To be successful with bird photography you either need a very long lens or a shorter lens with a remote control (or hide) so you can position yourself far enough away to avoid frightening the creature.
The long lens approach needs to be around 500mm allowing you to magnify the bird so it appears substantially more than a spec on the photo.
The shorter lens approach (300mm or less) and you probably need to hide (in a hide), or use a remote control. This is the approach I took for this shot of a blue tit preparing to nest in a box in the garden. I’d watched the bird’s activity for a few hours and noticed it landed on a particular branch of the nearby tree. So I mounted the camera (an Olympus OM-D EM1) on a tripod and focused on that particular branch. It was about a meter away from the branch and using the 40-150mm gave me a reasonable crop.
The focusing was set to manual so nothing could cause it to shift out of focus and the exposure was also set to manual adjusting to ensure that highlights on the bird wouldn’t be blown out.
I used a Hahnel Gigi T Pro II remote control and attached the receiver part on the camera flash shoe and plugged the cable into the camera.
I could then take the transmitter and sit out of sight, triggering the camera when the bird landed on the branch. To make things easier I used a pair of 8×21 binoculars. With these I could look at the bird and fire when it was in the right position, and then look at the camera LCD as it flicked up the preview of the shot just taken.
To get a cleaner background you should ensure that any background bush is further away from the landing position, also use a large aperture to reduce depth-of-field.
If you don’t have a modern camera with an electronic socket for a remote release you can buy an air release with a bulb to trigger the camera via the cable release socket.
Here are some cable releases and remote controls
You’d be forgiven for thinking this was some kind of April Fool joke but it’s genuine. In South Korea there is a photo enthusiast who’s built a cafe in the shape of a huge Rolleiflex, twin lens reflex camera.
The windows of the two floor building are its lenses, and decorations throughout the cafe are photos and camera displays. It looks like a photographers dream place.
See Dreamy Camera Cafe on Facebook
Blog with photos of Dreamy Camera Cafe
In the early days of the polarising filter there was just one type – the linear polarizer. The circular type arrived when the cameras with advanced metering (and later focusing) systems became popular. The Canon T90 and Olympus OM4 both had new advanced TTL metering that would be affected by the way a linear polarising filter worked. So a circular polarising filter had to be used instead.
Later, when autofocus came along, some systems got confused by the affect of the polariser. So, as a rule of thumb, use a linear on old manual and semi automatic cameras and circular on newer modern multi menu models.
If you do have a linear filter and a modern sophisticated digital SLR it will still work, but you may get inconsistent exposures. This is easily rectified by looking on the LCD preview and reshooting with necessary compensation applied.
A Kickstarter project has been set up to fund the production of Polaroid New55 FILM – an instant peel-apart 4x5in film that produces a negative and a positive print.
Bob Crowley, innovator, product manufacturer and developer, is the founder who started research on the film three years ago and has now brought the project to Kickstarter for funding. A goal of $400,000 has to be raised between Mar 23 2014 – May 6 2014. At the time of writing, 3 days in with 40 days to go, the project has already raised 15% of the total amount required.
All contributors to the New55 FILM Kickstarter project at the higher reward levels, will receive boxes of New55 FILM “First Edition” (5 sheets per box).
A filter factor is highlighted on many filters as a multiple (or x). It’s simply the amount you need to increase the exposure by to compensate for light absorbed by the particular filter being used.
x2 is a one stop increase
x4 is two stops
x8 is three stops
x16 is four stops
If, for example, you have a x4 orange filter on the lens, the exposure has to be increased by four times – that is two full f/stops or shutter speed increments.
Lets say you have an exposure of f/5.6 (aperture) and 1/125sec (shutter speed) and add the x4 filter. You would either have to adjust the aperture two stops to f/2.8 or the shutter speed two stops to 1/30sec or both one stop so the exposure would be f/4 at 1/60sec.
Fortunately with modern through-the-lens (TTL) metering and automatic cameras the filter factor is taken care of, but you need to make the necessary adjustments when using manual cameras or manual exposure with flash.
To make things a little more complicated, some filters, such as the polariser, have variable exposure factors as you rotate the filter, and others have incremental factors such as 1.3x which makes it hard to adjust if you have an older camera with only full stop increments.
Mr Fujisawa, founder of Japanese photography retail chain Yodobashi Camera, has just won a Hasselblad Lunar Module Pilot camera at the 25th WestLicht Camera Auction. The camera, a Hasselblad 500 EL data, was used by Jim Irwin to take 299 photos on the Moon while on the Apollo 15 mission between July 26th to August 7th, 1971. With a start price of 80,000 Euros It was expected to fetch up to 200,000 Euros , but after a close bidding war reached 682,000 Euros (over half a million quid!)
Details of the 25th WestLicht Camera Auction here.
Fungus spores are everywhere, but they only germinate in humidity and they thrive on dust.
A lens that has a dose of fungus has it because it has dust inside (and all lenses have some specs of dust even if they’re hard to see), and it’s been kept in a humid/warm environment. Fungus likes dark, damp places with warmth. Fungus generates spores which look to feed on dust, but the amount of dust in most lenses isnt enough for the fungus to spread.
When you clean a lens you move the dust around and push it into the edges. If the lens is then stored in a humid environment it’s more likely to encourage fungus growth. The fungus wont spread from lens to lens but it may appear in other lenses if the conditions are right for it.
So it’s best to store your lenses in a dry place in good light with minimal humidity. Also use them – the UV in sunlight kills fungus.
The above photo shows one patch of familiar fungal veins. This is on a rear element and is hard to spot without scrutiny.
The best way to check for fungus is to shine a bright light in through the front or rear. A mini torch such as a Maglight is ideal.
Can fungus spread from camera lens to lens?
Does lens fungus spread from one lens to another? It’s a common question. Much is written about the subject on the internet…and views are mixed – some saying yes it does spread so you should isolate the infected lens and some say no, don’t worry about it.
This lens has lots of fungal attack ont the front element that’s creeping out to the centre. At present this could be used without any real loss in quality.
Using infected lenses
You can often clean fungus off the lens elements providing it’s not etched into the coating. If it’s on the inner elements you’ll need to strip the lens down but only attempt that if you’re competent with mechanical items as they’re not always as simple to take apart as they look.
If the lens is stored well once fungus is found it’s unlikely to spread.
Lenses can be used and results will vary depending on the level of contamination. A small colony here or there is hardly likely to affect anything while a more severe case will cases a dramatic reduction in contrast and sharpness, especially when shooting into the sun.
This lens is badly affected and will result in lower contrast photos that lack sharpness and have a diffused look.
For those who want more info check out this informative web page: All about lens fungus
Back in April 2012 Grays of Westminster sold the ultra rare Nikon 6mm f/2.8 fisheye lens for £100,000
The 220º Nikkor fisheye lens weighs 5.2kg, measures 171mm in length and has a diameter of 236mm. It’s one of the few 220º Nikkor fisheye lenses ever to be made.
Last week another one turned up on ebay : Nikon 6mm Fisheye on eBay
This one failed to reach the $49,500 dollar reserve (approx £30k), which compared with the previous sale price was an absolute bargain.
Even so is any lens really worth this kind of price tag? Would you pay this kind of money for a lens?
We have lots of low cost camera lenses for sale here
Hoyarex filters were arguably the best filter system made. Optically superb, several made from glass, solid filter holder, brilliant adjustable rubber hood for wide or super telephoto, and a useful range of filters.
Hoyarex was a filter system developed by Hoya. Hoya was the big name in optical filters and then French manufacturer Cokin appeared with a system that would revolutionise the filter world.
Hoya reacted fast but not fast enough. Cokin had soon taken hold of the filter market with serious and special effect filters. Photographers were no longer buying one or two filters they were investing in cases full.
The Hoyarex system emulated what Cokin had done, but in our opinion did it better, some filters were glass, others had frames around them so handling was better. The holder was more flexible and had a more versatile lens hood. The filters slotted in more comfortably and the adaptors clipped in easier.
But they were too late and Cokin won the battle. Hoyarex disappeared as quick as they came.
You can still find remnants of the system sold in the second-hand sections of various photographic retailers, and there are many here on PhotographyAttic.
The illustration above shows the filter holder with an adaptor ring (available in sizes from 43mm up to 77mm) and the wonderful rubber Pro hood that clipped on the holder and had a variable extension.
Two filter holder can be clipped together and rotated when special effect filters were inserted.
Here in numeric order is the entire range with links to buy individual used filters at photographyattic.com
The Multi-purpose UV is similar to the skylight, absorbing the ultraviolet rays which often make scenic shots hazy and indistinct. Moreover, the UV, especially when used with black & white film, increases contrast, reduces haze and generally improves the “sharpness” of your photographs
Many photographers buy a UV filter for each lens and leave them screwed on to protect the lenses’ front elements.
UV filters are available in round type that screw into the lens in ever size imaginable.
UV Filters available here
They were also made by Hoyarex for their square filter system.
Links to buy
Hoyarex 021 Filter