Powerex Battery Charger

This time last year i bought a Powerex MH-C801D battery charger from the store on the Naturescapes site, It seemed quite expensive at the time but looking at the powerex website it got great reviews from various magazines plus it had the bonus of charging 8 batteries at the same time fast,Its a very well made piece of kit and has a good clear display so you can see exactly whats going on, You have the choice of fast or slow charge as well as conditioning your battery by discharging them first and then recharging them fully, I have used flash alot this year and the charger has been great until a couple of months ago, I contacted Powerex and they instantly said that they would send a new one,however it started to work again until just before i went to NY and i noticed that the transformer rattled and the light would flicker on and off-obviously something loose giving and taking the connection away, I mailed Powerex again and when i returned from NY a new transformer was waiting for me and now all works well again, There were no questions asked by powerex and they didn't ask to send the old unit back to check first before sending one out-Great service and one reason for paying a premium for the equipment, If you are in the market for a good battery charger then this is one to take a serious look at, The 2700mAp batteries are excellent as well, I shot all day in NY on one set

Dave

Reviews - 7D v 1Dmk3 test images

As I mentioned recently I got my hands on a Canon 7D for a short while. So I took my 1Dmk3, my Canon 70-200f2.8IS L lens, and the Canon 50mm f1.4 prime lens and did some back to backs.

All images were shot in RAW straight converted as shot with no changes, I have converted the profile to sRGB, and there is no sharpening applied. I was simply looking to make some noise test comparisons.

I have uploaded them all as small thumbs so click on them for a larger view. All images are cropped and I have represented them at actual pixel size, so you are seeing them at 100%. So the images do not make allowance for the different cropping factors, as you will see. 1.6 for the 7D and 1.3 for the 1D.

However, I have set out the last two images showing an equal amount of subject matter, both at 800pixels, so you can see the effects of subject size comparison. In each of the last two, I have added a little USM sharpening to represent an 'everyday' type image.

I was also happy that the light was poor, as this is a better test in my opinion of the conditions that us wildlifers have to work with.

1Dmk3, 50mm, ISO200

7D, 50mm, ISO200

1Dmk3, 50mm, ISO800

7D, 50mm, ISO800

1dmk3, 50mm, ISO1600

7D, 50mm, ISO1600

1Dmk3, 50mm, ISO3200

7D, 50mm, ISO3200

1dmk3, 75mm, ISO400

7D, 75mm, ISO400

1Dmk3, 85mm, ISO800

7D, 70mm, ISO 800

1Dmk3, 85mm, ISo1600

7D, 70mm, ISo1600

1Dmk3 ,85mm, ISO3200

7D, 70mm, ISo3200

So what do these uninspiring images tell us. Well the 7D is pretty good, or at least it looks that way to me when I look at the compete image and pixel peep at 100%

The ISO range that I chose are practical for most wildlife photographers. Higher ISO's while technically available are not where most of us need to spend most of the time....fortunately.

The noise at 3200 is very different between the two bodies, and marginally better on the 7D if anything. But so it should be as there is 30 months development time ....at least between them

While I have been concerned about Canon's drive for more megapixels, based on my limited experience of the 50D, I wanted to do my own test with my own gear to make my mind up.

So am I convinced? Well based on this VERY limited test then I think the noise situation is pretty good.

I have not tested any other aspect of the 7D, so if I were ever to consider buying one of these I would look to do a much wider and more comprehensive test before spending the money.

In particular, I would want to check out the AF system.

The good news is that the price is coming downwards quite nicely now.

Update: It was £1299 a week ago with Jessops having the best price, now I see tonight that it is at £1190 from Jacobs.

So for those of you who paid out £1699 at launch I guess that must be a tough one, but this is normal par for the course pricing strategy, and one of the reasons I will not buy anything at launch prices anymore.

One thing you will need to think about if you are migrating from a 10mp body is cards and hard drive space. The file sizes are virtually double as RAW's, and in the region of 100+ mb as 16 bit TIF files.

I will let you make up your own minds on whether what I have done here and shared is of any value to you, but would welcome any comments.

Finally, a couple of direct comparisons as promised. At the same size, but obviously the 7D images has more pixels in it.

1dmk3, ISO800

7D, ISO800

Having said what I said above about the 7D noise, I prefer the 1D image at full size on this one.

If you are confused, then it is best to carry out your own tests to convince yourself.....or not

Martin

Update: Apologies, I forgot to acknowledge and credit my local Jessops here in Stratford upon Avon. Many thanks to the guys there for letting me have a quick play.

Getting lost in technology

It never pays to make plans as there is always something that will get in the way-In New York for me it was Technology, I drove up and used the sat nav as guidance, As soon as we hit the city it stopped working probably due to the high rise buildings stopping the signal getting through, Navigation around Manhattan is fairly easy as its numbered blocks but as soon as you leave the island you are on your own, The first time i went to Jamaica bay the sat nav worked on and off even though i was off of the island but Monday it made my life a misery, I left at 6am and had about 20 miles to travel, I made it off of the island without any signal but even then it would not pick any signal up so i did my best to get as lost as possible and after an hour i still has the Manhattan skyline in sight i decided that the best light was gone and i then had to try to get back which took an age but i somehow managed it-what a waste of time, So i get back to the hotel in times square and after an hour my PC crashed, What a day, So i had the day to fill so grabbed the D3 and 14-24 along with a flash gun and spent a few hours walking around and doing some stock shots, As the night drew in i set the flash to rear sync-push the flash button on the top left of the body and move the thumb dial around-then using AV i set the camera so it had a slowish shutter speed and went to town shooting anything that moved, Mainly taxi's,tuk tuk's and police on horseback and motorcycle, Very experimental stuff and lots of panning, I wasnt that bothered to get every shot in focus as some blurry stuff looked quite good as well, Not the type of photography i would normally do but enjoyable all the same, One thing i did notice in NY was that a lot of people carry their cameras around tourist fashion i.e around the neck in full view, The other thing was that as well as Canon and Nikon cameras there was also lots of Sony and some Pentax showing that they especially Sony are making inroads into the low-mid camera market








Dave

Trip Report - Fungi in Warwickshire Part 2

As promised earlier in the week, here is part 2 of my fungi foray in Warwickshire.

All the images were taken with the same gear as the images posted here with the exception of the Sulphur Tufts.

For that image I used the Canon 50mm f1.4 lens - a cracking little lens and a good improvement over the plastic 1.8 version I also have. Although that lens is a must have in any Canon owners bag to be honest.

As I mentioned in the last post, I was a little late in getting out this year so some had gone over, but I enjoyed seeing the Sulphur Tufts this way, and I certainly like the shape of the unknown fungus. I need to do a little more id work on that one from my book - see link below if you want to get hold of a copy, it is a great book

Yellow Stagshorn

Unknown (at this time)

Sulphur Tufts
(a more unusual shot for me showing more of the environment)

Common Funnel

One of the problems I had on this trip was the extremely short life of the rechargeable batteries that I had been using. I bought these rechargeable Ni-mh AA 2800's some while ago, made sure they were fully charged before I went, but sadly they didn't last too long. So looks like I need to rethink my battery strategy. I have heard that the Lithium Energiser cells are meant to be pretty good, so will give them a test drive.

On the 7D test front, I will finish the processing of the images tonight, so come back in a couple of days to check out my findings.

Martin

New York day 2

I am writing this on Monday evening as i will be up and out before dawn and probably will be out until dusk, Today i visited the camera mecca-BH Photovideo-for the first time, It would be like going to India and not visiting the Taj, Its actually on the same road as the Empire State building just a few blocks away, A large supermarket type shop, well set out in different sections, Photographic,video,telescopes etc and spread over 2 floors, The staff were very friendly and had time to have a chat and answer any questions, I didn't spend much and left with an optech strap for my D3, On the way there and back i did some street photography trying to get the feel of NY in an image, So yellow cabs going by with a low shutter speed was the order of the day, After lunch i headed off to Jamaica bay which is a well known birding place just out of Manhattan, Today its been very bright and the light was very harsh but there was an abundance of birds flying around so if nothing else it was good practice and i will go back early tomorrow and spend the day there



Dave

A Walk in the Countryside - Counting the Birds

I took a trip out round one of my BTO tetrads yesterday for the winter bird count towards the next BTO Bird Atlas.

The walk is on my local patch and I can walk to it from my house. With a mix of various farmland, trees, hedgerows and a village, there is plenty of habitat.

I haven't yet uploaded the results, but there were certainly plenty top be seen with a number of Yellowhammer, plenty of Skylarks and a flock of 100 + Goldfinch, and a single Raven in the first of the timed hour counts, then in the second hour the highlights included numerous large flocks of Fieldfare and Redwing.

It was a beautiful morning, calm, warm and bright sunshine after the gales and rains of yesterday, it made for a marked and welcome contrast.

If you are interested in contributing to the BTO Bird Atlas, check out their website and find out your local coordinator to see what is available . It is an enjoyable walk in the countryside, armed with an OS map, a pair of binoculars and a digital voice recorder, which is easier than a pad and pen.

Martin

New York New York 1

We drove up to New Jersey and stayed with family last night, Had a few too many and didn't get to sleep until 2 am-a very long day, Today we moved into the city and i am at present in Times Square, We dropped our bags and out our tourists heads on and headed to the Empire State building, I haven't been here for about 20 years so it was nice to be back, First impressions of NY for any body who hasn't been is that its a very busy and dirty city-i am not a city person-and its roads are worse than India's, but photographic opportunities abound so i soon filled a 4 gb card and will be doing some night scenes again as we are right in the heart of it, I did manage to get some wildlife in as we had the company of some pigeons at the top of the empire state, Tomorrow i am heading to long island for some shore birds, I damaged my arm a few weeks ago and its still painful just shooting handheld with a wide angle so a 600 could be a problem-we will see tomorrow
For those of you thinking of coming to NY a couple of tips, Go to the 86th floor of the Empire state building and don't bother with the 102nd as its extra money and you have to shoot through glass and get your tickets at the desk and not the guys in the street who will tell you its an hours wait etc etc, there wasn't much of a queue and it was cheaper to buy from the desk, i shot with my D3 and 14-24 and you really do need a wide lens as everything is soo tall





Dave

Trip Report - Fungi in Warwickshire Part 1

OK don't fall off your chairs, I have been out using my camera.

I took a trip yesterday morning to one of my favourite fungi sites so thought it was time to share a few images as it has been a bit of a photo drought for me with one thing and another.

Fungi this year has been very late due to the dry autumn, but it has come out in abundance at my usual spot in probably the last couple of weeks, as there is a lot that is past it's best, but I managed to find some good specimens, which I will share today.

I got a few that were going over that I quite like that I will post in part 2 later in the week.

Among my favourite species are the Mycena group. It is not difficult to find lovely individual samples, but also fabulous family groups so here are some of each.

With two flash heads

Flash heads in slightly different locations giving better foreground lighting

Natural lighting

With two reflectors overhead and wide angle flash from above and too right

For all these shots, I used the 1Dmk3, Canon 180 f3.5L macro, live view, hanging from inverted centre post on tripod, self timer, STE-2 wireless flash trigger, and one or two Canon 580 flashheads, both with Stofen diffusers fitted.

Just wish I had got the two moss fronds sharp on the first two images - didn't pay enough attention to that critical elements.

Some different species and techniques in part 2, plus a short view on rechargeable flash batteries.

Martin