Canon Gear review coming soon !

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Let's talk about photography Gear: What do you need

 

Gear can be tools or can be objects of collection; the first will serve you in your photography. The later, will only serve your in your chats.

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First, some definitions:

Full frame cameras: camera which sensor measures approximately 36mm X 24mm. Canon 5D II, 1DS MK III, Nikon D700, D3 and D3X

APS-C cameras: Cameras which sensor is approximately  22.3mm x 14.9mm. Canon Rebels, Xt, 20D to 60D, 7D, all other Nikon cameras. In this case, Nikon APS-C sensors are a little bigger than Canon APS-C

APS-H cameras: well there is only one which is the Canon 1D (MK I to MK IV)

Compact cameras: Small portable cameras with non removable lens, which sensor is regularly small as your little finger nail or smaller. Very practical for the ones who travel and do not want to be bothered by carrying photography gear. I will not talk about compact cameras but when I will mention focals and lens, this should help you choose the compact camera by checking the focals built in the compact cameras)

Prime lens: a camera lens with only one fixed focal. Ex. 35mm

Zoom lens: a camera lens with a zoom range of focals. Ex. 24-70mm

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Gear for landscape photography:

 Landscape photography is the type of photography where, "take your time but get up early" should become your motto

  1. The start: Well, we all start somewhere in photography. The basic kit should be a camera (some will choose a compact and that is fine).
    • A wide angle prime or zoom allowing focals between 20mm and 28mm is the first lens to look for: primes like 21, 24 or at the extreme, 28mm, or zooms in the 24-70 or 24-105mm focals will allow you to capture a very good range of possibilities for full frame cameras. For APS-C (starter or mid range cameras like Canon 20D to 60D, rebels or Nikon SLRS that are not full frames),  a zoom lens i the range of 18-55mm or 75mm will be the equivalents.
    • A good tripod. No one can pretend taking well composed and sharp photographs without a good and stable tripod. For thoses with the means, a carbon tripod would do great as they are stable and lighter.
    • Camera wired trigger is also a must in the basic equipment. If you also have to choice and means, a camera with mirror lock up would also be a wise choice and preference.
    • Filters: one filter is mandatory to your starting kit: the circular polarizer that will serve you in bright days, as well as to add colors in sunrises and sunsets and also will serve you well in fall colors shooting and cascade(rivers) photographs
  2. Evolving, by expanding the choice of lenses: 
    • the next choice of lenses will be zoom lens in the 16-35mm focales (For those who prefer primes, an 18 or 20mm would do great.)
    • Also, a good 70-200 would complete the kit. For landscapes, stabilized lens is not mandatory since we are working with a tripod.
    • Additional filters extremely uselful in landscape photography will be the Neutral density filters. There are 2 kinds: the solid and the graduate (grad) The first will b eused to reduce the general light because it it too hard or simply because you would want tu slow the exposition and create movement in your shot. A good example would be when photographing a cascade and you want the water to look like a film, showing movement. The neutral density filters (NDgrad) will be used to reduce the light in some part of the pictures, like the sky that is too often too luminous.
  3. The last step when you know well how to use use all the previous: 
    • For the experience shooters or those ready to carry a load, a 300mm 2.8 or a 400mm DO would complete the lens list. There is also the new Canon 70-300mm L IS that could cover the 2 later lens range being the 70-200 and the 400mm.
  4. The ultimate tool: the tilt-shift lenses (TS-E for Canon, PC-E for Nikon). Tilt shift lenses are probably the most accurate and at the same time the most difficult lens to operate. Many people consider these lenses as specific to architecture photography since they allow you to make sure there are no distortion to the lines, especially the verticals which are a problem when using a wide angle. This type of photography uses the tilt aspect of the lens. There is also the shifting aspect of the lens that would allow you to make panoramas without any distortion as well since the lens pivots or shifts on the nodal point of the lens. But the best aspect of this lens for landscape photography is that it would allow to maximize the sharpness and the depth of field in focus using the sweet spot aperture of your lens at f/8 instead of using f/16 or f/22 which bring all sorts of diffraction and deterioration of your images. Tilt-shift lenses use the same mechanical principals as the large format camera which are known for producing the top image sharpness. I do teach how to use tilt shift lenses in my workshops if people do want to learn about it. Canon produces the fabulous TS-E 17mm f/4L and TS-E 24mm f/3.5L , and the older models TS-E 45mm f/2.8, TS-E 90mm f/2.8. Nikon produces the recent PC-E 24mm f/3.5, PC-E 45mm f/2.8 and PC-E 85mm f/2.8.

I will discuss in more details some application of the above material at a later time.

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Gear for Birds photography:

Birds photography is the type of photography where, "be quick but don't show it" should become your motto

Cameras

First you need a fast camera starting at 5 or 6 i/s. Your camera focus performance has to respond to the agility and speed of the birds. Entry level cameras has to be eliminated  for someone who want sharp professional look shots. You should look at the top end of the mid range and the top professional range cameras.

Lenses

You cannot think about doing bird photography below 300mm and even this range is limited. A minimum of 400mm reach should be appropriate to start getting results.

I will mostly talk about Canon lenses since these are the ones I am using. Nikon shooters can find the equivalent in their range of products.

The basics:                                                                                                Performance Recommandation(IQ, Speed, etc)

  1. Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS + 1.4X II or III extender                                              +++ 1/2
  2. Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6L IS + Kenko 1.4X Pro DGX extender                            +++ 1/2
  3. Canon EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6L IS                                                                    +++
  4. Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L                                                                                       +++ 1/2

The basics will allow you to do some birds in flights, as well as photographs under smaller range.

 

The Performers (Super Teles):

  1. Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS  + 1.4X III and +2X III extenders                                +++++  *
  2. Canon EF 400mm f/4L IS DO and + 1.4X III Extender                                            ++++
  3. Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS and 1.4X and 2X extenders                                         +++++
  4. Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS and 1.4X III and 2X III Extenders (2X with Pro bodies)  +++++
  5. Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS and 1.4X III and 2X III extenders (2X with Pro bodies)  +++++
  6. Canon EF 800 f/5.6L IS and 1.4X III (1.4X with Pro bodies)                                   +++++

* In the case of the 300 f/2.8L IS, I should add that this is a stellar lens and very usable for birds in flight handheld.

The extenders:

Extenders are practical as they allow you to increase your focal (your reach) without bringing an other lens or a bigger lens. Canon offers the new EF 1.4X MK III and the EF 2X MK III which are superior to the previous versions. The 1.4X paired with one the the super tele and the 70-200mm will produce very sharp pictures with minimal flaws. The new 2X is also very performant but image degrades a little but it still keeping a good sharpness. I am asked many times about using extenders with the 100-400mm or the 70-300 mm. The answer is you loose a lot of sharpness and images are degraded. If your goal is to produce images for the web, the extenders will do with these lenses but if your goal is to make large prints, then you will see degradation and lack of sharpness. Nikon offers the 1.4X, 1.7X and 2X extenders.

When you use extenders, you lose speed: 1 stop for the 1.4X and 2 stops for the 2X. So make sure you put them on fast lenses to get enough speed and to stay compatible (lens max aperture+loss of stops) with your autofocus. All APS-C cameras can autofocus up to f/5.6: a prime lens of f/4 max aperture+1.4X extender. Only Canon pro cameras(1D, 1DS) can autofocus at f/8(with only the center focus point) so you would be able to use let's say a Canon 500mm f/4L + a 2X extender (f/4+2stops=f/8) which would give you 1,000mm.

Widllife

        SOON