Jump to content

jemini_joseph

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    525

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by jemini_joseph

    Ft. Myers, FL How about bird photography coming weekend?

    in Nature

    Posted

    Sergey,

    Thanks for the info. I have to find out how far is Shark Valley and Venice rookery from where I'll be staying. I'm trying to be there by sun rise so that I won't lose any minute :)

     

    Mike I know you were teasing. I love canon's IS lens, especially 500/4. But I cannot afford it now. May be some day. I'm trying to get 300/2.8 IS as the first lens...

    First time Travel with big tripod and lens

    in Nature

    Posted

    Thanks Mike, Steve and Greg. This is what I was looking for. I'll be carrying the lens in a 21" carry in bag which is the standard size for airline travel..

     

    I'll make sure I pack the tripod well between dresses. The head is Kirk BH-1 ball head. So there's not much levers around. Still I'll remove it from tripod and pack it seperate...

     

    Thanks again..

    Jemini

    First time Travel with big tripod and lens

    in Nature

    Posted

    Need urgent advice on how to pack big tripod

    and lens for travel. I'm planning to take the

    lens with me (500mm, 13" long 7LB) in the carry

    in luggage and pack the tripod in check-in bag

    for my trip to florida this friday.

     

    Does any of the airlines will stop you from carrying

    the camera with us? Considering the size and weight

    it can be treated as a weapon for terrorists :)

     

    Planning to pack the tripod between dresses. So that it should

    be safe too..

     

    Any advice??

     

    Thanks in advance

    Jemini

    Ft. Myers, FL How about bird photography coming weekend?

    in Nature

    Posted

    Mike, I'm putting all these info into my palm pilot, so that I won't lose them. Someone in dpreview said that she was there couple of weeks back and there are lots of birds. I have two days, but most probably won't be able to spend much time on sunday. But I'll try.

     

    "The fact you aren't shooting a Canon could hold you back a bit. ;)"

    Hmm, well I miss the IS and superub autofocus. But I cannot afford their 500mm IS or any high end camera. So I got to live with my tiny tools :)

    Ft. Myers, FL How about bird photography coming weekend?

    in Nature

    Posted

    Can anybody tell me if this is a good time for bird photography

    in florida? I read January is a good time. Early february is ok?

     

    I'm going to Ft. Myers this weekend. I'll get a day for birding.

     

    Is there any particular place I should go? I want to get maximum

    birds within a day :)

     

    BTW, I have 500mm+1.4TC and D70. So my reach is 700mm on digital which

    is 1000mm angle of view.. Is this good enough?

     

    Thanks in advance..

    Is Gimbal Head or sidekick much better than Ball head?

    in Nature

    Posted

    That explains it. Mistakes are paid and in this case it's real easy to make it. :(

    Couple of times I took the hand off the lens. Luckily the head was stright up, so nothing happened. I was wondering why no company is making an automatic mechanishm to lock (at least to hold) it.

    Some manfrotto lower end heads has this. Once you please the camera on the head, you can just take the hand off. I love it.

    Is Gimbal Head or sidekick much better than Ball head?

    in Nature

    Posted

    Thanks Mike

     

    "having witnessed a 500 F4 and Canon 1DmkII fall 5' off a Sidekick for no apparent reason. "

     

    Hmm, this scares me..

    I've tried King Cobra from a friend of mine. In fact I wasn't impressed. I thought it was almost impossible to lock it motion free. I might be wrong. It can be the particular piece. But my BH-1 if it's on a solid surface (this is very important) it locks the lens absolutely. But the problem is when I add the TC. Well, I guess I have to live with it..

     

    I've tried the long lens techniques explained above. I get result at times, but not always. Well, I guess I have to practice it little bit more.. Anyway I'll try to find a cheap side kick...

    Is Gimbal Head or sidekick much better than Ball head?

    in Nature

    Posted

    Thanks a lot for the replies guys

    I think I got the answer. It won't add any more stability,

    but lots of flexibility.

     

    I don't care much about the ball head alone because 500mm is the

    only lens I have. So at the moment just a wiberly would be nice.

    But I can see that adding a second small lens to my setup which can

    be a 300/4 or 80-400 VR (or the canon equivalent). Well, if money

    allows. :)

     

    Sounds like Sidekick is the best option at the moment. There's one

    Side kick in eBay right now. let me go and try for that :)

    Is Gimbal Head or sidekick much better than Ball head?

    in Nature

    Posted

    I know Gimbal head has the huge advantage of safety. The lens

    won't flip-off even if you take the hand off leaving the

    head losen.

     

     

     

    Other than that does Gimbal control the small vibrations

    better than ball head? I'm talking about the small vibrations

    that can happen when you use 2X TC with a 500mm lens.

     

    I know IS is the best option for this. But it's not an option for me

    at the moment.

     

    I use Kirk BH-1. If I buy a sidekick, would that help a lot? How about

    the Wimberly Gimbal? Is it better than side kick and ball head?

     

    I'll be using it with 500mm lens and 500mm+1.4TC

     

    Thanks in advance..

    Does New VR lenses work on tripod?

    in Nikon

    Posted

    Vince, you are right. I know my Sigma 500+ 2X produces very sharp results when tested on 1548 tripod with high speed from a cement platform. But in real life it's almost impossible to get very sharp results. So I gave up my TC-20E for the time being. Hand holding one thing. But avoiding the small vibration because of huge magnification is another...

    Anyway I'm looking into 80-400 as a backup/travel tele. I cannot take 500mm and tripod for a weekend trip..

    Does New VR lenses work on tripod?

    in Nikon

    Posted

    I couldn't see a definitive answer to this question. Many people say,

    manual says this work. But seems nobody tried it. Can someone try

    this please? I know the older VR (80-400) won't work. But how about

    200-400/4 and 200/2? If this works this will help avoid the vibration

    when you use TC and the effective focal length is 1000 or more.

    Thanks in adcance

    Is a Gitzo G1548 overkill for my purposes?

    in Nature

    Posted

    Doug,

    I've used Gitzo 320 (Aluminum) and then upgraded to 1548. I've tried 1325 from a friend of mine with 500mm+2X. I felt it had lots of vibration. I could not get any sharp image at all. That's why I went to 1548. I've tried 1325 with fully extended columns. I think if you don't have VR/IS, 1548 won't be an over kill... Good luck

    Ball-Head For Sigma 500mm f/4.5 APO HSM EX?

    in Nature

    Posted

    Jeremy

    Soon or later you will find out that a good tripod and head is a must for a 500mm lens.

    When I was going through this face, someone suggested that if I cannot afford the tripod

    and head, better to sell the lens and get used lens and get some money for tripod.

    I had a 200 dollar tripod+ head combo at that time. I end up spending total 500

    (275 used BH-1 head and 225 for Gitzo 340 aluminum)

    which gave me enough. Later I bought Gitzo 1548 though. You will see the difference would be

    day and night. <br><br>

    Please note that Kirk BH-1 and AS B1 have the capacity of 90LB. Our lens+camera ususally weighs

    around 10LB. Manfrottos usually has 10-20LB capacity. So you can see how much of a difference

    these things make. Well, it all depends on how much sharpness you need. If you are not

    a sharpness freak like me, then you have many choices... How about this?<br>

    <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=272990&is=REG" target=w-2"

    > Manfrotto 490 Maxi </a><br<br>

     

    But like most other people above, I also think

    that a serious lens like what you have need a serious tripod.. I know each buck is a concern

    for people like us on a budget :) I bought and sold few heads before settling with the BH-1.

    I could have saved all those money and get the brand new ball head instead of trying save

    50 or 60 dollars.<br><br>

    Good luck

    Ball-Head For Sigma 500mm f/4.5 APO HSM EX?

    in Nature

    Posted

    Ellis <br>

    Sorry this is not an answer. One additional question if you don't mind. You said you've played with 400/4 DO lens and 400/2.8 lens. How's the image quality compared between these two lenses? I heard mixed reports on DO lens. It's my dream lens as it's very small and IS. Any images on web? <br>

    Thanks in advance

    Nikon 80-200 vs Sigma

    in Nikon

    Posted

    This is mainly because the lens has the motor in it to do the focusing. Non HSM or Non AF-S lenses are driven by camera. So the AF speed depends camera too. But HSM is great even with smallest camera. Good luck

    Safety

    in Nature

    Posted

    Travelling in India (and may be many third world countries) is riskier than being in US. I'm also from India and when I travelled I made sure won't go alone or just with our family to remote places. Most of the time I had friends with me. If you have more than one men in your groups generally you will be safe. I think Cities are much safer generally. But the equipments can be stollen.
×
×
  • Create New...