Any tips for using the Canon 800/5.6?

JimKarczewski

I've got a loaner coming from Canon on July 10th.. It's probably going to be too late to get the local bald eagle eaglet's (2x) still in the nest as I already have pics of them testing their flying abilities from last Sunday (6/16) so it's unlikely they will still be in the nest by the time the lens arrives from Canon. However, should be able to get some good shots with the 800 rather than what I've been dealing with which has been a 70-200 with a 1.4TC. I had a 200/2 loaner and a 2x TC rental and got some decent shots..

Question is, any tips on using these mammoth lenses? I have a RRS BH-55 that supports 50lbs and my tripod won't be an issue either. Just thinking I'm going to need to set the drag on the tripod head pretty tight and just wing it...

I know, it's a bald eagle you say.. You can see them a lot of places now.. But Gary Indiana.. just has one nesting pair who produced 2 eaglets this year. I got some so-so shots with the 200/2 and the 2x on the 1Dx, but really anticipating this 800 as we have to shoot across a river to get any shots of them which makes things difficult..

Will also take this time to shoot a great horned owl that's taken over the old Bald Eagles Nest.. but that's not my #1 concern. I don't care if I have to live out there for the 10 days I have this loaner.. I want to get some great images to show people that this area is not "dead"

kdog

I've used my 500mm on my BH-55 when I've been in too much of a hurry to switch to my Wimberly gimbal head. It's definitely not an ideal setup and the 800 will only be worse. The lens wants to flop to either side, so I'd keep my hand wrapped around the ball to keep it straight while trying not to get any body parts crushed. It'll work ok if you're not panning so you can keep it balanced right over the ball. If your subjects are far away then panning won't be an issue anyway for you.

Here's a shot of me using that setup, taken by Dave Vivich at the Badlands.



You can see how I've got one hand dedicated to holding the lens from flopping over. That's NOT good long lens technique. Unless your tripod head is locked down and you're using a cable release, it's best to rest your hand out on the lens hood to dampen vibration.

Maybe you can rent or borrow a gimbal head? They really make these long lenses a joy to use. A beanbag on a car hood works great too.

puzzledpaul

Nearest sensible combo to an 800 I've used is also a 500 (+1.4x) ...and for a laugh a 2x ... and bigger laugh, both.

When using a tripod (rare) it's with a video fluid head atop a series 5 old ali Gitzo.

Rest of the time (majority) it's a bean bag with home made rig letting me get as low as I want, as haven't come across any tripod + head setup that offers similar performance.

Iirc, one 'grinner posted shots here in w/l, taken with an 800 ... might be worth a quick search + PM?

pp