PF Photography: Tips, Tricks, & Photo Sharing

[Topher925]

That is one helluva lens. I was looking at buying a nice 400 or 500mm prime not to long ago for nature photography but couldn't bring myself to fork out that much dough so I bought a telescope and adapter instead (Orion ST80). Surprisingly good images for a hundred bucks but big, heavy, and difficult to use so now its only used for astrophotography.

I did recently get a sweet deal for a Pentax DA 70mm Limited. And while it doesn't have the reach of 500mm, 70mm is still not bad and its ridiculously sharp at f5.6 and beyond. Its so small and light it fits in my shirt pocket.

A shot with the 70mm at f2.4 ISO 200

100% Crop of above image

 

[Andy Resnick]

So just I got myself a http://www.sigmaphoto.com/shop/150-500mm-f5-63-apo-dg-os-hsm-sigma today. <snip>

<snip>
I did recently get a sweet deal for a Pentax DA 70mm Limited. And while it doesn't have the reach of 500mm, 70mm is still not bad and its ridiculously sharp at f5.6 and beyond. Its so small and light it fits in my shirt pocket.
<snip>

Yay! new toys! I put in for a new lens as well, we'll see how it does when I get it.

 

[Ms Music]

So just I got myself a http://www.sigmaphoto.com/shop/150-500mm-f5-63-apo-dg-os-hsm-sigma today.

I think I have that same lens, if not, one very similar. I may have to drag it out and play around with it and try to copy some of the stuff you do. I have barely touched it, but never was satisfied with its performance. And I didn't have the time to research it. I have always felt that A/ it doesn't work right, B/ my tripod isn't beefy enough for it, or C/ I too stoopid to use it correctly. I believe the correct answer is probably C.

Would you be willing to walk me through copying a few of your photos to see if I can truly eliminate option A and B?

 

[Andre]

Sure, happy to help out. I'll link to full size pix later today.

http://www.sigmaphoto.com/shop/telephoto-zoom-lenses and http://www.sigmaphoto.com/shop/telephoto-zoom-lenses?page=2 is the full line up of the long sigma's.

Obviously there are many reasons why the results may disappoint, then again you cannot expect the same quality from a budget 1K lens than the 10k lenses, especially the Canon 400mm II F2.8L is flat out sensational, but way to expensive for common sense. So I wasn't expecting a better result than the second crop in my previous post.

Anyway, compared to the result with the 100mm macro, there is still clearly quite some difference in quality.

the Sigma:

To elimate any possible factor that may degrade the picture, these were all made from a sturdy tripod obviously, Optical Stabilator off, and manual focus in life view, in which I can blow up the focus area. Then from life view (and hence locked up mirror) the picture is made using remote control, but a self timer would also work, elimating any vibration.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Interesting- is it just me, or is the color rendition different between the macro and tele? The 100mm seems to be more blue.

 

[Andre]

Interesting- is it just me, or is the color rendition different between the macro and tele? The 100mm seems to be more blue.

Sorry, Andy, I should have told that those pictures were not made at the same moment in time.

 

[Ms Music]

Sure, happy to help out.

Thank you very much!

So what would you like me to do? Photograph one thing with two lenses to compare (like you just did with the macro), or would you like me to try to copy your "Dead Bug On Glass" to compare to yours? I meant to look at the lens so that you would know exactly the differences between yours and mine (besides the fact that mine is probably at least 5 years old), but forgot before I had to leave this morning. Just let me know what is easiest for you to judge, and any set up parameters you would like me to use.

Thank you again! My trusted camera shop went out of business before I got the opportunity to talk to them about it, and I haven't found anything convenient to replace that shop.

 

[Andre]

Okay, so we should try and make photo's of the same subject with the same parameters (mainly distance).

So here is my idea, we take pix of AA batteries, seems to be a standard thing for photo testing. Brand isn't interesting, it's just that we know that they are the same size.

Next thing is to determine the magnification. 1:10 seems simple, that means that with 500mm distance to the subject is 5 meter and with 50mm it's 0.5 meter etc, but we have to add the focus distance to that. Actually that's not fully correct as Andy will be happy to point out, but it's a simple approximation, so for 500mm the distance to the sensor plane is 5.5 meters and for 50mm it would be 0,55 meters. So we can make several test shots with various apertures.

I will work on 500mm with F6.3 F8 and F11, and the 100mm at F8, it's sweet spot and I'll post the results in a bit.

 

[Andre]

I'm not altogether happy with the results so far, but this is something made with the 100mm at F8

If you just make something like that, I'll get similar pix with the 500mm tomorrow.

 

[Ms Music]

Remember, I haven't taken any photography lessons. I tried learning from the manual, but that was about the time that my memory decided to fail me. So if you get too technical...

Are the parameters something you can check with the EXIF data? (I think that is what it is called) Then you can correct my homework. I have had to resort back to plain old point and shoot.

Also, realize that free time is something I have little of. I will do my best to do what you want me to within a decent time frame. Just a warning!

 

[Andre]

Don't worry, just put a couple of batteries in the picture, roughly like that, using the TLAR^* method and show some 100% crops and I will try to match that as close as possible.

Oh and please reveal your type of camera.* TLAR = That Looks About Right

 

[Andre]

Meanwhile I went to the lake to test the long tube a bit for action and reality. All shots reduced to 20%. No cropping.

Those coots can really fight.

100% crop of the last:

 

[Ms Music]

* TLAR = That Looks About Right

LOL!

Ok, you're on. I will see how quickly I can get some batteries back to you. Just no fighting coots. I can't match that!

Oh hey... Just had a thought as I was about to click to post. How do I post the full size image? I think my photo sharing site that I use for posting on the internet shrinks them, and I have never tried PMing photos to know how that works. Should I email them to you?

 

[Andre]

Yes email is okay. Also a possibility is installing a dropbox, which makes it easy to share files. Here are some of mine in full size:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22026080/IMG_9916.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22026080/IMG_2379hdn.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22026080/verlanglijstje/IMG_0527_vlinder.jpg

 

[Ms Music]

Thank you for the info, I will look into that.

I found my exact lens, so now you know what the similarities and differences are between our two lenses.

http://www.sigmaphoto.com/shop/50-500mm-f4-63-ex-dg-hsm-sigma

And an Olympus E500 body.

 

[Andre]

Ah yes the "Bigma". A well known lens.

The older version you indicate is without optical stabilisation, which helps prevent motion blur. Moreover with the E500, a four thirds sensor, which is half the size of the original SLR film. This means that the lens and body combination has an effective focus of 1000mm. In the old days we had a simple algoritm that for preventing motion blur, you needed a shutter speed equal or better than the effective focus, so that would be 1/1000 sec. With the current lens quality, personally I find that even optimistic. This means that hand held, you should not go below 1/1000 sec. But obviously a tripod is almost inevitable. With those speeds you're likely ending up with maximum apertures, which is not a good idea with the long sigma's as mentioned before.

Also look how touching the camera, even on tripod, already leads to vibrations, you could image that this would also translate into motion blur, even on the tripod, so remote or timer control is highly advisable, to have these vibrations dampen out first.

So all in all pretty tough to control that Bigma beast.

 

[Ms Music]

Ahhhhhh, THAT explains it all. So is the best advice to sell it? ;) Or would it work with a newer and faster camera?

 

[Andre]

Always quite a responsibility to give advice, but I think I would sell it, but indeed an alternative would be to get a sensor stabilized (micro) four thirds camera that should be compatible with the lens. This is a real gem. At least that would solve the shutter speed problem, if it works of course. But would you have fun carrying so much weight around all day?

Another option would be to get a super zoom bridge camera.

 

[Ms Music]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22026080/IMG_9916.jpg

I like how the cresting wave BARELY catch the color of the setting sun.

Always quite a responsibility to give advice, but I think I would sell it, but indeed an alternative would be to get a sensor stabilized (micro) four thirds camera that should be compatible with the lens. This is a real gem. At least that would solve the shutter speed problem, if it works of course. But would you have fun carrying so much weight around all day?

Another option would be to get a super zoom bridge camera.

Honestly, I don't give up easy, so I will probably keep it until I buy a better camera. But I decided a while back I wouldn't do that until I actually could use it somewhat. And yes, it is a heavy beast to carry around, it is named Mongo for a reason.

 

[Andre]

Meanwhile, I'm looking for a title for this picture; 'drama on a rose leaf'? 'Ladykiller'?

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22026080/IMG_7615-1.jpg

 

[Borek]

Lunch?

 

[dlgoff]

Take That

 

[Andy Resnick]

An embarrassment of riches in the night sky lately- a spectacular pass of the space station last night:

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/7127/iss662012.jpg

If I push the exposure, the rest of the structure may be (vaguely) seen:

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8717/pushed662012.jpg

800/5.6, ISO 400, 1/1250s exposure. There was a comedy of errors this time- the sky was cloudy, and I was distracting myself by trying to get a good exposure reading off of Saturn- the ISS was 5 stops brighter, so by getting a 'good' exposure from Saturn, I could dial in the ISS setting easily. I wasn't checking the time and...

All of a sudden, this *blindingly bright* thing comes barreling out of he clouds, almost directly overhead. I had set my tripod to be able to look directly up (like this: http://www.richardpeters.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/vertical.jpg), which is hazardous since I have to step over a leg to pan the lens around.

So I swing the lens around and soon realize that I still have the camera set to 'mirror lockup'- this is *bad* since the ISS moves so fast. I push what I thought was the right button, but soon found myself in camera menu hell. I get that fixed and realize that my tripod is pointed in the wrong direction, so I have to pick the whole thing up and rotate it this way and that. Meanwhile the ISS is panning directly overhead, looking amazing- there was a moment where it seemed to actually slow down and stop moving.

The next chance is on the 9th, under similar conditions...

 

[Andy Resnick]

Another fantastic ISS flyover- this time I was much better prepared:

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/4049/dsc46912.jpg

I'll post a timelapse when I get a chance to process all the images... time to go back out, M101 is sitting pretty...

 

[dlgoff]

An embarrassment of riches in the night sky lately- a spectacular pass of the space station last night:

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/7127/iss662012.jpg

If I push the exposure, the rest of the structure may be (vaguely) seen:

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8717/pushed662012.jpg

800/5.6, ISO 400, 1/1250s exposure. There was a comedy of errors this time- the sky was cloudy, and I was distracting myself by trying to get a good exposure reading off of Saturn- the ISS was 5 stops brighter, so by getting a 'good' exposure from Saturn, I could dial in the ISS setting easily. I wasn't checking the time and...

All of a sudden, this *blindingly bright* thing comes barreling out of he clouds, almost directly overhead. I had set my tripod to be able to look directly up (like this: http://www.richardpeters.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/vertical.jpg), which is hazardous since I have to step over a leg to pan the lens around.

So I swing the lens around and soon realize that I still have the camera set to 'mirror lockup'- this is *bad* since the ISS moves so fast. I push what I thought was the right button, but soon found myself in camera menu hell. I get that fixed and realize that my tripod is pointed in the wrong direction, so I have to pick the whole thing up and rotate it this way and that. Meanwhile the ISS is panning directly overhead, looking amazing- there was a moment where it seemed to actually slow down and stop moving.

The next chance is on the 9th, under similar conditions...

Another fantastic ISS flyover- this time I was much better prepared:

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/4049/dsc46912.jpg

I'll post a timelapse when I get a chance to process all the images... time to go back out, M101 is sitting pretty...

Thank you for sharing these images (/w explanations). And the M51-Whirlpool Galaxy images too.

 

[Andre]

So just I got myself a http://www.sigmaphoto.com/shop/150-500mm-f5-63-apo-dg-os-hsm-sigma today...

Another shot at the water site with the new toy. Grebes. This is probably why they are my favorite.



Parent grebe about to drop a little fish into the beak of the youngster(cropped).

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22026080/whew1.jpg


100% crop

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/22026080/whew2.jpg

 

[Andy Resnick]

Thank you for sharing these images (/w explanations). And the M51-Whirlpool Galaxy images too.

Thanks! The timelapse is a 'keeper': 800/5.6, ISO 500, 1/1250s exposures

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/6200/montagef.jpg

As the ISS comes overhead (the first 2 rows), the 4 large solar panels are clearly indicated separate from the central bright blob (likely the thermal control panels), and as it recedes (the bottom 2 rows) the smaller structure (Zvezda power platform) separated from the main structure can (barely) be seen as well.

Another shot at the water site with the new toy. Grebes. This is probably why they are my favorite.

Most excellent shot!

 

[Andy Resnick]

It finally happened- my shutter failed. I estimate it lasted 60k actuations, which is on the low side of average for that camera. The camera is currently en route to a repair shop, hopefully the camera will be back and ready for action in 2 or 3 weeks. Meanwhile, my new lens is still on backorder, with an estimated delivery date in mid-late July...

 

[LadyStardust]

My friendly kindly posed for me in this one:

My apartment!

Meet Gandalf, my kitty and boss

 

[Topher925]

It finally happened- my shutter failed. I estimate it lasted 60k actuations, which is on the low side of average for that camera. The camera is currently en route to a repair shop, hopefully the camera will be back and ready for action in 2 or 3 weeks. Meanwhile, my new lens is still on backorder, with an estimated delivery date in mid-late July...

60K sounds rather low for the shutter to be failing. Is it still under warranty?

Nice shots Ladystardust. What kind of gear did you use for those shots.

 

[LadyStardust]

60K sounds rather low for the shutter to be failing. Is it still under warranty?

Nice shots Ladystardust. What kind of gear did you use for those shots.

Thanks. For the first shot, just me holding the camera (no tripod) with an 18-55 lens.

Second pic, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens with a neutral density filter - no tripod.

Third pic, 18-55 lens, pol filter + UV, tripod and colour select setting.

Fourth pic, same as above.

Fifth pic, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 with pol + UV filters, no tripod.

Sixth pic, 55-200 lens with UV+ND filters + silhouette setting.

Last pic, not quite sure. I think I used a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens there and shot manually.

 

[Andre]

Borek, Marzena and other 7D enjoyers.

Check out this present of Canon.

I think I was looking out the most to the 'Maximum Auto ISO setting', to keep some control of the noise level and certainly also the "Improved maximum burst for RAW images (up to 25)" since I have the customized (C2) high burst rate set in JPEG to avoid that problem.

 

[Marzena]

Borek, Marzena and other 7D enjoyers.

Check out this present of Canon.

Thanks Andre, I have not Canon 7D

 

[Andre]

Thanks Andre, I have not Canon 7D

Maybe you borrow it from somebody who does.

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/standard_display/EOS7D_firmware_features

 

[Marzena]

Yes, from Borek