Wildlife Photography across the Water: lens align

Thursday, 3 February 2011

Lens Align MK2-Testing

I spent best part of a day testing my D7000 with the 70-200, 200-400 and 600 lenses along with the 1.4x and 1.7x, One of the problems with checking the big lenses is space, The D7000 with a 600 and 1.4x needs around 74 feet between the camera and lens align, So unless you live in a huge house it means shooting outdoors which also means no wind and good conditions which i had on Tuesday but Wednesday its was wet and miserable, To make sure that everything was firm and stable i used an extra tripod under the lens hood on the big lenses and a heavy beanbag on top of the lens, All the lenses showed that they were good and in tolerance, The only adjustment i made was a +3 to the 70-200 with 1.4x combo,The image below was taken with a D7000 with 600+1.4x

When cropped you get this

The easiest way to see whats in focus and whats not is to go into photoshop then Filters>Stylize>Emboss and you get this

Zoom in to get a better view, I shot 3 or 4 images to make sure i got a sharp one and to make sure that ALL images looked the same as the target is quite small and far away
I will test the D3s in the next day or so weather permitting and then i am ready to go

Dave

Tuesday, 1 February 2011

Lens Align MK2

Going abroad especially if its a long way away like Japan is for me takes some preparation, Not just in reseach for times of year,places to visit,stay and eat but also in your kit, You dont want to travel 6000 miles and find that you have either left something behind or that something is not working as it should, Last week i decided to purchased a Lens Align MK2, These are a new and version of the Lens Align system, Basically its a target with a ruler attached, You focus on the target at maximum aperture and take a shot, Look at the ruler and it show if you lens is focused properly or if it front or back focuses, If it is front or back focused you can adjust it with modern day cameras that have the micro adjust feature, I have never advised that people play with this feature before as i have always taken it that its for emergency use only, i.e you drop your camera whilst away and it will get you through until you can send it in, But it seems that attitudes have changed and if you lens is only out a few degrees then this is as good a way of sorting the problem than sending it in and paying for it to be adjusted my Canon or Nikon, Its nice to be able to send all your kit away and get it all properly calibrated on the bench for piece of mind but it costs an arm and a leg especially in postage plus the time without all your gear, Last night i had my first chance since getting it to have a play,It was evening and after a quick plat it looked like my D7000 with 70-200 was well out of kilter, i decided to have another go today in daylight and it proved that the low light last night was the problem and today its focus is bang on, There are a few tutorials around so i will link those rather than trying to explain it my self, Lens align has some good videos that show end to end how to do it and its easy if not a little time consuming, Canon users have a great benefit of being able to check the focusing whilst tethered-see Arthur Morris here for details whilst the rest of us could purchase the tethered programmed from Breeze systems here, $80 may seem a lot of money for some snap together cardboard but the first time you use it you will have gotten your money back and have the satisfaction of knowing that your focus system is bang on, I now have a full days testing ahead of me with 2 bodies and 3 long lenses plus 2 extenders, I will let you know the results next time

Dave

Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.