I've had the Canon 5D for exactly 24 hours now, so I thought I'd write down my thoughts regarding the camera.

Everyone wants to know where I bought the 5D -- B&H Photo in NYC -- I've been a long-time customer - not sure if that made any difference. I will say I sign up to be notified about all sorts of new products coming out (I'm still waiting for the 5D battery grip), and last Friday morning an email popped up informing me that a few 5D's were in stock. I immediately hit the PURCHASE button - and the camera showed up yesterday morning. Not bad.

I picked up a 2 gigabyte CF card to go with it - and I'll say I wish I would have picked up the 4 gig instead -- the 5D eats cards for lunch! I went through one card in less than 30 minutes yesterday - and I wasn't doing anything I normally wouldn't do. Oh - I did have the 5D set up to shoot RAW with a fine jpg to go with it -- so that probably ate up a lot of the space.

What I love about the camera:

• FEELS like a professional camera - not much bigger than my 20D -- but it's just more substantial


• HUGE LCD - twice the size of the 20D


• QUIET shutter -- very quiet -- and very smooth


• RGB and luminance histograms - really nice to make sure colors aren't blown out, etc.


• Image quality is unreal - much better dynamic range - shadow detail, etc


• View finder is BIG and BRIGHT - amazing when you compare it to a 20D


• ISO setting now visible in view finder - big deal for me when night shooting


• Reads and writes data FAST - and displays images much quicker than on the 20D


• Working with FULL FRAME is pure heaven


• High ISO shots are wonderful --- ISO 1600 shots I took yesterday were just amazing

What I don't like - or wishlist:

• Live histogram would be sweet - especially useful for night shots


• Images are still a little heavy on the red side - slightly better than the 20D, but not much

I'll try to update this list as I go along. I really enjoyed shooting with the camera last evening. I think I took just over 300 images - maybe 400 - and the battery didn't move a notch. I read somewhere that the battery life isn't as good as the 20D - that may be, but so far so good.

The 5D is well-balanced and the controls are where you'd expect them to be if you're use to the 20D. I had no problems in the field at all with figuring things out -- and I haven't removed the wrapping from the manual yet!

I thought about all this last night - when the light finally died and I had to head home. The reality is the 5D is about $2000 more than a 20D - so you'd expect to have all these nice features. You also have to ask yourself if the price difference is worth it. For me - well - the next full moon is the Harvest Moon - and rolls around in a little over 12 days - so we'll see. I suspect I'll get some AMAZING night shots from the 5D. I can't wait to see what full frame fisheye shots look like -- I can only imagine. If they turn out to be anywhere close to what I think they will be -- then, yes, the extra money is well-spent.

Also, for me - I love to photograph people using fast glass (big wide apertures - f/2.8 and wider) -- and I really appreciate that nice blur you get from these lenses. One thing I did notice when reviewing my images late last night is it seems like the blur (bokeh) is just so much nicer now - it could be because of the full frame capability - not sure - but it sure is nice.

I try to shoot the majority of my every day shots with film. I just love film. I've come to know the characteristics of many different films, and it's second nature to use the right film for the right situation. With film, I know what results to expect. That's not always been the case with digital images. I've found it very difficult to shoot with a digital camera in the past - mainly because I'm accustomed to using a certain film for a specific purpose. My 20D just gave me the same result every time -- it's just a digital computer - so I suppose that's what it's suppose to do - but still...

That being said - I think the issue around film versus digital -- for me -- was more than just 'the same result every time' - I think it had a lot to do with the whole crop factor -- not having the same field of view with a specific lens I'm so accustomed to on a standard 35mm camera. It was always strange working with the crop factor - and then shooting with a 35mm film camera. I just didn't like it - so I used my 20D mostly for night shots (nothing - in my opinion - beats a digital camera for long exposures). Now -- after just a few hundred shots with the 5D - I can see myself migrating more and more to digital. I like the image quality much more than what I got from the 20D (can't put my finger on why, exactly), and I have my field of view back! So - whether I'm working with a film camera -- or the 5D -- the view is pretty much the same when using a specific focal length -- and I really like that - a lot...

I hope to get out later today for more shots. I'm hoping to find a few people to let me take their photo -- I'd like to see what the camera can do in low-light situations. If I can't do that - I may set up some lights tonight and do some self-portraits...

Stay tuned -- the 5D rocks!