Equipment

Equipment

Equipment I Use

I am frequently asked about the equipment I use.

Here is a list of what I currently own, (as at December 2009), and why I selected the various items.

I buy my own equipment (no sponsorship), so I could have chosen any make of equipment. As you will see below, I have made a considerable (for me at least) investment in the best available Canon cameras and lenses. To change to another brand, at this stage, would be a costly exercise . Luckily I believe this to be unnecessary, and given a second run, I would purchase Canon again. This is despite the early problems with the AI Servo auto focusing on the Canon 1DMkIII (see further comment below) and on the 1DsMkIII.

I am now very familiar with handling Canon cameras without having to think (at least too much) about what I am doing, or traverse through the various menus and functions. To change to another brand with different handling characteristics, functions, and menus is not an attractive proposition for me; the learning curve would be too long and too steep.

The conversations on camera preferences can be as challenging as those on good wines. I say “Each to their own drop, and I enjoy both whites and reds”!

No camera has “an eye for an image”, (i.e. how to pre-visualize an image). Neither can a camera judge the quality of the light, compose the image artistically, or freeze the motion of a bird in flight. These creative attributes are unique to each photographer and come with knowledge, patience, experience and luck.

Cameras and lenses, no matter the cost or manufacturer, do not make unforgettable images; only fine photographers do that.

Buy what you think you need to make the kind of images you visualize. But don’t get too hung up on the technicalities of the equipment or what makes a good photograph. Instead search for the magic in light and your images will touch the heart and stir the soul of those who view them.

Cameras & Lenses

My photography is entirely digitally based; I have never been in a traditional darkroom.

I carry much of the following with me when leaving home, especially on long trips, even overseas:

Canon EOS 1DsMkIII for landscape, panorama, static wildlife, etc
Canon EOS 1DMkIII for ‘action’ wildlife photography; see additional comments below.
16-35mm f/2.8 L II (much better than the Mk I lens)
24-70mm f/2.8 L (pin sharp and one of my favourite lenses)
50mm f/1.2 L (mainly used for panorama images, and low light conditions; a superb lens)
70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM (one of the best all round lenses in this range)
100-400mm f/4.5/5.6 IS USM (a great working lens for wildlife photography, especially whale photography from a small boat. 400mm f/4 DO IS USM (my favourite lens for hand-held bird and other wildlife photography, because of its lightness and sharpness;together with a Canon 1.4 converter, it is superb) )
800mm f/5.6L IS USM (this lens, has the newest generation telephoto lens technology and is an awesome piece of glass, but definitely not hand-holdable)
1.4 X Converter (an excellent addition to any prime lens)
2 X Converter (unless condition are perfect for still life images, it has its downsides)
15mm f/2.8 Fisheye (a fun lens)
100mm f/2.8 Macro (for occasional macro images)

Filters

All specialty filters are from Singh Ray Inc.

I still use them even though the new filter features in Photoshop CS4 are increasingly attractive alternatives. More recently, I have been using the entire range of NIK software and find it excellent, especially Viveza 2 and Colour Efex Pro. During 2010 I anticipate I will end up using NIK more than Photoshop (except for Adobe Camera Raw).

Tripod

A carbon fibre Gitzo 3530 LSV carries the heaviest 800mm lens with ease.

Mounts, Brackets & Other Accessories

The Wimberley Head II is essential for the 800mm lens.

The Really Right Stuff Ultimate-Pro Omni-Pivot Package gives absolute accuracy when capturing multiple rows of overlapping images for later assembly using stitching software.

Better Beamer for adding frontal flash

Computers & Software

Dell XPS 1330 laptop; used solely for field downloading and file management, very little processing.
Custom built Intel Core 2 Quad Extreme, 3.20 GHz, 16 Gb RAM, desktop together with second Eizo 24 inch monitor
Photoshop CS4 (64 Bit)
Breezebrowser Downloader Pro and Breezebrowser Pro (for image downloading in the field and file management on desktop)
Photomatix for HDR work
PTGui for panoramic stitching.
Helicon Focus for optimizing depth of field in macro and more recently in landscape; looking forward to exploring its applications.

Bags, Vests, Beanbag & “Paddy-Pod”

I use a Think Tank Airport Security model bag for local and international travel. It complies with domestic and international carry-on requirements and has room for nearly all of the above mentioned gear, excluding the 400mm DO and the 800mm lenses. An added feature is the two security cables and locks that come in handy during long stopovers at airports.

Increasingly, aircraft carry-on weight restrictions made life difficult for photographers, especially when flying economy class. Strong vests with the maximum number of deep and generous pockets can still ‘save the day’. When the weigh-in hurdle is safely negotiated, the contents can be repacked in the legal roll-on case/bag.

When on photographic safari and photographing from the specialist vehicles a beanbag is, in my view, essential. The one I use is made by Wildlife Imaging.

When photographing from open top vehicles on safari I have found both a tripod and monopod to be essentially redundant. Both are too cumbersome to handle, even with only two persons per vehicle, the latter being a luxury with all tour companies.

Additional Comments on the 1DMkIII Camera

I was keen to purchase the Canon 1D Mk III when the model was released around April 2007 but I hesitated when severe AI servo performance problems were reported by Rob Galbraith

In my view, Canon initially denied there might be a problem. Canon later acknowledged the camera had a sub-mirror design fault and offered free repairs to all owners, worldwide and advised owners the design fault was now fixed. Continued testing by Rob Galbraith and others, indicated otherwise. Canon next announced they had discovered the “root cause” of the poor auto-focusing in AI Servo mode, and there may be another fix to come. A number of firmware updates were developed. The sub-mirror fix and the firmware updates resulted in an increasing number of more positive reviews and user reports. The 1DMkIII subsequently became available from a number of suppliers, worldwide, at around 75% of the original RRP. Not a happy outcome for Canon, but good news for photographers who had bought this camera..

At the time of purchase of my (post sub-mirror fix and firmware updates) 1DMkIII, I was able to compare its performance to my well proven IdNMk2 and my 5D. Here are my conclusions.

For static subjects I found no problems when operating in either “One Shot” or “AI Servo” modes. The 1DMkIII works extremely well.

For moving subjects I first tested the camera in a nearby street that had heavy traffic, on a very sunny day. Rob Galbraith reported such lighting conditions appear to produce the most out-of-focus (OOF) shots. I used AI Servo mode with a Canon 400mm f/4 DO IS USM lens, at f/4, 1/1600 sec, ISO 200, centre focus only, Custom Function III at the default setting, and fired about 100 large jpeg shots, at 10 frames per second (fps). When viewed on a calibrated EIZO 24 inch screen, at 100%, the number of out-of-focus (OOF) images was around 40, depending on how stringent I was deciding an image to be OOF, i.e. a “hit rate” of around 60%. Not good.

There was no discernible pattern to the OOF images. The camera seemed to lose focus and then regain it within two or three images. I cannot explain this. My 1DNMk2, with the same lens and camera settings, gave me a consistently higher percentage “hit rate” of around 80%. The 400mm DO lens is the lens I use mostly for handheld photography of birds in flight; hence its selection.

Next I tested the camera, on birds in flight. Photographing birds in flight is as much art as science. It is certainly not an exact science and while practice will increase the % of “keepers”, it can, on occasions, be extremely difficult to know you have been successful. You cannot request the subject to “pose” a second time! It is hard to determine what the camera is doing on a choice of settings and there is no opportunity to check the histogram (as you can in landscape photography). Mostly, for in-flight photography my own performance, on the day, is usually the dominant cause for a high percentage of ”keepers”.

The birds in flight test again used the 400mm DO lens and camera settings of f/4, 1/2000sec, ISO 400, (to retain the fast shutter speed), Custom Function III at default setting, testing both centre focus and the 45 point, (‘ring of fire’) focus, using AI Servo, shooting RAW, Sandisk Extreme IV UDMA card (to maximize write speed). In other words, all functions over which I had control, were optimised to ensure the lowest % of OOF images.

When converted in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and viewed at 100% on the EIZO screen, the OOF images were of the order of 30 – 35%. This was not acceptable, as on most days, I knew I did better with the 1DNMk2, and even with the 5D. Canon Australia seemed uninterested or unable to fix the problem.

I decided to await (and pray for) an eventual solution from Canon. I like so many other features of the camera that I have perserved with it. In fairness, when the AF works, it is brilliant and I have captured many stunning images of difficult to photograph subjects in motion.

In summary, as at May 2009, I think Canon had gone some way towards “fixing” the earlier autofocus problems with the camera, but there is still some further refinements to be completed to satisfy the more discerning and loyal Canon wildlife and sports photographers.

Update December 2009

In June 2009, under warranty, Canon Australia completed further hardware and firmware adjustments to the camera. Preliminary testing appears to indicate an inprovement in the AF function and the % of “keepers”, but I did not take sufficient comparative shots to be certain. This initiative by Canon was welcomed.

I completed a four week photo safari in Namibia in mid-June/early-July 09 during which the camera was tested rigorously, on wildlife, using a variety of lenses, ranging from 70-200mm f/2.8L to 600mm f/4 L lenses. Around this time, regretably, further testing by Robert Galbraith, following the same hardware/firmware fix I had completed, runs counter to Canon’s claims for improvement. My experience in Namibia and since then (on humpback whales and birds in flight), has been more positive. I am back to capturing 80% plus “keepers”, that are pin sharp. With moving subjects, I find it takes two or three shots for the camera to ‘lock on’ focus.

In the absence of a replacement for it, the camera is my first choice, for wildlife photography.

When a replacement arrives, I will gladly try it, if for no other reason than to remove the historically uncertainty of autofocusing.

Update March 2010

In March 2010 I purchased the Canon 1DMkIV model. The inital impressions are very good, but I will report more after I have conducted some real world shooting.