shawngibson

<p>Hey guys, happy Saturday:)</p> <p>I've seen several lenses from Japan I'd be interested in purchasing on Ebay. Does anyone have shipping/customs/duty experience with such coming to Canada?</p> <p>Merci:)<br> Shawn</p>

<p>>>with a little nubbin on the inside to actuate the aperture lever on the back of the Canon FD lens</p> <p>Is that like mink oil? lol</p> <p>The Novoflex is the best? This is what I see:</p> <p>http://www.novoflex.com/en/products/adapters/adapter-finder/+/camera_id/22/lense_id/7/</p>

<p>>>In practice these things always degrade the image to some degree. OTOH, you can get a FD to EF adapter with no glass (sometimes called 'macro adapters') but it will preclude your ability to make infinity focus.</p> <p>I don't need infinity focus.</p> <p>If I'm reading all of this correctly, since putting the 85FD on the Oly would not really be something I would do, I should concentrate on an FD to FE adapter? In other words, the adapter for this lens won't be part of my normal workflow...yes? That's fine. I need to re-read all of this now to see what adapter is best for a straight FD>FE marriage.</p> <p>Shawn</p>

<p>Dave and Louis, you posted while I was writing. Now I'm getting very confused lol.</p>

<p>Hi Professor, and thanks.</p> <p>I want all of my lenses to be compatible on both cameras, so a Metabones adaptor (not the reducing one, just the one with AF for EF lenses...no glass in the Metabones) is the best way to go.</p> <p>For example, I can mount a 300/4L on the Sony and get 300mm. On the MFT I can get a 600mm FoV and retain AF and electronic info, i.e. adjust the aperture via a dial on the Oly.</p> <p>So basically:</p> <p>Sony A7II>Metabones EF> any AF Canon/Sigma/etc AF lens<br> OM-D EM-1>Metabones EF> any AF Canon/Sigma/etc AF lens</p> <p>Main reason for the MFT is to get maximum reach for wildlife.</p> <p>I suppose the 85/1.2L FD on an Oly would be 170mm and f/2.4 or so...</p> <p>Main thing here is to get the FD lens on to the Sony without buying a million adapters and having it compatible with an EF mount so that both cameras can use it...</p>

<p>Hi All,</p> <p>I'm usually pretty good at figuring adapters out, but in this case, I'm a bit lost.</p> <p>In order to fit an 85/1.2L FD to an FE or MFT (via Metabones EF adapter), what adapter do I need to buy to use an FD lens?</p> <p>I see most of the FD>EF adapters are stupidly cheap and have glass in them. I'd rather pay more and have no glass and a quality product. Is that possible?</p> <p>Again, it will have to mount to a Metabones EF mount in order to work on both a Sony A7II and Oly EM1.</p> <p>Merci:)<br> Shawn</p> <p> </p>

<p>Hi guys,</p> <p>Erwin, yes: medium drag, don't lock down, take the shot.</p> <p>Mike, picture this:</p> <p>360 (horizontal) head with camera<br> underneath that:<br> Video head, moves vertical, locked into tripod</p> <p>Moving left-right is no issue.</p> <p>Moving up down is wonky because the rotator is above the video head. If the horizontal is off by a few or many degrees, then the vertical is at an angle. Only way to get true horizontal or vertical is to rotate the camera.</p> <p>Shawn</p>

<p>Thanks everyone. I've checked to see if the collar is "true" with vernier calipers. It is. I used the inner marker to check. Interestingly, I had to move the calipers a lot more out to check the outer mark (is that normal?).</p> <p>Hector - I'm not familiar with these. Basically, I'm looking for a ball-bearing -type setup. tight= no movement; loose=buttery smoothe.</p> <p>Mark - there are no screws that I can see?</p> <p>Erwin - Not video, but very smooth head movement for stills of living animals...on a budget...while also having a pano head (vertical and horizontal). So basically, I've mounted a pano head and a video head together. The pano and video head work well together, but the camera, on the pano head, is stubborn. I'll attach a pic if needed, if I am clear as mud. Basically, I'm trying to create a single head that works for panoramic stitching and Gimbal movement (I hope that makes sense) when chasing living creatures at the zoo etc.</p> <p>I took a fine file and removed the orange-peel (i.e. thick blobs of paint) from the lens (didn't cut through the paint, i.e. just the surface) and it helped a bit, but it's still very choppy. </p> <p>Shawn</p>

<p>Thanks Laura. The collar is loose enough to move freely. The inside of my collar is a felt material, and the lens is crackle paint, I suppose OEM finishes? </p> <p>This binds and is not fluid for tracking. </p> <p>When I say I want it to be fluid, I mean kinkless, so to speak, so I can track quickly.</p> <p>Lens is mounted on a fluid 360 head. The head moves up/down and left/right effortlessly, but I can't turn the camera angle without a bunch of choppiness. It moves, but 'chops' occasionally. Not good for live subjects...</p> <p>Shawn</p>

<p>Hi guys and gals.</p> <p>Do any of you have any experience getting a tripod collar to move very smoothly, as in, like butter?</p> <p>I'm currently trying to get a camera mounted on a Canon 300/4L to move effortlessly/kink-free but that ain't happening.</p> <p>I'm thinking if I (carefully) remove the paint from both the collar and the lens with a Dremel and add some grease, it will help.</p> <p>Ideas?</p> <p>Merci:)<br> Shawn</p>

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<p>BeBu - my fading recollection of that ingenious idea was that it 'barely worked'. I could be wrong, but I don't have positive memories of what I read about it. On that note, I miss my Contax S2.</p>

<p>I've been following this on the Sony Rumours site. To ask a very dumb question, would this work with something like a 600mm Nikon AIS or 500mm FD 500/4.5 (i.e., not af) mounted on a tripod? Obviously the camera, not the lens, would move in such a case, and I can't imagine such a small movement working on such a long FL. Would it work as a 'fine focus' after getting coarse focus manually via the lens?</p>

<p>Hi All, Happy Thursday:)</p> <p>I have my A7II set up exactly how I like it, namely, I don't have to remove my camera from my eye while shooting/composing to change all of the things I find necessary to change quickly (I always shoot in Manual mode). To wit:</p> <p>AEL button: focus (half press on shutter deactivated - note, I rarely use AF)</p> <p><br /> C1: zebra off/%<br /> C2: magnifies current focus point (peaking is on)<br> <br /> C4: drive mode (I make snap decisions based on whether I have a moving subject, or want to rapid fire a bunch of EVs, for example)<br> <br /> Front and rear dials: aperture and shutter speed<br> <br />Wheel: ISO<br> <br /> Wheel button: change focus point</p> <p>I can do all of this while not moving my eye from my subject/camera from my eye, and I'm curious if I can get the same functionality out of the EM1? Of course, the methods may be different, but is it possible to set the EM1 up in such a way as to have all of the above using a button/wheel pushy-turny-thingy, i.e. not moving the camera from my eye?</p> <p>As an aside, since I use all adapted lenses (Metabones Smart Canon adaptor) is there any reason to go for the EM5II over the EM1? It would cost about the same, since I'd definitely want the (non-battery part of) the grip for the EM5II.</p> <p>Merci:)<br /> Shawn</p>

<p>Thanks all,</p> <p>JC, much appreciate your efforts here.</p> <p>Seeing as the goal here is maximum reach, without having the funds to get absolutely maximum quality, I've decided to heed the advice here and go for the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary (Canon mount with Metabones smart adaptor), and I'll mate it with either an OMD EM1 or A6000. The former gets me a 300-1200mm field of view, and mates perfectly with my A7II with the Canon 300/4 (a great lens, one of my all time favourites).</p> <p>I've got great 16x20 and 13x19 prints with an older 12MP m43 (Olympus) with my Epson 3880 so I'm fairly confident that I should go for reach over sensor (i.e. EM1 over A6000).<br> <br /> The EM1 will make a great lenscap for the Sigma beast lol:)</p> <p>I'll purchase the lens first, and use it on my A7II, and after a trip to the zoo, I'll decide whether I need 1200mm, or if 900mm will suffice. I suppose that's the best way to choose a body.</p> <p>Shawn</p>

<p>Hi Jos, no, that's totally outside of my experience. My usual work is people at 35-85mm with a bit of 'whatever' thrown in at those same focal lengths.</p> <p>Although I've been doing a lot of microscope photography lately, kind of the opposite:(</p>

<p>Hi All,</p> <p>Been venturing into new territory, namely aiming to shoot wildlife (a challenge in Toronto with no car, so, largely zoos and sanctuaries).</p> <p>I've been looking at a lot of Flickr images from the Toronto Zoo Group, and most of the images I like (tight shots of cats and other large mammals, mostly) are around 600mm and greater.</p> <p>Currently, I have the A7II with the Metabones IV and Canon 300/4 (non-IS). The combo works very well. But a squirrel from around 20' away takes up a very, very small part of the image.</p> <p>As an aside, I need a second body, and hope to get something with IBIS. I know Sony has a new APS-C coming out, but rumours are all over the place regarding IBIS.</p> <p>Up front, I'll be honest: I don't think super-tele and a budget of around $2500-$3000 Cdn, including a second body with IBIS, is going to lead to anything awesome. So the plan now, is "good".</p> <p>I've been thinking about the possible solutions, and here's what I've come up with:</p> <p>1) OMD EM1 or EM5II with the Metabones Adaptor, which apparently works as well as the Sony, with my 300/4 and 1.4x converter. Though I've heard that there are AF issues...I tend to manual focus anyways. That would give me a FoV of 840mm with f/5.6 (420mm perspective, of course). Oly+Metabones will be about $1700-$2000) if I buy used Oly. And the half-frame sensor, well. I have 12mp images from my EP1 that are great, but it's 2016, you know?</p> <p>2) My current A7II with a 400/5.6L and 1.4x converter. Gives me the same FoV as above, but is f/8. 400/5.6L is about $1100, but leaves me with 1 body. This means another A7II and Metabones, which is over $2500 Cdn. Ouch. I'd only buy the Oly above for super-tele, can't imagine using a half-frame sensor otherwise.</p> <p>3) *Non-Extant* APS-C Sony with IBIS, Metabones IV Adaptor, 400mm/5.6L and 1.x4 converter. Circa $3000 Cdn. Perfect, but there is currently no such camera (though that may change this week).</p> <p>Help me think out of the box here, please:) I'm willing to buy manual focus tele, but it has to be mated to an IBIS body and give me 600mm and be 'matable' (new word lol!) to a 1.4x converter. Nikkor AIS 400/2.8 ED IF + A7II + AIS converter would be awesome, but that's about double my budget:)</p> <p>No zooms. I have nothing against the standard 2.8 zooms, but I really don't like any of the super-tele zoom offerings from Canon, Nikon, or Sigma...short of the 200-400mm Canon, and I don't have enough spleens to sell in order to buy that.</p> <p>"Why is IBIS so important? Won't you be using a tripod at those lengths?"<br /> --Yes of course I will, when required. But I'll also be mating other lenses, of course, portrait lenses, macro, etc. and I have no desire to buy new, expensive, lenses with IS. Kind of defeats the purpose of mirrorless, to me - IBIS and "The Flange":)</p> <p>I'd appreciate any suggestions, no matter how odd, to get 600-800mm and give me very good, but not excellent, images, within a budget of $3000 Cdn (which is about $1.99 US in today's market).</p>

<p>I've been here since 1998 approx. The 10-year feeling turns into "wow, I'm old" 10 years later lol...<br> PDN has been my source of knowledge and support for all these years.<br> You're definitely not an amateur; be proud:)</p>

<p>Thanks everyone, and sorry for the delay.</p> <p>Stephen, that's a very good point; every organization will be different. In the case of video, I'm not so sure I can do that, not my specialty.</p> <p>Eric, I'm actually waiting for the Sony A6000 replacement. It makes sense to me that it would have IBIS and be much better at APS-C than a 10MB crop on my A7II.</p> <p>Laura, thank you, very good experience you've given me. I need to look at animals as portraits, i.e. friends I get to know. That's not a problem, it's actually my favourite part about photography, i.e., getting to know my subject and THEN making images. It's all about personality. Having said that, how much time will I have in a setting where I'm trying to get to know my subject? Maybe not much, as not only do animals move around/get finicky, but in an environment like a shelter or sanctuary, you are competing against light and employees and animals which are naturally responding to all movement within their eye/earshot...</p>

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<p>I have the same images haunting me in my sleep that I had when I began painting in the early 90s. Of course, things have changed as far as technology and fine-tuning are concerned, but largely I am still aiming for the same image that I aimed for when I was but a wee one.</p> <p>Namely, the most perfect portrait of my subject that I can muster, in an aesthetically pleasing manner.</p> <p>Of course, current trends and technology influence me, but none cause me to change my path, so far. Not that I truly understand what that path is. Art is something I don't truly question, but merely allow to flow, like beer, or my bottom after Taco Bell.</p>

<p>Hi all, Happy New Year (I can still say that, right lol?).</p> <p>I've recently moved from human subjects to animals as my focus. I've done this in a very small way, namely by shooting lots of images of my cats (been doing this for years) and, lately, doing a lot of microscope images of, well, very small animals (i.e. zooplankton, largely). I'm looking very forward once the weather warms up, to going to the zoo with a 300/4 Canon:)</p> <p>I'd like to be able to photograph rescue animals in my area, sanctuary animals, and pets.</p> <p>All of these, of course, have very different demands. For example, rescues probably need shorter lenses (confined space) and maybe artificial light, with no financial compensation (doesn't bother me in the slightest); sanctuary animals probably require longer lenses, available light, and also no compensation (also, no problem); pets are probably anything from short to long lenses, available light and/or flash, with maybe some money in my pocket (or lots of money, if it's petzilla and her chihuahua).</p> <p>In all cases, I'm 'selling' an animal as much as a portrait photographer is 'selling' a human subject, namely, bring out the character, be flattering, etc.</p> <p>If anyone here at PDN can offer any advice that might be helpful for such a venture, I'd be very, very happy to read about it.</p> <p>Gear-wise, my goal is to shoot all primes with a FF and an APS-C body. To wit:</p> <p>1) I have the Sony A7II with Metabones IV (Canon) adaptor. This is the best camera I've ever used, personally. It's not leaving my hands until I'm dead and cold. Focus sucks when using AF/Metabones (good to non-existent, never great), but I'm pretty good with MF.</p> <p>2) An APS-C body; I'm not committed, but IBIS and focus peaking are pretty much mandatory (with Canon glass). </p> <p>3) Lenses: I'm pretty committed here, all Canon: 24/1.4L (36 crop); 50/1.2L (75 crop); 135/2L (200 crop); 300/4L (450 crop). Caveat is, I'm expecting a 1.5 crop, otherwise the () numbers change, obviously.<br> <br> 4) Flash; a basic powerful manual setup that can be triggered off the camera and not weigh a ton. With people, I prefer to work with available light and, if needed, a strong dose of bounced flash sculpting the subject and, when necessary, a background flash to separate the subject. I don't go for 'artificial' setups (like key/fill/hair, etc.). </p> <p>So, as always, I'd like your advice, or more appropriately, your experience, here, please and thank you:) I know I've focused on gear here, but I'm really more interested in your experiences with these subjects, not gear-talk unless it's part of the fundamental experience of photographing these subjects (rescues, sanctuary creatures, and pets).</p> <p>Merci Beaucoup:)<br> Shawn</p>

<p>I can take the worst shot ever, or have no camera, or have a camera and no subject, or, occasionally, have everything come together. It's all the same to me; my entire brain is wired to 'stop reality'; so yes, my entire life is about the shot, even if I don't have a camera in my hand.</p>

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Anything weird. http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/18145636-lg.jpg