Monthly Archives: February 2020

Fast, expensive and heavy. Flagship camera bodies launch into the world on a bow-wave of macho fanfare as every photography store and tech blog (Fixation included) shouts “Have you heard the new Spec?!” Promises that you will capture the action are rouseing but, in the interest of balance, we asked some Fixation customers why they choose flagship camera bodies for a wider range of subjects.

Recently we featured music and food photographer Justine Trickett on Nikon, and live theatre & performance photographer Johan Persson on using Sony.
This time corporate and hospitality photographer Mark Weeks explains how the 1D series from Canon has been the cornerstone of his business since 2005.

The Canon 1D series has been part of my arsenal since the very early days of my business. When I finished photo school in 2005 I knew that to compete at the top level, I’d need a top-level camera. As I had always shot with Canon, but which body and lenses to get were a bit of a minefield. As I was fresh out of school, I asked existing pros what they were using. The consensus was the 1DS series, and most had the 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses.

Doing the research was the easy part. Buying it was a bit more of a stretch. The cost for a newly graduated student was quite steep, but I figured it was a solid investment in my business. At the time I had a landlord who was a filmmaker—he advised me to buy the best I can afford (or thereabouts) and go from there. If you’ve got the gear, you’ve got one step ahead of the competition. Around that time a friend who is a fashion photographer pulled me in to look at two prints: one shot from a 1DS and the other made with a 5D. She asked me which was which. While they were fairly close, I was able to discern a marginally better quality from one of the shots—which ended up being the 1DS shot. Whew! It was enough of a difference to convince me I’d made the right decision.

After seven years with that camera body, I moved onto the 1DX. I bought two bodies and kept the old lenses. The new camera brought some really good new features, and the quality was better than the 1DS (as it should have been!). I’d taken on a few video commissions and we did a test of the video on the 1DX and the 5D. The 1DX won hands down. Once again, I knew I’d made the right decision, as image quality for me is paramount.

I work mainly with large international businesses and hotel groups. My clients demand the best, and as I have chosen to go after this market, I need to do everything I can to ensure I deliver accordingly. The value of having the 1D series is the confidence that I have the best that Canon has to offer. I keep my gear in good knick and expect it to last a long time. While I have the confidence in the system I have, it is not without its own set of issues. Soft focus when shooting at f2.8-3.5 still gets to me. The camera says it’s focused on the eyes, but in reality it’s focused on the lapel…and of course the weight. The camera is heavy. I find a monopod most useful as the day bangs on (my own walking stick of sorts), but it works for me. The price is not for the faint of heart, but it’s well worth it. I’m planning to move onto the latest and greatest this year, the EOS 1DX mark III, and have full faith that it will serve me well for another chunk of my career.

Mark Weeks produces photography and video for international businesses and hotel groups. See more of his work at markweeks.com
Canon released its new flagship DSLR camera body the EOS 1DX mark III in January.

Flagship cameras are all about performance, they do their job and they do it well. Flagship bodies come out ahead of big sporting events. This year, with UEFA Euro 2020 and the Summer Olympics in Japan, we have seen the launch of new bodies from Canon, Nikon and Sony. However capturing sport is only one application for these incredibly versatile cameras.

Fixation is lucky enough to work with photographers in all genres. We invited some of our customers to talk about why they choose flagship camera bodies for a wide range of subjects.
Last week we featured music and food photographer Justine Trickett on Nikon. This week we have turned to Sony and invited live theatre and performance photographer Johan Persson to write about using the Sony A9 series.

Professionally I shoot a lot of live performances for theatre, opera and dance. Having the latest and best equipment is imperative for getting the best results in what is often challenging lighting and shooting scenarios. I initially chose to go with Sony because of it’s ability to shoot silently, which in my field of photography is incredibly beneficial.

Having said that, stage lighting is occasionally a challenge for mirrorless cameras causing banding in some cases. The sensor technology in flagship A9 mark 2 is the only one of it’s kind. It is the best for handling banding and now with the dual UHS-II compatible SD card slots, 10 frames a second mechanical shutter, amazing ISO and auto focus capabilities, I feel secure in knowing that I can get good results in any situation I’m faced with.

The Sony A9 mark 2 is the camera of choice for me.

Johan Persson is a photographer specialising in portraiture and promotional and production photography for live theatre. See more of his work at perssonphotography.com

Flagship bodies are the showboats of any camera manufacturer, released among fanfare and celebration with glowing reviews from ambassadors who have worked with the major brands behind the scenes ahead of the launch. But the sport and press focus, and the price point of the cameras can make them feel somewhat exclusive.

Fixation is lucky enough to work with photographers in all genres. We invited some of our customers to talk about using Nikon, Canon and Sony flagship camera bodies for their work to cut through the hype and find out why they are the cameras of choice for a wide range of subjects.
First up, for Nikon, we have music and food photographer Justine Trickett, read her take on working with the Nikon D4s below.

I work with a Nikon D4s because I require high performance and fully manual control that isn’t compromised by gimmicks. When I was choosing the camera I wanted something that felt as close to a manual film camera as possible but with a really good digital sensor and image processing. It also needed to be sturdy for my festival work so I am glad that there is no pop-up flash or tilt screen as I would probably break these, and the weather sealing has successfully seen me through blizzards and powder paint fights.

A feature I find invaluable is the high ISO performance. A lot of my work involves conveying the mood of available light and therefore I require a camera with an image sensor which can give me a similar level of quality for low light photography as for photos shot in daylight. My commissions vary – for restaurant and art gallery clients they can be asking for photos of their guests enjoying themselves in the evenings, whereas for live music photography you want to capture outstanding split-second moments in flashing lights – but for many of my low light shoots a common theme is that I find myself pushing my camera ISO to 4000+. These photos simply wouldn’t be possible without a camera like the Nikon D4s which can handle these higher ISOs well.

I would likely stick with this camera series in the future so long as it still fits my requirements and continues to be focused on the essential needs of professional photographers.

Justine Trickett is a photographer and writer specialising in live music, festival and food photography. See more of her work at justinetrickett.com