Samples from Canon 600mm f/4 IS?

03/15/2005 08:44:13 PM · #26

Originally posted by ovenbird:

I looked at your web site and noticed that this images shares something in common with some of the images there. The background looks a bit unusual to me and I am wondering if this is what is to be expected from this lens as far as bokeh is concerned. The OOF portion of the background looks almost like some sort of brushed steel or something. Is that just not completely out of focus pine needles or something or is this what the bokeh is supposed to look like?

That is out of focus pine needles and it is considered good bokah. On a blown up print it is very pleasing to the eye. The bokah can be controlled to a great extent by opening or closing the aperture. That picture was shot at f/4.5. Most long primes are capable of producing bokah similar to this if they are able to open up, but each lens model and focal length has its own characteristics.

I will answer the rest of the questions in the order they were asked.

03/15/2005 08:51:47 PM · #27

Originally posted by ovenbird:

I have a couple of other questions for you also.

First, when you say 100% and 200% crop, what exactly do you mean?

Second, you say that you need to be shooting from an unstable platform to us IS while the lens is mounted on a tripod. It was my understanding that the "super" tele IS lenses had a variation of IS that was supposed to be usable when tripod mounted. I know that with my EF 100-400 IS if you have the lens mounted on a stable tripod you can see the image moving around in the viewfinder when the IS is turned on and it most definitely does soften up the images. I thought that the newer/higher-end lenses had a better version of IS that did not do this. What a disappointment. Have you ever tested this out, or is it just what is printed in the instructions?

The first question on this list, I believe, has already been answered for you, so I'll go to the second. The answer is yes, I did test it and it does soften the image when tripod mounted and it is also printed in the instructions. It mentions hand holding the lens. I weigh 210 and play with live aligators for a living. I will be honest when I tell you that I cannot hand hold this lens to shoot.

03/15/2005 09:55:47 PM · #28

Originally posted by ovenbird:

Finally, what tripod rig do you use for this bad boy? It must be pretty darn stable to get this shot at such a slow shutter speed and long focal length. I would imagine that the tripod and head add a significant amount of cost to the already expensive lens.

I used a Slik Pro 700DX with a Kirk King Cobra action head to take the first image I posted.

The combination was a bit over $700 with the Arca/Swiss plates.

I found the combination a little unstable with the legs extened so I later bought a Gitzo G-1320 Studex Mk2

You will probably need a tripod that will hold 20lbs or more to be stable with this lens. Gitzo is about the only company that makes good tripods in this class.

As far as heads go a gimbal head is the only way to go. A pan head is quite unmanagable with a lens of this size and weight and if you can imagine the feeling you would get when your new 11lb lens flops over and smacks the leg of the tripod you will know why a ball head is out of the question.

Kirk, as I have mentioned earlier, makes a great gimbal head. Wimberley also makes a good head. I chose the Kirk because it it works in about the same manner as the Wimberley but with fewer moving parts. These heads both operate one handed with that one hand on the camera, not the head, so there are no levers or knobs to turn to reposition the lens.

All images are clickable.

03/15/2005 10:34:56 PM · #29

Originally posted by ovenbird:

By the way, what software did you use to up-rez the 200% crop of the cardinalâ��s head? That is a very impressive display of what the lens can do.

Tom

Originally posted by nsbca7:

Originally posted by soup:
a 100% crop should suffice...

The first one was a crop. This will be closer to 200%

Photoshop. Bicubic.

03/15/2005 10:57:43 PM · #30

Originally posted by ovenbird:

Would you care to show off some more? I bet you have tons of awesome images from this fine lens.

Tom

Here is one I took two days ago. Standard parameters, no in camera sharpening. No post processing. Resized and converted to TIFF and then JPEG in PS CS.

ISO 125 1/1000 sec at f/5.

As shot.

Crop 1

Crop 2

This is just one I had handy. Yes, I do have a few more laying around on my Mac.

03/20/2005 09:35:14 AM · #31

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughtful replies. Do you find this combination to be good for anything other than static subjects? I am seriously considering buying one of these lenses and input from actual users is very valuable to me.

Tom

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

03/20/2005 09:38:45 AM · #32

Originally posted by ovenbird:

Do you find this combination to be good for anything other than static subjects?

If you would have been at the Olympic games you would have seen hundreds of simmilar setups.

soup

Canon EOS-30D

03/20/2005 09:47:50 AM · #33

boy that thing really is a cannon ;}

on the dove photo look close at the catch light in the crop 2 version.

03/21/2005 07:04:16 PM · #34

Can you share some of your action shots with this lens? Do you have any flying birds or rookery pictures to share?

Thanks,

Tom

03/21/2005 08:04:07 PM · #35

C'mon, just buy you one. You know you're going to anyway.

03/22/2005 12:07:57 PM · #36

Originally posted by nsbca7:

C'mon, just buy you one. You know you're going to anyway.

I made it out to a not to distant rookery and did a little shooting with my Rebel XT and 100-400 IS and this is an example of the type of output that I am getting as well as the type of photography I would like to do with the 600mm f/4 IS.

I was pretty disappointed to find out that the IS is useless on the 600 when used with a tripod (why would they put tripodable IS on the 70-200 f/2.8 and not the 600!?). I am concerned that since the 600 will need to be used on a tripod that it might not really have the mobility to get very decent action shots.

Since you have a lot of experience with the 600 and have been recently shooting rookery birds maybe you can give me some idea of how much improvement I should expect from a 600 on such a nice tripod/head. I would really love to see some examples as you really have top-notch gear.

These shots were both taken at 400mm from the 100-400 IS at f/5.6 with the Rebel XT. They were shot in Ai-servo mode with the following settings (Contrast = -2, sharpness = -2, Saturation = -1 and Color tone = 0). These images were both shot at ISO 400 and the rig was hand-held. The crops are 100% magnification and have seen no post processing at all. The full frame images have seen my normal post processing and have been scaled down to web size.

Another question I have about the 600 is do you ever find DOF to be a problem with this lens. Since the FL is so long and the lens is so fast it seems like you would really need to stop down to say f/8 or f/11 if you wanted to get two birds in focus at the same time. I can also imagine that you would run into problems like having an eye in focus yet having parts of the beak out of focus.

For me $7200 + another $1000 or so for a suitable tripod is no small expenditure and I really canâ��t afford to just jump into such a major purchase without doing at least some homework.

Thanks,

Tom

03/23/2005 01:14:51 PM · #37

No comment?

03/23/2005 01:20:33 PM · #38

Originally posted by ovenbird:

No comment?

Me? What more can I tell you? I have no idea where you live, but you're welcome to come down some time and try it out sometime if you like.

03/23/2005 01:24:04 PM · #39

I would think a great photographer such as yourself would jump at the chance to show off some of his excellent work. I am sure you got tons of outstanding shots at the rookery. Could you at least comment on the image quality of what I have posted? I have found it to be pretty representative of what I can do with the 100-400, do you think I would see a big improvement in image quality? Any input is appreciated.

Tom

03/23/2005 01:37:54 PM · #40

Originally posted by ovenbird:

If you see a reluctance to post many of my images on DPC or elsewhere on the web it is because there is one.

As far as your images go, I think you would gain a good deal of detail in the feathers and the eyes if you were to use the 600/4.

I'm guessing by the shots that you live in either South Florida or East Texas, so the offer stands if you would like to drive up and try the lens before you buy one. I personally would recomend the lens to anyone who is serious about wildlife photography and has the means to purchase one.

03/23/2005 01:44:05 PM · #41

Dare I ask what reluctance you have? Maybe it is something I should be paying attention to also. Maybe just some crops? It would be nice to get some sort of feel for the sort of gain to expect.

I do live in TX by the way, we have spoonbills all the way down the coast here.

Thanks,

Tom

03/23/2005 01:49:03 PM · #42

Also I am really curious to hear your thoughts on the DOF issue. While I was out shooting those spoonbill pictures there was someone who identified himself as a pro photographer shooting with a Sigma 170-500mm lens. I asked him why he didnâ��t use a long prime and he asserted that there is no resolution difference between the Sigma lens and the Canon 500mm f/4L IS and that he had tests from Pop photo to back it up. He then went on what seemed like an endless rant about the DOF issue and that you only really needed the long fast primes for sports and that they were a waste for nature pictures.

You have a very nice web site by the way.

Tom

03/23/2005 01:51:19 PM · #43

One other question I forgot to ask you. What job are you doing that requires you to wrestle alligators?

Thanks again,

Tom

03/23/2005 01:58:10 PM · #44

Originally posted by ovenbird:

Part is convenience. My images are stored on my G5 which is not networked to this PC or the internet. The second is caution about spreading my work thin and unprotected on the internet. That is not the intended final purpose of my work.

I have an exhibition of my wildlife photography opening on April 29th that will hang through the duration of the Alabama Writers Symposium. I hope to have forty pieces ready by then taken with the 600/4, 180/macro and the 70-200/2.8. That might be a good time to come up if that is an option or something you might want to do.