underground, and when they come back in a week and discover a 1/4" of dirt and dung on their roof and look up, they'll discover that they've been parked under a big hole.

Note how I caught myself in shadow in the upper right corner.

 

Taxis. 10:24 PM.

Taxis. 10:24 PM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 200, Canon 28mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/2 at 1/30, no flash.

At f/1.8, I can shoot in the dark at ISO 200; not bad!

I got to ride shotgun in the van home.

 

Whee! 10:25 PM.

Whee! 10:25 PM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 2,000, Canon 28mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/1.8 at 1/30, no flash.

I darkened this a bit in Photoshop with a curves adjustment layer. As expected, the 5D Mark II's meter isn't very smart, and overexposed due to all the dark sky.

Digital really shines for hand-held night shooting. I could never shoot film like this: notice how the camera automatically pulled-up ISO 2,000 all by itself. With film, I'd still be at ISO 50. With fast fixed lenses, digital sees in the dark as well as we do - or better.

 

McDonalds stop. 10:38 PM.

McDonalds drive-through. 10:38 PM.

Canon 5D Mark II, Auto ISO 3,200, Canon 28mm f/1.8, Professional exposure (P) mode chose f/1.8 at 1/25, no flash.

it was dark, but the 5D Mark II and f/1.8 lens just kept on shooting. Believe it or not, mom got the van to stop at McDonalds on the way home. We were famished, and we all had a good time.

 

That's it!    return to start of trip.

 

07   08    09    10    11   12    13    14 May 2010          Tech Details

 

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