Social Distancing in Saratoga County

I hopped in the vehicle and headed out to some uncrowded locations late this morning for some walking and some shooting. I had my whole bag with me but only used the EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens.

I started at Cohoes Falls but with overcast skies, the images are nothing exciting. I then headed up to Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve, stopping at the Crescent power station looking over at the end of Flight Lock Road in Waterford. Here is one of the images.

33mm

Once at Vischer Ferry, I walked around the trails a bit. Here are two reflection scenics HDR processed in both color and black and white.

The 24-70mm lens has a closeup setting that lets you focus closer at 70mm and get to a magnification of .7X. The image stabilization in this lens also is Canon's hybrid design which supposedly helps hand held closeup shooting. This Tree Lungwort is a handheld single file at f/11, 1/125th second and ISO 400.

I Don't Think I'll Keep It

While my plan was to purchase the rented EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM lens at the end of the rental period, my current thinking is that I will pass. The lens is great but there are a few points against purchasing this copy at this point.

First, the lens is larger and heavier than either my EF 17-40mm f/4L lens or my EF 24-70mm f/4L IS lens. Second, this is the first rental for this particular copy and the purchase price is only $21 less than the new retail cost of $999 which would include a warranty from Canon.

Third, the lens has some circular flare with the sun in the frame which I've seen on online review testing and which I ran into this morning. Here is some rainbow flare at 16mm and f/8, which is typical, apparently.

In any case, I have until Friday to evaluate whether this lens is worth the extra money over the 17-40mm lens I already own. Here are some other shots from this morning's walk.

21mm

24mm

EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM Lens

As I did when I rented the EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens, I stopped at Oakwood Cemetery after picking up the EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM lens from FedEx. I'm hoping this lens will take the place of my 17-40mm lens which I'm currently trying to sell.

This lens has better image quality and image stabilization although it costs almost twice as much. My plan is to use it in place of the 24-70mm lens in the two camera setup with the 70-200mm lens. If I'm only going to use one camera it will probably have the 24-70mm lens attached.

I've started a gallery dedicated to Oakwood Cemetery at https://trulandphotography.com/oakwood. The gallery contains more photos from today. I hope to be revisiting the cemetery more frequently in the future.

The first two shots show the extremes of the focal length range.

16mm

35mm

35mm

32mm

24mm

24mm

It's Done

I'm really happy with the way my trade in transaction with Unique Photo worked out. I had been trying to sell my 7D Mark II and four lenses on craigslist with no serious interest. Like everything else, craigslist is not what it used to be.

My total asking prices added up to $2,000, of which I could probably expect around $1,500 with no idea of the time frame. My inquiry of Unique Photo resulted in an estimate of up to $1,300 in store credit. This would be enough to get what I wanted so I shipped the gear down to them on Wednesday.

The gear arrived on Thursday, they checked it out and ended up giving me $1,330 which was the exact price for an EOS RP, control ring adapter, grip and an extra LP-E17 battery. No sales tax, no shipping. They shipped the order out the same day and I received it today, one day later.

Here is how my ThinkTank Photo Airport Commuter backpack looks packed up with my current every day equipment.

Starting with the bottom center we have my original EOS RP with the adapted EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens. Moving clockwise by compartment; batteries for flash and cameras, 270 EXII flash and remote cord; the new EOS RP with control ring adapter; EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens, RF 35mm f/1.8 macro IS STM lens; EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens; [Pro]master compact XC522 tripod with head and rocket blower; lens hood for the 17-40mm lens in the center. 

I have OP/TECH pro loop connectors on both camera bodies which I can use with their shoulder straps or their dual harness system.

UPDATE 3/7/2020: Here are the first shots with the new RP body at one of my usual new gear testing locations, Cohoes Falls. These are five file HDR composites with no deghosting added to blur the water a bit. 

UPDATE: As of the end of March, I have moved down to a ThinkTank Photo Airport Essentials backpack which is about a half inch narrower from side to side, almost two inches shallower and a bit shorter when standing up. I like the arrangement better and it's noticeably smaller and easier to handle. The only gear change is the tripod is no longer in the bag and the filters are no longer in an exterior pocket. I even have room for another RF prime lens (50mm) when Canon gets around to releasing it. 

UPDATE: I discovered that the 70-200mm lens had some right side softness issues on the full frame bodies so I replaced it with an EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM. I previously had one of these lenses but replaced it with the 70-200mm L lens for weather proofing and speed with the 7D Mark II body. Here is the updated bag photo.

Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve Scenics

I had a two mile hike around Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve today with the EOS RP and EF 24-70mm f/4L lens. The temperature was around 60 degrees with partly cloudy skies and a calm breeze. Within a few hours there was total cloud cover and the wind was picking up.

I know I've been waffling about my gear lately. I am now back to my original plan to sell my 7D Mark II and EF-S lenses and pick up a second EOS RP. This plan is now pretty set as I am shipping all the gear off to Unique Photo in New Jersey in exchange for store credit sufficient to get the RP, adapter, grip and extra battery. An extended trip to Michigan in April, with a stop at Niagara Falls, is one of the motivations to have things all set sooner rather than later.

So, I will be out of the sports and wildlife business as long as I am working with two RP bodies. Which is fine. I'm looking to concentrate on more creative aspects of photography and the kit I'm putting together should be fine for that kind of work.

Here are some shots from today.

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

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.

Sun With Some Clouds - Perfect

I was out and about with the EOS RP and RF 35mm f/1.8 macro IS USM lens around noontime today. The main purpose was to walk and exercise but the camera gear always comes along.

I stopped briefly at Cohoes Falls and then drove up for a stroll around the Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve in Clifton Park. I hadn't used the RF 35mm lens much lately so that's the only lens I brought along.

As usual, all these scenics are five file HDR composites. This first image is also an HDR composite but severely cropped to show a beaver enjoying their not frozen little pool. It's hard to get wildlife shots with a 35mm lens. That's why I need two bodies, one with a long lens on it.

Still Testing the EF 70-200mm f/4L IS Lens.

I'm still deciding whether my 2011 copy of this lens will be a long term member of my kit or if I should upgrade to the newer version of the lens or get the 70-300mm f/4-5.6L lens.

The 70-300mm lens is shorter when not in use and will fit better in bags and backpacks. But it is significantly slower (lets less light in) at 200mm. The newer version of this lens has a bit better image quality and significantly better image stabilization. But, I own this lens and keeping it won't cost me a cent.

So, for now, I think my first priority should getting a second full frame EOS R series body and use the lenses I have. Canon is set to announce at least one new R body in the next month or so. The decision then will be whether I should just get another EOS RP or whatever the new body turns out to be. [edit 01/28: A new rumored body sounds fantastic but will be expensive. You can read the rumors here and here.]

Here are some shots from late this morning at Cohoes Falls and Peebles Island.

144mm

70mm

81mm

200mm and cropped