If you've been following the release of Canon's new 5D SLR, you'll have noticed a price drop of about $650 since its release in November of 2005. It's arguable that Nikon's 10.2 MP D200 was giving the 12.8 megapixel (MP) Canon some pressure, because it's still selling for nearly $1000 less than the 5D. While the 5D has a full-frame sensor (meaning that there isn't the field-of-view crop), new SLR buyers will likely not find this enough of a distinction to choose the 5D.

For me, the Nikon/Canon choice was already made: I already own Canon lenses. And I'd been waiting (and waiting) to make the move from the 6 MP D60.  When I learned of Canon's $300 rebate on the 5D, it seemed the time was right.

We weren't going to False Kiva until later that afternoon, so I suggested that we shoot some ruins in the Island in the Sky's Aztec Butte, which I'd just learned about from Laurent Martrès book "A Guide to Photographing the Southwest - Volume 1". It's picturesque, and what's more, it's quite close to False Kiva. We visited only two of the half-dozen or so ruins on these two small buttes, but both were quite photogenic.

Some will find it disturbing that False Kiva is also in Martrès book. I last visited in November of 2003 (my entry still in the logbook there), and I can tell you that it is much more popular. The trail to it is now quite distinguishable from the lightly trod animal paths that also head the same general direction. And remarkably, one other photographer also showed up while we were there. We stayed late, walking out in near total darkness, and caught some of the last tables at the Moab Brewery before retiring for the evening.

Later, when I looked at some of these pictures, I noticed some vignetting, which I realized likely came from stacking a polarizer on top of a UV/haze filter. Yes, it was now quite clear that I was shooting with a full-frame sensor, perhaps exacerbated by the fact that the viewfinder shows "only" 96% of the image area. As dpreview points out in their 5D review, this is something Canon 20D (and D60) users will have to become aware of when using their 5D with wide-angle lenses at maximum apertures.

In the bright sunlit conditions we were shooting under, I discovered how to use the auto-bracketing feature, but found out that doing manual exposure compensation was perhaps more intuitive. Adjusting ISO speeds is easier than on the D60, and has a maximum range of 1600 (instead of 1000). The D60 user will also like the 5D's focussing:  There are now 9 AF points (and 6 'invisible" ones), and much much better low-light focus. Other advantages are that the 5D powers-on instantaneously, the LCD is significantly larger, and the image processing and write speeds never left me wanting.

Besides these obvious benefits, the physical size and overall similarity to earlier Canon DSLR models may leave the new 5D owner wondering why they spend a small fortune on the upgrade. I'd argue that, once you get past the added functionality, you may not realize what you've got until you work on a large print. I've done a 12x18" 5D print that was rather stunning (even if it was just a test snapshot). I can't wait to see what a professionally-produced 20x30" print looks like, as soon as I get something worth blowing-up to that size.