Playing with a new toy

Linda257 said:

Well the new toy seems to be working a treat Mike. It's a bird I don't get often in the garden sadly..plenty of everything else though ;-)

It certainly did, and my visit to Conwy was a complete blast, with varying conditions, a good trial day and photos to follow.

PeterC47 said:

Hi Mike

Do I assume that you bought the 100-400mm mk2?

I currently have both the 100-400 mk1 and mk2 lenses. All the images I have recently posted were taken with the mk1. I also have a Canon 5D4 and a 1.4x convertor.

I originally bought a used mk1 lens at the beginning of the first lockdown and was very impressed with it. The main thing I didn’t like was the push/pull zoom. I watch quite a few wildlife youtube videos and subscribe to some that seem to know what they are talking about, especially on the technical side. Everyone says that the mk2 lens is sharper and the focusing is much quicker and more accurate, and has 4 stop stabilising. It also focuses down to about 85cm at 400mm, so I took the plunge and bought a mk2 about a week ago. The faster and more accurate focusing should be better for birds in flight. Time will tell! The mk1 will be going on eBay soon.

I haven’t done much with it so far, but I have just attached (for the first time) the 1.4x convertor to the mk2 lens. The reviews from my trusty wildlife guys say that the1.4x works from f8, and from my quick testing half an hour ago it does appear to work. There were no issues at all, it just worked.

If you want me to try anything else with the convertor let me know.

Peter

Hi Peter, yes I bought the MkII and my first impressions are the focussing is a lot sharper and it was challenged chasing house martins on Thursday with pleasing results. The photos will follow in another thread.

As for the convertor, after seeing the results, and the heavy cropping I've done, I probably won't need one that quickly, but it is reassuring to know the convertor works on the MkI and MkII.

I did speak to the camera shop I use, they basically used the same wording as Canon, possible, but also added I could call in a try one, as they have stock, which I knew wouldn't be an issue, I've tried a couple of lenses there in the past.

Many thanks for your info and many thanks on the offer to try anything else. 

Unknown said:

Good luck with the new lens, it should give you plenty of fun :-)
Yes, the lens & 1.4x will work on the 5D4 OK - only the centre spots though, not all the AF regions across the frame. Results are reasonably decent, yes you lose a little bit of sharpness (that's inevitable), but not too bad. One of the GoA threads had some lens+extender comparisons, I'll see if I can find the direct URL

ETA - Here's the link to the thread on lens + extenders. The 100-400 appears lower in the thread

Thank you WJ, I've bookmarked the link and will peruse it properly later.

Lynn L said:

Oh I dunno, boys and their toys!!

Joking aside Mike, the new toy is resulting in lovely photos, of course the boy with the new toy has a lot to do with that as well!

I know, and I've never really grown up, just had a hard life LOL.

Absolutely, it is all down to the photographer, the tools just help to make the job easier to attain the results.

Unknown said:

Have fun with the new lens, it is a fantastic all round good wildlife/birding lens and not overly heavy to tote round;

nice to see you are already getting great results from it. Enjoy :) sorry we couldn't make Conwy this time but my Aunt was happy to see us when we called in for a long awaited cuppa with her !

No worries about Conwy this time, family is important and it was good that you managed to see your aunt. As you know I have family near to the reserve, and with covid, we haven't met up since Oct 2019, so it was good to catch up with them.

The new lens was a joy to use (photos to follow), with being able to get closer rather than having to change lenses for nearer subjects, and the ability to drop down to 100mm for some landscape shots meant I only changed lenses once, and that was only for comparison purposes.

Weight wise, there isn't that much difference between the Sigma and Canon lenses, but two things the Canon lacks, one is a strap to help carry the weight and the other, on the Sigma, there's a lock to keep the lens retracted, which the Canon would benefit from both. I'm currently searching for suitable straps no wider than 12mm, which can loop into the slot just in front of the Tripod mount.

I'm hoping to go back to Conwy mid-Sept, covid and family permitting.

Ed D said:

Mike,

Great photos! I use the Canon EOS 70D and Canon 100-400 Mk1 Zoom lens for my bird photography.
Looking forward to seeing more photos from you soon. :-)

Ed

Thanks Ed.

Photos will be up very soon. 

Hi Mike

I will look out for your post of your images with your new lens. As you said about the 1.4x convertor, I have hardly used it at all as I found that I didn't need it with the images I have taken and the crops from the 5D4 are pretty good.

Changing the subject slightly, have you come across a program called Topaz DeNoise AI? I think it's worth every $ it costs, especially if you have to use a higher ISO than you would like to.

It's very easy to use either stand alone or linked to Lightroom etc., and does exactly what it says on the tin. It makes a stunning job of dealing with the noise and adds some sharpening as well. It's $80 and I think you can get a thirty day trial. If you haven't used it it's worth getting the trial.

Peter

Mike

There is a zoom tension ring on the mk2 which works in the same way as the older mk1.

I haven't tried it yet but you should be able to increase tension or even lock the zoom for when you are walking, and then loosen it when you want to use it.

Peter

PeterC47 said:

Hi Mike

I will look out for your post of your images with your new lens. As you said about the 1.4x convertor, I have hardly used it at all as I found that I didn't need it with the images I have taken and the crops from the 5D4 are pretty good.

Changing the subject slightly, have you come across a program called Topaz DeNoise AI? I think it's worth every $ it costs, especially if you have to use a higher ISO than you would like to.

It's very easy to use either stand alone or linked to Lightroom etc., and does exactly what it says on the tin. It makes a stunning job of dealing with the noise and adds some sharpening as well. It's $80 and I think you can get a thirty day trial. If you haven't used it it's worth getting the trial.

Peter

I hadn't heard of Topaz DeNoise AI, but I've googled it, and it looks an interesting program.