Those of you who know me will be aware that I like to shoot with equipment that is often condemned as 'obsolete' or of dubious quality. As NZ moves into the spring after an extremely wet year (by May we had already exceeded the average annual rainfall and it didn't improve 😢 😰 😱 😵), and our weather pattern moves from La Nina to El Nino, we can expect much drier weather, along with warmer temperatures and longer daylight 😎 - YIPPEE!!!
To mark the occasion, and my own ability to finally get out and shoot for a longer period, I set up a meeting for my camera group at the local Botanical Gardens, which is just starting to show the blooms of Spring. After a discussion with a member about their 'inadequate' gear, I decided to shoot with two cameras: the EOS 80D, my favourite APS-C DSLR, with the EF-S 18-135 IS USM attached, and the mirrorless version of this, the EOS M5 with the 11-22, 18-55 and 55-200 lenses along for the ride. They had the latter and said that is why they get poor images. I hope that my efforts will encourage him away from upgrading the technology towards improving his technique... 🙄
All shots were hand-held, available light, using spot metering and spot focus. The 80D had BB focus lock and BB metering lock, while the M5 had BB metering lock and focus assigned to the shutter button. All images were single shot.
I have absolutely no idea about what plants are what, and the labels were not attached yet. The bird is the NZ Native Wood Pidgeon, the Kereru, which is one of our larges birds and is pretty chilled out. See if you can spot the image with the tiny insect included!
While the M50 and M50II have been very popular for vloggers or hybrid shooters, I have always considered the M5 the better unit for stills photography - the inclusion of the exposure compensation dial on the M5 being one example of that direction. I still like shooting with it, although likely would be less inclined to reach for it when doing sports or fast wildlife, it's great for more static subjects like landscapes, flowers, architecture, street or portraiture.
