what camera and kit do you use for herping photos ?

I've been using my wife's old Olympus FE-25 10Mp digital mostly (only because it's handy and I can keep it a pocket and is dead simple to use , even my wife who's not good on tech stuff - more a arty crafty type). Also has movie mode if I want it and Macro which can be handy , even supermacro but it's hard to get a good close up with. Better still is a very light, compact and handy camera.

When more serious about photos or I need to shoot from a distance , I use my venerable Canon EOS 40D (10Mpix) with either the stock 15-85 IS zoom, or a Sigma 50-150 f2.8 IS APO zoom , but it's bulky , heavy and not aways convenient. For long shots I have a Tamron Adapt2all 300 f2.8 - a superlens (bought when I was still only using my old Minolta XD5 , and simply bought a second adapter to be able use on the EOS DSLR - that's the beauty of Adapt2all lenses , but that one is a fully manual lens and is HUGE !! <-- don't mind that at all) .
Thinking of getting a Sigma 70-200 f2.8 APO zoom to cover "more ground".
I'd buy a few Prime Canon L zooms with IS but I don't think the expense of Canon L IS lenses is worth it (for me so it's Sigma APO zooms with IS or Tamron LD zooms with IS).

Care to suggest a few handy zooms that are fast (about f2.8) ?
ie a 70-200 f2.8 IS


Just bought a new Canon Powershot SX730 HS for my wife , boy is it a brute compared with the old Olympus FE-25 , but it comes with some top features , ie 40x zoom , a bigger faster lens , more options , bigger screen which pivots so no more need to be a contortionist , LIVEVIEW capability (?) wireless , better popup / builtin in flash , FHD movie mode , and even manual modes. And 20.3 MPixel cf 10 Mpixel.
Wasn't cheap but it's their newest model and will be competitive for several years.

Now looking at a new Canon DSLR , choices are 80D Body Only Kit or maybe upping to a 35mm sensor with a 6D MkII Body Only Kit. Or waiting to see what next **D or *D series DSLR is (might be a 30 MPixel (?)).

Sometimes I use my Pentax SP1000 for shots of my guys. I usually shoot on Kodak Ektar 100 because I like the bright colors it captures. I mainly use my 28mm f3.5 SMC Takumar lens but have a 55mm 2.8 as well. Otherwise I just take snaps with my iPhone 6s =)

CooperDragon":1nqf0024 said:

Sometimes I use my Pentax SP1000 for shots of my guys. I usually shoot on Kodak Ektar 100 because I like the bright colors it captures. I mainly use my 28mm f3.5 SMC Takumar lens but have a 55mm 2.8 as well. Otherwise I just take snaps with my iPhone 6s =)

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Nothing wrong with using a nice 35mm SLR , I still have the Minolta XD5 (yes I removed the battery while it's in storage - batteries which leak kill electronics).

Minolta made some really nice stuff back then too! The old mercury batteries are hard to come by now but I've had good luck using the wein cell replacements for the meter.

CooperDragon":3kpncwao said:

Minolta made some really nice stuff back then too! The old mercury batteries are hard to come by now but I've had good luck using the wein cell replacements for the meter.

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I'm sure there are Li-Ion , or Cd based button batteries that have the form factor and voltage, haven't looked but know people who have found them and their old Minoltas work just fine with them.

Beauty of my XD5 is that I can use it without a battery in it entirely manually, especially for very long astro-photos (using B setting) and a lockable cable release.

Think I need a separate wireless Router , as I connected the new Power Shot SX730 HX to my NBN (broadband) AIR modem , but can't see the camera connected to the wireless network in my home, bummer , I was hoping the new NBN AIR modem was a capable to all acting as a router.

So will just have to upload photos off it the old fashioned way , ie via a USB cable til I sort out wireless routing between the laptops (my Alienware 17 R4 i7 quad core laptop and Dell Inspiron 10n, and my wife's Dell Inspiron i5 desktop and HP 15in i3 laptop, and the Canon Printer/scanner combo , and the new Power Shot SX730 HS and maybe the TV and her CriCutter machine) as I'm sick of having to use USB cables to all the transfers or memory sticks or portable HDDs.

Took a little while to familiarize myself with the Canon Power Shot SX370 HS , it's a breeze to operate one everything has been setup , I like the zoom lever and the nice big screen.

Managed to get the new Power Shot SX730HS and the Dell Alienware 17R4 handshaking wirelessly and by Blue Tooth last night.

Trick was to have both on simultaneously and let the laptop find the new wireless device (the grab the WPS P/code) and not to try to do it through the new NBN Broadband Modem which it turns out is only a dedicated wireless internet router ONLY and not a router combo.

Not sent images each wire wirelessly or by Bluetooth yet .... but can't see any problems now the 17R4 knows the settings for the SX730HS.

If you have a spare computer with two network cards you could set up a pfSense firewall to handle protection, dhcp, and routing duties. That way you could set up a simple wifi access point on the LAN side and let the pfSense box handle the heavy lifting for you.

CooperDragon":xujoxa8i said:

If you have a spare computer with two network cards you could set up a pfSense firewall to handle protection, dhcp, and routing duties. That way you could set up a simple wifi access point on the LAN side and let the pfSense box handle the heavy lifting for you.

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Not spare desktop with a network card.

Guess I'll have to look a buying a dedicated wireless router.

Just redid my home phone system, since under the NBN the daisey chained phone extensions to the study and main bedroom (from the main wall junction box) no longer work <--- have to connect the phone directly to the NBN AIR modem's phone output port. Beauty of the cordless system I installed is I can easy add more slave cordless handsets , it's all plug n play.

So now have the old Panasonic KX-ft37 (fax/ans/phone/scanner) combo + the new KX-TGD323AL basestation connected to the NBN modem + two slave KX-TGD2AL phones (main bdrm & study).

So bought a Panasonic cordless phone system that connects the two slave phone wirelessly so I didn't have to go under the house or send someone there to rerun the cabling to the modem instead. Now bave a lot of redundant phone cable - to remove - a problem for LATER as out of sight.

Yet to be wirelessly connected are the 3 laptops & 1 desktop (other than wireless internet connections , want to add the DVD - HDD combo to the NBN AIR network) so I can move files about wirelessly , the Canon Pixma MP990 combo & the TV & DVD - HDD combo recorder , the new Canon PS SX730HX and the new Canon 80D or 7D mk2 (?) when I buy it.

My wife LOVES her Canon sx730hs .... I've now got her old Olympus FE-20.

Now I'm considering either a Canon 80D or 6D mkII for my upgrade from the old 40D.

Leaning towards the 80D , only because it has a builtin flipup flash & it is compatible with my two existing EF-S zooms.
But the 6D mkII has better connectivity and a wider range of ISO , and is full frame, but I'd need to buy a flash for the 6D mkII.
Of cause if I wait , the 90D is not far away , it'll be a 28Mpx APS-C (not so shabby).

I'm guessing your current lenses will be compatible with the new DSLR? Lot of bells & whistles. Looks like a nice camera =)

CooperDragon":xt8jp93w said:

I'm guessing your current lenses will be compatible with the new DSLR? Lot of bells & whistles. Looks like a nice camera =)

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Definitely if I opt for the 80D, the other ones only take EF and not EF-S lenses (or not recommended for them as they have a full 35mm sensor to cover and EF-S are not designed that size sensor.
Not sure if the mount is physically different.
From my 40D manual :

The Canon EF-S lens mount is a derivative of the EF lens mount created for a subset of Canon digital single-lens reflex cameras with APS-C sized image sensors. It was released in 2003. Cameras with the EF-S mount are backward compatible with the EF lenses and, as such, have a flange focal distance of 44.0 mm.

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The additional S in EF-S supposedly stands for ‘short back focus’ because the distance between the rear element of the EF-S lens and the sensor of the camera is greatly reduced compared to standard EF lenses.

Read more: Difference Between Canon EF and EF-S Lenses | Difference Between http://www.differencebetween.net/object/difference-between-canon-ef-and-ef-s-lenses/#ixzz4wIkQqdDt

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I believe the issue is the mirror can hit the back element if a EF-S lens is used in a camera which has a full 35mm sensor , but it's OK to use both EF and EF-S in APS-C Canon DSLR cameras.

Lol I Use my IPhone. :lol: