CAMERAS and LENSES

This describes the status quo in spring 2024

Camera

I have gone mirrorless.   I have been using a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV for the past 7 years.   It was a brilliant camera and I took some excellent pictures with it, but technology moves on and I have traded it for an EOS R6 Mark II.   It weighs less, the viewfiner is so bright that I can see all the data whilst composing and focussing and there is hardly any image noise up to ISO 3200.   In fact, on test, images of the same subject taken at ISO 250 and 3200 were indistinguishable.   There are other advantages, but other websites detail all of those.

Photographing birds and mammals

For birds, the Canon 500mm f4 IS USM lens (usually with the 1.4x extender) has been the preferred option.   But I also bought the Canon RF 100-400 f5.6-8 IS USM lens, which by comparison with the wide aperture telephotos, is relatively cheap.   With it I bought the RF 1.4 extender, giving a working maximum focal length of 560mm.   Given the quality of images at high ISO settings, I am confident that I will get acceptable images from a combination that is usable, portable and can be hand-held or used with a monopod.   Time and effort will tell.

Photographing insects

All my macro work has used a Sigma 180mm f/3.5 APO Macro DG HSM lens and with an adaptor I can use this with the 6D MkII, but the RF 100-400 zoom should work with larger butterflies with the advantage of remaining at a distance and not spooking them: we'll see.   I mostly use manual focusing for butterflies, though I leave the lens set to AF.   With back button focusing I can set my focus manually and take pictures without AF over-riding my setting (because the shutter release is disconnected from AF).   But if I suddently want to use AF, all I do is press the back button.   Why might I do this?   Two examples... If I want to use a reflector to illuminate the butterfly, because the direction of natural light is not optimal, I can hold the relector in my left hand and operate the camera entirely with my right.   Occasionally I might have to shoot with the camera held above my head, taking multiple shots using the rear screen (which twists around in 6D MkII) to compose the picture.   I can do this one-handed, but only if I use AF.   So, back-button focusing works for me.

As with bird photography, I mostly use AUTO ISO, though if the light is really good I will set the ISO to give me a really fast shutter speed (usually 1/1000) at f13 because the lens is not image stabilised.   With the 5D MkIV I can go up to 2500 ISO if this works better, when AUTO ISO would try to reduce the effective ISO setting to an unnecessarily low value, reducing the shutter speed more than I would like.   Hence the aperture can be kept down with a shutter speed that allows hand-holding, giving shake-free shots with a good depth of field.   I have tried to use tripods for butterflies, but find them too restricting, unless I know that the butterfly is roosting.

For moths removed from my MV trap, in a passive state, I always use a tripod (see Photographing Moths page).   Since this procedure tolerates long exposures of static subjects, I can use a lower ISO setting, though with the R6 MkII the difference is not noticeable.   The main advantage of using a tripod for static moths is that it enables focus stacking (again see Photographing Moths page).

Civilising Big Bertha or how to make the Canon 500mm f4 lens more portable

The Canon EF 500mm f/4 L IS USM is a fantastic lens, but it is heavy.   It weighs over 4 kilos, and with a camera attached, the package comes to over 5 kg.   There are those who claim that it can be hand-held, but it is not the procedure of choice, so normally a sturdy tripod and a Wimberley head (another couple of kilos) are essential accessories.   Carrying that lot any distance tends to dull the creative flair of most photographers – it is tempting to drive everywhere and stay in the car where possible.   But it isn’t always possible.

So I had a brainwave, comprising a second-hand golf trolley and a section of internal flue for a wood-burning stove – 3mm steel, 25cm diameter and 1 metre in length at purchase, subsequently shortened....see below.

The steel tube was cut slightly longer than the camera plus lens, but the length was dictated by the straps on the golf trolley.   The camera+lens slide in when not in use and nestle snugly inside the flue tube.   The fit is sufficiently close for it not to ‘bang about’ whilst in motion.

The tube is lined (clumsily, I’ll admit) with tough polythene and the circular piece of wood fixed in the bottom is covered with 1 inch thick foam to cushion the ride.

And if it rains?   I have a shower-cap, which works a treat.   I’m going to fix a piece of plastic pipe to the side of the flue tube to accommodate my tripod, though provided that it is clean, it slides into the tube alongside the camera.

I can walk miles with this set-up, even over fairly rough and/or boggy ground; after all it’s designed for golfers and they play rain or shine, uphill and downhill.   And when I get old, they make electric ones, don’t they?