Canon EOS300 and 75-300 Canon Lens

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I was advised to buy a Nikon but purchased a Canon because it felt more comfortable to hold than the Nikon. Not very scientific but its why I bought it.

The results so far are ok. 1st roll of Jessops 200 two pin sharp birds. 2nd roll of Jessops 200 one pin sharp bird. 3rd roll of Fuji Slide 50 Pro All night shots 20 pin sharp 4th roll of Jessops 200 no pin sharp shots 5th roll of Fuji 800 25 Pin sharp birds 6th roll of Jessops 100 B/W awaiting development.

The quality of the pictures themselves are much better on the Fuji film than on the Jessops film.

I am going to try some Kodak 400 Colour and a few other makes before I decide what film to use for my wild bird shots.

I find with the Canon 300 lens that if two ducks are behind each other I cant get them both in focus. When the prints come back one is always a little out of focus. I have tried aiming the lens between them to focus but this does not give me the pin sharp features that I am after.

Besides the feel of the Canon EOS300 I like the controls and the way the camera works. Its ease of use and its flexability to be creative when you know how. (I dont....yet)

As a newbie to SLR and Photography which I last did in school over 25 years ago I feel that most of the mistakes are mine and very few are the camera's fault.

One thing that has been bothering me is why would one need a hand exposure meter when the Canon has one built in? Will another meter improve my photo's even more.

Thats all folks.

-- Jeffrey Alan Herrington (jeffreyherrington@hotmail.com), February 19, 2002

Answers

Hi, great that you chose CANON! I just wanted to note that the Canon 70-300mm lens, at the 300mm end the lens isn't that great or sharp, nor are any "consumer" brand lenses are, so if you notice that your pictures aren't that sharp it may not really be your problem. Once again its great that your comfortable with Canon.

-- Jake F (JakeF@nowhere.net), February 19, 2002.

To get both ducks pin sharp, stop the lens aperture down to f/11. you'll get more depth of field and the lens sharpness improves as well.

Or use the DEP mode. That's what it's for.

-- Jim Strutz (j.strutz@gci.net), February 19, 2002.


A separate meter is helpfull at times. Especially used as an incident meter, since your camera uses a reflective meter. But you really don't need it. After you have figured out what you're doing and you think you need one, buy it then.

-- Jim Strutz (j.strutz@gci.net), February 19, 2002.

You have made a few sharp shots so your lens is not in question. You have to keep the shutter speed in line with the focal length you are using and squeeze the trigger. Are you using some sort of support such as a tripod or beanbag? I have found that even supported, when I shoot at shutter speeds lower than 1/125, mirror slap softens the picture somewhat. When I can I use mirror lockup under these conditions. If you can get the f-stop to at least f8 as it will sharpen the picture a bit. On the two birds,, if there was any kind of a distance between them then you will really have to stop the lens down and depending on that distance you still may not be successful. And the more you stop the lens down the more the shutter speed will come into play. Concentrating on one subject will work better with longer lenses. I have had no problems with the in camera meter but you have to understand how it works with very dark or very light subjects. A hand held meter can help at times but isn't a necessity. I have done it both ways plus the sunny 16 rule and have been successful. Don't expect every picture to be a keeper but paying attention to technique will keep the ratio a lot higher. I generally use a good quality 400 iso print film so I can keep the shutter speed up. When I use slide film I watch the lighting conditions, and pay close attention to my technique. Hope this is of some use to you.

-- Paul Nicol (nicol@roadrunner.nf.net), February 19, 2002.

Oops! Sorry Jim, didn't see you come through the door.

-- Paul Nicol (nicol@roadrunner.nf.net), February 19, 2002.


i'm interested to know if the optical quality of the 200mm focal length of EF80-200 f/4.5-5.6 is better than that of 75-300 f/4-5.6 ?

-- legnum (legnum212@email.com), February 19, 2002.

Jeffrey,

I learnt by reading books on the subject, and one of the best that I found was the 'Complete Idiots Guide to Photography' and 'The Complete Idiots Guide to Photography Like a Pro'. Don't take offence to the titles, they guide you through the principles of photography in a very methodical way.

Goto to - 'http://www.idiotbooks.com/idiotdummybooksphotography.html'

This should show you the range on books they have.

Instruction manuals that you get with cameras are good for learning about your camera, but not always the best for learning about photography.

Hope this helps.

-- canonlover (canoneosd60@aol.com), February 20, 2002.


I'd definitely second the idea of getting hold of a "teach yourself photography" type book. Years ago when I owned an Olympus OM2 my wife bought me one, (published by Olympus in that case), and designed for OM users. Thats what did it for me. You used to be able to get them for Canon too. I bet you still can.

Ian

-- Ian Walker (ianr.walker@ntlworld.com), February 23, 2002.


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