WildShots

Canon 5D Mark II Autofocus Sucks? NOT!!!

Posted on 21. Oct, 2009 by Paul Burwell.

I’ve recently had the opportunity to start going through some of my pictures that I made during my recent Spirit Bear Tour. While I normally prefer to photograph with my Canon 1Ds Mark II, I decided to take a chance and exclusively use my new Canon 5D Mark II for the majority of the trip. My original intention in purchasing the camera was the use it primarily for its high-definition video abailities, but I’ve been extremely…

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A WildShots wish list for Santa

Posted on 12. Dec, 2008 by Paul Burwell.

Dear Santa,

I’m guessing that you’re nothing if not connected. I’m also guessing that you’ve found a way to keep up with the bazillions of wish lists that get posted at this time of year. With that in mine, here are a few of the goodies on my wish list for Christmas 2008.

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Sharp images with a 2.0x teleconverter???

Posted on 10. Dec, 2008 by Paul Burwell.

Hang out in the various discussion forums on the Internet long enough and you’ll eventually come across people talking amongst themselves about how a 2.0x teleconverter (or extender as Canon calls it) pretty much ruins your chance for making tack-sharp images.

However, I beg to differ.

I regularly use both my 1.4x teleconverter and my 2.0x teleconverter (and sometimes I’ll stack those to create a 2.8x teleconverter) and assuming I’ve got enough light to work with, I have no problems creating sharp images.

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RANT: Of layoffs and loyalty

Posted on 09. Dec, 2008 by Paul Burwell.

I read yesterday where Adobe, Canon and Nikon are all cutting staff because of the current global economic crisis. This reminded me of my old life in the corporate world and gives me the opportunity to vent a bit.

I used to be the President of a company called Interbaun Communications, a regional Internet Service Provider (ISP) located in Edmonton. While I was the President of the company, I wasn’t the owner. There were two owners; an individual and a company. As the original owner was looking to divest himself of his share of ownership, his partner, started to aggressively court potential buyers. Eventually, one buyer came along, due diligence was completed and the company was sold.

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Polarizer for the super telephoto shooter

Posted on 22. Nov, 2008 by Paul Burwell.

To be honest, I had never considered using a drop-in polarizer on my Canon 500mm F4L IS lens until I read a blog entry on Singh-Ray’s blog about Ethan Meleg using one for his wildlife photography.  What was exciting about this polarizer was that where the Canon Polarizer loses two stops of light, the Singh-Ray [...]

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Jobu-Design Black Widow

Posted on 20. Nov, 2008 by Paul Burwell.

As a dedicated wildlife photographer, I often use a telephoto lens. My favourite lens for wildlife photography is Canon’s 500mm F4L IS lens. Without questions it is a beautiful lens. But, it’s also quite heavy. Together with my 1Ds Mark II and maybe a teleconverter or two, it can weigh well in excess of 12 pounds.

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