Digital Cameras

[stevefish]

i am heading os for marlin shortly and im thinking of picking up an slr before i go. however the people who sell cameras dont seem to understand what i need to do. the catalogue is full of people taking family snaps and kids playing sport.

i want to take pictures of marlin jumping possibly hundreds of metres away.

the camera im looking at is a canon 400D with a 18-55 lens plus a 75-300 lens. 10.1megapixel, $1500ish

questions,

? can this be expected from this kind of camera?

? do i have to use the viewfinder instead of the screen?

? can someone inexperienced achieve this quickly?

? will the camera focus on a spot in the distance and be out of whack when the when the fish jumps?

or will i have to focus manually?

anything else i need to know?

thanks in advance, i could be offline for a few days.

[fishyfingers]

i am heading os for marlin shortly and im thinking of picking up an slr before i go. however the people who sell cameras dont seem to understand what i need to do. the catalogue is full of people taking family snaps and kids playing sport.

i want to take pictures of marlin jumping possibly hundreds of metres away.

the camera im looking at is a canon 400D with a 18-55 lens plus a 75-300 lens. 10.1megapixel, $1500ish

questions,

? can this be expected from this kind of camera?

? do i have to use the viewfinder instead of the screen?

? can someone inexperienced achieve this quickly?

? will the camera focus on a spot in the distance and be out of whack when the when the fish jumps?

or will i have to focus manually?

anything else i need to know?

thanks in advance, i could be offline for a few days.

You can get excellent shots from this camera although it's gonna get a bit tiring after a while, my advise, get yourself a monopod (like tripod but with only 1 leg)

the best shots are taken through the viewfinder

unless you're focussing on SOMETHING it will not focus. you can't just focus on the waves in the vacinity of where the fish is going to breach and expect it to remain focussed when the fish does jump. you gotto be quick as i'm not too sure of the shutter speed on those.

3 bits of additional advise:

- take an external flash, they ALWAYS come in handy

- take extra batteries and if you can, get a desktop charger

- sprinkle talcum powder in your camera bag, this will absorb most of the moisture left in there, but make sure everything on the camera is secure like lens cap and any rubber flaps covering USB ports etc ... if you get any talc stuck in joins or other tight corners, you can get rid of it with a soft make-up brush (blush applicator)

LOOK FORWARD TO THE PICS WHEN YOU GET BACK

Edited May 15, 2007 by fishy fingers

[Davemmm]

Steve

I have a 350D that I presume would be similar to the 400D you are talking about.

I am by no means an experienced photographer but I find this camera quite easy to use. You do have to use the viewfinder as you do with any SLR (i think)

The zoom that I have is 75-300 and I doubt you will get quality shots of a marlin jumping more than about 40-50m away without a bigger lens.

It is a bit hard to get it to focus on a distant point but it will auto focus reasonably quickly. Not sure about it being quick enough to catch a marlin jumping.

Dave

[traysexy]

a 70-300m wouldn't do the job at all mate.. you need atleast a 800m and you are looking and quite a fair few dollars for one of those..

as said 300mm, is only good for closeups at about 50m... ... as it only produces about 22X zoom depending on sensor size.... definately go larger, even better a video camera:)woot:D

pete.

[KingsRule]

I have the Canon EOS 400D

Awsome camera, im no expert at it though

Have taken some awsome shots , still working out most of the settings though.

To awnser -

do i have to use the viewfinder instead of the screen? : to look at what you shooting as the camera will see it , yes, unless theres a setting that enables the screen to show this?

can someone inexperienced achieve this quickly?

yes, the camera is pretty user freindly has simple layout that even i can understand

[kiwi waynie]

Hey Steve, My wife and i are photographers she has her own business. We only use cannon cameras and reackon that you would be on the right track (but in sayin that the pic's in my 1 blog are taken with a lil konica minolta). Yes you can take the shots you are wanting just set it to sports make sure you try to keep the subject in center focal point n let rip. The shuter speed will vary by the amont of available light dont worry bout all the manual settings you wont have time to adjust em thats best for things not moving til you get your head round em. Above a 75-300 your lookin at big$$$ (just got a cheap 50-500 under 3 grand direct from hong kong) but at 10mp sould crop down ok. And as the fish nears the boat change down to ya smaller lens. Dont think baby powder is a good idea but we collect them silica things that protect stuff against moisture they come in all sorts of things you buy and you need a good bag for it to. And yeah spare batt n enough memory card/s. With a flash unit we think the on board should do but if you spot 1 under $900 can you let me know. Any thing else you want to know flik us a msg only to glad to help.

Waynie

[Robbielites]

Have a read of this mate, it explains in laymans terms how the digital SLR camera works.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_SLR#P...ical_viewfinder

Cheers.

Robbie.

[stevefish]

thanks for the info so far.

taking talcom powder through LA to mexico sounds like a headache i dont need

[Robbielites]

thanks for the info so far.

taking talcom powder through LA to mexico sounds like a headache i dont need

Yup, they have no sense of humour at LAX trust me.... Where's the smiley with the glove

Robbie.

[1975]

hey mate, I'd like to give my 2 bobs worth

I took an old EOS 330 non digital to africa a couple of years ago on safari using similiar lens to what you described and took over a thousand shots! and i have played with the digital model quite recently. The Eos range are great cameras

questions,

? can this be expected from this kind of camera? Yes, but know the limitation

? do i have to use the viewfinder instead of the screen? No

? can someone inexperienced achieve this quickly? Yes but make sure you play with the camera well before you go on holidays to iron out any problems and get experience with the different settings

will the camera focus on a spot in the distance and be out of whack when the when the fish jumps? The camera will focus at a any distance but i found that with action shots i sometimes preset the focus for a certaln distance or a better way is to take a wider shot in focus, then crop it later

or will i have to focus manually? You can choose either way,

anything else i need to know? Some eos lens are ultra sonic, some have built in stablisers, just ask the dealer to show them to you.

When using the larger zoom lens any camera movement is magnified ( this will be your bigest problem ) so always have a stable base either a 'pod or leaning against something fixed to the boat. Its better to get the shot at a slightly wider angle but in focus than the have a blurry closer shot. At 10 megapixels you have some leeway with cropping the shot anyway

Make use of the sports mode or set the camera to shutter priority (at 1/1000 or higher) and keep your finger on the button to take 4 or 5 or 8 or 12 shots in quick succession

Take extra memory!!!!!!! and batteries!!!!!

Don't get too caught up in taking the shot and miss out on the moment, Have a great trip,any more questions just pm me

Billy

[locodave]

Cannon - good choice

[searabbit]

g'day steve

mate dont stress over the long lens, marlin jump far away and right next to the boat as well, i captured these shots at swr this year on a canon 30d. 10-22mm lens set on sports mode. i think the 400d with the kit lenses will do to start off with. a photo of a jumping marlin 100mtrs away from a rocking boat is going to be hard to get. most of the great marlin pics you see in magazines are taken close to the boat.

these are just grab shots in between being boat driver & trace man, im sure i could have got better shots if only photograhing, even with the small lens.

Edited May 17, 2007 by searabbit

[TheDiko]

Let's hope that you get onto some Marlin mate

You should be able to get some good shots nice and close to the boat as they usually go nuts then they get close

IFS