asta_tobiassen

<p>I have not used the set-up you are looking at, but for the same camera and lens I have used the rainfly from Fotosharp (fotosharp.com). I got it for a trip to Alaska last year. We got rained on a lot and it worked very well for me. It is inexpensive, very portable (easily stuffs in a pocket) and easy to put on and take off quickly. Hope this helps.<br>

Asta</p>

<p>Thank you all for your input! Everyone of you has great advice and your personal experience is very helpful to me. I like the black and white world of right and wrong answers, but there does not seem to be one here. You have given me a lot to think about, but probably most important is the idea of sacrifice. Rather than focusing on all of the things I want, I will try to look at it from the perspective of what I am willing to give up. :)</p>

<p>I am getting a 7d and need help with lens selection under 100mm. Currently I have the 100mm 2.8 macro and the 100-400L. My main interest in photography is wildlife, but I have come to enjoy landscape and macro. I am also the one who does the family photos, which means indoor shooting in relatively low light. Some of the family members are pets and kids that do not sit still for picture taking. I plan on getting the 10-22 wide angle and I am leaning toward the 17-55 2.8, but am I concerned that I may be missing too much range from 55-100. My other thought was to get the 24-105L and learn to use flash better in low light. I had the 17-85 4-5.6 at one point, but was very frustrated with the slow shutter speed indoors. I realize that a prime (ie 85mm) would be a fix, but I not like having to change lenses a lot. The 24-70 is appealing too except for the weight. When I travel I am often on small planes with very strict weight limitations. And the rumor mill is whispering that the 24-70 IS may coming soon...(more weight and money) Looking back at pictures using the 17-85 I found I was generally at either end of the focal range, but definitely more in the wide angle range. I would appreciate any input!</p>

<p>I have a 40d, 100mm and 100-400mm that I am very happy with. I also have the 17-85 kit lens. I am quite a generalist when it comes to photography. I love wildlife, landscape and macro, but I am also generally the one in the family doing the indoor stuff too. The 17-85 has been a descent walk-about lens, but I want wider angle for landscape and something faster for indoors. My thoughts:<br>

Keep 17-85 and add 10-22, w/ 50 1.4<br>

Sell 17-85 get 10-22, 24-105 w/ 50 1.8<br>

Sell 17-85 get 10-22 and 17-55<br>

Sell 17-85 get 10-22 and 24-70<br>

I do a lot of photography when I travel, so keeping the number of lenses and weight down is important to me. I would like to keep my budget around 2K or less.<br>

I appreciate your thoughts...</p>

<p>Thanks for your replies. I will try to stay sober, hope that the problem was an odd fluke, but get extra silica just in case! The 7d will have to wait. :)</p>

<p>I currently own a 40d. Last year I spent a few days in the Ecuadorian Amazon. It was very humid while I was there and after the second day I could not read the digital settings in the view finder. The problem resolved a few days after leaving that region to a drier one. I will be spending a few weeks in Costa Rica next year and I am concerned the longer stay in a high humidity environment will cause more problems than I previously experienced. Does anyone have experience with the 40d in high humidity? Would investing in 7d make sense? <br>

Thank you,<br>

Asta</p>

<p>I was in Yasuni last August. We stayed at Napo Wildlife Center. They took us to two clay licks. One was referred to as a parrot lick and the other a parakeet lick. The one mentioned in Sacha's website, I believe, is the parrot lick. When we were at the parrot lick a blind had just been built which got us in a good position to see and photograph the birds. There is also a very nice observation platform, but here you are off at a bit of an angle, and further away. The parakeet lick is further in the jungle and the birds that came here were drinking the water instead of eating the clay. I had a 40D and used the 100-400 most of the time. I had a 1.4x, but rarely used it due to the lack of light. We arrived at the licks when it was still dark and the birds came when the sun started to come out. Since the parakeet lick was in the jungle I had a lot more trouble here. We stayed at both locations for many hours, so I had time to play with settings, which was good for me, since I am quite a novice. Although I always wish I had more reach, the 100-400 did just fine at these licks. It is absolutely worth the extra time to go see (and hear) this, but it took us two visits to both of the licks to see any real numbers of birds. I don't know if that is just how it is or if we were unlucky.<br>

I absolutely loved the 100-400 in the Galapagos. I am not good at hand holding, but found a monopod to be just fine. <br>

If you have the time consider going to the cloud forest in Mindo, on the western slopes of the Andes, to see the Cock-of-the-Rock. This is another early morning performer, but quite a memorable sight.<br>

Have a great trip!<br>

Here are some of my clay lick photos:<br>

http://www.pbase.com/lykketroll/clay_licks<br>

<img src="http://www.pbase.com/lykketroll/clay_licks" alt="" /></p>

 

<p>The osprey nests are all around Boca Grande. The first one was actually midspan, on the right side of the bridge, going into the island (this is Gasparilla road). The next one was at the far side of the bridge on the left side of the road (with several more in trees nearby). Another good area was on Gulf Shores drive, which is the first road on the right, after the bridge. They are a lot of fun to watch. I never managed to catch one flying with a fish, but they are amazingly adept at getting them, and then carry them in a characteristic head first position. I never got tired of watching them hover above the water and then go diving in for the fish. Quite impressive.<br>

Dennis, I was in Cape Coral on Jan. 15th and it was really cold! I love the beautiful light you captured (seems this bird is a bit of a ham :). <br>

Asta</p>

<p>Finally...</p><div></div>

<p>Next...</p><div></div>

<p>Here are a few pictures. I am still working on understanding resizing images for uploading, so bear with me...</p><div></div>

<p>I just got back from Florida a week ago. I went to Merritt Island, Ding Darling, Corkscrew, Cape Coral (the owls we found were around the library - look closely, it may look like no one is at the burrow, but only the head may stick up, they blend into the surroundings very well). We saw all the variety of birds you mentioned (except flamingos, but the spoonbill are very cool!). On a small island near Cape Coral, called Boca Grande, there were tons of Osprey. It is a bit out of the way, but if you want opportunities for close shots of them interacting on the nest, flying and fishing, this is an amazing spot. We had a great time in Florida, unfortunately is was very cold when we were there, but I hear it has warmed up nicely since we left! :)</p>

 

I just made a book with Blurb. I was really happy with the quality of the pictures. I chose the heavier grade paper and it feels and looks like any coffee table book. My only gripe is the somewhat limited number of picture layouts, but if you are creative you can certainly get around that.

I was in the Napo area (Napo Wildlife Center) in September. I used the Lowepro Computrekker which has the all-weather cover and it worked great. We had torrential downpours at times, but my gear kept bone dry. The lodge also supplied ponchos, so when the rain was really bad, that was a great backup. I like to have a point and shoot with me for informal pictures, and had just purchased an Olympus waterproof camera before this trip. It was really intended for the Galapagos portion of the trip, but was fun to have in the jungle during the rains. They call them rainforests for a reason!

I hope you have a great trip!

Asta

Thank you for all of your help. I have found hand holding to be very challenging with the very narrow depth of

field. Richard, do you find that a problem at all? Or is it your flash setup that makes that possible? I will

invest in a macro rail. I found this one at B & H:

 

<a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/193311-REG/Velbon_SMAGSLIDER_Super_Mag_Slider.html"

rel="nofollow">Velbon Macro Rail</a> .

 

It seemed to get decent reviews. Any experience with that product?

I knew I was stepping into something when I got this macro "bug", but holy cow!

Thanks again,

Asta

I am just getting into macro photography. I just purchased the canon 100 2.8. Would it be a good idea to buy

the tripod mount ring and a macro focusing rail? I am taking a trip in a few weeks and do not want to carry a

lot of extra equipment, but if it makes a significant difference in getting decent pictures I will. I appreciate

your suggestions.

Asta

Wow, very impressive. Thanks again for all of your help. Asta

Those were beautiful pictures Dan. I am really leaning towards that lens. I am planning on renting it next week and heading off to the zoo. Were using a tripod or monopod? How hard is it to hand hold? Off the main topic, but I have noticed quite a few people on this website post their pictures on Flickr. Why is that?

Asta

Thank you everyone for your input. You have all given me some good things to think about, but I have to admit I am still scratching my head a bit. I found a website that compared the 100-400mm f4-5.6w/ the 70-200mm f2.8 w/ 2.0x TC and the 100-400 was sharper up to f11. My next trip in rainforest and the Galapagos. It seems I won't need a long focal length on the Galapagos, but the rainforest is another issue all together. I want to build by "arsenal" well. I did not start off all that smart and it just seems the 70-200 is such a great lens (maybe not with the 2.0 TC however). The 300mm f4 looks like a great option too, but I don't think I need that range for at least half my trip. Hmmm....Thanks again! Asta

I am new to this hobby, and absolutely love it. I understand these lens

questions get a bit old, however I really need some guidance. I purchased a

Canon 40d w/ 17-85mm 4-5.6 and 70-300mm 4-5.6 lenses about 8 months ago. I got

into the hobby because I love wildlife and travel and wanted to capture those

moments. My goal is to have something worthy of printing into a 8x10 or

larger. My first trip with my camera was to Belize and I failed at my goal. We

spent quite a lot of time in the jungle. I became very frustrated with my lack

of reach and the difficulty in shooting up at an animal in the shadows with

bright sky behind them. My pictures came out very grainy and I appreciate I did

a lot of things wrong (too high ISO, taking shots too far away, not using my

monopod, not controlling exposure correctly etc.) I am on a very steep learning

curve right now. I was primarily shooting monkeys and birds. I have another

trip coming up in a few months and need some help with choosing a lens to

complement what I have or to replace what I have. Budget is concern (ideally

not much over $2000 - I need money to travel). The lenses I have been

considering are the 70-200 f2.8 w/ a 1.4x or 2.0x TC, the 300 f4 or the 100-400

f4-5.6 either with 1.4x TC. Thanks for your consideration!

Asta