When I lived in Indiana, I used to do a fair bit of bird photography. There were several lakes and state parks surrounding the Bloomington area which saw a good amount of bird activity during the fall and spring. My go-to cameras at the time were the Canon 1DIIn & 1DSII with their very effective 45-point AF system. The 1DIIn was great for in flight photos due to it's high frame rate and the 1DSII for stationary shots with it's higher megapixel count. Sometimes I'd even grab the 5D when I wanted a lighter camera. Even though it had a primitive 9-point AF system, it could still do a fairly good job.

As far as lenses, I used the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM, Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 OS, and the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 OS. I would also use 1.4x extenders on the Canon 100-400L & Sigma 120-300. Between the Canon 100-400L and the Sigma 120-400, the Canon was the clear winner. Sharper, faster, and more consistent auto-focus. So I sold the Sigma 120-400mm. Then the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 entered the picture. For the majority of my work, the significantly larger aperture of the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 trumped the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6. So the Canon 100-400L went away even though it was a beautiful lens.

Fast forward a couple of years. The Canon 1DIIn's shutter exploded for the second time, and Canon no longer repaired it. So it was replaced with the Canon 1DC (a 1DX with 4K video capability). The Canon 1DC/1DX merged the 2 separate camera lines (1D for high frame rate & 1Ds for high megapixel) into a relatively high megapixel, 12fps camera with 61 AF-points. Having recently purchased the Canon EF 200mm f/1.8L USM and fallen in love with it, I decided to take it and the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 out for a head to head and see how the modern 1DC/1DX compared to the old 1D series that I loved.

First, the camera. The newer Canon cameras have some absolutely insane auto-focus customization. Everything from number of points (max of 61), spread of points, AF point switching speed, tracking speed, tracking sensitivity, etc.... The older 1D series had 45 points and 2 options. Single point selection or automatic selection of all 45. Even though it was a simpler system, it worked very well. You could just pick the camera up and get excellent and consistent results without having to tweak settings and adjustments. The couple of times I have shot sports or bird photography with the newer auto-focus system on the 1DC/1DX or 5DIII, I've found that I have to do a little bit of adjustment to the settings to get it really dialed in. Once it's dialed in, it's fantastic. I sometimes wish it were a bit simpler, and that I could just pick up the camera and shoot like I could with the older 1D cameras.

Well, my original plan was to do a shoot out between the Canon 200mm f/1.8L USM and the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8. Grapevine Lake is pretty large and I immediately realized that even the 120-300mm at 600mm with a 2x extender was on the short side of things. There was no way the 200mm would cut it, even at 400mm with the 2x extender. So I just stuck with the 120-300 with the 2x extender for 95% of the shots.

I did experiment with using both the 1.4x and 2x extenders resulting in an incredible 840mm, however AF performance really struggled and the image quality took a hit. You can really see the optical aberrations starting to appear. In addition, at that focal length and shooting distance, atmospheric haze becomes a problem which also reduces image quality and sharpness. Vignetting also is pretty heavy. The image above is with that lens combo stopped down one stop to reduce vignetting and increase sharpness. Wide open, it's pretty much unusable. So back to just the 2x extender.

Auto focus tracking worked fairly well with the Sigma 120-300mm + 2X. I always have my camera in AF servo mode (continuous AF tracking). Most of the time I used AF case 6 mode (As Canon states: For subjects that change speed and move erratically). This mode makes the automatic AF point selection switch points faster and react faster to changes in subject speed and distance. I usually left the camera on automatic point selection with the center as the starting point. Back-button AF is a must for this type of work. You align the subject with the center point, and activate AF tracking with the AF button on the back of the camera. Then the system automatically tracks the subject across the entire AF point grid for as long as you hold in the AF button on the back.

For stationary subjects, I toggled back to single AF point, and would manually select the desired AF point as to keep from focusing on the branches instead of the bird. In addition, custom button number one on the front changes the AF mode from continuous tracking to stationary so I can make sure I really lock in the focus.

I found that at times, the AF system would loose the birds in the sky, in particular the lighter colored birds against the clouds. When this happens, the AF system hunts and usually goes all the way to minimum focus distance. How much of this was the difference between the Sigma and Canon AF motors, or using the 2x extender, I'm not entirely sure. I normally don't use extenders, and birds in flight is one of the most difficult things for a camera's AF system. The next time I go out, I'll try some without the extender, and some with the Canon 200L + 2x to see how it compares.

After a little while on the south west shore of Grapevine Lake, I headed to a field near Scott's Landing Marina where I saw lots of gulls, geese, and ducks. After a while of shooting there, several geese and ducks had surrounded me. I'm guessing they are used to people feeding them and were expecting food.

As the light started to fall, I switched from shooting stopped down one stop at f/8 to wide open at f/5.6. I also bumped up the ISO quite a bit to keep fast shutter speeds, and I'm really impressed with how good the camera looks at these higher ISO settings. There's no noise reduction on any of these shots, and they look really great. The image does get a little softer wide open with the 2x extender, but still looks pretty nice. The bokeh at 600mm f/5.6 is fairly smooth. The vignetting definitely is a little more noticeable, but I do like the look.

As the sun began to set, a lot of the birds began to fly off. A couple of ducks remained, and I was able to get some really beautiful light on the water with the ducks.

In almost every way, the newer 1D cameras are just plain better than their predecessors (as one would expect). Better AF systems with more customization, higher megapixels and shooting speeds. Better high ISO performance and a more ergonomic button layout. Everything is just better. The Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 with 2x extender is still going to be my go to bird and wildlife lens. Fairly long (600mm with the 2x), great image stabilization, relatively fast aperture, good AF performance, and the added flexibility of being a zoom lens (as opposed to a fixed 300mm or 600mm prime). Sure, you may trade off a little bit of sharpness and a stop of light (compared to the Canon 600mm f/4L IS), but you save like $9,000. For me, this is the perfect bird and wildlife setup. The only thing I'll do differently next time is bring some bread for the geese!

Yes. You read that correctly. A 200mm f/1.8 lens. This lens is my most recent acquisition, and one that I never thought I would actually own. I've had it for a couple of days now, so this is very much a first impressions review and "unboxing".

First, there's the box. And not just any box. It's a massive locking trunk. I feel like I could throw this off a building and it would survive. Unlike the movie Seven, we know what's in this box. Canon put a huge label right on top. I guess if you had more than one of these monster lenses, then a label would be important.

Here's what we've all been waiting for. The lens! Oh, and it's heavy. Like, really heavy. 3000g/6.6lbs.

The build quality is phenomenal. The lens features an all metal construction on the lens body. I've always loved the metal nameplates on these monster telephoto lenses. My old Tamron 300mm f/2.8 has a brass one. That's something Sigma needs to do. I love my Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8, but where's my metal name plate!? How will I know what lens I'm using unless there's a massive metal nameplate?

Lots of switches and controls! I actually had to check the manual about some of them. There's the standard AF/MF and focus limiter switches, and things get interesting. The focus preset switch is fairly self explanatory. Once you set it, you slightly turn the white ring just in front of the switches to instantly return to the preset focus.  The one below it turns a beep on or off. If set to on, the lens will beep when you recall the preset focus distance (like the AF confirm beep on a camera). Finally, the manual focus speed. I'll touch more on that when I discuss AF performance below.

Ok. I know you want to see what this lens can do. Man this lens is stunning. Just 3 more photos of the lens, then samples.

Okay okay okay. Moving on to some sample photos. Also, I have to thank my wife for putting up with my insanity and running around to crazy places so I can take photos of her.

Wow. Isn't that beautiful? Yes. I know the girl, but also, that bokeh! I have never seen any other lens with depth of field fall of like this. Also, notice something interesting. This lens is SHARP. Like really sharp, and across the entire frame. You can see the line of focus perfectly sharp across the entire frame. From the tree on the left to the blades of grass on the right. Click here to see the full resolution photo.

Things get really impressive when you move in for a headshot/upper body portrait. Such creamy bokeh and the background is completely obliterated. But what about moving in even closer? The closer the focus, the smaller the depth of field, which means MORE BOKEH! The minimum focus distance is 2.5m, which while that won't win any awards, that's more than usable on a 200mm prime.

So in search of things to get 2.5 meters away from, we move to the backyard to find what look like simple and mundane weeds and flowers. The bokeh and telephoto compression is just ridiculous. Such extreme subject isolation, and it is wicked sharp.

Well, what about auto-focus performance? The Canon white telephoto lenses are known for having superb AF, but the first generation are very different from the rest. These use a focus by wire system for the manual focus which supposedly can to lead to AF problems. So far, I have no issues. The AF is fast and accurate. The focus by wire for the manual focusing is actually really nice. It is responsive and consistent. There is a switch to change the manual focusing speed (1, 2, or 3) with 1 being the slowest, and 3 being the fastest. I've left mine on 2. I'm not sure how Canon managed to perfect the focus by wire system on the early EF lenses and the completely mess it up on the new ones.

Auto-focus tracking some birds in flight with no problems.

Splash!!

Anyway, that's enough birds. I'll leave you with two final images

To view other photos from this lens and view photos in high resolution, head over to my Flickr page where I have the photos posted in full resolution, and check out the results for your self!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottscheetz/albums/72157718551440273 

Oh, and I just realized I never wrote a review for the legendary Canon 50mm f/1.0L USM. I guess I should do that since I've had it for a year. Oops.
Here's a spoiler. There's a reason it's legendary.

Wow. Oof. It's been a while since the last blog update... Oops

About a month and a half ago, I picked up a Leica M-P (Typ 240) from guy in Dallas. Bloody brilliant camera. I'll do a more in depth review on it at some point as I've been shooting with it non-stop.

Back at the end of January, Katie and I headed to the Carolinas to visit her side of the family. Here are some of my favorite photos from the trip. All taken with the Leica M-P (Typ 240)

One of the days out there, we went hiking at Crowder State Park in King's Mountain, North Carolina. Brought some additional lenses for the hike. In addition to the Canon 50mm f/1.2, I took along the Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5, the Nikkor 28mm f/3.5, and the Canon 135mm f/3.5.

I'm really liking the way the Canon 50mm renders color and out of focus areas. It's also super easy to have lens flairs with, and they look great. After the hike, we headed back to the family's house, played some music, ate good food, and ended the week with some family photos.

Had a great time seeing family and spending time with everyone. The new Leica is wining as a travel camera, and I can't wait to go on more travels.

Well, I haven't owned this lens in a couple years, but after someone favorited a photo taken with it on Flickr, it reminded me that I never wrote a review before I sold it.  If you do some reading on the internet, you'll see many different opinions about this lens. The majority of the reviews complain about this lens being soft, but I'm here to hopefully prove that wrong.

First off, let's talk about size and build quality. It's small, light, and fairly solid. Metal mount with sturdy plastics for the construction. It's small size and weight makes it wonderful for street photography. It fits nicely in most jacket pockets, unlike the Canon 35mm f/1.4L or 24mm f/1.4L. Most of the time I would pair this with a 50mm lens, allowing for quick swapping of lenses on the street. Although it is not weather-sealed, I've used this lens many times in light rain without any issues. 

So let's talk about the sharpness issue that some people bring up. Yes, it is not as sharp wide open as it is stopped down. That's also true of most lenses. From about f/2.8 and smaller, sharpness is even across the frame with good detail. At larger apertures, it does take a small hit in sharpness on the far outside corners, but it really isn't too bad. The center wide open sill remains sharp with great detail. Wide open at f/1.8 is more than usable and looks great. Having that flexibility and extra light can be critical for low light photographs.

Stopped down, things of course get nice and sharp. Very little vignetting and beautiful color rendition.

Fast apertures on wide angle lenses. If you aren't shooting low light, why would it matter? Environmental portraits with subject isolation. Getting shallow depth of field on wide angle lenses can be difficult, especially since most are f/2.8 or smaller. There's some vignetting wide open, but I've always been a fan of it and the way it can focus the viewer's attention.

Let's talk about auto focus. It's actually pretty good. I never shot sports with it as normally a wide angle lens isn't super useful for it, however It was always responsive for street photography and live music. Snappy, quiet, and accurate thanks to it's ultrasonic motor. Like all USM motors, it allows for full-time manual focus override.

Now we come to the end, or at least closer to it. I used the 28mm as my main wide angle lens for a couple years, then I bought the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L USM II. I simply needed a faster lens. Of course the 24mm is wider, and for some situations was too wide. So I bought the Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, which became my new favorite wide angle lens. So then I was "stuck" with 3 fast wide angle lenses, 24mm, 28mm, 35mm. I realized that out of those lenses, I wasn't using the 28mm anymore as my shooting style changed. I preferred the speed benefits of the 24L and 35L, and the majority of the things I photographed, size and wieght didn't matter. Shortly before moving to Dallas from Bloomington, IN, I sold the 28mm. (hence why all the photos are from Bloomington). 

In summary, the Canon 28mm f/1.8 USM is a great lens, but if you've got the money and aren't set on 28mm focal length, the Canon and Sigma versions of  24mm f1.4 and 35mm f/1.4 are better. If you need the low light advantage, that 2/3rds of a stop can make the difference.

Katie and I headed to Shreveport, LA and Caddo Lake in Uncertain, TX for the Fourth of July. Had a blast checking out some antique stores, the small towns, and the lake was beautiful.

While we were down there, brought the Mamiya M645 1000S and shot a couple rolls of film. In addition, Katie and I did a short travel blog combined with a small review of the Mamiya M645 1000S. At some point I might go and do a more in depth review on it, as well as on some other cameras. This was essentially just a kind of test run. Check out the video below, as well as some of the photos of the area!

Here are some of my favorite shots from the trip.

As far as film equipment goes, I brought along the Mamiya M645 1000S, the Mamiya-Sekor 45mm f/2.8, the Mamiya-Sekor 80mm f/1.9, and the Mamiya-Sekor 210mm f/4.0. Shot 3 rolls of film. One roll of Kodak Portra 400, one roll of Fujifilm Pro 400H, and one roll of Kodak Ektar 100. Out of the films, Portra is my favorite for it's warm tones. Ektar is my second favorite because of its very unique color rendering. The Fuji Pro 400H is nice, but is fairy flat in color compared to the other film stocks.

Overall, it was a really great trip. The small towns are really quite lovely, and Caddo Lake was very beautiful. I plan on doing some more video reviews at some point covering the Hasselblad 1000F, and a 1933 Rolleiflex TLR.