The Lady Photographer Thread

joayne wrote in post #15698473
Nice shots from everyone!
Penel, you get great results from that 24-105.. It's my travel lens.
I rely in it for walk around on a 5DII .. I think it give great color and nice sharp images.

I love my 135L also, as it is fast and crisp..

Here are a couple more from Costa Rica..
A Fasciated Tiger-Heron
These are with the 100-400 from a boat with 15 other people that couldn't hold still

wow this is amazing, i've never seen a bird like this before! Tiger Heron really describes it very well. Fantastic shots especially from a crowded moving boat, well done!!

Good afternoon all!
Got the shopping and visiting over with for the morning/afternoon.....​so now on to processing some pics for you!
Penel, those portraits are great!!
Joayne-That is one neat looking bird! Love the second one with it against the green!!

Gundogs wrote in post #15698706
Thanks Levina, do you use either with a t/c or always just on their own? Ideally I would like both of course and a 5D3 please

The 300mm takes a 1.4TC very well, so that gives you 420mm, f/5.6 and IS. You might say it's more than what the 400mm on its own gives you. But, the 400mm is a tad better on its own than the 300mm with a TC. And faster of course.

As to the 400mm with a TC, I've gotten very good results with it. You need a bit of fair light as here too you loose a stop and the lens becomes f/8. And of course with a Canon converter you loose AF unless you use it on a pro body. It is why I bought a Kenko as they do autofocus at f/8.

I have to say that I would not like to use a set up with TC as my default combo. But yes, in my experience, both lenses take a TC well.

As to the 5D3. I too want that camera so bad!!!

But which do I want (need!) more it's a difficult decision. Save up for longer and get the 5D3, or spend soon and get a 300 or a 400.... I'm so bad at decisions!!!

It's probably no comfort to you, Penel, but so am I! It takes me forever to decide. It drives the people around me nuts at times. Like right now I have to decide: do I upgrade my 2009 Mac Pro by spending some 300 euro on more RAM and another hard drive or do I sell it and buy a new Mac with better specs. Grrr...

Edit:
I forgot, I processed a few Herons in flight shots this weekend. Here's one that I like especially. Taken late afternoon with gorgeous light.
1D2n + 400mm and uncropped. A miracle it's all in the frame!

IMAGE LINK: http://www.ipernity.co​m/doc/288477/17337493

LOL, my husband just says don't buy anything and save the money he's no help at all

Someone on POTN a few hours away from here is selling a 300mm f4 for £750. I am sorely tempted. But then that's £750 less I would have towards the 5D3 !!!

Ha, the man in my life always says: buy it. Then I say 'yes, but which one'. And then he will say 'both'. That's not helping much either!

That's a good price, Penel. Tempting.

Thanks for the nice comments.. It was a first for me also.. and quite a lot of bird

I have the 300 f/4 and the 400 f/5.6 and the 300 2.8
I get the best results, hand held with the 300 f/4..
I get good results with the 400 f/5.6 also, but spend a lot of time searching, especially with birds in flight.. That is one of the reasons I like the 100-400L. You can start off with the barrel at 100mm and then zoom into your subject and (as Levina says) "bump" the BBF button and get some great shots. Sometimes I spend so much time "searching" the sky with the 400 I miss my shots

On a tripod, the 300 f/2.8 cannot be beat even with a 2X TC.. .. and I have heard of birders that even stack the TC's.. if you can imagine.

My suggestion .. .. Borrow or Rent and shoot, shoot shoot.. You may spend a few Euros, but you will have a better understanding of what works for you. I hardly used the 400 for nearly a year before I started to get better and better results.

Well, I do love the 24-105 lens but for shooting babies indoors with window light, I needed something faster so I bought the 24-70/2.8. It really lives on my 5DII and I only take it off to use the 50/1.4 for newborns. When I travel overseas it is also the only lens I bring but this year I think I will also take the 135 to Paris. And since I need reach for wildlife I can see the 300 & 135 lenses living on my 7D. Thankfully I only have one other lens which is the sharpest of the bunch but I don't use it as much as I should. That lens is the coveted 85mm/1.2. And boy is it amazing.

Beautiful Tiger Heron, Joayne!! And stunning GBH in flight, Levina. I am never good at photographing birds.

joayne wrote in post #15699551
On a tripod, the 300 f/2.8 cannot be beat even with a 2X TC.. .. and I have heard of birders that even stack the TC's.. if you can imagine.

Yes, that is one fantastic lens. I know some use it with a 2xTC as their default setup for birds with terrific results. But then we're talking different league altogether here and with a very different price tag as well...

Penel, I have been pining & saving for the MKIII as well. I sold our 50D, 40D and 3 lenses on eBay and to a friend so I am almost ready to make the jump.I just had my 5DII serviced and a new circuit board put in it and it shoots better than ever so I wrestle with the want vs. need thing.

But, in the end, I will sell the 5DII if I can get enough $$ to satisfy me.

joayne wrote in post #15699551
Thanks for the nice comments.. It was a first for me also.. and quite a lot of bird

I have the 300 f/4 and the 400 f/5.6 and the 300 2.8
I get the best results, hand held with the 300 f/4..
I get good results with the 400 f/5.6 also, but spend a lot of time searching, especially with birds in flight.. That is one of the reasons I like the 100-400L. You can start off with the barrel at 100mm and then zoom into your subject and (as Levina says) "bump" the BBF button and get some great shots. Sometimes I spend so much time "searching" the sky with the 400 I miss my shots

On a tripod, the 300 f/2.8 cannot be beat even with a 2X TC.. .. and I have heard of birders that even stack the TC's.. if you can imagine.

My suggestion .. .. Borrow or Rent and shoot, shoot shoot.. You may spend a few Euros, but you will have a better understanding of what works for you. I hardly used the 400 for nearly a year before I started to get better and better results.

We own a 100-400 lens but I struggle to keep it steady hand held. I borrowed Tom's 300/2.8 and loved everything about it except needing to use a pod. So the 300/f4 works best for me as well. I have also rented lenses and cameras for a week and really tried them out before purchasing. It was a smart thing to do.

Another nice thing about the 300mm f/4 is its short MFD so you can get very close to small objects. It's not exactly a macro lens, but it sure does well with flowers and butterflies and such!

Thank you Maureen!!

Thanks - all great advice. I would never be able to use the 300mm 2.8 for any length of time, I held a friend's the other day and it was just so heavy. It has to be fun too We're off to norfolk again in April where I regularly shoot owls and hopefully hares as well as other birds (and the dogs of course) so i may well rent the 300mm f4, and can borrow a friend's t/c 1.4, so that might make up my mind.

eta: I don't need to rent a 5D3 to know I will want one!