No comment ... [URL]http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/48732[/URL]
You should have commented. With all the porn around lately, I wasn't quite sure that the page was safe to visit. But yes, it is safe, and quite interesting too
Looks to me like (L to R): 400mm 600mm 300mm 500mm Mirror ?? to 300mm Zoom If he has them properly harmonzied (aimed at the same spot...), then he probably gets terrific images and can pick and coose which one is best as far as cropping goes.
Appologies, it is sad that has come to this. Come to think about it, many would not check the link on account of subject alone. A collection of lenses and cameras mounted to one tripod that would make any photographer drool ... G
I've got one of those too. No, not the camera set-up, the grey plastic trolley in the 2nd shot. It looks the same as mine, and it's the most unstable rig you can get, the wheels are far too near the centre.
Now there's someone with more money than sense (more money than talent, too, I'd guess). Looks like he's more interested in showing off his hardware than in getting decent photographs.
No comment? Ummm, we're not going to hear about this guy laying in a ditch on the evening news are we? -- Kevin Heider (to e-mail: put attbi.com after my username)
Well, maybe... but somehow I doubt it. I've done quite a bit of aviation photography, and even wrote a book about it. Like many branches of photography the secret to success is not having loads of kit and hoping technology will get that shot for you, but using kit intelligently. A well-honed instinct for when to hit the shutter button, for instance, is much better than blasting away with an ultra-fast motor and hoping the shot will be in there somewhere. Similarly in choice of lens - do you shoot with every lens at once, like this guy, or is it better to have the skill and experience to actually know which lens will get the result you want? I remember one time at the Reno Air Races (1987, I think). I was out at a pylon for an Unlimited race. I was shooting with a 300mm f2.8 handheld. Next to me was a guy using a fast 600mm on a monopod. Sure, he was going to get much tighter framing on those warbirds - but I doubt he got a single decent shot. Why? Because he'd overlooked a couple of crucial points. The first was that it is very hard to track an object moving obliquely across your field of view at 500mph when you're using a lens with such a narrow angle of view. His shots probably consisted of nose cones or tails, but not whole aircraft. The second, more important reason, is that aircraft flying by describe - from your point of view - an arc. It's not like a racing car going by at the same elevation as you, when you just need to pan. The result, for this guy, is that he wound up hand-holding that kit - monopod waving around in the air - as he needed to track higher as the aircraft got closer. I saw him several times after that, but never with the 600mm. When I see kit like the set-up this guy has, I immediately assume that someone is trying to use technology to make up for a lack of skill.
