Cameras and Photography Advice Forum

[pieter melissen]

Interesting to see all your experiences and advices, thanks.
However, does anyone have some experience with lenses above 200mm to be used from a running boat or ship (engine running, some vibrations, probably rolling, and you are on windy deck...).

we have used the 28-300 shooting from a moving car, the stabiliser is good enough to get proper shots.

[Cornelia Klier]

The above mentioned lenses do have a stabilising System and it works very well when taking photos from a quick moving Harbour Ferry and similar. It was worth buying with stabiliser, as I see from friends who do not have - not always good photos.

[pieter melissen]

The above mentioned lenses do have a stabilising System and it works very well when taking photos from a quick moving Harbour Ferry and similar. It was worth buying with stabiliser, as I see from friends who do not have - not always good photos.

and if in doubt, crank up the ISO and use a very fast shutter time, (make sure your aperture is still acceptable (7.1 or so).

[Kelvin Davies]

Allan,
I think dust on the sensor is inevitable, regardless of whether you use 2 camera/lens pairs or change lenses.
Zoom lenses, such as the 70mm-300mm must allow air in and out. Otherwise, when you slide the lens body up and down to zoom, the lens would snap shut because of the vacuum.
One thing I have found useful in the dust arena is switching the camera off between groups of shots; not between every shot but rather on a "now & then" basis. This way, the camera sensor cleaning routine that the camera goes through when switching off should at least prevent a build up of dust.
Incidentally, I too am using the Canon 70mm-300mm but the black version. I read a couple of recent reviews of this lens and they each said this lens was very close to the quality of the white version and probably not worth the additional '1' on the leading edge of the price! I have to say I am very happy with it but I have discovered one drawback; if I try to use the full 300mm, I will see softening on the extremes. Aircraft noses are a good example of this. The answer is simple; stick to a max of around 270/280mm.
Kelvin

[Darleydale]

Hi Everyone

I hope someone can advise me on a problem I have with my PC regarding my camera. Firstly let me say that I have Dropbox uploaded onto my PC to enable me to edit data for a aircraft software company, I do not use it for any other business at all.
I have a Lumix FZ48 and since I upgraded from XP to Windows 7 this is what happens. I try to download the photos using the option download to PC. When I do this a Dropbox folder opens on my PC screen to download my pics and I get no other options whatsoever to put my pics in either My Pictures or Picasso 3. Is there a way of by passing the Dropbox folder at all please?

Thanks in anticipation

Gordon

[Alan Green]

Hi Gordon,

I am not expert but just wondered if the following would be an option.

After connecting the camera to the pc via the USB cable, and turning the camera on, can you open the Picasa programme and click on import ?

Or, open Picasa before connecting the camera to the PC and then click on import.

[Fergal Clohessy]

You can also try this
https://www.dropbox.com/en/help/307

[Darleydale]

Thanks Fergal and Alan

I printed off the camera disable page and found the problem straight away in the AutoPlay as suggested. It was just a matter of changing the 2 boxes in question from Dropbox to Picasso3.

A very relieved Darleydale!!

All best wishes and thanks again

Gordon

[diesel]

I am a convert to the all in one super-zooms as they are so very versatile. We purchased an Olympus x30 ultrazoom for a voyage from the UK up the Amazon, some Caribbean Islands and home. Later that year it did sterling service on a voyage to Canada and back.

Excellent little camera and very sharp. However no eyeapeture and a fixed back screen could make it tricky to shoot when strong reflections existed. We therefore for our 2014 world cruise decided to get anoth zoom and that was the Canon x50 HS.

Absolutely brilliant surving freezing temperatures and extreme heat. Two batteries in a day would allow nearly 1000 pictures. Which when approaching Singapore is the kind of number you would be shooting given the huge number of vessels using it and moored up.

There was a chap with a Leica on the Brazilian cruise with a set of Leica in excess of

[pieter melissen]

 "I have absolutely no doubt that they would do brilliant photos but the weight and the pitching ship would make it a trial.

Diesel, the point is that a heavy camera is much more easy to control than the a lighter one. I am using a Canon 1D and a 28-300 which together probably tip the scales at over 5 kg, but the stabiliser and the inertia make a much easier to hold camera than the G6 I sometimes use when quality shots are not a priority. I read the specs of the SX50 and that seems to be verty good value for money camera though.

[Tomas]

I use this as a lens- SUPER

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/9284997050/tamron-to-make-updated-28-300mm-f3-5-6-3-superzoom-for-full-frame-slrs

[diesel]

I can understand the concept of a heavy camera being more controllable than something lightweight however I do think that if you are taking up to 1000 shots per day that the 5.5kg camera may be not so useful.

I used to have SLRS and have used my brothers DSLR with lenses but when travelling ease of carrying and spped to use plus zoom length are my main concerns.

Approaching Singapore or Sydney and going through the Suez Canal pulled that kind of number. Approaching many harbours at dawn also provided for hundreds of shots with fishing boats etc and the port making great atmospheric shots.

Wandering on deck for the interesting whale or distant ship etc was not a problem - which it may have been with 5kgs around the neck.

Lastly the Canon has effectively a 1200mm zoom which if you are trying to pull in distant ships or land is exceptionally useful. Normally I could name them well before anyone else with binoculars - not that was often a need as it is amazing how many people on cruises have no interest in ships. Bird watchers by the tens, ship enthusiasts by the thumb.

[pieter melissen]

Hi Diesel, I can confirm from experience that my 5 kg combi does not stop me from regularly taking about 1000-2000 and sometimes 3-4000 shots per day (I also do automotive photography along racetracks on a semi-pro basis). And while I can see the advantages of using a 1200 mm zoom lense, you also have to consider that the sensor size to which it attached is quite a bit smaller than the one used in say the 1D. A larger sensor will allow you to afterwards zoom in on the picture without loosing too much quality. It is not for nothing that a 1Dx body without even glass attached to it will cost you at least 6000 US$.   

[Pier Master]

Unfortunately the setting were altered on my camera and the pictures have come out as 640 x 480, so I cannot upload them. Can I change the size?

Regards, Brian.

[Paul Finnigan]

Unfortunately the setting were altered on my camera and the pictures have come out as 640 x 480, so I cannot upload them. Can I change the size?

Regards, Brian.

You can make them bigger but they will be pixelated.