Today marks the end of a full week at Photo Plus Expo in New York City. In the mayhem that comes with such a large expo, one of the stand out presentations for me was hearing Gregory Heisler speak at the Canon booth on Saturday. I've had the privilege of hearing Greg speak many times and even the chance to interview Greg at Gulf Photo Plus, and each time his presentations absolutely blow me away. In this extended video from BH Photo, Greg discusses how the Canon 50mp 5DsR camera holds up against medium format and large film cameras of the past.
Recently it seems like everyone has something to say about the new Canon 5DsR camera. For some photographers, the new 50mp camera is a complete overkill for their type of work. For others, the welcomed ultra high resolution finally opens up the door for massive gallery style prints of landscape and fine art images. Then there are those photographers who have been shooting on large format or medium format all their lives and are looking for a smaller alternative to the large and bulky Hasselblads and Phase Ones of the industry. Whichever side of the conversation you fall on, the ultra high resolution sensors found in the latest Nikon, Sony, and Canon full frame cameras are sure to make you wonder what the future of digital photography is now that we've raised the bar so high.
What I love about Gregory Heisler is he has pretty much done everything in his long career. His accolades are well known like shooting more Times covers than any other photographer, taking portraits of famous politicians, presidents, athletes, and celebrities, and most recently teaching full time at some of the most prestigious photography universities and colleges in New York. Greg has shot on just about every lens, type of film, camera body, and digital sensor you can imagine. So for me it was pretty interesting to hear his thoughts on the new Canon camera and what the future of 50+ megapixels looks like for photographers and art buyers.
Just a heads up, the video above is long and contains a lot of Canon marketing material towards the beginning. If you are already familiar with the 5Ds series camera and want to skip all the introductions and promo videos, start watching around the 15min mark.
On a completely different note, if you enjoy hearing Gregory's anecdotal stories as much as I do, check out this short interview of Greg by Stumptown Visuals during an ASMP meeting in Oregon a few years ago. In this video he gives a lot of great insight on what he looks for in his subject's expression when shooting portraits.
I've heard a lot of great photographers speak live -- Mark Seliger, Martin Schoeller, Albert Watson, Dan Winters, Jay Maisel, etc.
Greg Heisler was by far the most entertaining and and the most informative. He's a must-see if you ever have the chance.
Re the second video: I just realized that Mr Heisler has no eyebrows.Took me three or four full viewings till I noticed, too immersed in his speech before.