Canon EOS 5D Mark III + EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro Lens an Appetizing Combo (Shooting Food at ISO 6400)

A couple of days ago, my cousin and I along with our spouses went across the border for our monthly seafood odyssey at New Tanjung Seafood restaurant in Miri. Normally on trips like this, a Canon PowerShot G11 fits the pocket and also fits the purpose — pictures of food which you may have see on Facebook: New Tanjung Seafood, Deep Fried Butter Calamari Rings and Seafood Take-out. With convenience usually comes compromise and the trade-off I am talking about is image quality (IQ) — the visual details that jump out at you, mess with your head and make your day miserable. OK, I admit I have managed to pull that off with a G11 too but only because they’re bite size small like Facebook and blogs.

The original file was shot at ISO 6400, f/2.8. Click on image to view unedited image.

My cousin's glass of Guinness Stout backdropped by New Tanjung Seafood restaurant's red checked tablecloth. I had one of the cross-type AF focus points locked on the beer head (foam). If you've ever shot with a 5D Mark II's and this delightful macro lens, you may already know that focusing using the non cross-type peripheral AF points is a hit-and-miss affair. The 5D Mark III demonstrated no such problems locking focus.

The point I wanted to make in this post pretty much ends with the Stout. Yum Seng! The pictures below are some of our regular favourites I thought I would share.

The original file was shot at ISO 6400, f/2.8. Click on image to view unedited image.

The starter we can't do without — a large appetizing order of wild ferns cooked in red wine makes this our huge all time favourite.

Click here to see a 100% cropped view of the centre of the image below

Delicious cockles we normally just call clams or "see ham" in most understood term by the Chinese community.

Deep Fried Butter Calamari (Squid) Rings with fragrant garnishes. A recipe that has recently inspired Indonesia restaurant Pondok Sari Wangi in Brunei to create a similar offering.