[Chewy734]

awesome shot Dave. Do you usually only click once? Or take multiple shots, subsequently fine-tuning your parameters?

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Chewy734

awesome shot Dave. Do you usually only click once? Or take multiple shots, subsequently fine-tuning your parameters?

Thanks Chewy and Vachss.

I probably took 20 to 30 shots of this hawk on that particular branch. I shoot in bursts of two or three as the head angle changes, looking to catch an eyelight or intense stare with both eyes or "special" pose. I had so many to chose from that I actually did RAW conversion, cropping and adjustments on about eight. I select the processing cut by looking at in-camera jpegs at full screen and then examine the eyes at 100%, looking for super sharpness. After processing, I'll pick the best one by running a little slideshow several times to see how I react and pick the one that strikes me most favorably. I keep all the processed files on my external HD, but usually use only one.

Dave

[Chewy734]

Do you ever spook the animals with the shutter sound? Or are you pretty far away?

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Chewy734

Do you ever spook the animals with the shutter sound? Or are you pretty far away?

The shutter is usually not a problem, although they'll react to it and look more intensely at me occasionally. Once, I shot with a guy using a Nikon that would beep loudly when it grabbed AF. We had to turn that off because it was spooking everything.

This bird would have probably flown out of my range after I kicked it up walking through the brush, but there was a pheasant down on the ground to my right, unknown to me. The hunt had not been given up and the hawk was mad at me and even vocalized. The hawk flew to another nearby tree and as I moved to get a shot of that, I kicked up the pheasant and the Coopers gave chase. Alas, they were so close and too fast so couldn't get focused.

Dave

[Chewy734]

The only reason I asked is because the 5D3's shutter in silent mode is wicked quiet.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Chewy734

The only reason I asked is because the 5D3's shutter in silent mode is wicked quiet.

If it doesn't slow down fps, then I'd use it all the time.

Dave

[M_Six]

Killer shot, Dave. Very nice.

I was out shooting the sunrise with my Nikon-wielding friend a couple weeks ago and his AF beep was driving me nuts. No need for that. My 7D is as quiet as I can get it. My Panny FZ18 will shoot completely silent, which makes it great for churches and weddings and so on, as long as you don't expect professional looking images.

[Chewy734]

Originally Posted by dcstep

If it doesn't slow down fps, then I'd use it all the time.

Dave

It slows it down from 6 fps to 3 fps, sadly.

[vachss]

I think the 7D's shutter is already much quieter than the ka-LONK of the 5D2.

[Chewy734]

That's probably true... the mirror on the 5D2 has to move farther than on the 7D.

[M_Six]

This nasty storm cell passed just south of campus today. Some weather spotter supposedly saw a funnel cloud and all hell broke loose. Sirens and website warnings and so on. I was watching the weather radar thinking it wasn't the right type of storm for a tornado and the area weather in general was not typical of tornado activity. As the sirens were going off, the sun was breaking out everywhere. I took this pic while the sirens were wailing. I think someone got a little too excited and over-reacted.

[dcstep]

Nice one Mark.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Nice one Mark.

Thanks, Dave. I'm not really happy with it. The clouds were blindingly bright and don't show up that way in the pic. I rushed the PP though because I needed leave. I may rework it later.

[MaximusJ]

Originally Posted by hieu1004

Agreed.

I have the Canon equivalent, 70-200L f/2.8 II and it is a beast (both quality and size, lol). In fact, ever since I got it, I've used my other primes much less. I'm glad you're enjoying yours - it seems to be a perfect lens for paintballing shoots.

It is; indeed. I needed a fast lens to take fast moving subjects from a distance. I picked the perfect lens for my craving.

I am still struggling with its size; thus place for improvement, sharp-wise, when I find a comfortable and stable way to handle it. But i'm really happy with the overall ease of use.

I didnt fully test it tho since I was also coaching that practice, but I had a lot of fun shooting with it.

I received my Meike Macro kit today. They have an extension tube kit which is sturdy made and communicate EXIF data through it. I got the 12-20-36mm kit for $53 shipped. Should be a good buy since its solid made and looks pretty much the same the Keiko's kit; but for a third of the price.

I also got the Meike LED Ring for $35. So it makes a cheap option for Macro. I just have to see what kind of result one can get with those.

So review and pics to come! I need to find some bugs for that contest.

[- Paul -]

Originally Posted by MaximusJ

I received my Meike Macro kit today. They have an extension tube kit which is sturdy made and communicate EXIF data through it. I got the 12-20-36mm kit for $53 shipped. Should be a good buy since its solid made and looks pretty much the same the Keiko's kit; but for a third of the price.

Interested where and the results/review!

[tekmoe]

[GTHAUS]

Quick snap of our F30 335i from the other day.


F30 BMW 335i w/ Meisterschaft GTC Exhaust by GTHAUS-Meisterschaft, on Flickr

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Chewy734

It slows it down from 6 fps to 3 fps, sadly.

then it's a no-go.

[The1]

Originally Posted by dcstep

If it doesn't slow down fps, then I'd use it all the time.

Dave

I was shooting a 5DmkIII in the store yesterday, and it's a much quieter shutter sound in it's normal mode then the 5DmkII, so that may be of use.

I didn't test the silent shooting, or compare it to the 7D, but I have a suspicion it may be slightly quieter then the 7D as well.

At least it seems that way. It's a different noise altogether.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by MaximusJ

It is; indeed (the 70-200/2.8). I needed a fast lens to take fast moving subjects from a distance. I picked the perfect lens for my craving.

I am still struggling with its size; thus place for improvement, sharp-wise, when I find a comfortable and stable way to handle it. But i'm really happy with the overall ease of use.

I didnt fully test it tho since I was also coaching that practice, but I had a lot of fun shooting with it. ...

You hold these no different than any other lens, with your left hand under the lens near the mounting plated. With the Canons we can manage the zoom with our index finger and thumb without moving the other fingers. Balance is important and can vary from body to body. If it's too front heavy, then move you left hand out toward the optics until you find the balance point. This is important and will reduce strain.

Make sure your stabilization is on (I hope you got that feature. Skimping on that feature is a huge mistake that many make). Your shutter speed, particularly while you're learning to hand hold, needs to be at 1/500-second and higher (raise ISO to get there). When you get more experience you'll be able to go as low as 1/100-sec for a stationary subject.

You may need to build some arm strength for holding this lens in position. Thankfully that means simply shooting a lot and paying attention to your results and trying to improve. I didn't get really good at hand holding my 500/f4 until I'd shot maybe 20,000+ shots. A little weight lifting, seriously, might be in order to speed things along.

This is a workhorse lens that you need to invest the time to get very comfortable with. It works for portraits, some landscapes, sports and nature. I'll never be without one in my bag, although I'm very happy with my f/4 version.

Dave

[hieu1004]

My niece

5D II + 70-200L f/2.8 II


IMG_5076 by hieu1004, on Flickr

[The1]

those are some intense blue eyes!