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First day out with my Canon FD 300mm F/2.8 and adapters!
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 5:53 am    Post subject: First day out with my Canon FD 300mm F/2.8 and adapters! Reply with quote

Hello guys!
I finally got my first Canon L lens ever and what a beast it is! I am loving this lens...so sharp and well controlled CA etc.
I have a lot of images to process from this first day out with this lens but this one seemed like a nice quick one to grab and post.First time I see the Tiger awake as well so that was a nice surprise.

The lens was surely an ice breaker from kids to photographers approaching me about it.

Thanks for looking and feel free to check the full size version when you click on it on the Flickr page. Smile

Tiger at Hogle Zoo by Gabriel Gerena, on Flickr


PostPosted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 6:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice catch Smile
I love this lens too Smile


PostPosted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 6:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks amigo! Very Happy
Yes I can stop looking at it lol. Even with the 2X it is so good that it keeps pretty good IQ even with that adapter.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 6:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Really nice sharpness and details, that's what I can expect from this lens. I wanted it for long time but instead I got the FD 300mm f/2.8 S.S.C Fluorite last week since I saw it pop up with reasonable price. I want to know how these 300/2.8 lenses are different in term of sharpness. I did a quick test and found out that my Fluorite is not as sharp as my EF 300mm f/4 L, but it still looks good enough with actual photos. However, the quality was noticeably reduced when the 2X-B extender was used.
Here are some photos I took with this lens (all wide open):







With 2X-B extender at wide open. If you see the large file from Flickr link, you can see the softened details



PostPosted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 7:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

yes, a perfect lens to do eye check to a tiger ..


PostPosted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 7:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I cannot really tell how your pics look right now as my work laptop sucks but I will check them from home.
Fro my research either 2.8 should be able to beat the F4L in fact, many times I read comments that it was sharper at 2.8 than the F4L is at F4. Based on how it compares to my Sony FE 55mm 1.8 (super sharp lens), I can believe those comments indeed so I am surprised you find yours not as sharp as the F4L.
I will check them from home and thanks! Smile


PostPosted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 7:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

kansalliskala wrote:
yes, a perfect lens to do eye check to a tiger ..

Oh yes, in fact I was looking at the full size image and thinking how weird the eyes looked. LOL


PostPosted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 8:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The tiger has an insane amount of details.
Great shot Like 1 small


PostPosted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 10:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

std wrote:
The tiger has an insane amount of details.
Great shot Like 1 small

Thanks man! I am quite impressed myself and I got a ton to check. I am going back at 9am as the keepers told me that is the best time if I want to see them more active. Basically it went to sleep very quick so I was lucky to snap a few but did not get to try without the adapter and with the 2x adapter for comparisons...but I will next time. Smile


PostPosted: Fri Sep 04, 2015 2:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

shaolin95 wrote:
std wrote:
The tiger has an insane amount of details.
Great shot Like 1 small

Thanks man! I am quite impressed myself and I got a ton to check. I am going back at 9am as the keepers told me that is the best time if I want to see them more active. Basically it went to sleep very quick so I was lucky to snap a few but did not get to try without the adapter and with the 2x adapter for comparisons...but I will next time. Smile


I'm looking forward to see your images with the 2X extender because that's the main reason I want to have a f/2.8 lens.


PostPosted: Fri Sep 04, 2015 5:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Langstrum wrote:
shaolin95 wrote:
std wrote:
The tiger has an insane amount of details.
Great shot Like 1 small

Thanks man! I am quite impressed myself and I got a ton to check. I am going back at 9am as the keepers told me that is the best time if I want to see them more active. Basically it went to sleep very quick so I was lucky to snap a few but did not get to try without the adapter and with the 2x adapter for comparisons...but I will next time. Smile


I'm looking forward to see your images with the 2X extender because that's the main reason I want to have a f/2.8 lens.

Sorry I couldnt get to test it with and without extenders today but I found one that I know was taken with the 2x-A extender from the Zoo. Hope this one gives an idea until I can get a proper test.
Of course at 600mm and the relatively close distance I was from it, the DOF is very thin so I tried my best to nail the eye. Smile

Leo the Lynx close up by Gabriel Gerena, on Flickr


PostPosted: Fri Sep 04, 2015 6:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Like Dog

Awesome! I couldn't ask for more!


PostPosted: Fri Sep 04, 2015 3:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Langstrum wrote:


Like Dog

Awesome! I couldn't ask for more!


Sweet, glad it helped. Weekend is here so I am going shooting. Very Happy Hoping to visit a place called Antelope Island where there is a lot of Bisons among other wildlife.


PostPosted: Fri Sep 04, 2015 8:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, this has ended up being an interesting comparison. Congrats, Shaolin, for getting one of Canon's best L lenses ever. And Langstrum, from what I've read about the 300mm f/2.8 Fluorite, there are those hardcore Canonistas who consider the original 2.8 Fluorite to be the best of the lot. Just passing this along, but your photos do show a great amount of detail and contrast.

Personally, I'd say it's a dead heat between the two. Both you guys should be stoked for getting such good optics. Me, I'd love to own either one, but until I fall into an opportunity where I can afford one, I'll just have to make do with my Tamron. Your photos inspired me to drag it out this afternoon and shoot a few pics.

So, hope you don't mind, but here are a few from the Tamron equivalent -- the 60B SP 300mm f/2.8 LDIF, a lens that I find delivers excellent sharpness and contrast, even wide open. The following images were shot with the lens wide open. All were hand-held except for the very last one. I rested the lens on my car for that shot. My NEX 7 was set to ISO 400 for the first few shots, and then I bumped it down to ISO 100 for the remainder. I applied some processing to the raw images before conversion, but none afterward. Click on the images to see them full size.

I'm gonna have to put up a bird feeder or something. My shots are just so-so, subject wise.

Our back fence, shot from the back door of my house. Probably a distance of 30 meters or so.


My old BMW R90/6's carburetor. A Bing.


A shot of my my BMW R90/6's cylinder head and valve cover. The roughness of the sandcasting on the edges of the cylinder head's cooling fins can be seen quite plainly.


Yellow Hibiscus bud. Note the water droplets.


White rose. You can see the veins on the petal facing the camera.


So, what's the verdict? Does the less expensive Tamron measure up to the two Canon heavyweights?


PostPosted: Sun Sep 06, 2015 2:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I got some recommendations for the Tamron before I bought the Fluorite and honestly it was very tempting while I can get it for 2/3 the money I spent for the Fluorite. The problem is I was really confused by looking up samples on the Internet, it's not always good.
However, your photos are excellent and to me, it's about 80-90% what I can get with my lens, prettily close. The sharpness of the L / Fluorite maybe just slightly better or they're even equal, and CA control of the L / Fluorite are a quite better, but it can be fixed by post processing. I just wish that I know some one nearby my place who owns either the FD L or the Tamron for testing.


PostPosted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 9:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just for fun here are 3 pics all taken with extenders of my FD 300mm 2.8
So basically at 600mm, 420mm and 840mm (if my math is good lol) by using the FD 2x-A, 1.4x-A and 2x-A+1.4x-A

All images @ F2.8 and I tried to focus on the pattern surrounding the screw to make it as detailed as possible.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5826/20604672394_3741a5990c_o.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/722/21216856032_5b959cceb4_o.jpg
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/730/20606142733_81affcf27c_o.jpg

A few samples at 840mm just for fun. Very Happy

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/622/20606384473_050e7d71cf_o.jpg]

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/602/21039608528_cf2a0a76df_o.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/654/21227520025_2a18c91b99_o.jpg


Last edited by shaolin95 on Mon Sep 07, 2015 11:20 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 9:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Guys, aside all that excitement, may I please draw you attention to the posting rules in this section?
Please do Link to high resolution images only and do not post them directly here!!

It might to be hard to understand for some, but some people watch from lower resolution devices or
even portable ones - but it is a forum for all, so please respect the rules here and put yourself in the
position of the viewers (if that should be possible) Wink

Thanks for switching from a Geozentric to a Heliocentric view!!


Last edited by kds315* on Tue Sep 08, 2015 7:02 am; edited 2 times in total


PostPosted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 3:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shaolin, those shots are very impressive. Looking at the sign, I can see just a hint of CA appear at 600mm, and it's just slightly more pronounced at 840mm -- but even at 840mm, it's negligible. But the sharpness and lack of any sort of flare in these shots is remarkable.

Makes me want to see if I can perform a similar test with my tamron, using the Tamron teleconverters. How far away from that sign were you?

Langstrum, well, I guess I wouldn't be too surprised if the Fluorite or L outscores the Tamron -- albeit by a rather small amount. I suspect both the Canons are a bit sharper wide open than the Tamron. And they're probably slightly better in handling CA. At adaptall-2.org, the Tamron's Modern Photography tests are shown, and the indications are that it is somewhat soft wide open, and that the lens's sweet spot is f/8-f/11. At those apertures, it delivers outstanding performance. It would be a treat to find MP tests for either the Fluorite or the L.


PostPosted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 7:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Impressive results indeed, that glass was well known to record in very high resolution and very good contrast = high acuity
and your results clearly confirm that! Congrats!


PostPosted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 11:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

...

Last edited by Blazer0ne on Tue Feb 22, 2022 4:24 pm; edited 3 times in total


PostPosted: Wed Apr 21, 2021 4:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Like 1