Leap Day on Peebles Island

The sun is still low enough so that even at noontime the light is not overly harsh and shadows can still be interesting. I took a walk around Peebles Island between noon and 1:00 PM.

It was still below freezing so the trails were not as muddy as they would have been otherwise.  I just carried the EOS RP with RF 35mm lens so was not interested in either eagles or deer.

I'm pretty set on my plans to add a Canon EOS 5DS to my bag which will enable me to sell my EF-S lenses as the 7D Mark II will be solely used with longer lenses for wildlife and sports. I just have to wait for the right opportunity to come along. The RP will be used as a small option with the 35mm lens as well as a second full frame body on occasion with the 5DS.

Here are some images from today.

I May Have Changed My Mind

[update 3/02/2020: I'm now back to selling items and picking up another EOS RP. Currently awaiting a shipping label to Unique Photo in New Jersey where I will get store credit for future purchases.]

I've had no real interest in the Crop sensor body and lenses I've been trying to sell. I've also been prepared to sell the 200mm f.2,8 and 2X extender lenses, all to raise funds for a second EOS RP body. I think I've decided not to do that and have deleted my craigslist ads for that equipment.

My current plan is to use the 7D Mark II for most of my photography and limit the RP for use with the RF 35mm lens for when I want a compact camera or as a second body with the 70-200mm f/4 lens for indoor events like school plays.

I will need another body eventually but it could be a second crop sensor body (if Canon ever releases a 7D Mark III, for instance), a second R series body or a full frame DSLR.

I obviously picked up the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS and 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 lenses while I still had two 5D Mark III bodies fo I must have been thinking of using the 7DII for general purposes. So maybe I should do just that.

So, gear evaluation continues with many more options available. Here are some examples from the past two days, all different combinations.

Schodack Island State Park - EOS RP w/ EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM

Schodack Island State Park - EOS RP w/ EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM

Hudson River Sunset - 7D Mark II w/ EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

Hudson River Sunset - 7D Mark II w/ EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

Although the Bald Eagles did not cooperate and pose this morning, this is the image I will be able to capture once the birds are constantly on the nest. I have seen them working on the nest and hanging around the area so I'm confident there will be lots of opportunities again this year. Without the 7DII I wouldn't be able to get this kind of shot.

Bald Eagle Nest - 7D Mark II w/ EF 200mm f/2.8 USM + 2X III

"Presidents' Day" at Empire State Plaza

It's Presidents' Day, but it's not officially President's Day. It's not Washington's Birthday either, that would be February 22nd. While most everyone refers to today as President's Day, it turns out it's not. Read about it at https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2020/02/there-no-federal-presidents-day-holiday/163133/.

In any case, it was a sunny holiday and I brought my Canon EOS RP and RF 35mm lens down to Albany's Empire State Plaza. Here are a bunch of photos, all 5 file HDR composites.

Wintry River Scenics

It's been cold the last couple of days and I was hoping there would be some icy scenes around Cohoes Falls. The falls themselves weren't as frozen as they sometimes are in cold snaps but there were some good icicles on the cliffs on the opposite side of the Mohawk River.

I sold one of the three EF-S lenses I'm selling and have the 7D Mark II body and the other lenses left to go. So until I have another Canon R series body, I have only the EOS RP to use.

The EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens is my standard lens to use (via the EF to RF adapter) with the RP but Canon may soon be announcing an RF 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6 f/4-7.1 IS STM lens which I will certainly take a look at. You can read a bit about that lens here and here.

37mm

50mm

70mm

66mm

70mm

Hoping to Say Goodbye to my 7D Mark II and EF-S Lenses

As I continue the migration from Canon DSLR bodies to their mirrorless R series bodies, I've kind of been stuck as I have the EOS RP full frame body for scenics, etc. and the 7D Mark II DSLR for sports and wildlife, etc. I've decided to sell the 7DII to raise some funds for a second EOS R series body before the resale value of the DSLRs sinks too far. As I won't have a crop sensor body I'll also sell my EF-S 10-22mm, 17-55mm and 60mm macro lenses.

There are strong rumors that Canon is set to introduce a couple of new EOS R series bodies with image stabilization built into the bodies rather than relying on just the lenses for stabilization. Accordingly, I'm not going to sell my 17-40mm and 200mm L lenses, which are not image stabilized but which would be awesome with a camera body with built in stabilization.

One of these new bodies is rumored to have a 45MP sensor which, in crop mode, will render 17MP images which is not that much less than the 20MP 7DII. It will supposedly be announced this month but not be available until July.

Here are what may be the the last image I make with that body, the other day on Peebles Island. It is with the 200mm f/2.8 lens and 2X extender and heavily cropped.

And here are some shots with the EOS RP and EF 24-70mm f/4L IS lens this evening down at the river.