Yay my new lense has arrived!

Finally my new camera lense has arrived after being stuck in the post!  I was getting concerned that it was trapped somewhere but it has just to say arrived!  I'm looking forward to trying it out tomorrow.

It's the Canon EF-S 55-250 mm IS lense, upgraded from a 55-200mm lense.  That makes it two new lenses I've got now so I'm very happy :-)

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  • Hi Kat

    It's a big thrill when a new lens arrives. I'll bet you can't wait to use it.

    I use a Canon EF 70 - 300mm IS for my bird photography.

    I was going to post a question about image stabilisation on the technical forum but I'll ask you instead.  I vaguely remember reading that you should switch the IS off when the camera is mounted on a tripod or some other very stable surface. The reason for this being that the lens tries to correct for shake even when there isn't any.

    As I mostly use my camera hand held it isn't normally a problem but I was wondering if you knew whether this was true.

    TJ

     

    ____________________________________________________________________

    Tony

    My Flickr Photostream 

  • I'll have to wait before I can afford the 300mm lol  Would be nice but out of my price range at the moment.

    I've just read the instructions that came with my lense, and it says that the IS should be turned off when on a tripod to save battery power, as the IS uses more battery power than when shooting without it. 

    Like you though, I use my camera handheld.

  • Congratulations on your new lens! :o)

    Nothing like a new lens to make you want to sit at the window all day, lol!

     

    I bought a Canon EF 100-400mm L IS recently, if this weather would hold off I'd get out and about and get some good shots in.

     

    TJ, you are correct, you should turn Image Stabilisation off when you have your camera mounted on a tripod.  It uses battery life unnecessarily and from what I was told can also contribute to blur and camera shake and the lens sometimes tries to compensate for camera shake that isn't there,

  • Nice one KatTai, looking forward to many more pictures. Good hunting.

    For viewing or photography right place right time is everything. I'd rather be in the right place with poor kit than have the best kit and be in the wrong place.

  • Unknown said:

    Congratulations on your new lens! :o)

    Nothing like a new lens to make you want to sit at the window all day, lol!

     

    I bought a Canon EF 100-400mm L IS recently, if this weather would hold off I'd get out and about and get some good shots in.

     

    TJ, you are correct, you should turn Image Stabilisation off when you have your camera mounted on a tripod.  It uses battery life unnecessarily and from what I was told can also contribute to blur and camera shake and the lens sometimes tries to compensate for camera shake that isn't there,

    Thanks guys, That's what I'd recalled but like most men I never read the instructions. All these technical details are in our genes .....I wish.

    TJ

    ____________________________________________________________________

    Tony

    My Flickr Photostream 

  • Unknown said:

    Thanks guys, That's what I'd recalled but like most men I never read the instructions. All these technical details are in our genes .....I wish.

    TJ

    lol!  I know what you mean, I didn't used to read instruction manuals but figured I'd probably stop making such a mess of everything if I knew what I was doing - especially where cameras are concerned, they're far too complicated for me without reading about them first :o)

  • Anonymous
    0 Anonymous 10/01/2010 14:20 in reply to TeeJay

    Hi TJ

    Pleased that you have got your lens in the post {smile}

    Looking forward to seeing your pictures.

    LOL at the instruction manuals

    My OH hates instructions manuals for cameras and asks me to read the instructions instead

    Regards

    Kathy and Dave

  • Unknown said:

    Congratulations on your new lens! :o)

    Nothing like a new lens to make you want to sit at the window all day, lol!

     

    I bought a Canon EF 100-400mm L IS recently, if this weather would hold off I'd get out and about and get some good shots in.

     

    TJ, you are correct, you should turn Image Stabilisation off when you have your camera mounted on a tripod.  It uses battery life unnecessarily and from what I was told can also contribute to blur and camera shake and the lens sometimes tries to compensate for camera shake that isn't there,

    A very wise choice Paul, so OK I know how expensive these things are but the first results I acquired with mine had me gobsmacked. Don't forget spot metering for the birds.

     

     

    “A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”

  • Unknown said:

    A very wise choice Paul, so OK I know how expensive these things are but the first results I acquired with mine had me gobsmacked. Don't forget spot metering for the birds.

    Oooh don't confuse me with spot metering, lol!  I'm getting more and more into my photography but no means very good when it comes to it ;o)

    I know what you mean though, they are an expensive lens, but you get what you pay for I figured - and I wanted that little bit extra focal length too.  So far I've been impressed - especially with the pics of the Sparrowhawk from the other day.

  • Because of the powerful zoom, the DOF can be quite shallow, so even with such as a bird even though the head can be in focus the tail may lose it. I like to use a aperture setting of F9 or smaller (bigger number). Thus on dark days like now makes the slow shutter speeds unacceptable for birds that are on the move, so don't be afraid of using the flash. I love the effect as it fills in any dark areas.

     

    “A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”

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