Just to clear it up at bit. it isn't the 75-300 I'm looking at... it is the 70-300.
Here it got pretty good reviews:
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/show ... =27&page=2
SLR Camera Settings/General Recommendations?
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Satan
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One possible suggestion for buying camera gear (or kite gear for that matter) is to do it from eBay.
What I do, is I only buy from personal sellers, meaning people that are just selling their personal used gear, and not people who use eBay as their business. You can tell this by the number of feedbacks they have. Personal sellers are easier to deal with and usually won't mind bending the rules as long as you're taking the risk. Never buy from someone that has any negative feedback.
Figure out the market rate for the item using the "completed items" option in the "advanced search" option. Make that your maximum bid. When the auction is over, pay for it immediately and then beg the person to ship to you via "USPS Global Express Mail" with no insurance. Do not have it sent "USPS Air Parcel Post" (unreliable, slow, and goes through normal customs) or "USPS Global Express Guaranteed" (unnecessarily expensive). Usually, costs about US$50 for things like a 10m kite, laptop, or big 400mm lens. This is very reliable to the EU and usually takes 3-4 days including customs. It includes a tracking number. The seller needs to fill out the customs form saying something like "repaired/broken lens, kite, etc." and put the value at US$40. You need to tell the seller that you take full responsibility for the item once it leaves as you can't insure it. A little risky, yes, but with a 19.5% VAT, at least to Greece, I think it's worth it. Also tell the seller it's okay if he/she waits a few days for your funds to clear. Just so he/she knows the risk is all yours. Scammers are easy to spot on the internet. E-bay is full of them which is worthy of a whole thread on it's own. But then again tax evasion is illegal. So for the record, I've never done this.
By going this route you can pick up a 100-400mm IS USM for US$1000 in excellent condition.
I have no idea what is better the Sigma 70-300 f4 or the Canon F/3.5-5.6. But be weary of on-line ratings. 99.9% of those people are not using the lens for kitesurfing. People that buy Canon are more AR (anal retentive) then people that buy Sigma. I'd tend to believe the guy above over any crap on Fred Miranda.
What I do, is I only buy from personal sellers, meaning people that are just selling their personal used gear, and not people who use eBay as their business. You can tell this by the number of feedbacks they have. Personal sellers are easier to deal with and usually won't mind bending the rules as long as you're taking the risk. Never buy from someone that has any negative feedback.
Figure out the market rate for the item using the "completed items" option in the "advanced search" option. Make that your maximum bid. When the auction is over, pay for it immediately and then beg the person to ship to you via "USPS Global Express Mail" with no insurance. Do not have it sent "USPS Air Parcel Post" (unreliable, slow, and goes through normal customs) or "USPS Global Express Guaranteed" (unnecessarily expensive). Usually, costs about US$50 for things like a 10m kite, laptop, or big 400mm lens. This is very reliable to the EU and usually takes 3-4 days including customs. It includes a tracking number. The seller needs to fill out the customs form saying something like "repaired/broken lens, kite, etc." and put the value at US$40. You need to tell the seller that you take full responsibility for the item once it leaves as you can't insure it. A little risky, yes, but with a 19.5% VAT, at least to Greece, I think it's worth it. Also tell the seller it's okay if he/she waits a few days for your funds to clear. Just so he/she knows the risk is all yours. Scammers are easy to spot on the internet. E-bay is full of them which is worthy of a whole thread on it's own. But then again tax evasion is illegal. So for the record, I've never done this.
By going this route you can pick up a 100-400mm IS USM for US$1000 in excellent condition.
I have no idea what is better the Sigma 70-300 f4 or the Canon F/3.5-5.6. But be weary of on-line ratings. 99.9% of those people are not using the lens for kitesurfing. People that buy Canon are more AR (anal retentive) then people that buy Sigma. I'd tend to believe the guy above over any crap on Fred Miranda.
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designflaw
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MissionMan said:
http://www.teamcoyote.net
Not true. My D200 has ISO 100. I recommend a Sigma 100-300 f4 as a good all around tele.Actually nikon doesn't have ISO100 on its DSLR's. They start at 200.
http://www.teamcoyote.net
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Satan
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Okay, the Nikon D40, D50, D70, and D2H only go down to ISO200
The D200 and D2X go down to ISO100.
Regardless, all cameras above make amazingly good, smooth, sharp, etc. shots at ISO200. The point was that someone said ISO100 or nothing else, which was a ridiculous thing to say.
Six pages to this thread. Looks like there are plenty of photographer, computer, electronic, kitesurfing geeks out there.
The D200 and D2X go down to ISO100.
Regardless, all cameras above make amazingly good, smooth, sharp, etc. shots at ISO200. The point was that someone said ISO100 or nothing else, which was a ridiculous thing to say.
Six pages to this thread. Looks like there are plenty of photographer, computer, electronic, kitesurfing geeks out there.
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designflaw
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Agreed.Regardless, all cameras above make amazingly good, smooth, sharp, etc. shots at ISO200. The point was that someone said ISO100 or nothing else, which was a ridiculous thing to say.
Doesn't matter what camera or lens. It's all about getting the shot!
http://www.teamcoyote.net
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whitecap
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Say mr. coyote.....another bay sailor here, and I just picked up a D200 from my wife for xmas to take some shots for the upcoming season. Gog the new zoom.....any suggestions for that cam for kiting shots?
Mostly shooting at Rio, scotts, 3rd...maybe some stinson. do they make a water housing I should get....don't know much about the game....
Bob
Mostly shooting at Rio, scotts, 3rd...maybe some stinson. do they make a water housing I should get....don't know much about the game....
Bob
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MissionMan
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Yeah, A and S take care of all the other settings automatically so it allows you to focus on just controlling one aspect of the camera yourself. I.e. if you set the shutter speed to 1000 it will automatically adjust the f stop to make sure the pictures aren't over exposed or under exposed.
Its a very nice starting point for learning to shoot but taking control yourself. Once you have been doing it for a while you can start using the Manual settings yourself.
Its a very nice starting point for learning to shoot but taking control yourself. Once you have been doing it for a while you can start using the Manual settings yourself.
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surfingwithkites
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apeture priority is good for wide angle. set to 5.6. gives plenty of depth of field and allows maximum speed
shutter priority is good for telephoto. with image stabilizer set to 1/500. preserves minimum acceptable speed and maximises depth of field
shoot manual exposure for sequences of course. ambient reading. gives consistiant exposure from shot to shot. keep horizon straight as you pan with light and wind at your back.
all above are basic frontlit iso 100 "bread and butter" techniques.
shutter priority is good for telephoto. with image stabilizer set to 1/500. preserves minimum acceptable speed and maximises depth of field
shoot manual exposure for sequences of course. ambient reading. gives consistiant exposure from shot to shot. keep horizon straight as you pan with light and wind at your back.
all above are basic frontlit iso 100 "bread and butter" techniques.