Category Archives: informational

A Learning Experience

equipment, informational, nature, personal, , , ,

how Google helped me solve a problem

As an avid outdoor-nature photographer, I’ve always believed in the saying: “you can never have too many mm’s between you and a distant subject”.

Recently I decided to add more mm’s to my camera bag and purchased a Sony 200-600mm lens to accompany the Sony A7 III.

My first opportunity to use the new lens was on a trip a few weeks ago to Florida.

This is one of the first images that I snapped. As I closely reviewed it in the viewfinder I could tell that it was obviously out of focus.

The first thing I did was to immediately check the lens setting to use autofocus. It was.

I then checked the camera menu to see if it all settings were correct for autofocus.

Next I took several more photos but no luck.

They were all severely out of focus.

Disappointed, I decided to set this lens aside for the reminder of my time in Florida.

Upon returning from this trip I planned to send the lens back to the vendor for repair or exchange.

However, before calling the vendor for a return authorization, I spent a few minutes googling “Sony 200-600mm autofocus problem”.

To my surprise I found a post that was identical to my problem. When I purchased the lens, I also purchased a circular polarizing filter (huge 95mm) to help reduce glare. The individual who wrote the google post explained that his filter interfered with the lens’ autofocus mechanism. By removing the filter, his images were no longer out of focus.

So I took the filter off my lens to see if this solution applied to my problem.

BINGO. The autofocus mechanism worked perfectly and produced this image.

I’m happy that Google helped me solve my problem.

I’m disappointed that I wasn’t able to take advantage of the extra mm’s during my stay in Florida. And I’m reminded that I need to test out new equipment before I’m in the field. I’ll continue to search out for a filter which may not interfere with my camera’s autofocus. Perhaps a different brand has properties that enable the autofocus to perform correctly. We’ll see.

Anyway, I’m ready for my next opportunity to get outdoors with this lens.

Happy shooting!

SuperBloom

informational, nature, personal, photograph, travel, , , , , , ,

Death Valley Shows Its Colors

Yesterday I returned from a trade show in Las Vegas. While there, I heard about one of nature’s spectacles. In nearby Death Valley a rare happening was taking place. Armed with my camera, I made the 2-1/2 hour drive to experience the so called SuperBloom.

Death Valley is the driest, hottest place in North America. Although the climate isn’t very hospitable, wildflowers do appear each Spring. But I learned that this past October rainstorms set in motion a series of conditions that led to a literal explosion of colorful wildflowers that blanketed the normally harsh landscape of the park.

Here are a few recordings of my visit to the 2016 SuperBloom:

I’ve been fortunate to have visited Death Valley at least a dozen times previously but I’ve never seen as many visitors taking in the colorful wildflower as I saw two days ago.

Click here to see a Park Ranger describe a “once-in-a-lifetime” visit to Death Valley.

How lucky I was to be able to see this unexpected event.

Not Afraid of the Water

equipment, informational, movie, personal, photograph, techniques, travel, video, , , , , , , ,

There’s a few weeks still left on the summer calendar so jump on in – the water’s fine.

After seeing a demo of this camera last January, I took the plunge and ordered this Nikon 1 AW1.

What’s unique about this camera is that it uses interchangeable lenses and can be submersed – the specs say down to 50 feet. But I’m not a diver so I haven’t used the camera that deep. Instead, I wanted a camera for snapping the family on the beach or in the water.

A sandy beach isn’t a problem – just dip the camera into the water to clean it off. Underwater shots are easy – especially if you’re wearing a pair of goggles – the LCD screen is very visible beneath the surface.

This camera is also built to be rugged. Nikon says that it can withstand a fall from 6 feet, but I didn’t test out this “feature”. When winter arrives it can withstand freezing temperatures down to 14 degrees.

The camera with an 11-27.5mm interchangeable lens sells for about $750. I bought the orange silicone protective sleeve which makes it easier to hold underwater.

The AW1 is mirrorless with a 14.2MB sensor. It’s very compact. Two lenses are submersible: the 11-27.5mm zoom and a fixed 10mm. You can mount other Nikon 1 lenses but they are not submersible. The built-in flash works underwater too so you can add light should you find the subsurface water dark. If you’re using the AW1 in an outdoor pool, the photos and videos are excellent.

This is a lightweight, compact camera that takes good quality photos and videos and as I’ve experienced is really a blast to use. And a lot of splashing won’t hurt a bit.