Photographer’s Corner Words By Brice Burkhardt
When prepping for the race weekend, what do you normally bring with you? Sunscreen, water, maybe a camera or two? For us at OMGDrift, it’s normally a huge bag of gear including cameras, lenses, memory cards, filters, maybe a laptop or two, spare batteries, and an assortment of items. In my bag, I have the relatively new Canon 6D, an affordable alternative to the almighty 5D III, one of Canon’s Pro level full frame DSLRs. The 6D is missing alot of features from the 5D III, such as the huge amount of focus points and a few nice features, but for the price, I couldn’t resist finally owning my first full frame camera. Why is full frame such a big deal? Quality for one. You don’t lose the details your lens was made to absorb. Using a prime feels so much more satisfying when you get to see what the lens was meant to take in. Having used a T1i (one of the cheapest DSLRs available) and a 7D (admirable sports body), the feel and image quality of the 6D were above what I had hoped for. Of course, when I go to events, I need to carry a little longer lens to feel like I have the reach that I had on the crop body, but overall, the cropping isn’t missed. While shooting felt tighter on the subject, it wasn’t actually letting me see further, but in reality, I was seeing less of the image that was actually there, a detail I feel like a lot of photographers miss.
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Paired to my 6D is the 24-105 f/4. While there are a few dozen lenses I would rather have in my bag, I’m still in college working when I can, so I decided to go with an affordable lens in the middle of quality and price. It has a red ring, distinguishing the 24-105 from Canon’s cheap line of lenses and showing you and your clients that you are in the upper category of photographers. Do I miss having the extra stop of light that puts me in the f/2.8 bracket, hell yeah. But for now, it works well in most situations, with my cameras capabilities making it easy to work with in countless situations. Would I suggest giving these items a try? I have no real qualms with my equipment, other than seeking a better focus system and a few more stops of light in my lens. If money wasn’t an issue, I would have a different setup for sure, but until I finish school, this setup will definitely get me through the season. I’ll continue to rent the lenses that are just outside my reach price wise, which is definitely the direction to go on a budget. While equipment won’t give you talent, it certainly helps you get the final product that you desire. Get out there and shoot guys!