Thanks Chuck! I can't explain it either, but it sure seems like it's true. I had an early am assignment today and then headed to HQ to back up some files, Chandler called to see if I was at the hangar an the came out for lunch. There's definitely some perks to them being older, but I'd trade it all if they were in Onesies again....... Just Blessed to have them though, better not look a gift horse in the mouth.
While Chili and I were enjoying great Texas BBQ in McKinney, we devised a rough plan to run out to The Jedi Transition for a couple of days. Good time of year to visit Death Valley and that'd be a pretty unique shoot, maybe get some landscape shooting in as well.
Morning all from a very wet and windy south west England.
My 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM has arrived and I was hoping to take it for a little walk and see what I could get. There are only two things I could foresee getting was wet and cold!
So these 4 shots were taken from inside looking out... (those last three words remind me of someone in a tent
The following are full frame, no cropping. Only reduced to 1024px wide.
Single point focussing (dead centre/center)
Hand held
Centre seems to be quite sharp but corners ?? Should I expect a fall off on the corners like this?
No colour enhancing.
A critique in the IQ expectation of this class of lens is welcome.
My primary question is: Should I be happy with these first few results??
Hi Chuck
Thanks for your input ideas to my quest for a decent lump of walkabout glass. As you can see, I got a Canon lump.
Re my Nikon P900. While I have had some 'wow' photos and can sit in the summer house and take close ups of the little birds from a long way off and that the camera is small, light and relatively low cost, it does have some cons that must be mentioned. Especially if you are used to upmarket cameras - pro type stuff
No RAW. jpg only.
Battery life c80 - 100 shots per as a walkabout. (I carry spare batteries and have a dummy battery that feed the correct voltage from a power-bank or from a mains socket)
Slow to zoom from one end to the other.
Electronic viewfinder or an LCD screen
If using built in flash - it has a very nasty lag from click to pow (up to 2 seconds!)
No way to use a normal external flash (no shoe or trigger connector)
No access for remote cable release etc.
In my opinion it is a vast improvement on the earlier bridge cameras and having that 2000mm (equiv) lens is its biggest asset. It has filled the gap as a small camera compared to my Canon 5D2 with the white, large & heavy 28-300 L zoom lens that I used as a walkabout thingy. My wife hates when I take it out - too ostentatious/obtrusive etc she claims.
I am hoping that putting on a shorter, less obvious lump of glass, I can reinstate my beloved 5D2 as my normal grab camera for holidays and outings. If that happens, I will probably sell the Nikon... Dunno - have to see how it all pans out
Thanks Charles, it gets worse the older you get. It can't be proven, at least not easily, but they haven't seen me run down a hallway when a patient's bed alarm or personal alarm is going off They haven't seen me catch a patient who passes out on a bedside commode and get them safely back on the bed by myself cause nobody's available to come help at that moment.
I was told to expect a phone call on Monday from another company I interviewed with, pays less than USPS, but I'll be employed again if it happens.
unclechuck wrote:
Laura
I've been in and out MA2A of late --- catching up tonight on all these fabulous images and stories --- and then the troubling news of your situation.
I'm sure your long time friends here are pulling for you, add me to that list.
Donald Gray wrote:
Morning all from a very wet and windy south west England.
My 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM has arrived and I was hoping to take it for a little walk and see what I could get. There are only two things I could foresee getting was wet and cold!
...
A critique in the IQ expectation of this class of lens is welcome.
My primary question is: Should I be happy with these first few results??
Donald
I like that first shot, looks to me like either England or summer in Florida.
Having detoured into the Sony I didn't shoot the 24-70 --- center looks as I'd expect, but I agree about the corners. It will be interesting to see the comments of the MA2A folks who have shot it.
Chuck
PS
Thank you for the valuable insights on the Nikon. The bridge market is changing so fast it's amazing with huge gains in lens and sensor performance, probably just a matter of time before other essentials (flash, zoom, etc) catch up.
Looks like a good copy to me, at 2.8 that is exactly the depth of field I'd expect. If you were getting corner softness at 11 that would be a little different story . I think you have winner.
JWilsonphoto wrote:
While Chili and I were enjoying great Texas BBQ in McKinney, we devised a rough plan to run out to The Jedi Transition for a couple of days. Good time of year to visit Death Valley and that'd be a pretty unique shoot, maybe get some landscape shooting in as well.
I just learned about the Jedi Transition a week or so ago. It is definitely on my bucket list.
JWilsonphoto wrote:
While Chili and I were enjoying great Texas BBQ in McKinney, we devised a rough plan to run out to The Jedi Transition for a couple of days. Good time of year to visit Death Valley and that'd be a pretty unique shoot, maybe get some landscape shooting in as well.
Jim,
Panamint Springs is the small town at the bottom of the Jedi transition. It’s about a 3.5 hr drive from Vegas which is the nearest major airport. LAX is maybe just over 4hrs drive but could be a lot longer dependent on LA traffic.
There is not much in Panamint springs - a motel, a restaurant and a garage. Fuel is expensive there compared to other places.
Beatty Nevada is about 1hr 15m drive from Panamint springs. It has more hotels, restaurants and fuel.
A good idea is to stock up on some essentials at Walmart in Vegas before heading out there - things like sodas, bottles of water, chips, chocolate bars, folding chairs. A flask to put a hot drink like tea or coffee in is also a good idea as it can get quite cold in winter.
As for lenses, you need a minimum of 400mm for the Jedi Transition.
My Cerakote guy called me today to say everything was ready. Well actually he’s my second Cerakote guy, the first guy quoted me $150 and told me it would be done in two weeks. The reality was six weeks and $300. When I got back to the hangar with everything it became obvious that he didn’t touch the couple dozen screws and fittings that I had neatly packaged in ziplock baggies. So triple the time, twice the cost, and an incomplete job, seems about right........ He did do a very nice job on the frame, I’ll give him that. I should have hauled the bags of parts back to him and held his feet to the fire, but even if he agreed to finish it , I was ticked and didn’t want to wait another six weeks. I did a little research and found another custom gun guy who offers the service, so I drove out to his shop and left them with him. $45 bucks/three days and it was ready to go. Assembly began this afternoon at HQ and it’s turning out better than I had imagined....................
I recall your earlier work-in-progress images: the finished product is amazing.
Curious if you have filed any patent work on it?
On another point; I was unfamiliar with the Jedi Transition --- a little reading and a couple YouTubes later I'm really looking forward to your images and narratives. What an adventure!
This is the image I got my avatar from
Canon 20D with 70 - 200 L
As cute as this looks, I regularly have to dodge these while travelling.
Just this morning on sunrise, four within 100 metres, lucky I haven't hit one.
Just Blessed to have them though, better not look a gift horse in the mouth. 
