More With the 28mm Pancake

I'm not using the 28mm lens exclusively but here are some shots from the past week using it with both the R6 and the R8. I did create a gallery for photos made with this lens here.

R6, RF 28mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 100

R6, RF 28mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 100

R6, RF 28mm f/2.8, f/11, 1/350 sec., ISO 200

R6, RF 28mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/4000 sec., ISO 200

R8, RF 28mm f/2.8, f/2.8, 1/3000 sec., ISO 100

R8, RF 28mm f/2.8, f/2.8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 100

R8, RF 28mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

Amber Waves of Grain

After returning the RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM lens I saw that B&H was discounting the RF 28mm f/2.8 STM pancake lens. It cost less than half the price of the 35mm lens I returned. While it doesn't have image stabilization, I can use it with the R6 which has its own stabilization.

I tested it out at the Neilson Farm this afternoon.

EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/11,1/350 sec., ISO 100

EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/11,1/250 sec., ISO 100

EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/8,1/180 sec., ISO 100

EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/11,1/180 sec., ISO 200

EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/8,1/750 sec., ISO 200

July Fourth at the Battlefield

I had the opportunity yesterday to photograph at the citizenship ceremony held every year on July 4th at Saratoga National Historical Park in my capacity as a park volunteer. In doing so, the resulting photos belong to the National Park Service.

Post processing from RAW files, which I always do anyway, is a necessity in conditions like this in order to lower highlights and raise shadows. I used spot metering and bracketed three exposures to get an optimal file to work with. 

Most of the photos benefitted from cropping to a 4:3 aspect ratio. Here are some of the results, all with the Canon EOS R6 and RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM.

72mm, f/4, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100

93mm, f/4, 1/750 sec., ISO 200

61mm, f/4, 1/3000 sec., ISO 200

105mm, f/4, 1/750 sec., ISO 200

105mm, f/4, 1/250 sec., ISO 200

105mm, f/4, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200

24mm, f/4, 1/6000 sec., ISO 200

A Summer Project, Almost

I was all ready to dedicate the vast majority of my summer shooting to a project where I would only use the 35mm f/1.8 lens I recently picked up. I did, in fact, use only that lens during my last two visits to Saratoga Battlefield. Two visits separated by almost two weeks due to some Poison Ivy I ran into in the back yard.

But after this morning's visit I've decided that I'd be passing up too many good compositions that I couldn't get with a 35mm focal length. I'll try to think of a different concentration that won't be so limiting. [And, having made that decision, I decided that since I still have a couple of days to return the lens to Best Buy for a refund, that's what I'll do.]

Here some of the scenes from this morning.

EOS R6, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 100

EOS R6, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 100

EOS R6, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

EOS R6, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, f/16, 1/60 sec., ISO 1600

Good Conditions for Polarizing

I haven't bothered to use polarizing filters in recent times as you can achieve almost the same results with RAW file processing. Reflections on water and shiny objects like wet leaves are an exception. I do, however, usually carry one and check if it makes a difference or not. 

A very high sun means that the area of maximum polarization will be along the horizon which is perfect on days with distant clouds. Like yesterday at midday.

I walked around the Saratoga Battlefield with the EOS R8 and an RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM lens I had just picked up at Best Buy. This is the fourth copy of the lens I've owned.

All three of my lenses cover the 35mm focal length but they vary is size and weight and this small prime lens extends for .5X closeups and lets in more than two stops more light than my two zoom lenses. And as this lens was only slightly on sale and not half price like the last refurbished copy I bought, I'll not be as tempted to part with it.

EOS R8, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, f/8, 1/90 sec., ISO 100

EOS R8, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, f/8, 1/90 sec., ISO 100

EOS R8, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 100

EOS R8, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 100

EOS R8, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, f/5.6, 1/750 sec., ISO 800

EOS R8, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, f/11, 1/125 sec., ISO 200

Beating the Bugs

The last few times I've been at the Saratoga Battlefield it has been midday and the deer flies have been terrible. It was almost impossible to use cameras once they found out you were in the area.

This morning I headed out early enough so that I was done with my two hour hike when the visitor center opened at 9:00 AM. The insect situation was much better.

I've been trying to decide on the best storage and carrying system for summer hiking and have decided on the Case Logic shoulder bag and holster with one camera and lens in each. The shoulder bag is larger and will also hold filters, lens blower, etc. The two straps can go across my chest opposite each other which eliminates the weight issue of a single bag and shoulder/neck strain. 

Some images from this morning:

R6, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 91mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 100

R6, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 105mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

R6, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 105mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 100

R6, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 24mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 100

R6, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 24mm, f/11, 1/45 sec., ISO 100

R8, RF 14-35mm f/4L at 15mm, f/22, 1/1500 sec., ISO 1600

June Farms

As described on their website: 

June Farms is a peaceful farm located on 120 acres of beautiful, fertile land in New York’s Upper Hudson Valley. We are often referred to as a “gentleman’s farm” because we do not profit from the sale of our animals or crops. Rather, we aim to be a safe haven for our heritage-breed animals, which are the ones that predate factory farming – the same breeds raised by our ancestors centuries ago. At June Farms, these include our Scottish Highland cows, giant Shire horses, Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, Nigerian dwarf goats, chickens, ducks, 2 barn cats and a dog!

I'm pretty settled in with the two body, two lens setup. I'm currently carrying them in the Think Tank Speed Freak shoulder bag. On longer hikes I take the spare batteries out of the bag and put them in a pocket to lessen the neck and shoulder strain. But I've done up to three miles so far and it hasn't been a problem.

Here are some shots from June Farms late this morning made while dodging an elementary school field trip.

R6, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 87mm, f/5.6, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

R6, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 96mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

R6, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 105mm, f/4, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

R6, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 105mm, f/5.6, 1/1500 sec., ISO 100

R6, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 63mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 100

R6, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 105mm, f/5.6, 1/120 sec., ISO 100

R8, RF 14-35mm f/4L at 19mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100

R8, RF 14-35mm f/4L at 23mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 100

Similar Sunsets

I've started keeping an eye out my window for potentially decent sunsets over the Hudson River again. Sunset is a little after 8PM and by 7:30 or so I can tell if there's any point in walking the three blocks down to the river or not.

I headed down twice recently for sunsets that didn't turn out to be anything special. Both times there were widely dispersed clouds so I brought the 14-35mm lens to get as much of the sky and reflection as possible. 

These were made six days apart but almost look like the same sunset.

EOS R8, RF 14-35mm f/4L at 14mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 200

EOS R8, RF 14-35mm f/4L at 18mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200

New Gear

I have been getting along with only one camera body since last summer but changing lenses when hiking can be a pain. The lens that's on the camera tends to stay on the camera even if I could do better with the other one. 

A confluence of circumstances has caused me to remedy that situation. I spent last weekend going over camera specifications and reviews to see which of several bodies would be best as a second body. I decided that an EOS R8 would best suit my circumstances, taking into account financial constraints. And Canon has an instant rebate on new R8 bodies that brought the price of a new body below the MPB "like new" used price. And Best Buy had one available near me.

You can see the differences between the R8 and the R6 Mark II and my current body, the R6 here. Some specifications at DPReview are misleading or just plain wrong. For example, they give the 6 fps for the R8 with partly mechanical shutter but the full speed electronic shutter speeds for the R6 and R6II. The R8 shoots 40 fps with electronic shutter.

I think this two body, two lens solution will work nicely. The R8 will be paired with the 14-35mm lens and the R6 with the 24-105mm lens. I can carry both with the OP/TECH Dual Harness system.

While the R8 does not have in body image stabilization, the RF 14-35mm f/4L lens has stabilization rated at 5.5 stops without IBIS and only 7 stops with IBIS. The RF 24-105mm f/4L lens, on the other hand, has stabilization rated at 5 stops without IBIS and 8 stops with IBIS. It works out nicely.

I am awaiting the extension grip for the R8 and a couple of backup batteries from MPB for which I traded my mostly unused battery grip for the R6. Here are some photos of the two setups followed by some shots with the R8 and 14-35mm f/4L lens.

14mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200

35mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 200

18mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 200

18mm, f/11, 1/750 sec., ISO 200