As part of the introduction of Canon’s long awaited EOS 5D Mark IV release, Canon Singapore invited Michael Ori and Timothy Tan as speakers of the Take on The Infinite Seminar, held on 24 Sep 2016 at the Raffles City Convention Centre. The seminar attracted more than 400 photography enthusiasts and professionals who were keen to learn more about the new features of the EOS 5D Mark IV as well pick up some useful tips from the invited speakers.

Michael Ori

Hailing from Salt Lake City, Utah, Michael Ori (above) is a renowned videographer/ filmmaker who runs his own production company Ori Media. Michael’s session was divided into two parts: the first was on capturing 4K video on the new EOS 5D Mark IV on site with the ability to extract high-resolution stills, and the second part was a direct live stills shoot with a demonstration of the selection and editing process.

Michael’s Digital Imaging Technician (DIT), Joey Jonaitis (above), was onsite to assist Michael with the video and photo editing process. Both Joey and Michael shared on how the Canon 1D C series cameras were invaluable tools for their earlier work, giving them the ability to pull out high-resolution images without any banding or loss in quality.

Ori Media’s latest fashion narrative “Solemn Oath”, which was entirely shot on the new EOS 5D Mark IV, was also shown for the first time to the attendees. Michael gave a brief explanation of the behind-the-scenes making of the video, demonstrating the high-performance capabilities of the new EOS 5D camera.

The highlight of the first session was the live demonstration of the 4K video recording on the new EOS 5D Mark IV, with a wedding couple modeling on stage. Michael’s candid explanation of the video recording process as well as great interaction with the models kept the whole atmosphere relaxed and entertaining- it was evident too that the participants were having a great time learning.

Once the 4K video footage was recorded, Michael passed the memory cards to Joey who used software to extract high-resolution 8MP JPEG stills from the footage. Joey also selected some of the files to be printed on Canon’s top-of-the line imagePROGRAF PRO-500 professional photo printer, which produced stunning prints straight (see above) from the JPEG files.

A tip that Michael gave was to capture video in 4K quality whenever possible because one would never know when the high-resolution JPEG files would come in handy. He cited an example of a client’s fashion campaign which was shot on traditional film got damaged during the development process. Thankfully, Michael shot the entire campaign on 4K video and the JPEG files extracted from the video saved the day!

During the second session, Michael conducted a live stills studio shoot on stage which was tethered directly to the computer screens. Joey demonstrated the new Dual-Pixel RAW (DPRAW) feature of the EOS 5D Mark IV, which allows for microadjustment to the position of maximum sharpness and resolution when the RAW files are processed with Canon’s Digital Photo Professional (DPP) image processing software. Prints were also made on the imagePROGRAF PRO-500 professional photo printer direct from the files tethered to the computer.

Summing up the engaging sessions, Michael told the audience to always deliver what the client wants first but also take time to experiment and learn new techniques or explore new styles. After the session ended, many participants went to the stage to look at the prints produced the demonstration but also spoke with both Michael and Joey extensively to get more tips and advice on photography/ videography and features of the EOS 5D Mark IV.

Timothy Tan

An experienced local photographer with a special interest in motorsports and sport photography, Timothy Tan (above) provided a more technical explanation of the new features of the EOS 5D Mark IV. Timothy highlighted the versatility of the new camera in different shooting situations such as landscapes, sports, nature and portraiture.

Being an avid motorsports photographer, Timothy was particularly impressed by the improved Autofocusing (AF) system as well as the live-view touch screen capture feature. The increase to 7 fps on the EOS 5D Mark IV was also a welcome feature, especially for sports and wildlife photographers.

After trying out the new EOS 5D Mark IV under different shooting scenarios, Timothy summarised the performance of the camera as the hybrid of the best: having the same AF system of Canon’s top-of-the line EOS-1D X Mark II, the same improved mirror mechanism of the 50MP EOS 5DS and the metering system of the sports/ action oriented EOS 7D Mark II series camera.

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