Sounds good, the last of the 99 specials will be on it's way to Holland tomorrow programmed at 400 2.8. Email me at [email protected] with your email and I'll send the PDF of the Dandelion programming instructions.
So all the pieces finally arrived for me to put my $5 garage sale Canon 800mm 5.6 L find to good use. Got a used 40D from the B&S forum here, attached it to my Gitzo 3 series with Markin ballhead and RRS quick release. Then paired it with Ed Mika's FD to EF adapter (more info can be found here on his flickr account) and HOLY SMOKES the setup rocks. I'm still trying to get familiar with the Canon body but here are some quick sample shots of the setup and with the setup from my backyard all straight out of the camera shot at f/5.6. Looking to use it at the beach this weekend when the southern swell hits the islands.
Also a shameless plug for Ed, I emailed him regarding the adapter and he got back to me right away! He is a phenomenal guy to work with and is clearly proud of the product he has designed and developed. If you have any FD glass sitting around you OWE it to yourself to get his adapter and put it to good use.
Just mine today(Ed Mika adapter), so I will be doing some tests over the weekend, from the 85mm f1.2 L up to the 300mm f2.8 L. You are going to have fun with that lens, so ENJOY!
Hey Edd, yeah have fun with your Ed Mika adapter too! The quick shots I took just blew my mind. I might have to get a manual focus screen for my 40D since I suck at manual focusing. But otherwise the setup is INCREDIBLE.
kavawavaphoto wrote:
Hey Edd, yeah have fun with your Ed Mika adapter too! The quick shots I took just blew my mind. I might have to get a manual focus screen for my 40D since I suck at manual focusing. But otherwise the setup is INCREDIBLE.
As you will be using a tripod anyway with your 800mm, try LiveView. For me that is the only way to get accurate focus with fast lenses and it helps a lot with long telephoto lenses as well. At 10x you can see every wobble in your setup and whether the beak or the tail of a distant bird is in focus. Various focus screens I've tried don't even get close to that level of accuracy.
Wow those are great Edd! I took out the 40D + 800mm + Ed Mika yesterday afternoon after work to the beach and got these photos. A couple things I have learned:
1. The optical quality of the 800mm is amazing
2. I really suck at manual focusing
3. I probably need a focusing screen
4. I probably need a magnifying eyepiece
5. I probably need a gimbal head
6. I really really suck at manual focusing
I'm going to head out there again this afternoon, expecting 6-7ft waves on Oahu. I'm torn between either taking my board out or the 800mm. I guess there are worse decisions out there
kavawavaphoto wrote:
Wow those are great Ed! I took out the 40D + 800mm + Ed Mika yesterday afternoon after work to the beach and got these photos. A couple things I have learned:
1. The optical quality of the 800mm is amazing
2. I really suck at manual focusing
3. I probably need a focusing screen
4. I probably need a magnifying eyepiece
5. I probably need a gimbal head
6. I really really suck at manual focusing
I'm going to head out there again this afternoon, expecting 6-7ft waves on Oahu. I'm torn between either taking my board out or the 800mm. I guess there are worse decisions out there ...Show more →
and the FL 55mm 1.2 conversion kits are fully EF compatible and focus to infinity without mirror interference including on the 5D/5D2. You can find them here http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...ht_1064wt_1141
a video showing the sub 2 minute conversion is here
kavawavaphoto wrote:
I'm going to head out there again this afternoon, expecting 6-7ft waves on Oahu. I'm torn between either taking my board out or the 800mm. I guess there are worse decisions out there
You could always use the 800 as a board, it's big enough
Got some time to shoot the swell on Friday afternoon. Great surfing out there. I'm still amazed at the clarity of the lens even though its 30 yrs old and not particularly made for the EOS mount.
Did a little PP in Lightroom, but for the most part the pictures are untouched. I think I'm getting better at manual focus, still need to work on it though. Check them out!
dickb wrote:
A very quick test of Ed's adapter on my 400/2.8 shows a maximum focus distance of 50 meters.
DickB, My FD 400 2.8 L just arrived today in the mail from a US eBay purchase. After a quick disassembly and evaluation I found a way to get it to focus to infinity using the same EdMika 0.75mm adapter you have with some fairly easy and fully reversible calibrations to the focus element module. What amazing pictures it takes! PM me for details if interested.-Ed Mika
