The birds they mock me

[DibblyDobbler]

LongQ said:

How long has that one lasted Mike?

I'm surprised you didn't save the postage and drop it off on your way to get the Porsche from Mark at Malton.

It lasted long enough for me to realise I was never going to get a sharp shot with it! Mark (2slo) has been producing amazing images with his 400 f5.6 so I am giving that a go next. If it doesn't work then it's got to be operator error...


I'll whisper it but I've never been a massive fan of Porches - a triumph of engineering over design

[LongQ]

DibblyDobbler said:

A fool and his money are soon parted Rob I'm on a strict (for now anyway!) 1 in 1 out arrangement

Your rule or someone elses?

Is the rule related to value at all, or just lens count?

400mm f5.6 - pah!

You want one of these ....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Canon-FD-600mm-f4-5-s...

No problem with AF with one of those babies I can tell you!




Better pic.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ontarian/4116143059/



Works well as part of a fitness regime as well - provided you are fit to start with of course.

Edited by LongQ on Sunday 12th May 20:20

[DibblyDobbler]

LongQ said:

Your rule or someone elses?

Is the rule related to value at all, or just lens count?

400mm f5.6 - pah!

You want one of these ....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Canon-FD-600mm-f4-5-s...

No problem with AF with one of those babies I can tell you!



Better pic.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ontarian/4116143059/

Works well as part of a fitness regime as well - provided you are fit to start with of course.

You must think I'm a right arse with money to burn !

Oh

[LongQ]

DibblyDobbler said:

You must think I'm a right arse with money to burn !

Oh

Au contraire mon ami.

I don't think that at all.

To be honest the Japanese sourced offer on eBay sounds a bit expensive.

I picked mine up a few years ago, complete with adapter, for £400 and got a free (though non working) T70 body included. A 2x adapter cost be about £50 iirc maybe less. There were 2 types in the old dyas, I got one of each. I bought a newer, better adapter for about £90 a couple of years ago. Chap now does an even better one for about the same price. (See "Ontarian" on Flickr).

So, if you can find one and are prepared to shoot fully manual (but with focus confirm on a suitable body) the entry level price for superprimes can be quite a lot lower than the full AF kit.

In theory if you can swap screens (not sure if you can on a 6D) you can get a specialist focus screen to assist with focus anyway but it may not be necessary for some subject matter. For example if you have a feeding table setup for bird shots you can establish focus and lock it in place. Following a bird in flight is not so much of an issue with a huge lens - the field of view is so narrow it's darned difficult anyway! If inflight is your bag then an incredibly competent AF system if probably the way to go. People used to be able to track and focus manually but it's a hell of a skill that few will master reliably to their satisfaction.

One the other hand the minimum focus distance is, iirc, about 21ft. That might not be short enough for some situations.

Edited by LongQ on Sunday 12th May 22:02

[WelshnThirsty]

An Australian Emu or prehistoric dinosaur?

AP-13 by Welsh'n'Thirsty, on Flickr

Black Crested Crane

AP-8 by Welsh'n'Thirsty, on Flickr

[central]

018 by Fast an' Bulbous, on Flickr

[XKjimmy]

Had my new Canon 2X III TC arrive today, attached to my 70-200 2.8 II I was worried I would loose some image quality.
Testing it out today this little chap kindly posed for me. Very impressed that the images stay sharp, these were hand held at 400mm too.





The images did look clearer before uploading them to Photobucket also.

[2slo]

/\ Looks good to me. The 70-200mm f/2.8 is one of Canons sharpest lenses and takes the TCs very well.

This Pheasant made me laugh as I watched him on my wall today. I think he was waiting to be inspected:


Pheasant on parade by 2slo7, on Flickr

[DibblyDobbler]

DibblyDobbler said:

Last hurrah for my 100-400 which is heading off to the post office on Monday thanks to Mr 2Slo!

Hmm - seems I spoke too soon

The guy I sold my 100-400 to has declared it to be faulty so I have refunded him and he's sending it back. It definitely worked when I sent it (admittedly not brilliantly imho) so either it's been damaged in the post or has always been faulty and I just haven't noticed. He reckons there is some movement in the internals and it's soft. I'll need to have a look at it when I get it back to see what's up...

[2slo]

DibblyDobbler said:

Hmm - seems I spoke too soon

The guy I sold my 100-400 to has declared it to be faulty so I have refunded him and he's sending it back. It definitely worked when I sent it (admittedly not brilliantly imho) so either it's been damaged in the post or has always been faulty and I just haven't noticed. He reckons there is some movement in the internals and it's soft. I'll need to have a look at it when I get it back to see what's up...

I believe you can send lenses to Canon at Elstree with instructions to give an estimate for repair before going ahead. That's assuming it isn't still under warranty? I think I mentioned in an earlier discussion that my 400mm wasn't right when I first got it. Canon recentred the element and only then was it sharp enough. Worth getting a quote. If they put it right you might find you like it and want to keep it?

[DibblyDobbler]

Thanks Mark. There's a local place in Edinburgh which does repairs so I'll let them have a look at it. I'll be interested to see if it seems different to how it was when I posted it ...

[WelshnThirsty]

Gull by Welsh'n'Thirsty, on Flickr

[Dogsey]

No photo's I'm afraid but in the last couple of days I've seen my first ever Pied-Fly Catcher and heard a Cuckoo for the first time in years.

[2slo]

Dogsey said:

No photo's I'm afraid but in the last couple of days I've seen my first ever Pied-Fly Catcher

Here's a distant one I took last week


Pied Flycatcher by 2slo7, on Flickr

[Dogsey]

2slo said:

Here's a distant one I took last week


Pied Flycatcher by 2slo7, on Flickr

Nice. My long lens is currently back with Sigma having it's auto-focus mechanism mended after it was dropped a while back. I'll be glad to get it back now that I seem to have found a little spot where at least one family of PFC are hanging out.

[2slo]

Dogsey said:

Nice. My long lens is currently back with Sigma having it's auto-focus mechanism mended after it was dropped a while back. I'll be glad to get it back now that I seem to have found a little spot where at least one family of PFC are hanging out.

Ouch, sounds expensive. The one above is at Low Barns bird reserve in Durham. I couldn't get any closer than I was (it was on the wrong side of a swamp)and my shot was a 100% crop from 560mm.I think to do it justice would need at least a 500mm + 2xTC.

[WelshnThirsty]

Common Shelduck


AP-4 by Welsh'n'Thirsty, on Flickr

[bernhund]

Probably not the most exciting bird picture but this fella has been a regular in my garden and I thought I'd get a snap before someone blows it apart!

[rolex]

Only a mother could love them

[Mr Kitten]

Nothing too special - but from a recent wander around RHS Wisley:


RHS Poster Boy by ant-k, on Flickr