BCNH: Extreme Crop.....or Not??? VOTE PLEASE!!!

[Doug Brown]

You be the judge. What's your best guess on the percentage of full frame that this image represents? I'll give you the answer in the next day or two. This was taken during my recent California trip.



Canon 5D Mark II, 600mm, f/5.6, 1/1600, ISO 800, manual exposure, hand held

[allanrube]

35%.

[Doug Brown]

While we're at it, why don't you share your definition of an extreme crop when you cast your vote.

[Paul Randall]

I own the old 5D and I find I can crop very aggressively when I have a well exposed/detailed image.
I guess the definition of a big crop depends on the camera. On my 5D, I would say that anything less than the equivalent to quarter of the frame would be a big crop.
This image looks to be somewhere between a half to a quarter the size of the full frame image in my opinion.:cool:

[Doug Brown]

58 views and only 3 guesses is pretty weak! It's not like I'm charging a dollar per guess. What's keeping everyone from venturing an educated guess?

[Randy Stout]

Doug:

With a camera like the 5D, big crops retain good image quality. Since we know this was well exposed and probably pushed to the right on the histogram, I will speculate and say a 60% crop.

Great eye and pleasant background too.

Randy

[Mike Tracy]

If I wasn't lazy I would go out side and replicate this somewhat as it reads at 22 meters. My somewhat educated ( questionable I know ) guess is this is 20% of full frame.

[Doug Brown]

No fair looking at the EXIF data Mike! ;) I'm still looking for guesses, but I'm also interested in opinions on whether or not this is a keeper. We've had a number of good discussions on cropping on BPN, but images are where the rubber meets the road.

[Marina Scarr]

Not lazy just not at all technical. But having some positive experience with cropping captures from my 5D, I am going to go higher with at least 50%.

Love the pose, sharpness and BG here (minus the second catchlight). ;)

Marina

[Mike Tracy]

No fair looking at the EXIF data Mike! ;) I'm still looking for guesses, but I'm also interested in opinions on whether or not this is a keeper. We've had a number of good discussions on cropping on BPN, but images are where the rubber meets the road.

It's no different then if you have to guess how many ping pong balls fill up a car. Still just a guess as I had to do the fuzzy math in my head.

Whether it's a keeper is subjective. For someone just venturing into photography this would knock their socks off. Those with more advanced skills and a discerning eye might pixel peep. Personally I think it's a keeper due to the details in both the blacks / whites, DOF and critical sharpness of the eye and tip of beak.

[Doug Brown]

Thanks for the explanation Mike. You are forgiven for cheating.

[Thanaboon Jearkjirm]

I'll guess it's 30% of the original.
As for extreme crop I think it's depend on what the image is intended for, as long as the image looks sharp with good details for what application one intend to use it for I think it's okay.

BTW, your BCNH looks sharp with good details and a nice background to add.

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

beautiful eye contact,pose,bg!

[Doug Brown]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Thanaboon.

[Stu Bowie]

Hey Doug, seeing that you are asking for guess's on the crop, I reckon you are proud of yourself with the quality of this image due to a "large crop". OK, firstly I reckon about a 75% crop, and due to no loss of detail, I would keep this any day. ( I would remove the second catchlight ;) ) Cheers.

[Gal Shon]

I would say 30% - 40%, this is based on what I know from my 1.6 crop camera.
But since the 5Dm2 has better IQ and a bigger sensor, my guess is that its even less, maybe something like 20%

[Doug Brown]

So is it image quality at whatever size you intend to use the image or some other factor that determines whether a photo is a keeper or not?

[Doug Brown]

The purpose of this post wasn't the image itself. The image is OK. But I'm always fascinated with peoples' opinions about cropping. To me, this image works great at 1024 pixels wide. That's all I really wanted out of it, so it's a definite keeper. I would have liked more pixels on the subject, but it was not meant to be with this particular bird. FYI, this was a measly 7% of full frame! It was my first time using a 5D Mark II (kindly loaned to me by Arash Hazeghi) and I was really impressed by the detail, even with huge crops. Here's the full frame image with the crop superimposed.

[Ron Bernstein]

I'm really amazed at the quality of this image given the extreme crop. Thanks for the interesting discussion!

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Uggh. Just when I had finally convinced myself not to upgrade my camera. This is amazing!
What post processing steps did you perform on the image in pane 1?

[Doug Brown]

Did you manually put the descriptive text in the tlc or is that a preference setting in PS ?

This is actually a Lightroom screen capture Peter.

[Doug Brown]

What post processing steps did you perform on the image in pane 1?

Sharpened the bird a little and ran a bit of NR on the BG, but that's about it. My experiences with the 5D Mark II have me thinking seriously about getting one.

[Dan Brown]

Amazing detail at the distance to subject Doug! Handheld with a 600mm lens too (I know because I was standing next to him with my tiny 80-400!) You "NEED" a 5D!

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

HI Doug
I am late to the party..... :(
Considering the huge crop there is some serious detail in the image. Paul Randall and I were actually e-mailing the other day talking about how good a FF sensor is and that frame rate is not the be all end all. I have at least four more years before I can upgrade my camera body so there is plenty of time to wait to see how sensors develop and improve. Though I am still a fan of not cropping so much. But as said, if the end result is suitable than it's OK. ( I suppose) :p

[Doug Brown]

I'm not a big fan of heavy crops either Akos. But it's hard to fill the viewfinder with a full frame body and a 600mm lens (unless you live in Florida :p). I'm still thinking about a 5D for places like Costa Rica.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Very funny Doug. :) You and your domesticated Florida waterfowl......I need to puke.. :( Why can't we train them like that in Oz? :D

[Rob Miner]

Hey Doug, Are we confusing the question? Is cropping a quality of the photographer or the "end" presentation?

Rob.............

[Doug Brown]

I guess it's all a mindset really. A crop sensor does the cropping in camera. With a FF sensor you do more cropping in post (assuming you can't fill the frame with your subject). I just like to see my subject large in the viewfinder, and that's not nearly as easy with a FF body as it is with a 1.3 or 1.6 crop body. That said, I still think there may be a place in my camera bag for a 5D Mark II.