February 06, 2011

the new BABY at my house...


click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

Well, when my new baby arrived I showed it to Kitty and she said it would probably be o.k. as long as it didn't make a lot of noise...

And so, now, $2300 deeper in debt I have the latest generation of the Canon 70-200 "L" II f-2.8 I.S. zoom.   It's a whopper of a lens and it's (((expletive deleted))) heavy!   But it's quite a lens -- a vast improvement over my old 70-200, which was only f-4 and was kind of soft in comparison.   Did I mention that this new lens is heavy?

I also just received the latest generation of Canon 2x tele-extender -- and they've really done a good job with this third-generation of the 2x tele-extender.   Seems to work well with the new 70-200 "L" II f-2.8 I.S. zoom.   Only problem is that it "kills" three stops of light so you've almost gotta shoot wide open (effective f-stop is f-5.6).   The tele-extender doubles the focal length of my zoom, but trying to hand-hold the camera with such a long lens is almost impossible if it isn't on a tripod or the camera is firmly braced on something -- like a fence-post or a rock.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

This was taken at the Loch Lomond Harbor Spit area, just east of San Rafael, California. This isn't the first time that I've tried shooting the sky through the skeletons of last year's stark yarrow.

Indulge me here:   Take careful notice of the shape of the mountain.
If you can discern a "sleeping lady" then you have discovered the spirit of our beloved Mount Tamalpais.   Can you see her hair pulled up over her head, her head and form, from left to right?   Her name is Tamalpa.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

But even at 400mm, the lens and tele-extender still isn't a telescope.   I cropped this shot about nine times.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

Only problem is that with such a long lens it is sometimes difficult to "get it all in".   I probably need a wide-angle lens, or maybe a 50mm macro -- oh lord, it never end$.



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4 comments:

Scott Law said...

Congrats on the new lens. Just think, the weight of that lens should be offset by how light your wallet is now.

I could see Tamalpa behind the weeds.

Adam R. Paul said...

Congrats, that's one of my dream lenses.

Surprised your 70-200 f/4L was soft though - mine is one of the sharpest lenses I own.

I think teles are under-utilized in landscape photography - "getting it all in" in my experience often leads to cluttered photos.

Looking forward to seeing what you produce with this new lens!

Hooly said...

Tamalpa is quite a young lady, obviously! Congrats on your lens.

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

Wow! from me (and Sinbad too) on the banner shot! You wouldn't expect any less from us on a feline foto. Is that a product of your new baby? We hope to learn more tomorrow.

 
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