Canon Equipment Question

[Patrick_Toomey]

Howdy all,
     I'm a digital newbie who is interested in bird photography as well as macro nature photography and landscapes.  I'm gonna buy a Mark III when Canon  decides to deliver it, but have bought 30-D to get me through in the interim.    Thus far I have a RRS 55-H ball head, a Gitzo (3530? sic) three stage tripod, a 180mm IS Canon macro, a 24-105mm IS  L lens.  Now here is my question.

#1.  I have a 500mm Canon IS  lens on order.  Can I use this with a RRS 55 ball head? Some folks tell me that they think that I can use this with an RRS 55-H ball head others say the Wimberly is a must for birds.  What do you all think?  

Appreciate your htoughts.

Patrick Toomey

Victor, Montana

[AJSJones]

Welcome - nothing like the deep end with a 500mm!

A simple ballhead is not a convenient way to seek out or track birds with such a lens - you need independent control of the two axes of movement.  With the Gitzo and BH55, the Wimberley Sidekick completes , IMO, the perfect setup for the 500/4.  This is one of the reasons I didn't step up to the 600mm f/4 : the weight of the lens plus the need for the full Wimberley.  With the Sidekick and 500, you should investigate long QR plates, especially if you plan to add/subtract teleconverter(s).

A 1.4x teleconverter from Canon (at least) will provide a 700 f/5.6 of almost as good quality as the 500/4. I think the 2x converter is still much better than digital interpolation but causes a somewhat more noticeable loss than the 1.4x.  On the 1 series the 2x will still allow center point AF but it will be MF on the 30D. The long plate will allow easy rebalancing.  

Note that the 30D acts quite like a 1.3x converter in its own right, due to the more dense spacing of the pixels, and, as a separate consideration, the FoV is smaller than that of the 1 series

Enjoy, but be patient - there's quite a bit of technique to learn for the 500  

Andy

[JBillings]

Welcome - nothing like the deep end with a 500mm!

A simple ballhead is not a convenient way to seek out or track birds with such a lens - you need independent control of the two axes of movement.  With the Gitzo and BH55, the Wimberley Sidekick completes , IMO, the perfect setup for the 500/4.  This is one of the reasons I didn't step up to the 600mm f/4 : the weight of the lens plus the need for the full Wimberley.  With the Sidekick and 500, you should investigate long QR plates, especially if you plan to add/subtract teleconverter(s).

A 1.4x teleconverter from Canon (at least) will provide a 700 f/5.6 of almost as good quality as the 500/4. I think the 2x converter is still much better than digital interpolation but causes a somewhat more noticeable loss than the 1.4x.  On the 1 series the 2x will still allow center point AF but it will be MF on the 30D. The long plate will allow easy rebalancing. 

Note that the 30D acts quite like a 1.3x converter in its own right, due to the more dense spacing of the pixels, and, as a separate consideration, the FoV is smaller than that of the 1 series

Enjoy, but be patient - there's quite a bit of technique to learn for the 500  

Andy
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Andy, you pretty well summed it up.  I've got that exact configuration.  The one thing I did was order the replacement foot from Really Right Stuff, as it makes the lens more compact and it fits better in my Airport Security backpack.  

The BH-55, Sidekick and 500mm is a great combination.  Andy's right, don't be surprised if your first few images turn out poorer than expected.  You do have to learn long lens techniques, but once mastered you'll love it.

For some help, review these articles

[a href=\"http://www.naturescapes.net/052007/hf0507.htm]http://www.naturescapes.net/052007/hf0507.htm[/url]
and
http://www.naturephotographers.net/ejp0801-1.html

I found them very helpful

Good Luck and Enjoy