phyrpowr

When I first got my 10D, with my faithful 28-135 IS on it 24/7, I only got about 150-200 shots out of my first battery.

May not have fully charged up, but a digital "old timer" on eagle nest watch with me told me that "watching TV", i.e., using the review screen a lot (one of the reasons I got a digital) will really eat the battery. Admittedly I was intrigued with it and playing, blowing up shots, getting my friends to "look at this".

Point of this boring screed is, make sure the battery is charged up and get a spare. Don't count on that 400 shot brag in the manual

Haven't noticed this specific problem with mine, but I have found out that using the review window (which is one big!! reason I got a digital) will use up battery life in a heartbeat, cut mine more than in half (according to what the manual said I should have gotten). Also, I use the IS function all the time, this could also be a contributor.

Ed,

my personal choice would be to go Zion (two days), Bryce (sunrise), then bomb over to Arches (my personal favorite) and see how long you want to stay there (don't be surprised if it's for a month)

I'm not going to give you a beginner lecture on "intensive" versus "extensive" shooting, just say that if you're really captivated by Zion, you could then cut Arches short and head back, or stay out longer, and maybe at least cut by Canyonlands or Capitol Reef.

The red rock country on the Interstate heading to Green River is beautiful itself, and may soon become a National Monument

Was only in Death Valley for a couple of hours and it just isn't my cup of film (or maybe pixels, got a Canon 10D on order) but, well, there we are.

No matter what your final choice of tripod/head, you might want to look into an auxiliary support arm for the lens. I got one from Adorama for , it seems like $40US, which clamps onto a tripod leg and has an arm that screws into the lens collar. Not too heavy and very steady

Am flying into SF on March 28, going to Santa Barbara Whale Festival

the 29th and 30th, then up Big Sur (or inland, depending on what

looks promising) through the next week until the 5th

Would appreciate any suggestions/knowledge on weather to expect,

gear to take, and good spots to shoot.

Oh, yeah, and the best places to eat.

Popular Photography did a test some time back: camera body on tripod, lens collar on support arm, vice versa, body on tripod, no lens support, vice versa.

Their conclusion: body on tripod, lens supported by auxiliary arm is best, and try to avoid 1/30 and 1/15 sec. unless using mirror lockup (George Lepp seconds this latter)

I got an auxiliary arm with clamp for tripod leg from Adorama for some fairly low price, about $40, not as clumsy to use as it sounds.

Quick and surprisingly effective: cut the bottoms out of two gallon-sized Ziplock bags, tape them together with duct tape to form a cylinder when open. You can unzip either end, and the one I made in Yosemite last May in a sudden snowstorm still works today, though admittedly not used all that much. Just screw the quick release plate right through the one on the body. If you use long lenses, , put a third one , sans Ziplock part, right in the middle.

First, d**n you, Mark Fescher, for taking a slot canyon photo so much better than mine

Now, Mathieu, I have been shooting in the 4Corners area for the past two falls, and use my (Canon) 28-135 Image Stablized lens almost exclusively, price less than the 70-200L. As advised above, get a good tripod ( I use the Gitzo model with the lateral arm , can't recall the model number, think it's 3021NPro, with a small three way head). Get an extension tube for the 50mm for closeups, and also possibly a close up lens, don't do much of that myself so don't have any opinion on what types/sizes. For filters, get a circulizer polarizer (not a chain house brand), a 1A, and an 81A. Don't get a "haze" filter, as a polarizer will work better. The 1A and 81A are for shooting when you are lit only by the blue sky, not the sun or light reflected off the red rock, to counteract the bluish tint.

A cable release, plenty of Provia or Velvia ( take some of both), and Bob's your ruddy uncle (will any Brits out there please tell me what the #$%&? that means?)

Oh, yeah, be sure to take a good lens brush, maybe two of them, and a cheap shaving brush to clean off the camera body .

Too many people today seem to get their notions of the outdoors from Jeep commercials, their own experience being golf courses and the kids' soccer fields. They will be mucho p.o.'d if they don't know beforehand that they'll be walking uphill to get to a place where they'll be sleeping on the actual ground. Better make damn sure your advertising/info packet lets them know what they're in for, and you might want to even get medical certification that they can handle it(yes, I am a lawyer, but also yes, people tend to get sued, successfully, for "false" advertising)

If you get it off the ground, email me, sounds like fun

Joel,

I live in North Carolina, and the temps/precipitation are about the same as your area

I generally use for almost all ranges of weather:

silk or polypropylene long underwear, with a zipppered top, when I can find it

ThorLo or Smartwool socks, LL Bean Cresta GoreTex boots

fleece vest

GoreTex pants and parka, parka with pit zippers

some sort of hat

light gloves, with rain covers

You can pull up the pant legs and the sleeves when hiking, and open the parka & vest, take off the hat

As you cool down, just reverse, and button up

Also, take a fleece jacket just in case, but the above cover a wide range of temps

Jack

The best fitting supportive foot gear you can find, usually a little more boot than you intended, you WILL NOT REGRET IT

three things: my Lenspen, old shaving brush for cleaning dust off non-lens type stuff, my LL Bean Cresta boots, fit like customs to my funny feet

JS

For any sort of bird/animal photography, what I suggest is get the longest lens you can find. It won't be long enough,no matter the length, but you'll need it

Now, with that out of the way, my experience is that you will need minimum 300mm. Search the net, etc., and try to find the best Canon or third party you can for what you can afford.

While the lenses that provide the largest max apertures are probably the best made (and most expensive in geometric progression), I don't look for that aspect, as your depth of field is going to be pretty small, and you'll need smaller apertures, not larger ones

My current tripods are the Bogen 3001, light and good flexibility, and the (I think) 3021N Pro, with the horizontally adjustable centerpost.

I use a little magnesium Bogen 3-way head, 3047 I think it is, not that big a fan of ball heads