Austin Vinar

I often open my camera up in the cold to swap a cold battery for a warm one. Never had any problems.

In agreement as far as condensation goes. I have a heavy plastice sleeve that I can fit my 600mm lens in. Once inside, I place it over the furnace duct to speed up the warming process so my camera is not tied up forever. If I’m working in a vehicle, or out of one, I keep it cold inside as long as I’m shooting. Ive found that it I’m done shooting I…[Read more]

I’ve never heard of anyone using it or it being useful.🙂

Flip the switch on the side of the SD card.

Yes. Same thing.

I would not buy a lens for wildlife that did not have IS. Wildlife is most active when the light is at its lowest. Stabilization is needed. I considered that lens too. But turned it down for that reason. I got my Sigma for $700, barely used.

I see. Here a few shots from the Sigma…

I’ve been shooting primarily wildlife for a few years now, and the purchase of the Sigma last November revolutionized my work.

I guess it depends on what your definition of a lot of noise is. I shoot iso 800 most of the time with the older 7D and have not had any problems. But then I have seen someone take a picture that I thought was very acceptable and call it too noisy.

Honestly, I took a shot with my 7D at ISO 3200 pushed it a full stop in Lightroom, and sold it as…[Read more]

Hmmm. Not sure why it isn’t real sharp. You have your stabilization on right?

Try microadjusting, it won’t hurt anything.

I’m using the 7D, so it shouldn’t be the camera’s problem.

I have had this lenses af keep up with grouse flying straight at me. In cold temps.

Very sharp wide open. Metal mount. Sharp at 1/100 handheld and 1/30 on tripod. Often slower.

Sigma 150-600mm C.

I highly advise those brands because they are good. Just saying, I’ve tried cheaper and it’s not worth it.

I’ve used other Neewer equipment, it is cheap. Can’t say I advise it for a tripod. A tripod is something that needs to be good. I’ve never tried the Neewer, but it is not a quality brand.

BTW, none of these are light tripods. Lightweight sturdy tripods are basically a contradiction if terms. Weight is what makes them steady.

Also check out the Bogen 3221, not quite a Gitzo, but more available and less expensive. If you are less than 5′ 8″ and don’t use it and ground level real often, it might be a good option.

Well, unfortunately, quality and less than $100 is a contradiction of terms. I have gone through several tripods and here is my advise.

First, according to John Shaw, a professional nature photographer, photographers typically go through the same succession of tripods. First a $30 cheapy, then a $65 special, and finally, a year, and a lot of…[Read more]

I bought Lightroom 6 for $90 off ebay, One time buy. I certainly recommend it.

@jamesstaddon, I edit my jpeg just as I would RAW.

If you do shoot in jpeg, I also advise turning off all in camera editing. This saves as close to the original as possible. I shoot for publishers, and rarely use RAW. I know of another full time professional wildlife photographer who shoots jpeg all the time.

RAW is great if you want to do a lot of editing to your pictures, as for me, I keep…[Read more]

I don’t always use the rule of thirds. I see it more as a suggestion than a rule. But thanks for the thoughts, It helps me think through my compositions.

Raw is a file format just as JPEG is. The difference is that jpeg is compressed and RAW isn’t.

For example. If you took a picture that had a lot of very dark in one area, jpeg would compress it all and call it black. Same with whites. Raw saves every pixel just as it is taken. This allows much more flexibility in editing.

The disadvantage of…[Read more]