A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to attend a Canon Experience Day, with the chance to try out Canon’s two high resolution cameras, the EOS 5Ds and 5Dsr. Helping out, were two Canon Ambassadors, David Clapp and Tim Parkin, along with Canon Representative, Rob Cook.
Normally when trying out gear, you get a quick few minutes at trade shows and don’t have a chance to take images away with you. However, the idea of the Experience Days, is to really gain some experience with using the equipment available. It wasn’t just the camera bodies either, with a range of lenses also being available to try out. I was also able to try out the bodies with my own lenses and use my own memory cards, so that I was able to examine the images and compare to my own equipment in full resolution.
Conditions weren’t ideal for showing detail, as conditions were very foggy, but it was still possible to practice landscape photography in the more demanding conditions found in the Hound Tor area of Dartmoor and later around the abandoned barn at Emsworthy.
I started off using the EOS 5Dsr for a few hours around Hound Tor, coupled to the highly rated (if difficult to perfect) TS-E 24mm tilt and shift lens. Despite it now being a few years old, this lens really showed what the 5Dsr can do, showing a high degree of resolution and detail. My own EF 24mm f/1.4 was also able to show additional detail, when compared to what my 5D MkII can achieve.
After a foray into Widecombe for a late lunch, we moved on to Emsworthy Barn. This is an old abandoned barn, situated amongst traditional drystone walls. By this time, I had swapped the 5Dsr and TS-E lens, for a 5Ds and a 16-35. This combination was visibly less sharp, even in the extremely foggy conditions (which may actually have exaggerated the difference) and I was also able to make a direct conparison between the two bodies, using my 24mm lens. This location enabled me to take some images, I don’t often get a chance to try out, as I would normally be wary of heading to the moors in such conditions alone.
As the light dropped, it was time to head home. It was a very interesting day and a rare chance to try out equipment, I may consider purchasing, before I take the plunge. It has also given me a new perspective on the current very high resolution cameras on offer and rather than get a second MkIII as backup, I would be more inclined to go for the 5Dsr instead, as the price difference is relatively small for the resolution advantage gained, particularly, as I could even see the difference in detail when viewing at 50%, the zoom level I use to estimate print sharpness and detail. The various crop options and ability to use at a lower resolution for many shots, would lessen the impact on cost for computing power and storage space, making it a more sensible choice, than it may otherwise have been.
In Somerset, flooding is an annual event on the Levels and the whole landscape is built around flood defence. There are many spillways from the network of rivers that wind there way across the moors and marshes, not to mention hundreds of man-made Rhynes and even river systems to help drain the floodwater away. These spillways divert the water away from the rivers onto the low lying moors, deliberately flooding the farmland to protect the major towns of Taunton and Bridgwater, but also to help protect some of the small towns and villages directly on the Levels. This event was different however. The spillways worked as normal and the pumps were pumping water further downstream into the River Parrett, where it could pass out to the Bristol Channel. However, the whole system simply couldn’t cope with the rainfall and the water volumes involved. There are four main rivers, flowing down from the Quantock Hills, Brendon Hills and Blackdown Hills onto the Somerset Levels, converging on the Parrett before flowing out to the Bristol Channel. The Rivers Isle and Yeo meet the Parrett near the town of Langport and the Parrett burst its banks, flooding one of the trading estates. Further upstream, the Yeo also burst its banks, as did the Parrett, cutting off the village of Muchelney.
Further downstream, at the convergence of the Rivers Parrett and Tone, more chaos ensued, as the Athelney Spillway and the various pumping stations and other Spillways were overwhelmed. North Moor, Curry Moor, Salt Moor, Stan Moor and Southlake moor all flooded as normal, but the flood water kept rising, until it breached the raised A361 road in a number of places, resulting in closure of the road, as well as the nearby A372. The villages of East Lyng and Burrowbridge were also cut off for a time. The amount of rain was so great, that the water levels on the Levels and Moors were still rising a week later, thanks to the runoff from the surrounding hills. At one point, the water was rising at a rate of 3 centimetres each day, over a huge area. Extra mobile pumps were installed to try to pump out the flood water, but the rivers were so full, that pumping downstream became an issue, particuarly as the heaviest rain coincided with a high tide, putting the large town of Bridgwater at risk from sea encroachment.
Two weeks after the event, water levels are beginning to recede, but the village of Muchelney remains cut off and the A361 is still closed, although some drivers are attmepting to drive through. High sided vehicles seem to get through ok, albeit slowly, but it is still impassible for cars. After looking at maps, trying to determine exactly where the road was closed, I decided to drive to Burrow Mump, near the Tone and Parrett convergence, yesterday to view the extent of the floods. Even two weeks after the flooding and despite receding, the flooding is extensive, with water up to the base of the hill at a couple of points.