alan___1

IMO, you don't need an expensive loupe to determine sharpness. A good 10X loupe from Peak would do the job just as well. I have used "branded" and "no-brand" loupes and with both types, I can still tell if a slide is sharp or not. It is a question of what to look out for. In the case of animals, look for the fine hairs on the eyes, ears, etc. But don't confuse sharpness with DOF.

Scott, how can one take you seriously if you say that US$200 is "~$2 million Canadian dollars" and C$10 is US$0.02 cents?

I would go for the AF 105mm micro lens for versatility. Next would be the AF 85mm f1.8. Both are great lenses but one of them has the added advantage of macro. The choice is yours.

Hi everybody,

 

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I went to a bird sanctuary today and had my Photo Trekker loading with about 18kg of equipment. After about half an hour of walking, one of the shoulder straps gave way. Fortunately, the other strap was till intact and this prevented my stuff from free falling to the ground. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the stitching had given way.

 

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Although I have had this bag for about three years now, it was used not more than 15 times. I normally switch between this bag and my Tamrac 777. This incident has caused me to become wary of Lowepro bags.

 

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Anyone with similar experience?

Kent,

 

If I have to choose between buying a tripod and a ballhead, I would go for the tripod. It seems to make more sense getting a sturdy tripod than buying a good ballhead. After you have invested in a better tripod, start saving for the Arca Swiss B1.

The 7II has multiple exposure function and comes in two colours -

black and champagne(?). The coating of the viewfinder has also been

improved to allow for a brighter image.

I would suggest you send the lens in for a checkup. My AF-S lens does not "chirp" when the batteries of my F5 are dead. It just stops moving suddenly.

Likewise, my G1349 allows me to remove the centre column and attached a flat plate over the tripod. I get the best of both worlds.

I also share the view that a 400 f2.8 may not be the best super telephoto lens for nature photography. Given the chance to buy again, I would still opt for a 500 or 600mm lens. My reasons :

 

a) A 500mm lens is cheaper. For the price of a 400, I would rather add a little more and get me a 600.

b) I hardly ever shoot at f2.8. Most of the time it is f5.6 or higher.

c) Given the weight, I rather go for a 600mm.

d) I often find myself shooting at 500mm and above. Rarely do I shoot with my 300 f2.8.

 

Having said this, I am sure that the 400mm f2.8 is a superb lens and that some folks will find this lens more practical for their own reasons.

Mike, I did not test the Sigma 2X APO teleconverter with the older

Nikkor 80~200mm f2.8 but I did test it with the AF-S 80~200mm and AF-S

300mm and it did not work. It could autofocus the lenses but it could

not lock on to the subject. Manually focusing, the images made with

the Sigma APO 2X teleconverter was about 2/3 stop under with the AF-S

lenses.

 

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If I am not wrong, this converter is suitable for the older version of

the Nikkor 300mm f2.8 lens. I don't think it is suitable for a 80~200

lens but I could be wrong here. Suggest you check the instructions in

the Sigma box.

Bob,if you want the best, then get the RRS. From what I can see, the RRS flash bracket and lens plates are very well made and I doubt if Kirk can do better. I have a couple of RRS plates as well as their flash bracket. I also have one Kirk lens plate and it is not as well made as the RRS. But that is not to say that Kirk's plates and brackets are not useable - just not as good as RRS.

 

If the price is about the same, I would recommend you go for the RRS.

What Ivan said is true. There is certain to be some degree of

distortion in WA lenses. This is especially so in zooms. The 24~50mm

is a good lens.

 

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I have the 20~35mm f2.8 which I consider a very good lens. It does

exhibit some distortion but you can minimise this by the way you

position yourself and the distance of the subject from the camera.

John, I would go for the Provia 100. Push it one stop if you must.

This is the film I used most besides Velvia. The weather during that

time should be good so you may not need a fast film(depending on what

you shoot).

 

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Also, while in Germany, don't forget Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It is

near Ansbach. Ask the locals for directions. I discovered this

medieval jewel last December. It's a very old town with beautiful

buildings.

 

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Enjoy.

I have the same ballheads as Ed and both have a very small amount of

play. I don't think you need to worry about it.

I believe the above posts all advocate the same thing:

 

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a) Dust in the lens is not likely to affect your images and

 

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b) If you really need to clean the lens internally, send it to the

manufacturer.

I believe the MN-30 battery you are referring to is Ni-MH and not

Ni-Cad. I used to use alkaline batteries for my F5 but have since

switched to the Ni-MH batteries. Since I don't keep track of the

number of rolls per freshly charged battery, I can only give you an

estimate. It is about 25 rolls, probably slightly more.

 

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It will be interesting to find out what other users have to say.

I am not sure what you mean by "a ton of dust" but generally, I

classify dust into two types - "white" dust and black dust.

Personally, I find the "white" dust harmless. It is the black dust

that gets on my nerves. I believe the black dust are mostly the

internal paint/material used to coat the inner barrel of the lens to

prevent reflection. They fall off because of vibration or perhaps due

to aging. From what I know, even the black dust will not affect your

images provided they are not big. You have to remember that because of

the glasses in the lens, small/fine dust are magnified and so may look

big. I know that even the Leica lenses are not immune to dust.

 

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Having said this, I have to admit that I can't stand dust in my

lenses. I have opened up my lenses to clean them myself. Even my 500mm

f4 is not spared. However, I must caution anyone attempting this that

the stakes are much higher with a super telephoto lens. And if you

have never opened up a lens before, don't try it yourself. Send it to

the manufacturer.

 

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The impact of having a clean lens is more psychological than anything

else. Needless to say, after the cleaning, the dust will come back

given time and usage.

By definition, fill flash should mean using flash light to enhance the

existing light(especially where there are shadows).The main source of

light is still ambient light and the flash light does not overpower

it.

 

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When you shoot with a F5 plus flash, the normal sync is about 1/60

sec. However, if you shoot in bright light, the flash sync may go up

to 1/250 sec. The F5 can go up to a max of 1/300 sec but you need to

do some adjustments.

 

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As for the "slow sync", that is usually 1/30 sec. But one can always

adjust in manual mode the sutter speed to lower the speed. I do not

shoot at "slow sync" mode. I normally shoot at 1/60 sec with a minus

1/3 compensation on the SB 26 flash. I have also shot without any

compensation on the flash and the image turned out alright. If I need

to use a slower shutter speed, I will adjust the shutter speed in

manual mode. A lot also depends on what you are shooting. A white or a

black subject may require different compensation. A moving subject may

require a faster shutter speed.

Sorry, I left out some technical details. I was using a 200mm macro

lens with flash gun set at TTL. The speed was 250sec at f16. The

butterlfies literally folded their wing each time my flash gun went

off.

Hi,

 

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I suspect this topic may have been covered somewhere. I would like to

have your comments on the effects of flash lights on animals and in

particular, insects.

 

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Recently, I noticed that while taking shots of butterflies in broad

daylight, the insects reacted everytime my flash gun goes off. It took

me by surprised as this is the first time I experienced this. I know

some birds are sensitive to flash lights but butterflies? Anyone care

to share his/her experience?

I believe I've got the Bogen long lens support you mentioned. Mine is

definitely not suitable for vertical shots so I wouldn't recommend it

to anyone. Don't get me wrong. You can rotate it for vertical shots

but the process is too cumbersome. That is the reason why mine is

sitting somewhere in my cupboard collect dust!

 

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I'm not sure what system you are using but I would suggest you get a

used 300mm lens with a tripod collar. It is worth all the hassle.

Hi David,

 

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I like your interest. You jump from one subject to another like a jack

rabbit;) But seriously, if I were to shoot a wasp, I would probably

use a 200mm marco lens to keep the distance(don't want a sting for no

reason). I would not rule out a tripod as I may want to prefocus on

a particular area and wait for the subject to be in focus.

Handholding is possible but I would prefer using a 105mm macro

instead. However, if you want to shoot a wasp in flight, I would

advise you to bring plenty of films and pray for good luck. Your best

bet is still to wait for it to land at an anticipated area(flower,

hive, etc)and then shoot.

David,

 

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I think Bob explained it very well. Your marco option is not ideal but

acceptable. Correct me if I am wrong, but with all that extension,

aren't you also loosing a lot of light?

Seems nobody is keen to be a professional nature photographer. I guess

nobody wants to turn an enjoyable hobby into a full-time nightmare!

 

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Nevertheless, you folks in America and Europe should take consolation

in the fact that it is even harder to make a living being a nature

photographer in Singapore or Asia for that matter. I know of only one

guy and he told me it never pays enough to cover his rent. He has to

double-up doing something else in order to make ends meet.

 

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Having said this, I must add that I will be tempted if someone wants

to engage me on a project basis. I get paid for the job without the

hassle of actually running a business. Not too bad, don't you agree?

 

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By the way, I am a businessman myself.

Hi,

 

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To the best of my knowledge, I have not noticed any effect of the AF-S

focusing on the animals or birds that I have photographed. I haven't

tried shooting my bull terrier though!

 

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To-date, I have shot about twenty rolls of Provia with the AF-S lens

and it is aperture priority with about 70% autofocus and 30% manual

focusing mode.