800mm f/5.6L IS

October 3

Went to an airshow at the airport former known as Grayson County Airport. Jim Wilson was the official photographer. Each time he stopped by his car I played puppy dog. About 14:00 asked, "You want to try the 800?" Took a moment to believe what I heard before answering yes.

For $11,499.00 you can get me one for Christmas. Order it from B&H and there will be no sale tax or S&H. I will need to work on my upper body strength, could only hold it for 72 seconds before my left shoulder and arm were asking for mercy. I will not complain about the weight of 70-200 2.8 IS again.

30D | 1/400 | f10 | 800mm | iso 100
My first picture taken with the 800, an uncropped headshot from 10 yds away.
Why would anyone want to use a 135 f2?

30D | 1/125 | f22 | 800mm | 100 iso
With a very narrow field of view, 4x narrower then what I am used to, I had a hard time finding an airplane to take picture of. Took 86 airplane pictures and ended up with three pictures worth posting. Once I saw a plane in the viewfinder I needed to be steady enough to get a sharp picture.

30D | 1/125 | f18 | 800mm | 100 iso

30D | 1/125 | f25 | 800mm | 100 iso

30D | 1/500 | f5.6 | 800mm | 100 iso
Since I had his 800mm Jim had to use his 600mm f4 with a 1.4x extender. The 600mm is another option if you want to save $3,199 on my Christmas gift. Do not worry about the 1.4x extender, already have that.

After 9 minutes and 22 seconds I disconnected my camera from the 800, may not seem very long but my arm and shoulder were tired. My camera was tired of reminding me not to hold the 10 lbs lens by the camera. Most importantly my wallet was tired of reminding me that the lens was at least 1.5x more valuable then the Hibma Estate Limo.

The 800mm (left) and the 600mm (right) sitting/standing on the tail gate of his SUV.

Couple pictures of Jim at work. He shots handheld and says he has the knot in his back to prove it.

Here are samples of what Jim can get with the 800.

Panning shot of a 737 at DFW
1DsIII | 1/25 | f5.6 | 800mm | 400 iso

DC-3
1DsIII | 1/80 | f10 | 800mm | 100 iso

Back side of a P-51
1DsIII | 1/100 | f22 | 800mm | 100 iso

To recharge my battery I checked out another restaurant for another romantic date with Destiny. Luckily she's short so she will not bump her head like I did. Location of Taco Hondumex

Then I looked at my pictures a discovered I should have checked the sensor cleanliness before shooting at 1/125 in the middle of the day. I don't use WD-40 to blow the dust off so I have no idea how it got so dirty. (levels adjusted to show the dirt) Me and the Patch tool are now on a first name basis.

>>>> Picture Gallery - Grace Flight Airshow <<<<