dcstep

<p><strong>Yummy Prairie Grass</strong><br> <strong> </strong><br> Canon 7D, EF 70-200mm f/4L IS, EF 1.4x TC-III, at 169mm, Av Mode, ISO 400, +1EV, f/6.3, resulting in 1/160-sec., hand held, with Raw conversion in DxO Optics Pro 9.5</p> <p><a title="Yummy prairie grass by David Stephens, on Flickr" href=" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5567/14335700240_fe77217ae1_c.jpg" alt="Yummy prairie grass" width="800" height="800" /></a></p>

<p>Milkweed in the front yard! Do you have some thistle also? ;-)</p> <p>Lots of flowers classified as "noxious weeds" actually look pretty good to me. I guess they're called noxious weeds because they can take over, if you're not very careful and very aggressive in their control.</p>

<p>Generally you'll use Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority when you want the camera to react to changing light conditions. In the situation that you describe (portrait shooting), then you may prefer Manual mode OR you can use Exposure Lock to lock the exposure and recompose. Look in your manual to see which button to push to lock exposure when in any Auto Exposure Mode.</p>

<p><strong>Singing Goldfinch</strong><br /> <br /> Canon 5D MkIII, EF 500mm f/4L IS, EF 2.0x TC-III, Av Mode, ISO 800, +1EV, f/8, resulting in 1/1250-sec., hand held, with Raw conversion in DxO Optics Pro 9.5</p> <p><a title="Singing Goldfinch by David Stephens, on Flickr" href=" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2905/14526625392_2ebf42e17f_c.jpg" alt="Singing Goldfinch" width="800" height="800" /></a></p>

<p>Trevor asked:</p> <blockquote> <p>... David your finch picture is amazing. Bright, crisp, vibrant & beautiful. Just out of curiosity, lets say you own a 5D III already & you had to choose a cropped censored Canon body today which one would it be? I chose the 7D mostly because it closely matched the 5D III layout\design so when flip flopping equipment I'm not fumbling around trying to remember where all the buttons are. I heard the new 7D II is coming soon but not the same design/layout if I remember right.</p> </blockquote> <p>Thanks Trevor.</p> <p>I owned the 5D MkII first, then the 7D and finally the 5D MkIII, purchasing each soon after they became available. The 7D was my bird and wildlife body until the 5D3 came along, with AF so superior that it was no contest. I make up for the lack of pixel-density by using TCs most of the time, so my 500mm is usually operating at 700mm or 1000mm.</p> <p>I still own my 7D, but keep it strung around my neck as my second camera with my 70-200mm f/4L IS mounted, usually with the 1.4x TC-III also attached.</p> <p>If I already owned a 5D3 and thought that I needed a crop-sensor body, considering my need for fast response, I'd still get the 7D, despite it's old sensor and relatively poor high-ISO performance and the inconsistency of its AF system in AI Servo mode. However, I'd probably wait on the 7D MkII, because the 5D3 is pretty darn good. Keep in mind, I have a 500/f4, so I'm not feeling too focal length limited.</p> <p>All the above relates to shooting birds, wildlife and action. For street shooting, portraits, travel, etc., there are lots of other options available. For my general use friends that want a really great DSLR, I recommend the 70D or the 6D.</p>

<p>Don't forget about the EF 2.0x TC-III. I use mine with my EF 500mm f/4L IS almost 90% of the time. The IQ is excellent and with either of the f/2.8 lenses you're consider, it'll work on any body.</p> <p>For birds and wildlife, I'd go with the 5D MkIII over the 7D for its much more consistent and accurate AF system, ability to AF at f/8 and superior high-ISO performance. I own both, but the 7D sensor is five-years and three-generations old.</p> <p>I shot this goldfinch yesterday with my 5D3/500mm combination with the 2.0x TC-III added. Hand held. More pixels on the subject is always good:</p> <p><a title="Singing Goldfinch by dcstep, on Flickr" href=" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2905/14526625392_2ebf42e17f_c.jpg" alt="Singing Goldfinch" width="800" height="800" /></a></p>

<p>Yes, you just need a valid serial number for one of the supported models.</p>

<p>I'm not seeing anything in your post Allen.</p>

<p>Here it is direct from Canon USA:</p> <p>http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/slr_cameras/eos_1d_x#DriversAndSoftware</p> <p>Look under the "Software" drop-down.</p>

<p>Senator Baker passed away today at the age of 88.</p> <p>I thought that he was a great leader and negotiator for the USA, but this post is to remind our members that he was a very enthusiastic and talented photographer throughout his life. You can see great examples of his work at his site:</p> <p>http://howardbakerphotography.com/index.php#navIn</p>

<p>If you Google Images of Mother Teresa, you'll see hundreds of images of her, usually in 1/4 profile and some with hand in prayer position (she would tend to do this when she greeted people). I think these types of images became the world's view of her "essence", but one or two out of a hundred images show her carrying a weak child or soothing a suffering, emaciated adult on a very simple cot. I might argue that these images of her "serving" may be closer to the "essence" that I understand from reading about her life.<br> Both images are valid. The problem with the word "essence" is that it is supposed to be the one thing that best exemplifies the true nature of someone or something, so we can always argue over which image shows "it."</p> <p>If I'd had the chance to shoot Mother Teresa, I'd be trying to capture her at her work, showing her and the response from someone she was helping. That's my perception of her essence, but I'd probably also take the "classic" shot of her greeting me or others with her "praying hand" gesture and show the light in her eyes.</p>

<a href=" title="Untitled by David Stephens, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7229/7380961366_beac50f4bf_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="Untitled"></a>

<a href=" title="Sail pillars at Nelson's Dockyard by David Stephens, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7004/6480286965_f3aa900fdd_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Sail pillars at Nelson's Dockyard"> </a>

<a href=" title="Woman inline skater enjoys evening skate by David Stephens, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm7.staticflickr.com/6159/6177051456_b661661438_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Woman inline skater enjoys evening skate"></a>

<p>I wonder why there's no discussion on the North American Canon site.</p> <p>The links in the article are not working for me yet. Are people in the USA downloading this yet?</p>

<p><strong>Mourning Dove</strong></p> <p>Canon 5D MkIII, EF 500mm f/4L IS, EF 2.0x TC-III, Av Mode, ISO 800, +1EV, f/11, resulting in 1/400-sec., hand held, with Raw conversion in DxO Optics Pro 9.5:</p> <p><a title="Are you looking at me? by David Stephens, on Flickr" href=" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3861/14306414409_32c5181907_c.jpg" alt="Are you looking at me?" width="534" height="800" /></a></p>

<p><strong>I see you...</strong></p> <p>Canon 5D MkIII, EF 500mm f/4L IS, EF 2.0x TC-III, Av Mode, ISO 1600, +1EV, f/8, resulting in 1/2500-sec., hand held, with Raw conversion in DxO Optics Pro 9.5 and PRIME noise reduction applied:</p> <p><a title="I see you... by David Stephens, on Flickr" href=" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3919/14306415659_8080ddf6b0_c.jpg" alt="I see you..." width="800" height="400" /></a></p>

<p><strong>Black-chinned Hummingbird</strong></p> <p>Canon 5D MkIII, EF 500mm f/4L IS, EF 2.0x TC-III, Av Mode, ISO 1600, +1 EV, f/8, resulting in 1/800-sec., hand held, with Raw conversion in DxO Optics Pro 9.5, with PRIME noise reduction applied.</p> <p><a title="Black-chinned Hummingbird Flying (Explored) by David Stephens, on Flickr" href=" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5487/14475651995_e04438b3af_c.jpg" alt="Black-chinned Hummingbird Flying (Explored)" width="800" height="534" /></a></p>

<p>Thanks for reporting back Tushar. You'd be surprised how few people let us know what they decided.</p> <p>Regarding DLO, once you activate it and load it into your Lightroom, the adjustments are automatic, so it should not add to your processing time, once you've set it up. Regarding DxO, I'd activate DLO in Lightroom and work with that before adding DxO to your flow.</p>

<p>Either of the 70-200mm you proposed are excellent portrait and pretty good macro lenses, with the addition of an extension tube and a 1.4x or 2.0x TC-III. I prefer the f/4 70-200mm. I second (or third, lost track) the idea of going with something wider. Canon has a couple of nice ultra-wide zooms starting at 16 and 17mm. I use a 15mm f/2.8 diagonal fish-eye and de-fish it on most shots. Canon also has a great utlra-wide prime 14mm. That ultra-wide perspective is great for "big sky" shots and many landscape shots. 24-105mm on your full-frame covers a lot of range, but the ultra-wide end can be exciting.</p> <p>To get the most out of your camera and lenses, shoot in Raw and do your Raw conversion with software that includes Digital Lens Optimization, to correct for geometric distortion, chromatic aberration, vignetting, etc. at every focal length and every aperture. Digital Photo Professional includes DLO, as do Lightroom and DxO Optics Pro and some others. You'll be amazed at the improved performance of your zoom lenses.</p> <p>My lens line up is; 15/f2.8, 24-105mm, 70-200/f4, 500mm and the 1.4x and 2.0x TC-IIIs with a 25mm Extension Tube.</p>

<p>Congrats.</p>

<p><strong>Black Chinned Hummingbird Flies</strong></p> <p><a title="Black-chinned Hummingbird Flying (Explored) by David Stephens, on Flickr" href=" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5487/14475651995_e04438b3af_c.jpg" alt="Black-chinned Hummingbird Flying (Explored)" width="800" height="534" /></a></p>

<a href=" title="Crowded Lawn by dcstep, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2426/3686387048_5515039bfd_o.j pg" width="800" height="533" alt="Crowded Lawn"></a>

<a href=" title="Yellow Wildflower by dcstep, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3775/14312186502_fee029e1a0_c. jpg" width="800" height="800" alt="Yellow Wildflower"></a>

<a href=" title="Two at once!! Now what? by dcstep, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5325/9654325221_4f617e7942_c.j pg" width="800" height="534" alt="Two at once!! Now what?"></a>