Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/10/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Tue, 17 October 2000, Andre Jean Quintal wrote: > > Good Evening, > > 1/ Yesterday, I went to my favorite city park > to soak in some Nature and, as I stood real quiet, > heard crackling sounds nearby but there was absolutely > no one in the park as it was cold and snow could > have started falling any moment. Crackling sounds > again, then a few more times. It was a young male > dear (very dark brown, white spot on the muzzle, > the inside of the ears and edge of tail, some on belly), > just grazing in the underbush, for some favorite > treat under the (mostly) fallen leaves. > He became aware of me but, as I stood motionless, > feeling blessed, simply continued his meal. > At some point, maybe twenty-thirty minutes later, > I called him as I do for my cat, he faced me square, > ears attentive, eye to eye contact, but he decided > I was no danger, came as close as 15 feet, > maybe a bit less, then just returned to his browsing. > His antlers were about 9"-10" with two "points" > and he seemed in excellent health. > > 2/ You can well imagine I was quite excited > and, of course, I had no camera. :+( > By experience, this would have been an ISO 100 > 1/60 f/4 or f/5.6, flat lighting conditions, quite gray, > very dark clouds overhead, low-key colors. > > Q: to get his head full-frame, would it have been > a 180 / 280 / 400 mm lens that would have been a better > choice ? I have almost no telephoto experience > (as I don't really like the impression), but, just > to know, is there some sort of "rule of thumb" > quick computation that helps in choosing a lens > for telephoto purposes, a bit like some freehand > drawers do with their thumb and a pencil perhaps? > > Q2: to most LUG people, is it OBVIOUS a telephoto > shot with Leica brand products was made with > a monofocal (ex: 180mm f/3.4) versus a mid-range > zoom (ex: 80-200mm) ? Or is it more 50 / 50 > in most cases ? [ Are the "Modul" lenses so superior > that any LUG person would instantly know ? > They're quite an expensive proposition ... ] > > I'm not about to buy telephoto gear but I sure > am interested in any "rule of thumb" secret ... > > Best regards, wishing you all the same experience, > > Andre Jean Quintal Andre, Yes we should all be so fortunate. My rule of thumb has always been "use the shortest lens you need to get the picture". I usually start with the 560, and if I'm patient I'll switch to the 400, or if the animal is big enoug the 250 will do. On rare occasions a 90mm lens has been perfect. For this situation I'd guess that lenses between 90mm (full body) and 180 (head & shoulders) would have worked well. Doug Herr Birdman of Sacramento http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/telyt - -------------------------------------------------- Stay in touch with Northwestern and the world. Click http://www.nualumni.com to get your FREE Northwestern StartPage. Customize your own collection of the latest news, sports, stock quotes, and more. Check it out today!