see inline. Herb.... ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Cassino" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2004 12:03 PM Subject: Re: PAW- Bird and Moon Shots
> The real challenge is to get close enough. With small warblers etc you > have to get within 20 feet or so, which can be a real challenge. Around > here, even the egrets and sandhill cranes are too skittish to let you get > close - and since they are big birds, you don't have to get all that close. > It makes one realize how lucky birders in Florida have it, where a lot of > waterfowl are pretty habituated to humans. the closest i got in the 45 minutes i had in the marsh was about 40 feet from some red-winged blackbirds. the sparrows i posted recently were really used to people and i was also in my car, so they came within 5 feet. i hit the minimum distance stop on my FA* 400 f5.6. the last several weeks, i have had much time when i was out shooting, so the opportunities were limited. a male/female pair of cardinals spooked after i got to within about 60 feet. ghe last several weeks have just not allowed much time to really do the close approach. of course, some birds are more skittish anyway. > I drop the lens, TC, and camera into a Domke long lens bag, which provides > a minimal level of padding. That bag I drop into a regular backpack. The > backpack is from the army surplus store - it's huge, rugged, and has a belt > strap as well as the shoulder straps. I do have a bit of foam padding on > the left shoulder, where I rest the tripod. i'll be looking for a long lens bag. i want to find something designed for the 400 f2.8 form factor. the 600 f4 bag from LowePro may be too large. > So far, I have not needed a beam focuser with either the AF500FTZ (with > film) or with the 360 flash and the *ist. I really think that fill flash > is essential when birding. > I do the same thing - though I usually think that if I did drop the lens, > it would probably break my neck. Once on the ball head, I lock the quick > release plate in place, so the lens won't fall off. well if yuo did drop the lens, life would be over anyway 8-(.
