more lenze ???

[308ME]

Thanks everybody for the info on the different lenses. One more questions the lense that was suggested most was the 70-200 f/4. IS. Huntnphool at about what distance were the photos you posted taken. ??. I have the skills to get close to animal’s, deer, elk bear but a lot of the time I believe you get a better more natural shot at some distance as you are not disturbing the critter just observing them.  Would this lense still do the job. 

[Smokepole]

Well with your camera, that 200 mm lens becomes a 320 mm, since you have a cmos sensor with a crop factor of 1.6.  That is a lot of lens to hand hold and get good sharp shots.  Having a f/2.8 gives you a lot of advantages in lower light, since you can increase your shutter speeds and still get good exposures.  I shoot with a canon 70-200 f/4 non IS and I love it when the light is good.  They are really sharp lenses. 

If you go bigger than 200 mm, then you need to get a fast lens, at least f/2.8.  Otherwise you won't be able to hold it still enough with slower shutter speeds.  I've found tripods to be a pain for moving targets.  Even a monopod gets in the way.

If I were you, I would consider a non IS lens, then get good at using your camera.  Then buy a 1.4 extender like huntnphool says, and you will have just about everything you can possibly hand hold.

Here's a shot from my Canon 70-200 F/4L USM.  The shutter speed was 1/500.  I shot in shutter priority and the camera stopped down to 7.1.  The lens was fully extended to 200mm (320) with my cmos sensor.  The light was pretty good.  In dark cloudy weather I would have been screwed, holding offhand.  I was shooting about 150'.  But in cloudy weather the light is so flat, you may as well go home anyway.

[308ME]

Thanks again as it is easy to tell i'm very new at this and i welcome all the hands on info i can get.

[grandpawrichard]

308,
Here is an awesome website that explains lenses and it also has a cool little calculator to figure out what lens to use for deciding which lens to use:

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-lenses.htm

I hope it helps you.

Dick

[huntnphool]

 Pretty good deal on a 300mm

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/pho/2824112018.html

[huntnphool]

 Exact distance I'm not sure but the deer pics were all hand held at 200mm.

 I agree the 2.8 is nice to have in low light but I have friends that use this lens and seldom shoot it at 2.8, so not sure if the cost difference is justified.

 One friend sold his 2.8 IS and bought the f/4 IS, then put the difference into a Canon 24-105 L because he never shot the 2.8 wide open.

 Here is a hummer the other day with the 70-200mm f/4 IS.

[Smokepole]

Nice shot!  I have to say, I like the background separation at closer range at f/4 better than at f2.8.  I think the main thing is getting good with the camera, then getting in some L glass within your budget.  I've shot a lot of boats and snow geese in cloudy weather.  Moving targets can be a big challenge in lower light, so I've always wanted a faster lens.  But I'm sure satisfied with my f/4L.

[boneaddict]

Neat shot!

I shoot my 2.8 wide open all the time.

[boneaddict]

I also really like it in a gym setting where light is aweful. 

[Smokepole]

Wish I could afford one!   

[Fowlweather25]

I see some jewelry in that first pic! 

[huntnphool]

I shoot my 2.8 wide open all the time.

Shooting with that tank is a different story also the reason you get such wonderful bokeh on the deer images.

Definately a learning curve there, with such narrow depth it would be easy to miss a lot of shots at 2.8 unless you really know your lens' focal tendencies.

[jyerxa]

Is this what bone shoots? 

[jyerxa]

I have enjoyed this particular thread immensely. I had a point and shoot when I joined the Navy. SX70. I was happy with that. But a very good friend of mine had some kind of really nice 35mm and I admired the quality of pictures he could take. 

I shook it off and said mine is just fine. After all my childhood sweetheart only uses a 110.  She has something like 600+ photo albums now. She is a senior citizen as I will be next month. (She can’t use a computer) 

The life altering moment for me was the day my son was born.  My first Fathers day present was a Nikon EM. I was on cloud nine and loved that camera. Simple but did what I wanted and it blew the sox off that SX70.  I got some Sears lenses and filters and started to learn about the more advanced cameras. How light works? How the aperture works? Exposure? Back then I had to wait weeks or months to fill up a roll of film and get it developed and by the time I got the pictures developed I forgot a lot of what I was trying to do at the time I took a particular shot.

We talk about cost and expense. I worked the whole Christmas Holiday and used my over time pay to get my Nikon D50 and my what seems to be a teeny tiny 70-300 lens.     At the time I thought I was uptown once again………………….

You all have humbled me with what you all know. And I thank you for you question 308ME. I have also been educated in things I always wanted to pursue.

I have had a blast with this digital age. No longer months but instant feed back. Learning about a camera is so much faster nowadays. 

Like I said most of the time I am catching memorable moments with quality snap shots. But I have my moments where I really want the photo to be excellent. I think I like the challenge of “Can I do it?”

So from an economic view over the years. I still love my Nikon D50 and my teeny tiny 70-300 mm. 

I like to tinker. To take shots like bone,huntenphool and smokepole and grandpawrichard I kind of tell myself, “I can do that” It is all about the challenge for me. A by gone geek thing I think. 

Cameras are freaken awesome. Tally ho and journey forward. 

And once again. I actually thank you all for the question and the replys. I learned a lot too. 

[huntnphool]

Nice story jyerxa. You can learn a lot reading books or Internet articles but you will learn more in a day while shooting with someone that can explain it first hand than a year of reading books.

It's fun to get together with guys and just go shoot pics for a day or two, hunting camp without killing anything but brain cells.