I realise it’s been a little quiet on the blog lately (understatement acknowledged!). The short reason is that the time I would normally put towards the blog has been taken up with other things, in particular doing a sponsored charity swim over the last few months of 2013 and running over the first half of 2014. I’m hoping to develop the running into another charity fund-raiser in due course, but in the meantime there’s a photography angle I want to share with you. More after the jump…
Posts Tagged ‘70-200mm’
Durham parkrun
Monday, June 30th, 2014Cycle Race – Tour Series Durham Stage
Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013I have wanted to shoot this event for several years but something has always prevented me from attending…until this year. Not even a last-minute bout of man-flu could keep me away.
Olympic Torch Relay
Monday, June 18th, 2012I was really pleased to get to see the Olympic Torch Relay as it passed through Durham City this weekend. (more…)
Water birds
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012I had one of my best ever wildlife experiences last week. Find out more inside… (more…)
Canon Lens Auto Focus Accuracy – Part 2
Sunday, August 21st, 2011Having set my mind at rest in Part 1 that my new lens wasn’t totally dodgy, I set about trying to make it even better. In fact, I decided to repeat the process on all three of my main lenses. (more…)
Canon Lens Auto Focus Accuracy – Part 1
Sunday, August 14th, 2011Back in May I wrote about the new Canon 70-200mm f4 L IS lens I had chosen and my reasons for making the choice I did. After taking it out on a few non-critical sessions I haven’t been blown away by its sharpness – it’s good, but perhaps not quite as crisp as I was hoping for. I started wondering if this was down to my unrealistic expectation or if there was something wrong with the lens.
Then one day I was out on the riverbanks in Durham and saw a heron fishing in the shallows. I was a bit far away, but thought I’d grab a few frames just for interest. Reviewing the shots I’d just taken zoomed in on the camera’s LCD, the heron was clearly blurred even though I was absolutely certain I had auto-focused on the body (I was too far away to pick up the eye which I would normally aim for). What was more, the detail in the background was sharp – and it was consistent, shot after shot. Suddenly I panicked – did my new lens have a serious back-focus problem?
The shot that started it: after default sharpening in Capture One, this Heron still looked soft while background details look sharp (100% crop)
Choosing a Canon 70-200mm lens
Thursday, May 19th, 2011I’ve recently been through a very difficult buying decision and I’ve read that it’s one which many Canon shooters face – which 70-200mm lens should I buy? If you search on this subject, the internet is full of opinions, but I found many didn’t help me to make my choice. The bottom line is – it’s a completely personal choice, noone can really tell you which to choose and you need to decide for yourself. So why am I writing a post about it, then?! I thought I would share the factors that influenced my choice in case the thought process I went through helps anyone else make their decision. More after the jump… (more…)
