rob_pailes

Jim, when I use my 300f4 IS with the IS turned on, handheld, the

image locks in place and totally stabilizes. There is no movement at

all once the stabilizer kicks in. I guess I just expected this to be

the case with all the IS lenses. I would think that if the image

moves AT ALL in the viewfinder, then this would also be recorded on

film, since what we see in the viewfinder is just a mirrored (sp)

image of what will be recorded on the film when the shutter is

released.

yes, the IS was being used on a tripod. The new IS lenses are meant

to be used on a tripod with the IS function turned on, unlike the

earlier versions, which if on a tripod the IS function is not to be

turned on.

I own an Elan II E and an EOS 3. I don't think the Elan's ECF system

is evolved enough to be useful enough to give me an advantage in my

genre of photography, bird shots. It is not fast enough. I bought

the EOS three because I was ready to move to a pro level camera, and

the EOS 3's focusing system is possibly the fastest available. BUT,

even with the 3, I do not find the ECF to be reliable. If you have

to nail the eye of a shorebird in focus as it feeds or moves around,

you cannot afford any mistakes. I find as good as the Eye Contol

Focus is, sometimes it will choose the wrong focusing point. One

that is out of my depth of field(which is millimters at 420mm at 5

feet) Time spent getting close and into the "right" position for an

awesome shot is too important to risk missing the shot because the

ECF chose the wrong focusing point.

 

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Now for shooting people and other large 'in the frame subjects', I

think the ECF is an excellant choice. It all depends on what you are

shooting.

Unfortunately this is also a problem I have experienced with my EOS

3. I have been shooting with my 3 corrected for 2/3 underexposure

for about 9 months now. I shoot 95% spot metering, so this

calibration is simple and easy. But I also found my EOS 3 to be only

1/3 underexposed while using evaluative matering. This was a major

headache when switching between metering modes.

 

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I agree that a pro level camera should be properly calibrated, but I

also know that properly calibrating a camera's meter has been going

on for a long time now. Many camera bodies have and will continue to

be calibrated wrong upon purchase. Correcting with a simple change

in ISO will always correct this, simply and efficiently.

 

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I personally have put off sending my camera in for correction because

of the horror stories I have heard about sending equipment to the

Canon Service Factory. I have heard the turnover rate for repairs

can be two to three months. Unfortunatley my EOS 3 broke down and

lost focusing ability last week, and just today I mailed it to the

closest authorized Canon repair facility. It is still under

warranty, and they can fix the meter problem while they have it. I

love the EOS system and won't lose faith now. It is just a shame

that $1300.00 can't assure you that you won't get one of the few bad

eggs.

 

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Anyway, you can correct in ISO or send the baby away to be

recalibrated. Either way, the up side is that the meter works either

way!

Jeff, how about Cape Coral for some of the most approachable burrowing owls in the country, or Pine Island for Bald Eagles. Other notable sites include Jonathon Dickinson State park, Myakka River State park, Ocala national forest, Pelican Island NWR, and you didn't mention the Keys. A trip out to the Dry Tortugas is a little more costly, but well worth it. good luck!

John

 

I have found the most reliable metering system to be the spot mode. I use the spot meter for 95% of my shooting conditins. For me this takes out all the variables associated with my camera's meter having to differentiate between tonal changes within a scene. With the spot meter, I pick the single tone that will be metered, and I adjust for that tone's relation to neutral gray. I guess for me it is a matter of taking the guesswork out of the camera's hand and putting it in mine. Once you learn the relation of the meter to neutral tones and how to compensate on your exposure indicator, you can master the technique and have full control of your exposures.

I can be very specific. Soon after I bought the camera I noticed

that my exposures were coming in a bit dark. For the previous year

or so I had little problems with my exposures, so this obviously was

a clue something was amiss. I do not like to use a grey card to

calibrate my meter, but I did use one as a first check, and although

due to reflections the results varied up to two stops, I did get a

feeling my meter was off. I then purchased a wallace exposure disc

and checked again. The exposure disc returned the above mentioned

results.

 

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As to your ascertion that the meters in the camera could and even

should be different is very questionable to me. I understand that

the different metering modes function better for different

situations, but that is far from implying that they would read 18%

reflectance differently. If I produce a perfect 18% grey for any of

the six or twenty different metering systems available in cameras

today, and any one of them does not record perfect exposure, than it

is not calibtated correctly, nothing more and nothing less. The

subjective use of the information provided by these different

metering systems is what you are speaking of, and if this information

is not correct in the first place, then the resulting exposure will

be of no use as a learning tool, as it has been corrupt by a faulty

meter.

 

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The headache caused by this problem of three metering m0des being 2/3

stop off, and the fourth being a full stop off should be obvious.

For metering modes 1,2, and 3 I would calibrate my meter 1 full stop

lower(ISO 50 instead of ISO 100), but for metering mode 4

(evaluatinve), I would calibrate to ISO 64 instead. Since I shoot

wildlife, mostly birds, the scenes and backgrounds I am shooting are

constantly changing. Since I use the spot meter probably 90% of the

time, this is not a problem. But I also will use evaluative metering

on occasion, and it is now that my meter will be calibtated 1/3 of a

stop too much. This can be easily corrected while establishing how

far form center I am opening up or closing down, but it is still a

distraction! The question is, is it enough of a distraction to

warrant sending thte camera back to the factory for probably trhee to

four months to get the problem corrected????

Yes guys, after I posted this question, I checked the settings out

and found that I did have it at the wrong setting the whole time. A

rather funny blunder after I realized what I had done.

 

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As to the questions posed about my feelings toward the camera, I am

still out on that decision. This is my first pro camera, for the

last two years(my entire shooting career)I have been shooting the

Elan IIE. I enjoyed the Elan, but then again it was my first and

only camera, thus nothing to compare it to. I am truly glad that I

chose a Canon to start with, I like the EOS system very much. But my

level of shooting has made a pro level camera as my main body

necessary, allowing for the Elan backup body.

 

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The EOS 3 was my first and pretty much only choice. The focusing

system is truly magnificent. I shoot primarily with the 300L IS,

almost exclusively birds, much of the time with a 1.4X tele and no

tripod. Stalking and shooting shorebirds with this camera has been

an incredible experience and a huge step foward in my photography.

The results are inspiring, and the camera system has much to do with

that.

 

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I also have found the camera to have a somewhat plastic feel to it.

The side door catches on my hand and opens sometimes also, but that

is minor. My only true gripe about the camera thus far though is

that my meter is off 2/3 to one full stop, depending on which

metering function you choose. Spot, partial, and center-weighted are

off one full stop, while evaluative is off 2/3 stop, all towards

under-exposure. This is not what I expected to get for my $$$$.

Calibrating the meter is not even a big deal, but when I switch

between metering modes, this is an extra distraction. I haven't

decided what to do about it. I would like to get it fixed, but I

don't want to be without it for three months either. Any suggestions

would be appreciated.

I recently purchased a Canon EOS 3, and am quite happy with the camera. I have noticed one glitch in one of the custom functions. Custom function #13, focusing point and spot metering linkage, has a setting (#1), that limits the number of focusing points from 45 down to 11, and LINKS the spot meter to these 11 points. On my body, the number of focusing points does indeed become 11, but the spot meter is still linked to the middle point. Has anyone else experienced this problem. since I only shoot in manual mode with spot metering, this would have been a perfect union between the many focusing points available and my exposure technique!

I am planning a trip to the West Indies, and will be staying in St

Martin for a few days. What information can anyone provide about

shooting wildlife on the island? I mainly shoot birds, but will also

have a macro setup and short telephoto along for scenics.

As to these recent reports, I was in the Ding Darling refuge

yesterday morning, and the second opening on the left was a visual

overload of birds. My guess would put the number above 1000 birds,

and it was a good 4 hours after low tide! I didn't count, but at

least a dozen different species were about, including a bald eagle at

the back of the impoundment atop a bare tree. Although out of range

to anything but a spotting scope, his presence was a wonderful

surprise. All I did was wait until he took flight (about ten

minutes), and as usual with a baldy in the sky, nearly all of those

1000 birds took flight. The air above the water was an incredible

splash of white, with great egrets, snowys, woodstorks, great blues,

white pelicans, shorebirds, at least one reddish egret, and many

others as well.

 

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As for there being too much water in the refuge on Sanibel, I live

here, spend most of my mornings there, and this past week or so the

water levels have been quite low consistenly, low tide or not. and

although I haven't checked the actual low tide levels for this

weekend, the first of the two blue moons starts sunday, as do the

morning low tides in the refuge. This combination should bring

extreme low tide levels and an abundance of feeding frenzie

opportunities. Let's hope so!

I have been considering adding medium format to my equipment list. I

also want to pick up a panoramic camera to do landscapes and beach

scenes here in S. Florida. Since people have been cropping

panoramics for years out of medium format, should I consider this and

skip the pan camera. If so, what medium format, 6x7? What final

print size can I expect from a cropped medium format panoramic vs a

straight panoramic neg? Thank you.

Here are a couple of stabs at the 'general principles' behind how I

would recomend handling the above mentioned situation.

Metering? As mentioned above, for birds in flight, a blue sky is

definitely helpful. Considering this, you hopefully will be shooting

on a clear day. BEFORE shooting, use the sunny sixteen rule and pick

a starting exposure of 500 at f8 (for 100 speed film). Here you have

established your rich blue sky. At this point you know the part of

the bird you will expose for is shaded under the body, so open up

just enough to expose the bird but not enough to throw your blue sky

too light. I would suggest exposing some opened up 1/3 to 1/2 a

stop, and some opened up 2/3 to 1 full stop. Then hit the light

table and establish the results. You could easily have to open up

more in different situations.

Some obvious considerations:

This is for manual. But I think it would be a great way to learn

how to shoot manually, only changing your shutter speed or your

aperture a fraction at a time while shooting these circling birds.

Also make sure the speed you have chosen is enough to stop motion in

the bird you are shooting, if that is your intended result. There is

nothing worse than shooting a whole roll of properly exposed birds in

flight, only to find 500 wasn't enough, and they are all blurry.

An added tip I have recently realized shooting ospreys in FL. A

bird at 45 degrees will have a nice blue sky, but as it gets closer

and you end up shooting straight up or nearly straight up, the sky

will darken considerably and could end up underexposured.

I hope I have helped out with some basic ideas to take with you the

next time you go shooting.

Jeff, try the Fakahatchee strand of the everglades. As far as the

Everglades goes it is close to Naples. Also, head up to Fort Myers

Beach and hit the beach behind the Holiday Inn; this is one of the

pro's favorite hotspots. On the way you could stop at Lover's Key

and check out the beach there for shorebirds. I frequently see

Oystercatchers there. Also, if you don't mind the two hour drive,

Venice, FL (north on I75)has a small rookery that offers incredible

shots of herons, great egrets, and cormorants. I am not positive

about the timing, but in January you might catch the beginning of

nesting and other breeding behavior.

 

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Good Luck!

In the early days of my 'learning' photography, nature photography was and remains my sole pursuit with a camera. While learning I consistenly tried to write down the aperture\shutter speed information for each shot. I also had read and believed this would help me in progressing faster and help my 'keep' ratio. As time passed I also consistently forgot to write down the information. I soon realized that my progress was a product of the intense concentration I was developing while observing the wildlife and shooting the pictures. As my concentration grew, so did the quality of my images. Unfortunately, stopping to record exposure breaks this concentration. With most wildlife that I have shot, just keeping my eye glued to the viewfinder and concentrating on focus and the exposure I THOUGHT was correct was the best lesson learned. Especially if you are shooting birds and their behavior as our friend Author does.

 

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The utter joy of being in the field, locating subjects, and shooting away undoubtedly is the catalyst to progress. As stated above, practice IS what makes a pro. Photography is a passion, and mastering it through the intense emotions of the process will offer you a more comfortable long term understanding of that process and the satisfaction it brings us all.