May 14, 2011

Cameras...

Canon repaired my EOS 40D and fed-exed it back to me. I got the package yesterday (5/13/11). But the EOS 7D they have refused to repair under warranty, which sucks in a big way. Not sure what I'll do with that one. Repair estimate is about a grand.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 14, 2011 at 9:01 AM : Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 1, 2011

Canon Online Repair Tracking

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer?pageKeyCode=repairLanding

OK. I'm shipping back my Canon EOS 7D and EOS 40D for repair.
EOS 7D Repair Number = WE370608
EOS 40D Repair Number = WE453561

"Camera (40D) won't take photos very well with my Canon EF f/4.5-5.6L 100-400mm IS USM lens. Hesitates for reasons not clear to me. Very frustrating in the field. Then gives the error: 'Err 99. Shooting is not possible. Turn the power switch and again or re-install the battery and pray.' "

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 1, 2011 at 5:19 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

March 13, 2011

Canon Camera Gear Update

Update: I do this for my own sanity, and to keep up with warranty information. Original post here.

Posted by Rob Kiser on March 13, 2011 at 12:31 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

March 4, 2011

More Camera Gear

Today I broke down and ordered the Gitzo GT5541LS carbon fiber tripod and the Wimberley II (WH-200) head with the Wimberley P-40 Arca-style quick-release plate for the Canon 600mm f/4 lens. I'm hoping that this quick-release lens plate won't impede my ability to carry the lens, as I really like the way the lens foot feels in my hand when I carry the lens.

Am trying to get this rig all cobbled together before Jen and I leave for Hawaii later this month. I just hate learning how to use gear in the field. I've been happy, so far, with the new camera and lens, and have become marginally proficient with them, considering that I've not had the new gear very long.

Posted by Rob Kiser on March 4, 2011 at 8:49 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

February 13, 2011

New Frame

Picked up a Canon EOS 7D today. I haven't picked up a new camera in quite a while and I just didn't like the idea of hanging the 50D on back of the 600mm lens. I think the 7D will sit on the end of the barrel a little better.

I'm trying to get all of my gear assembled and working before we go to Hawaii. I don't like buying brand new gear and then going on a big trip without feeling comfortable with the equipment. By the time we get to Hawaii, I'll have a new camera (7D), new lens (600mm f/4), new tripod (Gitzo), and a new gimbled mount (Wimberley II). So, the trick is to cobble it all together and play with it in the field before we start island hopping. Reading manuals in the field on vacation sucks.

Posted by Rob Kiser on February 13, 2011 at 9:14 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Gitzo Tripod and Wimberley Mount

I'm open for suggestions for a carbon fiber tripod and Wimberley mount.
Update: I'm tentatively looking at a Gitzo carbon fiber tripod and a Wimberley II mount.

The Gitzo GT5541LS is the one they recommend for the 600mm f/4 lens. The problem is that it's described as an "eye level" tripod, but the maximum height is 153 cm or 60.24", which is 5' tall, which is not eye level. Not for me, anyway.

For a tripod to be eye-level for me, it will need to be about 5' 8" high, or approximately 174 cm.

The Gitzo GT3541XLS is a fairly tall tripod, which might be a more suitable height for me. The maximum height is 198 cm or 78", which is 6' 6" tall.

Posted by Rob Kiser on February 13, 2011 at 1:37 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Fiddling with the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0L IS USM Supertelephoto Lens

Above: Male American Kestrel near Morrison, Colorado.

So, now that I've had a couple of days to fiddle with the new lens, I've noticed that the settings are fairly similar to the Canon EF 100-500mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens. So, I was able to start using it right away. I understand almost all of the controls.

The focus range switch has 3 positions instead of 2. So, this is a little more involved than what I'm used to. Plus, in the never ending Quixotean quest for multi-culturalism, the Celsius scale, and the Metric system, the measurements are all in meters. So, essentially, you have to look at your subject, make an estimation of the distance in feet (sorry, we're in the United States here - people don't think in meters), convert this guesstimate into meters, and then figure out which of the 3 range selections is the most appropriate.

The Metric System (used in Uganda, Namibia, and Iran).
a) 5.5 m to ∞
b) 5.5 m to 16.2 meters
c)16.2 m to ∞

Now, quick...there's a bird out there in front of you...probably about 30 or 50 feet away. Which setting do you use? Hahaha. Exactly. Now you see the game we're playing. It sounds simple enough, but it's not easy.

The Not-Metric System (Whatever it is that we use - who knows)
a) 18 ft to ∞
b) 18 ft to 53 ft
c) 53 ft to ∞

So, it's sort of important to know how far out 18 ft and 53 ft are, so that you can get the camera to focus quickly and accurately. Especially, when you're trying to shoot something as fickle as a bird that isn't overly thrilled that you're pointing a mortar-sized lens at it.

Picture this...you're standing on the side of a road with no shoulder holding about 15 pounds of camera above your head, pointing up at the sky, trying to keep your balance. Now, you have to look through the lens and find what you're trying to photograph. This is not easy.

Today, for instance, I was shooting the 600mm lens with the Canon 1.4x teleconverter, so you have the same field of view as an 840mm lens. It's one thing to see the subject with your eyes. Finding him inside the lens is a bit more challenging, shall we say.

Trying to do this and give the impression that you know what you're doing is next to impossible.

Yesterday, I was shooting this field of prairie dogs and some woman asked me "How big does the eagle look with that lens?" Of course, I had no idea there was an eagle in the vicinity. I thought the DDT had killed them off back in the '60's.

A more humble person might well have said "What eagle?" But not me. I couldn't stand to have a housewife in a mini-van one-up me, so I just smiled and said "not very big". I should have just walked over and handed the camera to her. She's probably more qualified to operate it than I am.

To steady the lens, I've taken to killing the truck engine and leaning the camera on the window or on the top of the Tahoe. You really do need something to rest this beast on. Maybe I'll pick up a bag of kidney beans or rice next time I'm at the grocery store. Those actually work remarkably well for tripods.

The 800mm lens has a much shallower depth of field than my other lenses, of course. And this is something I struggled with yesterday. Today, however, it dawned on me that more light translates into a greater depth of field if you just crank down the aperture a few f-stops. So, when I spotted a Male American Kestrel, I shot him for a bit and then cranked down the aperture so that, hopefully, I got some decent shots of him.

Posted by Rob Kiser on February 13, 2011 at 12:26 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

August 14, 2010

Camera gear

This week, I received all of my camera gear back from Canon. So now, I've got three working lenses, three working cameras, and 1 working speedlite flash. Now that I have my cameras working, I plan to fly into Yellowstone next weekend to see if I can't break them again.

Posted by Rob Kiser on August 14, 2010 at 11:26 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

July 15, 2010

More Canon Repair

Today, I finally broke down and called Canon and told them I had some equipment I had to ship them. They thought I was a dealer for some reason. Here's what I'm returning this time:

1) Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens [Serial Number: 94002817]. Purchased 11/17/04 from Cameta Camera 8400 New Horizons Blvd Amityville NY 11701. I'm getting the following errors on this lens with my frames:
• EOS 20D - "Err 99"
• EOS 40D - "Err 99 Shooting is not possible. Turn the power switch to and again or re-install the battery."
• EOS 50D - "Err 01 Communications between the camera and lens is faulty. Clean the lens contacts."

This lens has been repaired three times before by Canon. If y'all can't fix it, then please just throw it in the trash because I'm tired of sending it back. I returned this lens to Canon for repair twice last year (in May 2009 and and November of 2009). It has been giving me errors since I got it back from the factory. Was told by Canon it would be repaired under warrant since it has been repaired every six months since I've owned it, practically.

2) Canon EOS 40D [Serial Number: 0820511950]. Purchased 10/29/07 from PCNation425 Huehl Road Bldg 5 Northbrook IL 60062. I'm getting the error message "Err 99 Shooting is not possible. Turn the power switch to and again or re-install the battery." I get this message with the EOS 40D and all three of the following lenses:
• Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens [Serial Number: 305394] (This lens works with my 20D & 50D).
• Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens [Serial Number: 4112910645] (This lens works with my 20D & 50D).
• Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens [Serial Number: 94002817]. (This is the broken lens (see above). It won't work with my 20D, 40D, or 50D)

3) Canon Speedlite 580EX. [Serial Number 562135]. Purchased from BuyDig.com on 4/7/2007. There is a piece sheared off of the base where it mounts onto the camera frame.

Of course, it sucks because, not only will it cost me a lot of jack, but now I'm without the use of a lot of my equipment for an undetermined period of time. Bummer.

http://www.peeniewallie.com/2009/02/canon-camera-hi.html

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 15, 2010 at 11:56 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

July 9, 2010

Maintain Zoom Level Across Multiple Photos

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1004&message=35755764

"Does anyone know of any software that runs on a PC which will allow me to zoom in on a photo, and then change photos while maintaining the current zoom level?

For instance, if I take 20 photos of a small bird, I'd like to be able to zoom in on the bird, and then flip through the series of photos without having to re-zoom in on each picture. Sounds simple enough, right? But you can't do it with Windows Picture and Fax Viewer.

I shoot a Canon EOS 50D, and I have this functionality in the camera. I can zoom in, and then scroll through all of my photos without ever losing my zoom level. Why can't I do this in Windows?

Each time I change images using Windows Picture and Fax viewer, I have to zoom in all over again which kills me. I tried installing Canon's Zoom Browser, and I figured out how to zoom in on about 4 photos at once, so I can zoom in on 4 at the same time, which is slightly better, but again, if I click to go the the next photo, it throws away my zoom level and I'm zoomed out again when I change images.

If you know of any software that will do this, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks."

Update: Thanks to Ludvig, we have a winner! Ding! Ding! Ding!

I shoot a lot of images (26,000+ so far this year), and if you're shooting birds, you want to know "how does this image look, compared to the other 20 I shot of the same bird". With the other software I've found, this is impossible to know. I want to zoom in very tight on the beak or the eye and blow through 20 images, without having to rezoom in on each image.

The answer is Cam2PC: http://www.nabocorp.com/cam2pc/

I downloaded and installed the freeware version of Cam2PC and it does exactly what I'm looking for. I did a Right-Click, Options, Viewer, Display Properties, Uncheck "Auto-Center", Select the "Zoom Lock" radio button. Then, zoom in/out using +/-, drag photo around with the mouse, and go through the images with Page Up/Page Down. I'm surprised people aren't screaming for this feature in other browsers, especially in the age of digital photography.

Update 2: We have another contender. You can also do this with IRFanView as follows:

1. Open the first image.
2. Zoom to the desired level.
3. On the IrfanView menu, Select View - Lock Zoom (Shift+L)
4. Select View - Keep Scroll Position (no keyboard shortcut).
5. Browse other images.

Update 3: OK, well, now that I've tried using both IRFanView and Cam2PC to view multiple photos with the zoom locked, I have to say that Cam2PC beats IRFanView hands down. Why? Because it's faster. It zooms faster. Changes photos faster. Cam2PC is the way to go. It's insane. I can't believe I lived this long without it. Kicking myself now.

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 9, 2010 at 12:45 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

July 6, 2010

Canon EOS 50D's Auto ISO sets ISO to 400?

This has been driving me nuts. On Canon's EOS 50D, when you're in the Manual (M) mode, you set the ISO speeds for the camera. Unless you use the ISO expansion, your options range from 100 ISO to 1600 ISO. And then, there's the old "Auto ISO" setting. If you choose that, then Canon sets the ISO to...wait for it....400 ISO. Seriously? WTF, Canon? Are you truly that stupid. That's what "Auto ISO" means? 400? Arrrgh.

Apparently I'm not the only one that's driven batshiat insane over this.
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-II-DSLR-Digital-Camera-Review.aspx

"As with the 50D, the 5D II's Auto ISO feature has taken a big step forward from previous implementations - toward what I've really been looking for. The lowest ISO setting this feature will choose is now ISO 100 - down from ISO 400 - in all modes except portrait, when flash is used and - in M (Manual) mode. Auto ISO selects only ISO 400 in these modes. As I've said before, the big remaining step is to make auto ISO work in M mode which would give us "Aperture and Shutter Priority" auto exposure. I want to lock in the aperture and shutter speed and let the camera determine the ISO setting needed to correctly expose the images. In the auto ISO functional modes, the camera attempts to select a shutter speed that is handholdable for the focal length selected. Image stabilization and subject motion is not accounted for - a limitation to be aware of.

"

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 6, 2010 at 9:38 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

December 3, 2009

Canon Lens Repair

I mailed my third lens back to Canon today. So, as it stands, Canon has 3 of my lenses in their possession. I have none. Can't take a single photo. However, I should have 2 lenses returned to me within the next week or so. And I can wait a bit on the third one.

Posted by Rob Kiser on December 3, 2009 at 10:17 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

December 2, 2009

Canon Lens Repair

I talked to Canon today. They're repairing two of my lenses. I'm still sitting on one broken one here at the house.

Posted by Rob Kiser on December 2, 2009 at 2:16 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

November 20, 2009

Broken Lenses

I broke every lens I had on the trip to Mexico, unfortunately. I returned 2 of the 3 to Canon for repair today. I'm going to ship the other one next week (separately) because I'm hoping I can get them to fix it under warranty. This is getting expensive. :(

My Canon camera service history.

Posted by Rob Kiser on November 20, 2009 at 8:55 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (1) | Permalink

October 17, 2009

Broken lens

Ruh roh. My 17-85mm telescopic zoom lens broke (again). I'm going to have to upgrade my camera gear, because this Canon pro-sumer crap isn't cutting it. Sucks.

Posted by Rob Kiser on October 17, 2009 at 10:21 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

August 12, 2009

Err 01 - Communications between the camera and lens is faulty

The EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens is not working properly. I get an error message that says "Err 01 - Communications between the camera and lens is faulty. Check the lens contacts." The lens gives the same error with either camera (40D or 50D). It started occurring sporadically when we were in Aspen, but then yesterday it was so bad I couldn't get it to take a pic when I wanted it to. I tried cleaning the contacts on the lens with an eraser today, but I doubt it will help. It looks like I will have to Canon for repair for the 3rd time.

Canon Camera History

Posted by Rob Kiser on August 12, 2009 at 2:58 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

May 15, 2009

Lens Returned to Canon for Repair

I finally got around to shipping my lens back to Canon to be repaired today. The lens in question is a Canon EF-S17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens that I've had for 4 1/2 years. It's held up pretty well considering that I've hauled it from the Black Rock Desert of Nevada to the rain forests of Peru. From Pismo to Paris and all points in between.

It finally died when Wendy and I took the kids to Moab. I shot with it in the deserts around Moab for several days. I never use a rainbag or anything like that. I just take it and shoot and I figure....if it breaks, it breaks.

So it broke and I sent it back today to be repaired. Should have it back in about two weeks I figure.

http://www.peeniewallie.com/2009/02/canon-camera-hi.html

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 15, 2009 at 10:45 PM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

February 14, 2009

Canon Camera History

Someone asked where I get my cameras repaired and I said Canon, but now I'm trying to reconstruct my Canon service history:

Updates:

http://www.peeniewallie.com/camera

Posted by Rob Kiser on February 14, 2009 at 9:26 AM : Comments (0) | TrackBack (2) | Permalink