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Archive 2015 · I tried PetKal's battery focus test with my 400 DO II

  
 
grwilson
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · I tried PetKal's battery focus test with my 400 DO II


Thanks Peter, Brian and arbitrage for your help. My previous SLR was a Canon AE-1 purchased in 1977. So I realize I have a lot to learn with my current equipment.
I posted the duck photos so that any of you could look at them on Imgur in full size by clicking on them. I have read about the three IS modes on the lens but I didn't know if mode 1 or 3 would be better so I just left IS off for this sequence of shots. At the location where I took all the bird shots I only had about 15 minutes before I had to walk back to the park entrance as the park was about to close. Next time the weather is suitable I hope to have much more time to take pictures.
I try to learn by doing and I accept that means making mistakes. Whatever advice you give me is well taken and may well speed up my learning. For now, I just want to go back out and take more shots of birds and other wildlife at the Leslie Spit and try more things.
Thanks again,
Gary



Mar 18, 2015 at 07:26 PM
PetKal
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · I tried PetKal's battery focus test with my 400 DO II


Right on, Gary, any distraction or pressure, such as rushing to get out of the park before it closes, makes a poor companion to hi IQ photography.

My own "distractions" today were twofold. First, there was wind buffeting the lens, and secondly, my wife kept badgering me with incessant complaints: "Let's go, I am cold, let's go I am freezing..."

Incidentally, you should place the IS Mode switch on "I" and leave it there. If and when the "panning" mode "II" might be better for a certain situation, you will see it.



Mar 18, 2015 at 07:56 PM
arbitrage
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · I tried PetKal's battery focus test with my 400 DO II


I concur with Peter's suggestion of using IS mode 1. I used to fiddle with these modes but now just leave it on 1 and forget about it. The only time I switch to mode 2 is if I'm set up somewhere and know that all I'm going to do is very controlled totally horizontal pans of BIF, that situation rarely arises, it is more like random birds appearing out of nowhere and me swinging my lens around like a crazy person and praying something works

Today I had a strange occurrence with my 7D2, 300II+1.4TC. I was taking shots at f/5.6 and f/8 and things were looking fine, I went to wide open at f/4 and all of a sudden noticed just looking at the rear LCD that the subject was not in focus but the nest in front of it was. I dialled in a quick +10 AFMA (from my previous Focal value of 0) and the shots were nice and sharp on the subject. I tried a few other values +5 and +15 and settled at +7. I went back home and set up my Focal test indoors and got a value of 0 again. So either the change in distance (I was shorter distance indoors) or the temperature changes made a big difference. Now I have no idea what setting to leave it at.

I also remember a day a few years back where going to the exact same location with the exact same gear (5D3 and 600II +1.4III) and the second day almost all of the shots were a mess. The day before they were all fairly good. That day I realized that it was atmospherics shooting over a temperature difference between open water and cooler air that must have made the difference. The 3rd day things were back to normal results and that day the temperature was more stable.

So many things can affect our shots that I agree it can become a headache when the results aren't happening.



Mar 18, 2015 at 08:09 PM
grwilson
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · I tried PetKal's battery focus test with my 400 DO II


Thanks Peter:
Next outing at the Leslie Spit I will put IS on mode "I". The spit is only open to the public on weekends so it remains quite wild. It has such a wide variety of wildlife that it was a major factor in my buying this lens. It's only about a 20 minute drive from where I live in Scarborough.
Next outing I want to have the time to be able to sit and perhaps have the ducks that first swim away from me at my approach, turn around and come back towards me. That requires time and patience but could get me opportunities for better shots.
The park's official name is Tommy Thompson Park. A pedestrian bridge, the location where I took the bird photos is shown in an article on the bird research station web site here
Gary



Mar 18, 2015 at 08:17 PM
PetKal
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · I tried PetKal's battery focus test with my 400 DO II


grwilson wrote:
Next outing I want to have the time to be able to sit and perhaps have the ducks that first swim away from me at my approach, turn around and come back towards me. That requires time and patience but could get me opportunities for better shots.


That sounds like a fine approach. Them ducks should be either parallel to your focal plane, or turned towards you. In either case, try to shoot in Servo AF mode, center AF point only (i.e., no expansion) and aim for their eye. Also, see if you can shoot at f/8 or even f/11, in order to have enough DoF. Lastly, if you keep your shutter speed faster than 1/500 sec, that should cover swimming/drifting ducks OK. If you want to catch them in flight or flapping/shedding water from their wings, you should go to 1/1250 sec minimum.



Edited on Mar 20, 2015 at 07:45 PM · View previous versions



Mar 18, 2015 at 08:30 PM
grwilson
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · I tried PetKal's battery focus test with my 400 DO II


Thanks for the tips Peter:
I had wondered which servo mode would be best. I can see why having the duck parallel to the focus plane with the duck looking at me would be good as it makes better use of the depth of field keeping both ends of the duck in focus. Generally at the spit I have been using f8 and the center AF point only.
Gary



Mar 18, 2015 at 09:32 PM
PetKal
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · I tried PetKal's battery focus test with my 400 DO II


grwilson wrote:
Thanks for the tips Peter:
I had wondered which servo mode would be best. I can see why having the duck parallel to the focus plane with the duck looking at me would be good as it makes better use of the depth of field keeping both ends of the duck in focus. Generally at the spit I have been using f8 and the center AF point only.
Gary


Gary, I am not sure what you mean by "servo mode" ? Are you using 6D now ?



Mar 18, 2015 at 10:04 PM
grwilson
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · I tried PetKal's battery focus test with my 400 DO II


Hi Peter:
Oops! I meant AF mode. I should read what I write before I post. Yes, I am using the 6D, the only DSLR body I have. Sorry for the slip up.
Gary



Mar 19, 2015 at 06:23 AM
Bacalhau
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p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · I tried PetKal's battery focus test with my 400 DO II


PetKal wrote:
Good show, Gary. Your camera+ lens seems to be in good AF calibration.
If you do notice some AF calibration issues in the future, you may wish to fine tune the camera AF by using one of the established methods.

The ducks look good, and I can tell the lens agrees with you. I didn't know you had such a good assortment of diving ducks at the Spit. Over here in the west GTA we have not had any in my usual winter ducking spot, which is not a surprise given that the river was covered with a thick sheet of ice
...Show more

Hi Petkal

I searched in the forum with no luck - could you please repost the process or a link to your focus test with four batteries?
Thanks



Mar 19, 2015 at 12:51 PM
PetKal
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p.2 #10 · p.2 #10 · I tried PetKal's battery focus test with my 400 DO II


Bacalhau wrote:
Hi Petkal

I searched in the forum with no luck - could you please repost the process or a link to your focus test with four batteries?
Thanks


Hi B., that is certainly not my "method", and three staggered objects (batteries, pop cans, small bottles, etc.) have been used since the time immemorial to do a quick and simple verification of AF accuracy. I do it as soon as a new lens or camera comes out of the box, in order to see if I need to return it, or take it to Canon for service, and also to establish a baseline for the AF calibration of that particular piece of equipment. If I encounter some issue with that equipment later on, I can always go back to the baseline and see if anything has changed.
I do those things at MFD for starters, and later I do AF checks at much longer distances, say 30-40 ft, as needed.

Incidentally, I've gone back to shooting leucistic Sea hawks with 1DX + 400 DO MkII today, and the results are as expected again. Therefore I am inclined to think that a combined effect of several distractions yesterday was to diminish my concentration and steadiness of the handolding, resulting in a slew of consistently soft shots. Can not be anything else. The commissioning program for 400 DO MkII continues, it ain't over yet.


Edited on Mar 20, 2015 at 07:45 PM · View previous versions



Mar 19, 2015 at 05:38 PM
arbitrage
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p.2 #11 · p.2 #11 · I tried PetKal's battery focus test with my 400 DO II


Going out without your wife (if that was the case today) was probably the key factor in making that 400DOII sing again


Mar 19, 2015 at 07:56 PM
PetKal
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p.2 #12 · p.2 #12 · I tried PetKal's battery focus test with my 400 DO II


arbitrage wrote:
Going out without your wife (if that was the case today) was probably the key factor in making that 400DOII sing again


Geoff old son, no truer words have ever been spoken. Our joint park walks are best done without the camera because it is not fair to my wife to be hanging around watching me shoot, and I also feel pressured to do it quick and move on.
Yup, I was out shooting all by myself today.



Mar 19, 2015 at 08:13 PM
grwilson
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p.2 #13 · p.2 #13 · I tried PetKal's battery focus test with my 400 DO II


I did the battery focus test again today. This time I tested the 400 DO II with the 1.4x III attached. The test was at MFD and F5.6. I had tested the lens at F4 but I was primarily using the lens with the 1.4x extender attached so I thought it was worth checking.
The result is here
Gary



Mar 19, 2015 at 09:08 PM
PetKal
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p.2 #14 · p.2 #14 · I tried PetKal's battery focus test with my 400 DO II


Yup, the lens is working fine, we seem to be back on track again. In a few weeks the Common & Caspian terns will be back, and I am looking forward to some heavy duty BIF-ing with the new lenses, i.e., 400 DO MkII and 100-400 MkII, starting early May.

Edited on Mar 21, 2015 at 09:51 AM · View previous versions



Mar 20, 2015 at 05:34 PM
grwilson
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p.2 #15 · p.2 #15 · I tried PetKal's battery focus test with my 400 DO II


Both Common and Caspian Terns nest at the Leslie Spit. I love the way the Caspian Terns dive into the water. Last summer I got a shot of one entering the water on its dive. I usually stay a while at the location of a floating nesting platform for the Common Terns as both species fish in the area and I enjoy the show. Great Egrets are also regular visitors in the same area.
Gary



Mar 20, 2015 at 07:38 PM
RAF09
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p.2 #16 · p.2 #16 · I tried PetKal's battery focus test with my 400 DO II


PetKal wrote:
Bacalhau wrote:
I do those things at MFD for starters, and later I do AF checks at much longer distances, say 30-40 ft, as needed.

Question: Why at minimum FD? Canon says @ 50x focal length and/or on location of your shoot. Just wondering what the MDF does for you with tele lens, prime or zoom. Thanks.



Mar 21, 2015 at 07:51 AM
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