Thread: A few Canadian birds

you have some nice shots there well done

Great pics there Bob. Very nice.

Well done with the shots Bob what camera do you use?

Also how did you find your stay in Calgary we're currently planning for next year?

Cheers

Originally Posted by John Saxton

Well done with the shots Bob what camera do you use?

Also how did you find your stay in Calgary we're currently planning for next year?

Cheers

Thanks John, I used a Canon 50D with these lenses.

We had a great time in Calgary. The city itself is not that different to Aussie cities but the Rocky mountains are only an hour away. and there is so much to see and do within 3 hours drive. If you have the time I recommend getting there via the Rocky Mountaineer - but you will need t book well in advance.

Weatherwise it was one of the coolest and wettest summers they have ever had but we had warm sunny weather most weekends while hiking.

Thanks Bob really love the shots stitched or otherwise, and am hoping to give my new Nikon a workout but have to familiarise my self as this is the first DSLR that I have had.

Cheers

Originally Posted by John Saxton

Thanks Bob really love the shots stitched or otherwise, and am hoping to give my new Nikon a workout but have to familiarise my self as this is the first DSLR that I have had.

Cheers John. One small piece of advice is if you can set yourself up with some way of offloading photos from memory cards on a regular basis then that will really give you a chance to give your camera a workout. I am fortunate to carry a laptop so if necessary I can download images if I have it with me at the time or that evening back in the hotel etc. As I offload I sort everything into folders according to date and place so I can easily find things again. Every week or so I burned the latest onto 2 identical DVDs and kept one copy in my suitcase and mailed the other back to myself. Final image count for the trip was 10515 on 40 (2 sets x 20) DVDs.

Thanks again Bob I plan to take a laptop and an external hard drive for storage, am interested in the backpack you had for your camera & lenses to keep everything with the camera tidy moreover with some hiking planned as well.

Cheers

Originally Posted by John Saxton

Thanks again Bob I plan to take a laptop and an external hard drive for storage, am interested in the backpack you had for your camera & lenses to keep everything with the camera tidy moreover with some hiking planned as well.

My current backpack is a Lowepro CompuRover AW. It can hold a 17" laptop, a camera body and up to 4 lenses. But by then it is HEAVY and carriers like Qantas will not allow it on board as a single piece of hand luggage and they may make you check some of it or split it into two bags. To cope with this I only take two additional lenses and I also take along a Lowepro Toploader Zoom case which holds the camera body and my small zoom. The toploader is also useful if you want to go hiking or out and about and not take the backpack. The backpack also has a proper tripod sleeve and many pockets and space for other stuff. While traveling by air The backpack carries laptop and laptop powersupply and two lenses. The Toploader carries the camera body and my small zoom. Once I arrive at my destination I tend to swap things around.

The other thing I also use while out and about is a Lowepro 2S lens case. This gets checked in a suitcase - fill it up with the camera battery charger and cables etc. When out shooting or hiking I attach the case to the waist band of the backpack and put my bigger zoom into that case so I do not have to take my backpack off to switch between my small and large zoom. Ideally a single zoom would be better but I would not get the image clarity I get using the two different zooms.

Personally I don't like using the toploader or lens case or showing the camera in any dodgy area as this really marks you as a tourist. I prefer to just have all in the backpack and Go stand up against a wall somewhere and take things it when I need them. An even better alternative in these situations is a small point and shoot - I usually borrow SWMBO Ixus.

In general tourist locations (ie everyone is a tourist and holding a camera) or hiking I prefer to carry my camera on a BlackRapid shoulder strap. This strap attaches to the camera tripod mount and places your camera out of the way hanging at your hip. This takes the load off your neck and I can swing the camera up quickly to take a shot at a moments notice. They are not cheap but that is one of the most useful accessories I have ever bought.

In terms of tripods I have carried everything from a 2 kg Manfrotto tripod with a 2.5 kg Manfrotto 360º panoramic tripod head, down to nothing. These days I have been checking a Manfrotto 680B Monopod with 322RC2 Horizontal grip action ball head, and a small SLIK tripod. I then carry these in/on the backpack while out and about as required. I'm not all that happy with that combination and will probably switch back to just my 190XDB Manfrotto light weight Ally tripod, it's only 300 g heavier than a carbon fibre pod.