North Shore seagulls and misc. wildlife (many pics)

[Dbl]

This is a companion post to a similar post on photo sharing. Around 500 images taken over the three days on a little 25th Anniversary trip. These are the bird and animal shots. Shot with Canon 20D with 100-400L/4.5 - 5.6 IS and Tamron SP 24-135/3.5 - 5.6

A number of gull shots.

Bath time.

A cold Lake Superior swimming excrusion for this group.

Superior Hiking Trail Red Squirrel.

Thanks for looking.

[Steve Foss]

Dbl, I see you're getting comfortable quickly with the new camera/lens combo, and several of these in-flight images show you're getting to know your Al servo continuous-focus mode. Good work. Show us more, please, and thanks for sharing.

[Dbl]

You're right Steve, felt like a fish out of water last week. Have shot close to a 1,000 shots as of tonight, and I can actually make changes on the fly without looking for the right button, you know exactly what I mean. I have done a lot of experimenting with different focus modes and think I have a handle on what to use when. That 100-400L is one impressive piece of glass. I personally have seen no softness around 400mm as some have claimed. (See image below, I know it is at f10.0) And the IS is a wonder (As in I wonder how I lived without it!)

This is at 350mm at f10.0 and 1/100s handheld.

Shot my first sports with the combo just this evening, I need to see how they look, but really impressive focus system, and the metering has been very good. Extremely accurate. I am thinking I made the right choice.

Dan

[Steve Foss]

Hey Dbl:

Nice gull close-up. You've eliminated both aspects that can render the 100-400L IS a bit soft. It's only sometimes a little soft at 400mm with a wide open aperature. Here, you've shot it at 350mm and f10.

As far as your choice of equipment, well, there's nothing I can say, is there?

If you haven't gotten the optional battery grip for the 20D, the BG-E2, put it on your Christmas list. Double the battery power and vertical controls mean a heck of a lot when you're shooting for extended periods or when composing vertically. And IS and VR lenses eat batteries faster, since they're mechinical stabilization systems that run on battery power.

SterlingTek makes the best and least expensive replacement batteries I've found. Check them out at the Web site you'd expect by using their name and all the usual stuff. I've had my two pair for over a year, and they totally outlast the best of the stock Canon batteries.

[Dbl]

Thanks for the info Steve, the grip is on my list for sure. When shooting sports I can't have enough battery power. I just exchanged the battery that came with the camera, only about 150 shots with IS or not. They replaced it and I hope the new one works better. Thanks for the recommendation on the battery brand, looks like the way to go.

[Steve Foss]

Yikes, that was a bad battery for sure. You should get hundreds of shutters on a single battery, IS or not.

Other thing is, those SterlingTek's are CHEAP! We're talking two for $25 for the BP-511 equivalent, and no, that's no mistake. They're 1800 mAh batteries, too, and have given me great service. In fact, I just now ordered two more. Came to under $31 with shipping.

[Dbl]

Mine are on the way, I could not believe the price!

[polarsusd81]

Dbl, I asked Steve where to get the batteries a while back and I absolutely love the SterlingTek batteries. Steve is not exagerating when he says they far outperform the Canon batteries. I will never get camera batteries anywhere else.

Tom