Byron Ballooning by PeterEastway

The view from the balloon on the second morning - yes, I was lucky! I had two flights! Photographed with the new Canon EOS 5DSR and a 70-200mm Canon L series zoom. Check out Byron Bay Ballooning next time you're up there. I have finally been able to play more seriously with the new Canon EOS 5DSR, the latest 50-megapixel DSLR and, along with its cousin the 5DS, the only 50-megapixel DSLR! Canon hosted a Tales By Light weekend festival up in Byron Bay early this month and I was lucky enough to be invited along with Darren Jew and Krystle Wright. We got to meet some great people, print some photos, watch some movies and go on some amazing shoots. I think Krystle and I were the fortunate ones because we took two balloon rides over the idyllic Byron Bay hinterlands. Sorry, Darren! Shooting from a balloon is deceptive. It's usually so still you hardly feel you're moving. However, you certainly can be moving quite quickly and the trick is to keep your shutter speeds up to avoid subject blur. Standing in the balloon, you'd be forgiven for thinking 1/30 second was fast enough, and sometimes when the balloon is stationary it is, but to be safe, I'd be shooting at at least 1/125 second. And for the larger sensor cameras (36-megapixels and up), I'd push that to 1/250 or even 1/500 second. This is just a rule of thumb - the shutter speed you need will be dependent on how fast you're moving as well as how close you are to the ground. The compromise with fast shutter speeds is either wider apertures which might not be quite as sharp as mid-range apertures, or higher ISO speeds which can introduce noise. This is especially an issue in the dawn light before the sun comes up, but essentially you have a choice of sharp photos or 'grainy' ones. I like sharp ones! Personally, I don't mind a little texture in my photos and, when shooting with 50-megapixels, you find the noise greatly disappears when you're making smaller prints or posting them on the web. And let's not be too critical about all this. While there is more noise than the EOS-1 DX, for instance, what noise is there is a very minor concern for what is being offered. My first impressions of the EOS 5DSR are very positive and that it has a superb sensor. The limiting factor will be some of my older lenses. Canon is on a winner here and, yes, I have bought one! #talesbylight #canonaustralia #canoncollective via 500px http://bit.ly/1JpclkQ