Remedy against GAS? Shooting with a vintage EF 500 mm f/4.5 L USM

[AlanF]

View attachment 198805
Funny, a revived old thread! Here is my update: my battered old 500mm F4.5 still works flawlessly, it's amazing. I post a quite rare little tern that I managed to catch after it surfaced with a little fish, I shot that image in Northumberland in 2019. Camera used here: 7D II. C'mon, Canon, I want a fast, rugged R7 crop camera with about 24 MP!

The only time I got a Little Tern was also in Northumberland, at Long Nanny. Were you near there?

 

[justaCanonuser]

The only time I got a Little Tern was also in Northumberland, at Long Nanny. Were you near there?

Between Seahouses and Beadnell at the shore. We spotted a place where obviously little fishes were hidden, and there the tern was hunting. It was amazingly close, so I could work w/o TC.

 

[salicaceae]

Funny, a revived old thread! Here is my update: my battered old 500mm F4.5 still works flawlessly, it's amazing. I post a quite rare little tern that I managed to catch after it surfaced with a little fish, I shot that image in Northumberland in 2019. Camera used here: 7D II. C'mon, Canon, I want a fast, rugged R7 crop camera with about 24 MP!

Nice tern! I am really impressed with my sample as well. Mine also built in 1995. I understood that the leap up from my prime 400 5.6 would be noticeable, but damn does this lens perform and exceed every expectation I had. The hitrate together with my 1DX is just enormous! The only bad thing with this combination is that so many photos are so great so I don't want to throw anything away = crowded backup hard drives and dire needs to buy me some more storage. And yes, dig up those gannets! They are gorgeous! I so long for the gannets migration season in October/November here on the Swedish west coast.

My sample work as a charm with the 1.4x III converter as well as mentioned above. My 400 5.6 turned into a slug and oh so dark forests at f8 with the extender, thus ISO had to be bumbed up like crazy which turned everything to noisy shit =P Even at ISO 3200 this gear still produce stuff that I never thought I would ever dream of. Sample image below.

Definitely agree! An R7 would me yummi!! However, since I only eat the crumbles of shitty old gear for bargain prices, the R5 or R6 or R3 or a future R7 is at least 10 years away ;D

Canon EOS 1D X • Canon EF 500mm f/4.5L USM @700mm • extender 1.4x III • 1/800 • f/6.3 • ISO 3200

 

[justaCanonuser]

Nice tern! I am really impressed with my sample as well. Mine also built in 1995. I understood that the leap up from my prime 400 5.6 would be noticeable, but damn does this lens perform and exceed every expectation I had. The hitrate together with my 1DX is just enormous! The only bad thing with this combination is that so many photos are so great so I don't want to throw anything away = crowded backup hard drives and dire needs to buy me some more storage. And yes, dig up those gannets! They are gorgeous! I so long for the gannets migration season in October/November here on the Swedish west coast.

My sample work as a charm with the 1.4x III converter as well as mentioned above. My 400 5.6 turned into a slug and oh so dark forests at f8 with the extender, thus ISO had to be bumbed up like crazy which turned everything to noisy shit =P Even at ISO 3200 this gear still produce stuff that I never thought I would ever dream of. Sample image below.

Definitely agree! An R7 would me yummi!! However, since I only eat the crumbles of shitty old gear for bargain prices, the R5 or R6 or R3 or a future R7 is at least 10 years away ;D

Canon EOS 1D X • Canon EF 500mm f/4.5L USM @700mm • extender 1.4x III • 1/800 • f/6.3 • ISO 3200
View attachment 198853

no bad drake shot, salicaceae.

Well, a 1D-X surely still is a powerful camera with a very good AF system. Sid you manage to shoot birds in fast flight, too? (If you can hold such a lens, not everybody's back is up to that, mine still works...) I personally like very much the balance and smaller form factor of the old f/4.5, compared with a 500mm f/4, it fits extremely well in my hand (medium sized male). I don't miss IS too much, the only drawbacks are its not so fast USM drive compared with today's standards, and that the phase detection AF of Canon's DSLRs does not support a 2x TC on this lens.

 

[justaCanonuser]

Okay, a bit more of vintage EF 500mm F/4.5 charm, here with Canon's 1.4 TC III on my 7D II. A young crested lark in the morning sun. Image slightly cropped.