Frustration

[EOSThree]

My frustration factor is pretty high right now. I am finding my equipment holding me back. My equipment is pretty good stuff, and I am generally happy with it, but this weekend I reached the limits in more than one way. Lens length let me down and the AF system on my Rebel XT let me down.

I went on a Prince William Sound cruise this weekend. The weather was forecast to be sunny with occasional showers. Well, the morning was beautiful, but quickly deteriorated into a general overcast with occasional showers.

A Humpback Whale decided to entertain us for a while. The whale would slap the water with it's fins then arch and show it's fluke. Cool stuff. After a while of this behavior it went under and we all thought that was it. But all of a sudden it breached, landing with a loud splash. It repeated this behavior several times. It was awesome. It's fairly rare to see a whale breach let alone three times in one encounter.

Now for my equipment trouble. Because the whale was a fair distance from the boat I installed my 300mm f/4 with 1.4x TC.

Humpback waving hello


Bald Eagle


In general I am pretty happy with the performance of the 300+TC. I like the quality of the above photos. The problem comes when I want to larger field of view, I either have to move back quite a bit(impossible on a boat)or switch lenses. This came into play when the Humpback breached and I had too much lens. I quickly took off the TC...still too long. I reached for my 80-200 and it breached the third time and I wasn't ready.

Humpback Fluke


Seals


I definitely feel a bit trapped when I have the 300mm mounted. So I started looking for a zoom solution. It came down to the Sigma 120-300 and the Canon 100-400. I ordered the Canon after deciding that the Siggy was just too big. I usually don't have any problem with a big lens, but the Sigma just seemed too big.

[mn shutterbug]

You came back with some great shots. I especially love baldy. You will fall in love with the 100-400L lens. It's the only lens I own. Then again, wildlife is all I shoot. I don't shoot bugs or flowers or landscapes, and I especially don't shoot people. So, for me, the 100-400 is the only way to go. It's also a pretty easy lens to handhold.

[Liz]

You captured some nice shots - I especially like the first two.

I understand your frustration. I had a similar experience a few years ago when I purchased the Canon 200mm/f2.8. I had wanted that lens for such a long time - it was a lot of money for me. However, I finally bought one! I loved that lens! And I loved the results. However, it wasn't long before I realized the lens had it's limits and I got very frustrated. I took it on vacation as my main lens and discovered it was either too short or too long or not fast enough. When I got home, it sat on the shelf for a long time because I couldn't find it in my heart to sell it. I finally did, but I still get nastalgic when I look at those beautiful images I had gotten from that lens.

Sorry that took so long!

Congratulations! you have a great ending to your story! What a beautiful lens you just purchased - one of the best! Now that lens will not frustrate you! I'll be looking for some images to appear before long!

Liz

[WesternGuy]

EOSThree, you have some great images there. You are going to love the 100-400. I have one and I just love it for that intermediate to longer telephoto needs.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

[Old Timer]

Wonderful images. My solution for the past 30 years to this problem is not a zoom with a wider range but two cameras. I rarely ever go on any serous photo op with out two cameras with different focal length lenses attached. As I have stated in other post on this same subject I got in the habit of doing this when zooms just didn't have the quality or speed to suit me and I had to use primes all the time. It was just to slow and cumbersome to be changing lenses every few minutes.

[Overbeyond]

I would be more than happy, after a frustrating day, to come home with these shots as I would imagine they are not the easiest as you have to wait for the moment. I think you did very well.

[mjs1973]

Sounds like a great trip, and you have some very nice images here too. I had the 100-400mm Canonlens for 3 weeks and I was pretty happy with it. Having the right tool for the job can be the difference between getting the photo or not. Like Larry mentioned, 2 bodies with different lenses is a great way to go, as long as you can handle carrying them around. I would take the 100-400mm on the 40D, and either the 70-200mm or 24-70mm on my EOS film camera. It was a pain to carry around, but it was better than changing lenses when you needed to change focal lengths in a hurry.

[Sebastian]

Solution: second body.

PJs, wedding shooters and others who need to get the shot carry at least two for the reasons you discovered. When it matters most, the time wasted switching lenses can cost you the shot.

Love the tail fins.

[EOSThree]

Solution: second body.

PJs, wedding shooters and others who need to get the shot carry at least two for the reasons you discovered. When it matters most, the time wasted switching lenses can cost you the shot.

Love the tail fins.

I have two bodies. They were both with me. My 5D was sporting a 24-105 to capture boat moments and landscapes. The XT was usually fitted with something long. In this case I should have slapped the 300 on the 5D and the 80-200 on the XT. I think the 100-400 will also provide a good solution. I will hold on to the 300 for a bit while evaluating the 100-400.

[SmartWombat]

I would not do without my 300 or my 100-400
300 f/2.8 for the sharpness, and the low light capability
100-400 for the lightness, and the flexibility in decent light

If it's planned and I know my subject isn't going to do anything unexpected, I'll use the 300
If things are uncertain and I might need to pull back to a wider shot, then I will use 100-400

I hope one day to afford another long prime, if the price of petrol and food ever drop.

[Sebastian]

I have two bodies. They were both with me. My 5D was sporting a 24-105 to capture boat moments and landscapes. The XT was usually fitted with something long. In this case I should have slapped the 300 on the 5D and the 80-200 on the XT. I think the 100-400 will also provide a good solution. I will hold on to the 300 for a bit while evaluating the 100-400.

I knew you had multiple bodies, didn't realize you had more than one with you... :blush2:

[EOSThree]

I would be more than happy, after a frustrating day, to come home with these shots as I would imagine they are not the easiest as you have to wait for the moment. I think you did very well.

I did come away with quite a few good shots, it was just frustrating to miss the climax moment with the whale. I guess I really had no idea the whale was that big, his pectoral fins were a little small in the frame, but his body was huge when it came out of the water. I had way too much lens. I guess it was a learning experience.

Paul, I wish I had a 300 f/2.8 but I just can't justify the cost right now. I was looking pretty seriously at the Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 but just decided it was too big and the cost was a little to much for me. I think the 100-400 will be a nice compromise.

[Addies Granddaddy]

EOS, consider yourself lucky. The only thing holding you back is equipment. In my case it's talent.

[EOSThree]

EOS, consider yourself lucky. The only thing holding you back is equipment. In my case it's talent.

I could certainly use a dose of that too...

[Addies Granddaddy]

. Don't worry......there's no way I could approach the stuff you got. You only need to see the shots I put up here to know that.......LOL.