Buying 7D - My shopping list Opinions/Criticisms please

[Daniel Browning]

I took some bird pictures with 7D,300mm2.8,2XTCII combo, I didn't like most of the pictures cause the IQ got degraded very much, they were not considered "pretty good " to me even for a web sized picture.

I'm surprised to hear that. I've seen photos from the 300mm f/2.8 L IS with a 2X TC, another 2X TC, and a 1.4X TC (all stacked at once for shot of the moon) and the 100% crop (on a 5D, if I recall) *still* had contrast from pixel to pixel.

the 2XTC makes the speed of AF a lot slower.

That's true -- makes it less accurate, too. Also darkens the viewfinder and if you don't have IS it makes the viewfinder a lot more shakey. These effects will be smaller with the 1.4X that Homer ended up getting.


If you compare 2X TC versus cropping, on the 70-200 f/2.8 L IS II, the 2X TC wins for image quality by a mile. Not only does it have far more detail and contrast, but it will have less noise. For example:


70-200 IS II with 2X TC = 400mm f/5.6 1/250 ISO 6400


vs.


70-200 IS II with no TC = 200mm f/2.8 1/250 ISO 1600 (cropped to the same angle of view)


Some people would think that the ISO 1600 shot is going to have less noise than the ISO 6400 shot. In fact, the reverse is true! Less noise in low light is one of the advantages of the TC.

I would hardly believe that the IQ from 70-2002.8II or with 2.0TC combo will be better than the IQ from 400mm 5.6 in a constant basis if we talking about bird/wildlife.

Agreed. If we set aside weather sealing, and he got the 400mm f/5.6, then he could only use it when there's enough light for hand-holding speeds (at least 1/640 on the 7D, personally I would want over 1/1000). If he needs 1/2000 to get a tack-sharp photo on the 7D+400mm f/5.6, then he could use 1/125 or 1/250 with the 70-200.


If he got the 100-400, he would have to make do with the older 2-stop IS, miss the 70-100 range, and make do with worse quality/bokeh/autofocus in the 100-200 range. Wildlife is only 30% of what he's shooting.

if weather seal and IS are not the priority, then what's the whole purpose of choosing version II over version I? the IQ right?

Yes.



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isn't that the version I +400mm5.6 a lot better than version II+ TCII in the whole range of 70-400 if we talking about bird/wildlife for a given price range?

Yes.

[JJphoto]

I'm surprised to hear that.

I have discussed 300mm 2.8+TCII here earlier, based on my experience, I found that the 2XTC maybe more useful for the effect of compressing than for getting more reach. sure I understand it's a subjective thing.

If you compare 2X TC versus cropping,

I didn't compare that but It's really good to know that TCs are better than cropping( I knew I will learn something if you reply, in fact I have learned a lot from your posts, thanks)

then he could use 1/125 or 1/250 with the 70-200.

I guess you are not talking about shooting birds right?

if weather seal and IS are not the priority, then what's the whole purpose of choosing version II over version I? the IQ right?

Yes.

isn't that the version I +400mm5.6 a lot better than version II+ TCII in the whole range of 70-400 if we talking about bird/wildlife for a given price range?

Yes.














thanks Daniel, it's my pleasure to have you agree with me!


so the question is "is weather sealed that really important so you even want to loss that much IQ to get weather sealed?" I live in southern California, the weather here is just very nice, so maybe it's a big deal in Canada?

[Daniel Browning]

I guess you are not talking about shooting birds right?

Well, that depends. If you accept a lower keeper rate, you can get some at 1/250. I've gotten a few at 1/60.

I live in southern California, the weather here is just very nice, so maybe it's a big deal in Canada?

Last time I was in SoCal, there was a little rain and it almost caused a state of emergency. Panic-stricken news anchors on the verge of tears, widespread floods and panic, car wrecks everywhere caused by people who had never seen water fall from the sky.[] It rains like that all the time up here in the Pacific Northwest and beautiful British Columbia. You get beautiful photos just after a rainshower.


One time, a Californian moved up here and saw nothing but constant rain for two weeks straight. Finally she asked a little boy if it *ever* stopped raining. He said "how should I know? I'm only six."



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[JJphoto]

One time, a Californian moved up here and saw nothing but constant rain for two weeks straight. Finally she asked a little boy if it *ever* stopped raining. He said "how should I know? I'm only six."

lol, you know I kept talking about moving to Vancouver to my wife when we get retired, all I heard about this city is how beautiful it is especially when oriental cherry blooming and how great their seafood is, of course there are a lot of wildlife shooting opportunity, we may get a bigger nicer house there. now I have to think about that again!,I'm ok with the cold weather, but being stuck in house for 2 weeks or longer will kill me plus making all my gear weather sealed is very expensive![]

[StapledPhoto]

One time, a Californian moved up here and saw nothing but constant rain for two weeks straight. Finally she asked a little boy if it *ever* stopped raining. He said "how should I know? I'm only six."

lol, you know I kept talking about moving to Vancouver to my wife when we get retired, all I heard about this city is how beautiful it is especially when oriental cherry blooming and how great their seafood is, of course there are a lot of wildlife shooting opportunity, we may get a bigger nicer house there. now I have to think about that again!,I'm ok with the cold weather, but being stuck in house for 2 weeks or longer will kill me plus making all my gear weather sealed is very expensive![img]/emoticons/emotion-2.gif[/img]
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Stuck in the house? Nonsense. It's called a hood []


Honestly though it's the lack of sunshine in the winter that seems to bother people who move here more than the rain. Rain is no big deal. - I'm really selling the place aren't I? [:P]


I've lived in Vancouver my entire life and I love the place. Maybe I'm just used to its downsides since i grew up with them. It's hardly ever too hot or too cold/wet to go outside. Also, when the weather is good, people really want to get out and enjoy it because they don't take it for granted. There's a lot of nature around and it's just a beautiful place. It's starting to sound like there are quite a few of us on the board located in Vancouver or elsewhere on the BC coast.


As to whether or not sealing is critical here, it really depends on the type of shooting. I've never relied on it, but then again I don't really like taking photos of rainy scenes, or walking around casually taking photos in the rain. Once it starts raining I stop taking photos, but I'm just a hobbyist so it's never critical for me to get a shot. My main casual walk around bag is a lowepro AW so the camera goes in and only comes back out when I get indoors or the rain breaks. However, Homer sounds like he's planning to get out in the rain for storms and wet weather, so prioritizing weather sealing makes sense to me. He's not going to be able to take great shots in the middle of a heavy rainstorm with the 100-400L for very long, certainly not the years that this amount of gear should last him.

[Homer]

One time, a Californian moved up here and saw nothing but constant rain for two weeks straight. Finally she asked a little boy if it *ever* stopped raining. He said "how should I know? I'm only six."

-------- Daniel, just too funny[]


I don`t plan to take pictures in the rain either. I live on the east coast of VI and 4 blocks from the beach. We get some good nasty storms and guess where I am,I alsoplan to make trips to the west coast (Long Beach) to get some storm shots this winter.This is the only time you will see me out in the rain is in storms and other times when it can`t be avoided.


Rain is a fact of life here but we are repaid with the beauty it provides and brings us. But no matter where you live, at certains times the weather just sucks.


Homer

[Homer]

WOW[:P] is all I can say. Simply amazing and having so much control is beyond believe.


Picked up everything on Friday, was late so only had time to charge the battery. Rained all day Saturday so gave me lots of time to read the manuals over and over againand go through everything I purchased,but did mange to take a couple pictures. Sunny today so managed to take a lot of pictures. I can't get over the quailty of the results. Only attaced the 24-105 so far .I filled the bird feeder and hung up the suet for the Wood Peckers so we will see what that brings.


I configured the camera by this link http://www.deepgreenphotography.com/blog/?p=226. Only setting I changed was to disable Live View for now. Not only did this help a lot, but also let me explore and dicover what is available in the menus. Reading the manual and then going through this setup really helped me understand whats going on. I am only shooting in JPEG mode so farand will use RAW when I learn some more. So far, all pictures I took were in AV mode and Auto ISO.


Question, what is the best site to upload and share pictures either apy site or free? Suggestions?


Thanks


Homer