[Weebl]

but that was in Canadian dollars so it was like $5
Those days are long gone.

[M_Six]

No, it was $18 US if I remember. Not a big chunk of change, but the principal of the thing ticked me off. There might have been some sign with a crown or something that signified it was a toll road, but most Americans wouldn't know what it meant and fewer still would know that you couldn't just pay cash. I was tempted to send them 1800 pennies.

[MaximusJ]

Originally Posted by M_Six

If you've been thinking about a Lensbaby, here's your chance.

There's better deals on ebay.

For the Nikon Composer Pro double glass, it was at 299 at every major retailer + shipping and duties, but I found it for $236 on ebay; shipped and clear of taxes.

About $120 savings for me! 33% beat their 20% ;p

[M_Six]

Lessons learned on my first BIF outing:

1. You were spot on, Dave. ISO 800. You really need ~+2EV or you get nice bird silhouettes.

2. You miss lots of good shots if you spend time chimping.

3. The 6D's buffer *sucks* compared to the 7D's. I think "6D" comes from the number of times I said DAMN! while waiting for the buffer to clear.

4. The 6D's AI Servo seems plenty accurate for me. It even held focus through branches for a short distance. (See below.)

5. The 400mm f5.6 is one sharp lens. Check out the 100% crop below.

Group Flight



Solos





100% Crop from image above.



100% crop from buzzard behind the trees.

[Weebl]

Buffer problems? I guess you need to get back to the edge of the vortex and look at the 1D's
Or be judicious in the use of high speed. I'll only hit the buffer with F18s or the F22 but always hold off a bit for that one vapor shot.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by Weebl

Buffer problems? I guess you need to get back to the edge of the vortex and look at the 1D's
Or be judicious in the use of high speed. I'll only hit the buffer with F18s or the F22 but always hold off a bit for that one vapor shot.

I'm spoiled by the 7D where you can shoot 8FPS for 24 shots and then shoot again in a few seconds. The 6D at 4FPS went maybe 12 shots and then froze up for a several seconds. Then it allowed a shot or two for a bit.

[Weebl]

Try shooting the medium RAW then since the 6D files are a bit larger.

[MaximusJ]

Mark. I had the same experience while switching from my D7000 to D800. My D800's buffer was expecting high performance from my cards; which I thought could deliver; but they didnt. They were still 95mbs cards and still the buffer was holding me back.

What cards are you using right now? Lexar 1000X UDMA7 did wonders for me. Thanks to Dave; Those are very fast.
=> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...mory_Card.html

He sent me a chart with speed tests with my camera for every brand of card out there. They didnt test the 6D yet, but 5Dmkiii should be very similar.
=*> http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/cam...cid=6007-12452

Hope this helps.

[The1]

Originally Posted by Weebl

You can leave it with me when you stop by then. The 70-200 MkII is supposed to be fairly unreal.

The Golden gate bridge will no longer be accepting cash as of the end of the month. So, don't stop to pay when you hit the toll plaza. They take a picture of your plate and send you the bill.
Since it is a CDN plate I doubt they have access to that database nor will the Canadian government care.
So much for saving money by laying off people

Good to know about the tolls on the bridge. If its set up anything like the ring roads around Chicago, it's a free trip for me . I always intend to pay, but for some dumb reason the put it back and to the right behind a curve, and I never leave myself enough time. Then mentally just say "ahhh, screw it..."

Sorry for your misfortune with the 407 in Ontario, I'm pretty sure it's our 1 and only toll other then border crossing bridges with share with the US. And it's not a cheap ride, but that just means there's usually nobody on it, even when the main highway is locked up tight. Not sure how your bill ended up so high though... Maybe they just like dinging US citizens. (Road is owned by European investors and is on the stock exchange apparently).

[The1]

Originally Posted by Weebl

You can leave it with me when you stop by then. The 70-200 MkII is supposed to be fairly unreal.

Also, yes, the 70-200 f2.8 is pretty unreal, but it still doesn't reach as far as the 400, and that's just nice sometimes

Think I'll hold onto it for the time being, though I potentially could be convinced otherwise.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by MaximusJ

Mark. I had the same experience while switching from my D7000 to D800. My D800's buffer was expecting high performance from my cards; which I thought could deliver; but they didnt. They were still 95mbs cards and still the buffer was holding me back.

What cards are you using right now? Lexar 1000X UDMA7 did wonders for me. Thanks to Dave; Those are very fast.
=> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...mory_Card.html

He sent me a chart with speed tests with my camera for every brand of card out there. They didnt test the 6D yet, but 5Dmkiii should be very similar.
=*> http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/cam...cid=6007-12452

Hope this helps.

Yeah, just looking at the write speed difference between the 7D with a 600x CF card and any SD card and it's easy to see why the 6D is slower. My 7D with the Lexar 600X 32GB CF will write nearly 52MB/s. The fastest SD cards are around 20MB/s. The 7D also has dual processors, so it chews through the buffered images faster. Obviously the better sports body. I need to get the 400 5.6 mounted on it and give the BIF thing another try.

[The1]

That will give some serious throw on the 7D. You'll have fun with that extra range on it.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by The1

That will give some serious throw on the 7D. You'll have fun with that extra range on it.

I'm waiting for a clear night with a nice moon to mount the Kenko 2x TC on the 400 and then the 7D. Should give a 1280mm equivalent FOV.

[MaximusJ]

Originally Posted by M_Six

I'm waiting for a clear night with a nice moon to mount the Kenko 2x TC on the 400 and then the 7D. Should give a 1280mm equivalent FOV.

Not close enough.....You should put two more of those TC.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Weebl

Try shooting the medium RAW then since the 6D files are a bit larger.

The drop in resolution will be problematic for most BIF shots, because you're already likely to crop. If the 6D allowed you to use less of the sensor, then that'd be a great option, but it reduces pixel density in a camera that's not that dense to start with. I'd stick with highest quality Raw and learn to work around the buffer, doing burst of two.

Dave

[Rowdy]

Originally Posted by M_Six

I'm waiting for a clear night with a nice moon to mount the Kenko 2x TC on the 400 and then the 7D. Should give a 1280mm equivalent FOV.

I'm looking forward to seeing those shots

Furthest I could reach was with buddies borrowed 2x my 7D and the 300f4 hanging off the end! I was trying to get that compressed perspective of some landing jets here but couldnt nail the focusing.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Yeah, just looking at the write speed difference between the 7D with a 600x CF card and any SD card and it's easy to see why the 6D is slower. My 7D with the Lexar 600X 32GB CF will write nearly 52MB/s. The fastest SD cards are around 20MB/s. The 7D also has dual processors, so it chews through the buffered images faster. Obviously the better sports body. I need to get the 400 5.6 mounted on it and give the BIF thing another try.

I use the Lexar 1000X UDMA 7 32GB cards (switched when I bought the 5D3) and they scream. At the time, a few months ago, they were the fastest around and worth the money.

Dave

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Lessons learned on my first BIF outing:

1. You were spot on, Dave. ISO 800. You really need ~+2EV or you get nice bird silhouettes.

2. You miss lots of good shots if you spend time chimping.

3. The 6D's buffer *sucks* compared to the 7D's. I think "6D" comes from the number of times I said DAMN! while waiting for the buffer to clear.

4. The 6D's AI Servo seems plenty accurate for me. It even held focus through branches for a short distance. (See below.)

5. The 400mm f5.6 is one sharp lens. Check out the 100% crop below.

Even with the +EV, I'd raise the Shadows some more in post, then work Micro Contrast a little to bring out feather graduations.

Dave

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Rowdy

I'm looking forward to seeing those shots

Furthest I could reach was with buddies borrowed 2x my 7D and the 300f4 hanging off the end! I was trying to get that compressed perspective of some landing jets here but couldnt nail the focusing.

The 7D won't AF at f/8. The 300mm + a 1.4X TC and a 7D should be enough, then crop a bit in post. The 7D tracks pretty good at f/5.6, but take plenty of insurance shots because it DOES wander way more than the 1D (all versions) and 5D MkIII.

Dave

[The1]

I'm also wondering, how much noise reduction technology do you have turned on in the camera? I find the more features you have turned on, the longer everything takes to process. So if you double check all your options, and maybe strategically turn on and off different things, you could find a nice combination that allows you longer bursts.

[M_Six]

No in-camera NR at all in those shots. I'm ok with the dozen or so shots it took before stopping. It's just the length of time it took to clear the buffer that surprised me. In truth, it was only 10 or 15 seconds. But that seems like a long time when you want to get some shots and the camera isn't cooperating.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Even with the +EV, I'd raise the Shadows some more in post, then work Micro Contrast a little to bring out feather graduations.

Dave

I did. I took it as far as I could go without introducing excessive noise.I probably needed even more +EV.