DANGER. Yet another 'which lens' thread.

... that if it's sent to you directly from Hong Kong you may be liable for the 10% GST and the $60 (?) Customs fee - total around A$1699. If it is sent from a local Oz store this shouldn't be the case.

Hmm Hadnt seen that bit. I did see a 1.75% insurance fee and a further 3% fee if paying by credit card making it a total of $1572 of $1526 with direct deposit. I am sure I read it included GST in the original advertised price. So I rang them and they will take care of any import duty, so if I dont insure it I can have it for the $1490 or the xtra $36 insurance. Pretty well worth the extra few buck I think.

There is an ebayer shipping from HK that emailed me a total price of $1508 including shipping and inport duty.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110264836042

Jury is still out for a bit longer
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Ralph
http://www.ozphotos.smugmug.com

Well I bit the bullet and I ordered and paid for the 100-400mm today.

Decided to go with Photobuff in Melbourne worked out a deal with him over the phone that was only about $30 dearer than the other site and for that it will be over night and the lens is already in Australia so no unwanted surprises like customs etc.

Thanks again for helping me decide which way to go, I know I will be more than happy with it.
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Ralph
http://www.ozphotos.smugmug.com

Great to hear - keep us posted on how it goes. You may have quite a few "non-keepers" to start with, but stick with it. Just a hint - if you've got enough light, start off with f8 or f9. A lot of shots that you think are out of focus are really just a result of the shallow depth of field at the long focal lengths. The slightly smaller aperture will give you a little more leeway, especially if you focus and re-compose your shots. Often just the change of angle is enough to put the subject outside of the DOF if you are using a wide aperture. I usually select the closest focus point to the subject if I've got time, rather than using the centre point exclusively. Don't be afraid to push the ISO up a bit to allow adequate shutter speeds with a slightly stopped down aperture. I use my 100-400 quite a bit for shooting aitrcraft and usually use a monopod and ball-head for this work. I leave the ball-head loosened right off and the IS turned on. It's kind of like having the camera balanced on top of a stick, but works very well in these situations. For everything else I shoot hand-held, IS mode 1. I don't think I've ever had it on a tripod - too limiting for what I shoot. You may find the images a little soft out of the camera - depending on the body and the settings, but a little contrast boost with the levels dialogue and a little sharpening - I use smart sharpen for a "quick & dirty" fix - will have the images coming up a treat. Let me know if I can help - I've used my 100-400 on a 10D, 20D, 5D and 1DmkIII - and tried it on a 450D, so I've got a bit of an idea how it works

Thanks for the tips, a lot I already do with other lenses. Wide open only if I really need to. I have a monopod I plan to use but no ball head. I like that Idea so I may have to look around for one. Temora is just up the road from here and they have an airshow usually once a month so will be trying it on the planes regularly and Winton car races as well as Wakefield. I will keep you updated after I get this new toy of mine!
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Ralph
http://www.ozphotos.smugmug.com

There you go, hurting our HK economy

You'll enjoy the lens I have no doubt. Instead of a ball head I use one of these http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/554098-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto_234RC_234RC_Swivel_Tilt_Head_for.html it stops the lens/body dropping sideways if you're waiting for your next shot and want to keep just one hand on the body. If you think you need to rotate the camera just keep the lens ring loose.

Howard

Ralph Newman said:

Thanks for the tips, a lot I already do with other lenses. Wide open
only if I really need to. I have a monopod I plan to use but no ball
head. I like that Idea so I may have to look around for one. Temora
is just up the road from here and they have an airshow usually once a
month so will be trying it on the planes regularly and Winton car
races as well as Wakefield. I will keep you updated after I get this
new toy of mine!
--
Ralph
http://www.ozphotos.smugmug.com

Click to expand...

I htink HK Can handlle one less sale!!

I use a pistol grip for my tripod which is great for macro work close to the ground. Saves shifting the tripod to get the right composition. I will have a look at these heads, I know the frustration of the monopod aair shows with no swivel tilt options.
--
Ralph
http://www.ozphotos.smugmug.com

Ralph Newman wrote:
Temora

Ralph Newman said:

is just up the road from here and they have an airshow usually once a
month so will be trying it on the planes regularly and Winton car
races as well as Wakefield. I will keep you updated after I get this
new toy of mine!
--
Ralph
http://www.ozphotos.smugmug.com

Click to expand...

I've only been to Temora once, and that was when our flight of 3Tigermoths had to turn back on our way to Echuca for the Antique Aircraft Assoc. fly-in and airshow last year - due to heavy smoke haze. Unfortunately it wasn't an airshow day that we were there and we left early the next morning anyway. We're trying to organise a trip there with a couple of aircraft in the next few months - I'll look out for the guy with the shiny new 100-400 I won't have mine with me as it won't fit into a Tigermoth or DeHavilland Chipmunk - my preferred means of transport ;-)

I have both the 100-400 and 400 prime and shoot BIF and birds in general.

The 400 f5.6 is by far the best for BIF. With practice it's easy to find the bird and track it with the prime. The main reason the prime is better than the zoom for BIF is the faster focusing.

The 100-400 is great for stationary and low light shots with the IS and it versatility but for BIF the prime is best.

Thats good if you can afford to keep both in your kit but for me all the way along my photographic journey it has always been a case of getting the best bang for buck lens and camera I could afford. So I have my brand spanking new 100-400mm lens and about to take it down to the local lake and see what there is to shoot and practice on. Just got to give it a run!!

--
Ralph
http://www.ozphotos.smugmug.com

Okay WOW Is all I can say after my first brief outing with the 100-400MM Canon lens..

Right from the start let me say there will be those who will let me know there is a better lens available, THERE always is if you can afford it. However value for money so far I find this lens hard to beat.

I have put a few into my smugmug folder at
http://ozphotos.smugmug.com/gallery/5308312_Xq489#324005431_yomfF

here are 2 one taken on a tripod with a cable release and using mirror up at f8 the second is hand held at the same settings. You can check the exif info at the web site. These are all as they came off the camera with just a couple of crops. Nothing else has been done to the pics and I am happy with most of them straight off the camera.



Hand held



--
Ralph
http://www.ozphotos.smugmug.com