Julia at 300

[schmoelzel]

Hello:

It has been a fruitful lens week........last week Canon 'lost' my 28-70 zoom and replaced it with a brand new 16-35! My good fortune I must say!!:D Then that weekend I happened to be browsing a photo site (www.mpex.com (http://www.mpex.com/)) and came upon a Canon 300 F4 IS...........called and made sure it was the real thing........ordered and last weekend the package arrived but alas, they made an error and it was actually the non-IS version. I told them I might ship it back but would consider keeping it if they gave me a better deal........long story short, they discounted it another $150 and I couldn't say no!!:lol: Now, I have read how sharp this lens is and how the bokeh is on par with the 135F2. Well, having owned the latter, I must agree!! This lens is as sharp and the bokeh is, well if you focus your subject properly the background disappears into pure buttery goodness! Really nice..........Here are a few of my daughter Julia (who else!!) playing at our favourite park. Enjoy and thanks for looking......

http://theteahaus.netfirms.com/Canon/nfpicturepro/albums/userpics/10001/300F4-1D-L.jpg

Camera: Canon 1D
Shutter speed: 1/1000 sec
Aperture: 4.0
Exposure mode: Manual
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Evaluative
Drive mode: Continuous (low): frame 1
ISO: 320
Lens: 300.0 mm
Focal length: 300.0mm
AF mode: One-shot AF
http://theteahaus.netfirms.com/Canon/nfpicturepro/albums/userpics/10001/300F4-1D-K.jpg

Camera: Canon 1D
Shutter speed: 1/1000 sec
Aperture: 4.0
Exposure mode: Manual
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Evaluative
Drive mode: Continuous (low): frame 1
ISO: 320
Lens: 300.0 mm
Focal length: 300.0mm
AF mode: One-shot AF

http://theteahaus.netfirms.com/Canon/nfpicturepro/albums/userpics/10001/300F4-1D-H.jpg

Camera: Canon 1D
Shutter speed: 1/350 sec
Aperture: 4.0
Exposure mode: Manual
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Evaluative
Drive mode: Continuous (low): frame 1
ISO: 320
Lens: 300.0 mm
Focal length: 300.0mm
AF mode: One-shot AF

[lisa1969]

OMG WOW WOW!!!!!! AMAZING pics!!!!!!Stunning!!!!!!

[ayotnoms]

I hope one or two of these outstanding shots are being framed for display in your home and not just for this forum.

Gosh, I want to offer a small criticism but I'm coming up empty. uhhh, don't crop the edges of the hat brim in the last shot.

Best I can do :-) :-)

Truly a beautiful child.

Congrats on your good (lens) fortune too!!

[flyfishnj]

That last shot is amazing!!!!!!

[HJMinard]

Schmoezel ... stunning ... as always. The images you post are simply flawless.

If you don't mind my asking ... how much, and what kind of post processing?

[roanjohn]

WOW!!! GREAT SHOTS!!! I have to say that in terms of optical quality, the L primes just blow everything out of the water!!!

............and you seem to have all these luck with these new lenses these days............

Ro1

[Maureen Souza]

These are all beautiful but I especially LOVE the last one... the catchlights in her eyes are spectacular.

[drisley]

Man, you have all the luck! These are simply amazing! I love her expression in #1.
As Ayotnoms says, you must have a HUGE wall for all the pictures :)
I've been contemplating the 300/4L IS, but i keep hearing conflicing stories about the IQ vs the non-IS version. Most say the non-IS version is sharper, but many (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-300mm-f-4.0-L-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx) say not significantly so.
I would love to see a side by side comparison.
Perhaps schmoelzel you should add the IS version to your collection and do a review. Cmon, you know you need one for low light :)

[marie]

nice story and the pictures are great
especially that last shot http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_cool.gif

Julia is beautiful. you got her eyes and the expression wonderful
I love the 'matching with everything' (colour) mess around her mouthhttp://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_lol.gif
glad you left it in

[hollow]

wow ! those are extremelly SHARP pictures !
Beautiful !!!!!!

[MAD DOG]

Very nice indeed.

[drisley]

I just found this very informative (http://www.wlcastleman.com/equip/reviews/300mm/index.htm)article comparing all of Canon's 300mm lenses.
It appears that the 300/4 does have better resolution than the IS version. But, I wonder how much of a difference it makes on any camera that is not a 1Ds?
Comparisons of the F2.8 and F4.0 IS shows no difference on a 10D, but I slight difference on a 1DS.
All in all, the 300mm lineup for Canon is very nice indeed!
Schmoelzel, can I borrow Julia for a weekend? I want to do some testing of my lens lineup :D

[bikerider]

Awesome pics mate, terriffic combination of colours and the sharpness is superb!

[schmoelzel]

Thank you for all the comments and compliments!:)

ayotnoms: my own criticism would have been the same.........but trying to keep Julia within a frame these days is harder than it used to be!

HJMinard: Post-processing is a must with the 1D.......the shots straight out of the camera while sharp tend to be a little on the light side when it comes to contrast and colour. I always shoot in RAW (which was good since I had the camera WB set to cloudy when it was actually sunny.......I normally do some level tweaks, saturate about 8 - 12 %, and run USM (normally 150/.3/0). By then the shot looks MUCH better than right out of the camera. But I know that all the info is there so I can tweak it enough to get what I am wanting.
roanjohn: Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket and see what sort of luck that brings me!!:D I thank my lucky stars for the lens luck that I have had and yes, I am an admitted 'Lchoholic'.......once you try one you always compare everything in the bag to the L...........

Maureen Souza: Thanks for the compliment!! I too was amazed at the catchlights in her eyes!! This was late afternoon sun, shaded under a canopy at the park.

Drisley: Thanks and yeah, I do feel lucky lately!!:D One problem with this lens is that while it focuses fast enough, with Julia walking so much now, I take about 75 shots and this many are keepers!! (Not a good average but if I get a few good ones I am happy!!) If the IS version is sharper, that would be an awesome lens. As I mentioned (and not to be taken lightly), I really think that this one lens compares to the 135F2........it is longer and bigger but the sharpness and bokeh are there.............I have looked at some older shots taken with my 135F2 and compared them side by side and they are equal. Mind you, I had the DRebel before and I am convinced that the 1D has more resolving power than the higher MP of the DRebel. I think I will stop now with lenses........you'll have to find a comparison from someone else........I have to start selling a lot more tea to pay for these things!! Sorry, I can let you borrow the lens but Julia stays here!! What else would I shoot!!!

marie: Thank you for the nice compliments! I enjoy the stories that you always include in your posts and try to emulate........even though I think where you live lends itself to much colourful commentary than Southwestern Ontario! Julia was eating blueberries and raspberries, hence the nice mess about the face!! But it did blend in well with her outfit!!

[Croasdail]

I know you have done all your thank yous and all that - but the first image is wonderfully un-ordinary... not the others are not great in their own right. Its a great catch. I love shots of kids when they don't know your watching them. Cheers.

[drisley]

I was waiting to see if anybody else would say it, but I guess i will.
Julia looks mighty young for 300!

[schmoelzel]

I was waiting to see if anybody else would say it, but I guess i will.
Julia looks mighty young for 300!

good one!!:D Here she is at 16-35...........(long end)

http://theteahaus.netfirms.com/Canon/nfpicturepro/albums/userpics/10001/16-35L-1D-E.jpg

[fetching]

i like the last one the best. she's beautiful.

[drisley]

Thanks schmoelzel. That too is very impressive!
Once again, perfect lighting. Julia always seems to be intently taking in her surroundings.

Would you say that lens (16-35) is as sharp at the long end as the wide end?

[schmoelzel]

Thanks schmoelzel. That too is very impressive!
Once again, perfect lighting. Julia always seems to be intently taking in her surroundings.

Would you say that lens (16-35) is as sharp at the long end as the wide end?

Yeah, she sure is intense!! Too bad because it is harder to get her to smile and laugh like I used to be able to........now she is always trying to figure something out! From my limited experience with this lens, I think it is just as sharp at the wide end as at the long end. I too have read so many bad things about the lens but so far I am not experiencing any problems (other than with a wide lens, your composition is a little trickier). Don't know if I'll keep this one but for now it is fun to use and seems to be a quality piece of glass.

[drisley]

Naw, I don't think your shots with that lens look that good.
You should probably just unload it to me at a low, low price! :)

[skade]

WoW! Fantastic shots!

[Titus213]

Absolutely amazing photos. Color, expression, composition, crisp, and the background (or lack thereof) is great. Beautiful child photographed exceptionally well.

[schmoelzel]

Absolutely amazing photos. Color, expression, composition, crisp, and the background (or lack thereof) is great. Beautiful child photographed exceptionally well.

Thanks for the compliment! When you have such a beautiful model, the rest comes easy!!:D