70-200mm multiplied
So wandering round Bath on Sat looking for food for Mum’s BBQ I could’t help have a look in the camera shop on Green Street opposite the Sausage Shop, my intended destination. The sausages are amazing and you should try some if you’re in Bath. The reason for stopping was to look at the array of lenses and cameras in the window. There was a load of Canon stuff but only a few Nikon bits and bobs. I spotted a tele convertor (TC20 II) and had a quick look online for reviews and prices – seemed like it was a reasonable deal and I could probably shift it if I didn’t get on with it.
So the 70-200 ƒ2.8 I have is a bit of a beast. I’ve started calling it the pervert lens as you do look pretty dodgy carrying it around. It’s great for long shots but the sheer size of it means I don’t use it enough. It’s been great for a few shots out of the window so far but doesn’t quite have the reach I’d hoped. The ability to turn it into a 400mm lens does bring some interesting possibilities though. Whether the image quality is up to it is another thing though. I guess one good thing is that I’ll always be using it on a tripod so can stop it down to whatever is sharpest for the lens combination.
I had quick go tonight and found that the ball head I was using was almost not up to the job. I’d left the geared head in the car and was too lazy to grab it tonight though. I had to make sure the tripod was weighted from below and used mirror up mode to get rid of all vibration from it. I ended up with this one earlier. Not sure about the image quality. It was a very hazy evening and it could just be pollution. Interestingly when I was focusing on the Cheesegrater I could see heat patterns in the air.
Here’s a few 100% crops which I think are pretty respectable really. I’ve sharpened but no more than usual.
Could be fun to play with, especially now Franks is open again and we can get to the top of the carpark again.
And later in the evening this is what I got…
