A great day to be alive....;-)

Janie and I went on a nice easy hike Sunday. The park trail guide said that you might see Great Blue Herons on this particular hike, so instead of the usual D70 / 18-70, I took the big bag, and the D2H / 70-200VR + 1.4 TC. We did see three GBH's, although they were all behind dense vegetation, so no shots, but I really enjoyed this cam / lens combo.

I haven't used the 70-200 nearly enough since I got the 300 2.8, and I had just about forgotten what a great lens it is. Since I didn't get any GBH shots, I wished that I had left the TC in the truck. In spite of this though, I got some really pretty shots. Here is a sample.

The prettiest thing that I saw all day 8) :


Another:


We also saw some pretty flowers (the bokeh with this lens is amazing):




We saw some fairy cook pots  ....


And even though we didn't get any flying birdies, we did get some winged creatures:




All in all, a good day to be alive....  

Frank

 

Virginia,

Janie will take the D70 and kit lens and shoot when I ask her to, but she won't touch the D2H and the big lenses that I normally have mounted. Can't say that I really blame her. The danged things are frickin' heavy. :?

I'll be honest though, in spite of this, I'm very tempted to start lifting weights and taking this combo + the 18-70 on future hikes. The results are just awe inspiring (even for a noob like me....;-)).

Thanks,

Frank

 

Mike,

You definitely hit the nail on the head. 8) I was telling Janie that I wish that I had brought the 500D. Could have used it is several shots. Problem is, I want to bring the 18-70 to. Definitely going to have to hit the weights.... :?

Thanks!!

Frank

 

Leigh,

Several folks had the same comment and you (and they) are so right. Sometimes you can get obsessed with one area of our great hobby and miss the enjoyment of just taking beautiful pictures. I certainly plan to keep this up.

Thanks for the kind words.

Frank

 

Harry,

I hear what you are saying. I only have three lenses; the 300 2.8, the 70-20VR, and the 18-70. As I mentioned, I usually just carry the D70 and the 18-70 on hikes because they are light and convenient. After Sunday though, I'm just going to have to find a way to carry the D2H and the 70-200. The pictures are just too good (I'm not trying to say that my pictures are good, just that the results from this cam and lens are so good....;-)).

The thing is, I missed my 18-70 for several scenic vista that we happened upon, and like Mike Mac said, I should have carried the 500D also. As you mention, it's not that heavy. Altogether though, this kit would be about 6 - 7 lbs; or about 4 - 5 lbs heavier than the D70 and 18-70 alone. The hike we took Sunday was easy, but we often go on 10 - 15 mile ( 4 or 5 hour) killers. For those, I'll need to be in better shape to carry this larger kit. :lol:

Thanks for your feedback.

Frank

 

Sandi,

As I mentioned, I started out with the 1.4 TC on the cam along with the 70-200. About half way through the hike the AF started acting up. My guess was contamination on the contacts (later confirmed and cleaned up). I shot the rest of the way with just the 70-200.

In both cases, I set the lens as wide open as possible, to minimize the DOF, and to get the best focus contrast between subject and background. With the TC that was f4.0. Without of course, it was f2.8. I shot in A priority, and I think that the shutter speed varied between 1/800 and 1/1600.

I definitely used the VR since all shots were hand held. For my birdie shots VR is not all that helpful, but for these it was a real blessing as I don't have such steady hands. I only wish that I had taken the 500D with me. I could have gotten some killer shots with that combo.

I think that you will be very happy with this lens, whatever your settings. I definitely need to use mine more often.

Regards,

Frank