DIY telephoto

Supertelephoto on your smart-phone

I was recently thinking about upgrading some of my lenses. This made me think about what I photograph the most. 

Looking through the images that I've been making for the last year or two led me to one conclusion: I don't really need anything long. My most used lens seems to be the excellent 17 - 40 F4L zoom from Canon. After that, it's the 28 - 135 IS zoom which rarely gets used beyond about 70mm.

My last lens acquisition was the Canon EF 50mm f1.4. I absolutely love this piece of glass. It's small, fast and very sharp. It's now my de facto "carry around" lens. Ideal for everything from portraits* to copy work.

In my cupboard I have a 300 mm f4L and the 70 - 200mm f4L. I cannot remember the last time I used the 300mm. The 70 - 200 last came into service at the Streetparade in Zürich in 2011*

Also on my "least used" list is my 24mm f2.8 and my Russian Zenitar 16mm Fisheye which last saw service in 2010*.

I think that the reason I don't use these last two lenses is that A: I only rarely need a fisheye effect and B: The 24 mm focal length is covered by my 17 - 40.

There have been the (very) rare occasions when I've been out and wanted to photograph something in the distance. When this situation occurs I normally have either my Canon G9 or my Samsung Galaxy phone nearby. The Canon is OK as long as I don't use the digital zoom (which I've permanently disabled)

So what can you do if you are out and about with only a pair of binoculars and your (camera enabled) smart-phone and you need to take a telephoto image?

I was looking at the accessories on sale for mobile phones last week and noticed a telephoto attachment available. I wondered what would happen if I tried to shoot through binoculars?

I dug out of my closet, an old pair of 10 x 25 binoculars and made my way to the kitchen. The view from said kitchen is ideal for testing lenses as there is lots to point your optics at.

Using just the standard setting on my Samsung Galaxy III I pointed it at a farmhouse where I knew that there was a Ronald MacDonald statue.

Hardly visible on this shot 

but the  clown is more or less 

in the centre of the image

Then I used the digital zoom to take another picture.

He's just coming into view 

I then reverted back to standard mode for the lens and held the lens against the eye piece of the binoculars and got this shot.

As you can see there is a lot of vignetting but this was due solely to the fact that it's damn near impossible to hold a camera together with a pair of heavy binoculars and press the shutter at the same time. I'd recommend a tripod or some sort of stabilising device.

The handymen amongst you may be able to come up with some sort of bracket that aligns perfectly.

Here's another example of the binocular effect that I took in Basel.

Normal field of view

Shot through binoculars

Of course if money is no object and you really need a telephoto, I can recommend this little beauty.

Canon 800mm f5.6 Fr 17.600

Not expensive / powerful enough? Well how about this? It is a 5200mm f14 lens in Canon fit. It has a lenscap the size of a dustbin lid and was sold on Ebay for $55000. It weighs in at 220lbs (99kg)

You can read more about it here

* As seen here

Thanks for reading

Lens coverage

I often get friends asking me what type of lens to buy after they have bought a new shiny digital SLR. A lot of them have switched over from an old analogue model to a new digital body.

A friend asked me last week to recommend a lens for her. She found that the wideangle lens which came bundled with her EOS 550d wasn't wide enough.

"Would you recommend that I get myself a 24mm?" she asked

I knew then that she had probably previously owned an analogue SLR.

"A 24 mm lens on your camera would be equivalent to a 38mm on your old SLR" I told her.

"How is that?" she asked.

Well to cut a long story short. I explained to her about the coverage provided by the APS-c sensor in her camera compared to the sensor in my camera (an EOS 5d)

"Your camera's sensor magnifies the centre part of the picture by 1.6, where as mine uses all of the picture."

I showed her this little chart that I put together. The pictures were taken one after the other using the same lenses my EOS 5d and my new 7d. The figures in brackets refer to the magnification factor from the 7d, so for example, the 300mm on a 7d body is "equivalent" to a 480mm lens on my 5d.

This simple chart explains more than reading about it on the 'net.

She is now looking for a 16mm Sigma lens which will be equivalent to a 25mm wideangle.

When I bought my first digital EOS (a 20d), the widest lens in my arsenal was a 24mm. For someone doing architecture, this was useless, giving the coverage equal to a 38mm. I forked out for a 20mm but this was also too limiting, being equal to a 32mm. So I sold that lens and bought the very lovely Canon EF 17 - 40L. I also bought a full frame body to be able to use it effectively as the widest setting was only like using a 27mm!

This means that my lens collection now goes from a 16mm to a 300mm, but when I use both bodies, taking into account, the magnification factor, the focal length of the longest lens is increased to 480mm

Well. It's now nearly the weekend. Time to charge up your batteries and take some photos. As usual I welcome your comments and emails.

Have yourselves a great weekend.

Planning for the Streetparade

We have one of the largest "Love Parade" type festivals in the World, held every August in Zürich.

Upwards of 1 000 000 people come and enjoy the atmosphere.

Zürich main station becomes a party hall

The nineteenth Streetparade will be held on August 14th 2010 and I'll be there.

It's only a short route, 2.4 kilometers long but such is the mass of people attending that the Lovemobiles take several hours to complete it.

The organisers say (about the route):

"The unique Spirit of Street Parade also includes, of course, the stunningly beautiful route around Lake Zurich and the fantastic view of the lake and the mountains....

...a demonstration that calls on everyone to live in peace and tolerance with each other. A demonstration that is open to everyone who would like to enter into the Spirit of Street Parade, dancing to electronic music."

I love this type of photography. Everything is constantly changing, wild vibrant colours, pretty girls, hunky men, bewildered old people etc.

The only thing that doesn't appeal to me is the music. A constant thump thump thump of bass that penetrates your whole body. Luckily, the organisers give out free ear plugs throughout the route. (they also give out free condoms, suncream and other "goodies")

 Security was pretty lax this year

I've been attending almost every year since 2000 but I'm a bit of a "fair-weather" photographer when it comes to the SP. If it is raining I simply won't go because sunshine, blue skies and the SP belong together. I just can't work up the enthusiasm to photograph the dancers in soggy costumes.

I'm hoping also this year to actually join the revellers on one of the Lovemobiles. I've already written a few emails and am waiting for an answer.

If I don't manage to get on a Lovemobile then shall have to plan my photographic experience carefully.

As I mentioned earlier, there can be around 1 000 000 people attending the parade. This can make navigating through the crowd, a bit difficult especially when lugging a camera bag. Plus, when things get tight, you are never sure if someone is dipping into your bag to help themselves. For this type of job, I'll be wearing my Agfa photovest. I won it a couple of years back in a photo competition and love it. It has lots of pockets, is splash proof (did I mention the water pistols that many of the youngsters carry?) but above all is comfortable because it distributes the weight of your gear across your upper torso.

 Me in my parade wear

I'll be shooting with my EOS 7d which will have the 28 - 135mm Canon zoom attached. As this is a small sensor camera, the equivalent focal length will be 44 - 216mm. I'll couple this with my EOS 5d and the 17 - 40 canon zoom. That way, I'll have all focal lengths from 17 - 216 covered. A Speedlite (set to minus 1 stop) will be sitting on top of the 5d. I use this to soften any harsh shadows from the sun.

Those two cameras will be over my shoulder and around my neck. In the pockets of the photojacket, I'll have spare batteries, memory cards, water, a snack or two, notepad and pen, business cards, suncream,earplugs, plastic bags (if it rains then I'll cover the cameras), mobile phone, wallet, a micofaser cloth to wipe the cameras if they get wet, and a longer lens. Probably my 70-200 as this will give me a 320mm equivalent (at the long end) on my 7d.

If you'd like to see a selection of my pics from previous years then point your mouse here.

More pics will follow..... weather permitting :o)