photographicsafaris

NO!

As a 100-400 fan, ironically I certainly dont recommend this lens for indoor use, you get

killed with the aperture. and its inability to give you frame freezing pictures. The image

quality just isnt as good as with higher ISO lenses.

I am also not a fan of the Sigma 120-300 f2.8 lens, but then I have been stung by Sigmas

three times with body upgrades, the Sigma also flares more than the canon f4 equivalent.

Do yourself a favor look to the primes:

Either: 1> Buy a 85 f1.8 and the 200 f2.8 Canon lenses

Or 2> Buy the Canon 70-200 f4IS (not compatible with the 1.4 extender).

Or 3> Buy a 135 f2L with the 1.4 extender.

Any way you do it, there are Canons primes you should be looking at: 85 f1.8, 135F2L

and the 200 f2.8

If you had noise reduction swithched on in Camera, then a 5 hour exposure will be

followed by a 5 hour noise reduction work time.

I cant remember but when I tried to view my trails after taking a single exposure, It

showed a blank screen.

Possibly you ran out of batteries after the exposure, but mid way through noise reduction

processing which is possible.

Then you might have gotten frustrated, like me and turned the camera on and off because

you diddnt read some page and missed it, out, thus loosing the image...

This is a marvelous headache!

I have used this setup quite a bit and have found that having a preset focus point to be the

answer, the two main issues are:

1> the Infa red reciever is too close to the Camera, I wish that it couls be at the end of a

long 5m extension.

2> Batteries, you have to set the camera and flash out of sleep mode so that it will fire

when the beam is broken.

This is a description I posted a while back.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=192149

I have had no joy with owls and bats but squirrels love it, something to do with using the

right bait. I need to figure out a way to keep the squirrels there long enough for an owl to

take note!<div></div>

I am currently playing around with this, and am using an EOS 3 with E100VS. I have had

some success with A few night shots.

But need to extend the exposure time, find the correct stars and perfect my final image

composition before I shoot it with a 5x4 camera.

To this end I have brought a cheap software program "astronomy" to find out the time that

the stars come out, and what direction to set up the camera in advance, using a piece of

string and compass, so I am aiming the correct horizontal direction and rudimentary

correct vertical direction with the string and compass used as a protractor.

This has provided me with significantly better star trails. but the learning curve is slow and

the heavens havent been too kind recently. I need a good clear night and somewhere to

pitch tent, and a good alarm clock to wake me up later

Current state of play is that the software, (bright) stars, and my compass are all arguing,

leaving the exposed flim to give the results.

Oh I am using an EF 50mm lens and a 180mm on the 5x4.

If I were buying a 35mm to fill this roll I would stick with a nikon fm/fe, but I have had

reasonably good results with a NIKONOS and 35mm lens.

Bob I am not on board with the removal of Eye controlled focusing, It has been a great use

to me sometimes

Cheers G

Richard, if you badly need the 2.8 aperture, for the effect of focus isolation and

compatibility with a 2x converter; then its a cheap way in and will do the job.

BUT

Wide open the quality is soft and disapointing.

Realistically you are better off with the Canon 300 f4 and higher ISO's but, I guess you'll

figure it out.

Yerssss.

The waiting has paid off, now to wait till its cheap!

ISO 6400 at 3M pixels, better than an EOS D30, once considered a professional model!

As a film photographer, each shot is important, particularly when hiking. Thus you have

some key elements that are essential - Long story short EOS 3

>Exposure information: The EOS three gives you more information from which to make a

choice about exposure:- Multi spot metering, take an average of the highlight, and the

Dark areas, the slider shhows you the dynamic range it comstitutes, you can then balance

either way.

>Build quality for walkies, is really up to the job, its one of a few cameras that will still be

working when you get there, The EOS 1V being better, but heavier.

>They have discontinued the EOS 3 which is a crying shame, but a good second hand one,

that is about 5 years old will have had very little use, because this is the digital age! All in

all this means you get a top notch body for pennies! - Do some research on Bob Atkins

site to find out how to age the EOS cameras, by manufacture

>ou are shooting manual happily, so will find your way around an EOS3 quickly, the DEP

mode is useful, but not necessary.

>Custom Function 12 is mirror lock up just so you can remember that one

>If you do get into wildlife, then you cant ask for much better than the EOS 3: Quieter

(EOS7), and faster (EOS1V with PBE2)

>yes the EOS7 range are great but provide you with less information, maybe consider a 1N

instead if cash is that important. It has less feature, rock solid build quality, but the results

as scarily accurate

>Lastly, why not buy yourself a 5x4 field camera for your landscapes, they are about the

same price as an EOS 3 and you will get an ok lens as well! Plus the Quality will rock your

boat!

Cheers G

Canon still advertise the EOS 3 with the 300 2.8 as being the worlds fastest focusing lens

So this is an interesting development

Not really the same topic, but my EOS 3 focusses quicker and more accurately than my

EOS 5D - with centre spot selected.

This becomes readily more apparent with low light levels

My EOS 5D focus is faster than the EOS 1NRS...

When using the Centre spot with expanded focusing area, I find it is on a par with the EOS

3, except it can get too clever for its clogs and looses the plot.

This is particularly noticeable in Aviation photography, where the EOS 3 really wipes the

floor clean. The EOS 1NRS in this situation outperforms the 5D.

And to be clear I am most impressed with the 5D's focusing abilities. However am

searching for something digital more in line with my EOS 3, so keeping a weary eye out for

the EOS 1D range but will test an EOS 400D just to see for myself that it really is better,

which I will be stunned to see.

Cheers G

Lester, thank you for being so gentle - I was whole heartedly wrong.

Me no good maths - "2*log((2.8/2))log(2)~=1 stop." you have got to be kidding me!

Thats Chinese, to me roots grow underground, the bit above the root is called a log...

So I just ran it through with my 50mm f1.4.

1/200 f1.4

1/125 f1.8

1/100 f2

1/60 f2.5

1/50 f2.8

Hey that is a whole shutter speed faster! Lester - Maths... photography, this is ART class!

(I still couldnt figure out the multiply the root) 2log*%((2.8@2))#Log@2?= about 1 stop?

Cheers G

Get a light one if you are doing walkies, either expensive if you are doing it seriously, like

the Manfrotto carbon ones

http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/site/manfrotto/cache/offonce/pid/1799?

categoryKey=BRAND:MN:MAIN:AA:SUB1:AA:SUB2:AA&livid=68&lsf=68&child=2

If you dont do walkies then get a cheaper metal one, but make sure you get a good one.

Poor quality tripods dont last long, and dont help.

http://www.velbon-tripod.com/ultra_maxi.htm

Pretty much anything else will anoy you sooner or later.

Make sure that your insurance is New for Old.

All REAL insurance for this kind of thing is. As it turns out my household insurance is for

unlimited cover:

But the specifics of where and how you could incur damage was a bit surreal, i thought i

wasnt insurred for outside the house, as I turned out I was!

Cheers G

The Premier DP 3520 Multimedia player - THINGGY

I have had my eye on an external storage device and on this little Gem in particular for over 2 years.

Today, I found one for sale at 70% discount? Yeah, so I brought two, and am selling one on flea-bay

which should more than cover the purchase costs!

So what does it do?

As a Photographer, my principle interest is that it can swiftly copy images from the memory card to the

20Gb memory and then confirm that they have been copied. Well it does, and it copied a 1GB Sandisk

Ultra2 full of canon EOS 5D RAW plus High quality small JPEG images in 4 minutes and 40 seconds. Now

I don?t know if that?s fast, or what kind of MB per second it is running, or even if it is USB2 but what I

do know is that in under 5 minutes I can transfer 69 Raw images from my camera to the thingy and

then free up my card for round two. With two cards, this means that I am pretty much sorted: and with

the 4Gb and 2Gb microdrive as well I don?t have any problems. When am I going to shoot over 1300

images without a break to find my laptop and external harddrive?

So, it displayed my photos with Exif data, and I could zoom in enough to see the dust on my sky shots!

Now you can view them as a slide show and naturally present them on the Television. This is great, It

stores most makes of cameras images, but the fact it can view and zoom in on Raw?s was great, I tested

it on my Nikon p2 and, well I don?t have any more digital cameras? but it reads from Compact Flash I

and II as well as Microdrives, and all Secure Disks MMC?s and also Sony?s Memory cards, I am waiting

patiently for Fuji?s update of the F31fd with SD slot and RAW and hopefully it will read those too.

Now obviously The Epson P2000 etc range are of better quality screen and such, just this is smaller and

has a larger screen than the Nikon coolwalker, plus did I mention that I brought this for GB 33 sterling?

That makes it a good digital camera cheaper than anything else!

But wait, theres more, you can record some of your favourite movies onto it, and watch them on the

plane as you fly to your destination about 4 hours playback, more in a dimly lit cabin. Its even better

than that I have small video spy camera that wirelessly transmits to a capture centre, this then plugs

direct to the THINGGY and Viola I have a 20GB (now that?s a lot of hours) surveillance recording video

camera of lowish colour quality.

Great fun when tied to the bottom of my doggies collar and chased through the bush! Now can you

imagine it left in a tree with a sheep carcass in Kenya, baiting Leopards: ha haa Close up heaven! ? I

now see that it only records 2GB at a time, then creates a new file.

To add to this it obviously supports MP3 play back, I mean it would have to in this day and age. So you

can record MP3 music to it as well to while away those boring hours, and the battery will last around 10

hours in this state. It also has a radio function, for when you have recorded over the MP3 files with your

images (mind you the reception is poor)

Naturally being such a dynamic THINGGY it can record Audio Dictaphone style, again really useful, for

situations where you want to directly recall an experience, or memory, or the Leopard ate your little

camera and battery and you now want record its bellows as she deals with the 9v battery in her

digestive tract!

Just when you thought that we?ve covered everything that an electronic device can cover, theres also,

wait for it: Obviously tetris for when you have given up on Voice of Kenya.

No the battery is not removeable, but it will take a 5V input, so you can run off the car battery with a

3rd party adapter. Wonderfully, the THINGGY comes with a (p)leather case and belt loop, so when

shooting your mates wedding you can keep it close at hand to transfer the files across whilst keeping it

on your hip. And its there to record the moment that he says ?I do?!

I have absolutely no idea if it works in minus 10 degrees C and I have even less intention of taking it

out in these temperatures, because when I do shoot in the cold, I keep everything back at base.

Are there better products? I don?t care! <div></div>

Ah ha!

Youre going top love this, read the post above: I have been going through the same

dilema, and thought that a 18 quid 4Gb card from 7dayshop.com could solve the problem,

but its still sort of there.

20Gb for 33 quid

Cheers Graham

The 70-200 was my favorite lens, and that combined with the 1.4x was a very useable

safari setup, alongside a 300 f4.

I have now got a 100-400 which is my wildlife lens, but the 70-200 is still a favorite for

when I am walking, that and the 28-70. For Safaris I still take it with me, its just so

versatile and a great portrait lens

Truth be told I am considering swopping the 70-200 for the 70-300 f4 DOIS for walkies:

Its always a compromise.

Hector,

I had a similar dilema I wanted a dedicated lens, primairily for macro plus I wanted a

dedicated portrait lens, ratio of use about 70:30 favouring macro.

I did consider the 85 1.8 with extension tubes for macro work, but I am much happier with

the 100 2.8 as an all rounder. I never considered the 100 f2 because it was not as versatile

as either the 85 or macro lens.

I feel that you should consider the 100 f2 alone or choose to make a decision between the

100 macro and the 85 f1.8

The 100 f2.8 macro is not 1 stop slower than the 100 f2. its a 1/3rd of a stop. the lens is

stunning and seriosuly sharp as either a macro or as a portrait.

Considering the versatility of the 100 macro, I would (and did) choose that lens. However I

am still considering the 85 f1.8 as it is fast enough to make a difference where I would use

my 50 1.4, and want more reach, but I will end up with the 135 f2 eventually... as reach is

more important to me and I can crank up the ISO.

Focusing wise I have played with the 85 and my Macro, though its a tight call, the 85 is a

tad more accurate: but it is insignificant, and would have more to do with the body, than

lens

cheers G

I'm pretty sure that the handbook says that manual override of focusing whilst under

autofocus setting should be avoided and may result in damage.

Loving my 4 year old 50 1.4, and have had no problems with it. I am not especially careful

with the lens (pelican case) it gets squished into the corner of a crumpler everywhere I go.

Jstin,

Hard to judge from your shots, but having played around with the 100 macro, I have found

that you can see the fiberous grainn in a sheet of paper:

Are you sure the focusing is spot on? regardless, the Macro is in its element, and the 70

-200 is outside of the realms of normal usage. So in this unfair comparison, yes the 70

-200 is not as good.

But then its at 135mm, in the interests of comparisson, why did you not use it at 100mm?

also was the IS on or off?

Jim I gotta say that the 1.4 extender shot handheld is at 1/50th on a 560mm focal length.

So thats not really fair, however the shot is very acceptable. Have a look at the frame size

of the original and then you see the detail in the petal.

When I bolted it down for the last shot, I think that the results are very good. I clearly

established that you need a fast shutter speed for a long focal length... dohh!

Consequently another "suck eggs lesson" is that to shoot at longer focal lengths you need

to use a good long lens technique.

I feel that people who buy this lens are disappointed because of the stereotype, its the

cheapest way to get a 400L series with Image stabilisation so those that buy it are

generally getting onto the long lens rung, and may probably not know how to shoot with

longer lenses propperly. This leeds to poorer results, which quite frankly are due to

camera shake, not poor lens quality.

And so Yes I am one of the few people who is prepared to learn a lens realise what it is

capable of and shoot accordingly, and am thus happy with the 100-400Lis quality, oh and

on the EOS 3 autofocus is good, but on the 1Nrs, a no-no

December sees me in Africa again, playing with Elephants, so I will update my portfolio

with Canon 100-400 shots.

Cheers G

So guys, thanks for the help.

I eventually went with the 100-400, a 100 f2.8 macro and mr14ex. So really happy with

the setup.

The 100 2.8 macro is so violently sharp its actually terrifying. The 100-400 is also better

than I thought at the 400 end, I was also quite impressed with the quality with a 1.4x

mounted, and yes its manual focus, but with the pull/push zoom its great.

On thing that had me worried was that Michael Reichmann had rejected, it, but then he did

end up using this as his primary lens on an EOS 1dsmkii in the Amazon. So it fits into my

category under the exact same reasons

Another dilema solved by Photo.net

Cheers G

I was wondering what the scale was in and how far away you were.

If those are inches, then you do have a front focus issue, but i suspect from the fiberous

grain and square print dots, that the scale is millimeters, in which case there is no real

issue.

Realistically you should have the lens aimed exactly at the focus mark, and not necessairily

the focus dot... probably impossible to do.

You should be interested to see what differences there were when you manual focus,

because it could be a case of interpretation, in which case your camera will have taught

you something.

Cheers G

Err how about a tractor innertube...

Dont know what you had in mind, but I have used an innertube to support me with a

nikonos in the surf. Thats one application. In still waters there is also the possibility of

using the inner tube for support of a long lens, but be aware of what is swimming around

your feet, they may be big and have lots of pointy teeth.

I have also used a tripod in an inflatable to film Fish eagles. With a few buckets of water

around your feet you can get more stability. ideal for deeper water.

In point of fact, my fish eagles watched the fish I had left floating on the surface for 2

hours whilst I struggled to keep the boat and fish in roughly the same place to take

pictures of a swooping dive. It never appeared, must rework that one.

If you are also interested I have used an old (rescued from the bin) Linhof tripod with

12kilos of lead weight for longer exposures on a nikonos underwater. the results needed

some better visibility.

Cheers G

Is this what you mean? Sort of?

Mounted on a ballhead at the end of a Monopod, a little burst of flash and strong wrists.

A slight adjustment of your chosen angle and you could deffinetly get a birds eye view,

particularly if you were standing on a chair.

A bunch of marathon supporters at the Paris Marathon... Vive la France!

Unedited image so you can see it!

Cheers G<div></div>

Bob help me out here:

Can we set up a petition to send through to canon a list of like minded photographers wanting them to

address their Direct print button on the 5D?

Today I got a real bee in my bonet, and I'm sorry but the 5D is electronic so it has got to be

reprogramable: If the russians can do it with the 300D then surely Canon can write upgradeable

firmware to address a major mistake.

For general photography I use the * button and whatever setting.

Then for portraits and weddings I have set a guideline for custom function C: Manual mode, * button

for FEL and One shot auto focus, having to do the FEL recompose dance...

Its not ideal, but the exposure is so accurate (even with lowly 550's) that I have been satisfied with it.

My EOS 3 with Flash Exposure lock on a seperate button linked to Eye controlled focusing on the *

button is ideal, and comprehensively the fastest way to do this

I have been experimenting with 100 macro and an MR14ex flash: The usefulness for FEL lock and my

focus button is an absolute necessity for product photography against black or white backgrounds. and

I havent gotten onto moving subjects yet. Whats the point of advanced ETTL when you have to set it to

manual? why have we stepped back from the 10D?

I am finally so frustrated that Canon have deliberately knobled their 5D with that bloody useless little

direct print button that I demand that they update their firmware to enable it to be programable:

Seriously what were they thinking? the number of times that a wedding photographer could have used

that button... Oh say about 72 times an event, and the number of times a direct print.. say errr None!

I have used the direct print button once, and that was just to see how it worked. 12Million pixels and a

direct print button: What numbscull thought of that.

Lets make this a situation of Canon listening to their clients.

Heres a list of things I demand to be addressed and updated on this current model, not a future after

thought body revision:

1> Being able to program that direct print button to enable Flash exposure control

2> Being able to program that direct print button to enable Mirror lock up (to keep Michael Reichmann

of luminous-landscape happy).

3> Two custom functions: so I ask for Three.

If you own a 5D and share a similar viewpoint, please tag your name and frustration onto the bottom.

Cheers G

Catching up on an old thread,

Like Giampi, I also switched from 10D to 5D, and also use the Focus on * button with little

mouse knob switched over to FEL like on my EOS 10D I too was Not happy with all of the

above coments.

For general Photography I use the * button and whatever setting, Then for portraits and

Weddings I have set a guideline for custom function C: Manual mode, * button for FEL and

One shot auto focus, for the FEL dance.

Its not ideal, but the exposure is so accurate (even with lowly 550's) that I have been

satisfied with it. My EOS 3 with Flash Exposure lock on a seperate button linked to Eye

controlled focusing on the * button, now that is ideal, and comprehensively the fastest way

to do this.

However I have been experimenting with macro and an MR14ex flash: The usefulness for

FEL lock and my focus button is an absolute necessity for product photography against

black or white backgrounds.

I am finally so frustrated that Canon have deliberately knobled their 5D with that bloody

useless little direct print button that I am setting up a petition to get them to update their

firmware to enable it to be programable: This has to be a situation of them listening to

their clients.

So if youre rereading this thread, or have requested notification search for "Canons 5D

blasted direct print button petition" here on photo.net (and potn)

Oh and I want two custom functions, so lets petition for three. Also the direct print button

to be able to be set dedicated to MLU, to keep Michael Reichmann of luminous-landscape

happy).

cheers G