jim_erhardt2

On a recent field trip, we had an opportuniy to try two different lenses with the Canon 1.4X, a Canon 300/4L and a Tamron 300/2.8 in a side-by-side comparison test.

First of all, using the Tamron lens, the correct aperture was not reported when using the Canon teleconverter. Additionally, the sharp plane of focus with this combination always seemed to be ever so slightly in front of the subject when using autofocus.

The Canon lens/teleconverter combo did very well, fast and accurate focus and produced sharp slides. In fact, from edge to edge, this combo (420mm) was AT LEAST as sharp at f/5.6 as the Tamron lens alone (300mm) at f/2.8! As everyone here knows, the Canon 300/4L is spectacular by itself.

Take the advice of those above and use the matched Canon teleconverters with your Canon lens and get all the performance it has to offer.

I have also found "Extra Color" and its pro counterpart E100VS a bit too contrasty for my tastes. The colors are perhaps overly vivid and as pointed out above, less than faithful. Out of all of the 100 asa Kodak chrome films, I still like Elitechrome the best for its moderate contrast and rich yet not overdone colors.

For general nature/wildlife photography, I'm growing very fond of the new Provia F....moderate contrast and pleasing color saturation with smooth, silky grain that is finer than Velvia.

Provia F and Elitechrome 100 are what I keep in my bag.

The optics are good but the autofocus is slow and noisy compared to

Canon USM lenses. I would recommend taking a look at the 100-300

f/4.5-5.6 USM, which I did use for youth soccer and found it to be

very good for that purpose. It focuses very fast and being able to

zoom is extremely helpful as "the action" comes up the field toward

you. Fot the $$ you'll save, buy a good monopod and a light-weight

folding seat. Sit at the end of the field by the goal and wait for

the action to come to you. Load up with some 400 asa print film, set

the camera to AV mode at 5.6, AI focus mode and continuous film

advance and have some fun!

After having owned a 630 for 3 years as a backup to my 1n and having been very satisfied with it, the 630 has apparently developed a short. While the camera still functions perfectly, it will drain a battery in about 6 weeks without being used, stored with the lens off (and lens mount cover installed) and the main switch in the "off" position. The LCD illuminator ceased to function about the same time this problem developed.

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Has anyone had a similiar problem? If so, was the problem corrected and did the repair last? My worst fear is to sink the money into the repair only to have it repeat promptly after the repair warranty expires. The camera is still fully usable, as long as I remove the battery when I store it.

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Any advice would be appreciated!

I owned the 100-300 USM and while the results at 300 weren't

spectacular, they were certainly acceptable for prints up to 8" X 10".

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I suspect you may have a bad sample.

While there's no alternative other than the BP-5 battery pack (which

is cumbersome), I saw a guy using a monopod with the pack secured to

the pod. The set-up looked like it worked out well. If you're using

a mono-pod, this could be the best way to go!