Viewing entries tagged
canon 200mm f/1.8

Using Manual Focus for Fast Action Shots to get Amazing Results using the Sony A7Rii and Canon 200mm f/1.8

December 7, 2016

San Francisco- so my team and I drove up from So Cal up to the Bay area to do some shooting. We found ourselves at the ruins of the Sutro Baths where the waves crash into the rocks and ruins with some pretty dramatic results.

I had my Sony A7Rii and Canon 200mm f/1.8 lens with me and wanted to see just what we could capture with our model Kyli and the waves coming in. While I'm used to great auto focus from this combo of camera and lens, I'm also aware of the fact that shooting a solitary object like a model can be difficult to get consistent sharp focus on when things like waves and mist fly in front of her as it did in the shooting scenario we did here.

So using Focus Peaking (which I love by the way), I focused in on the model to get tack sharp focus. Since my camera and lens were on a tripod, and the model was in a set position, I was able to set the focus and make sure it was on her so no matter what flew in front of her, the focus wouldn't change.

Well the waves didn't disappoint. They rolled on in crashing on the rocks beneath her giving off some amazing spray as well as background. One particular set was so strong the splash of the wave completely filled the frame behind the model giving it a truly beautiful effect.

So if this kind of work is of interest to you, you might just want to try this technique so you can create some really cool shots of your own. I hope it helps! Below are the pics from the shoot. I truly hope it helps. Don't forget to subscribe to my blog by clicking below!

Thanks,

Jason

Shots taken at 1/6400 sec, f/1.8, ISO 50 at 200mm

1 Comment

4 Comments

200mm Lens Aperture Challenge- f/1.8 vs. f/2.8 using Canon L glass. Does it make a difference?

November 20, 2016

So I've been lens hunting lately...quite a bit actually. I own a ton of Sony native glass and since I'm a big believer in adapting glass to my Sony mirrorless system, I've been adding Canon L glass to my cupboard so to speak.

I picked up the Canon 200mm f/2.8 about a month ago and really loved it from the start. For a 200mm it's light, easy to use, performs very well, and cranks out some KILLER shots. I was in love.

I then found out about the Holy Grail lens. The big boy. The one we've nicknamed as "Jaws" because it's a great big white shark of a lens. I already had the Canon 200mm f/2.8, so spending the money on "Jaws" was difficult to justify. Do I spend thousands of dollars just to get that tiny difference between f/1.8 and f/2.8?

I searched online and couldn't find any videos that showed the difference between the two lenses. I looked at countless pictures that the two lenses rendered looking for the subtle differences between the two. I still was a little hesitant.

But then I put it out to my followers on my Facebook Group and I asked my Canon shooters what their thoughts were....well, they told me the Holy Grails lens (F/1.8) was indeed a legendary lens.

So I got it. I went up to San Francisco and did a shoot at the ruins of the Sutro Baths. I wanted to put out the information to the photography world that I couldn't find. I wanted to show them what I was searching for...and had to spend a LOT of money to find out. Was the difference in the background rendering between f/1.8 and f/2.8 really that much? Did it really make a difference int the shots?

Hell Yeah it did! If I'd never used the f/1.8 I'd still be madly in love with the performance of the f/2.8. But once you see the comparison between the two, it's pretty obvious that f/1.8 really does make a difference compared to f/2.8. Especially when you combine the compression factor of a 200mm lens.

I've included a video of my experience and images below. I hope it helps you all out there!

--Links to Gear:

*Sony A7Rii-

*Canon 200mm f/2.8-

*Metabones Mark 4 Adapter-

*Canon 200mm f/1.8- sorry this lens is no longer sold. The closest equivalent lens is the Canon 200mm f/2. A link for that lens is shown below:

*Canon 200mm f/2-

Images from "Jaws" the Canon 200mm f/1.8- all shot wide open.

Images from "La Chiquitita" the Canon 200mm f/2.8- all shot wide open.

4 Comments

6 Comments

The Holy Grail of Lenses- my first shoot ever with the Canon 200mm f/1.8 lens and the Sony A7Rii

November 17, 2016

WOW! I've heard about this lens. But as a longtime Nikon shooter that transitioned over to Sony two years ago, shooting Canon glass was just well...blasphemy.

But when Sony came out with the A7Rii, that changed everything (which will be covered in a separate blog post). That opened the door to shooting Canon lenses with near native autofocus capability on my Sony cameras!

So recently I had the opportunity to acquire this lens and when I did, I jumped on it. I chose the 200mm f/1.8 version over the 200mm f/2 version simply because the f/1.8 is a little wider and faster. Why didn't I choose the lens stabilized versions of the lens with the f/2 versions? Well, since 5 axis image stabilization is built into my camera, I simply didn't need it on the lens.

So I got my crew and a model together and went to Venice Beach to test this lens for the first time, and boy it didn't disappoint. While the lens is used, it performed like a champ! The autofocus was fast and it was unbelievably sharp. Anyone who knows me knows that I love shooting wide open and I did this entire shoot at f/1.8. All shots were edited using Lightroom only. Below is a video of the shoot and some images as well. I absolutely love this lens and can't wait to knock out some more shoots with it. I hope you enjoy it!

I adapted the Canon lens to the Sony A7Rii using the Metabones Mark 4 Adapter. It's simply the best adapter I've found for Canon lenses on Sony bodies.

**Links to Gear:

*Sony A7Rii-

*Metabones Mark 4 Adapter-

*Lastolite Large Rapid Kit-

*Flashpoint Xplor 600-

*Westcott Rapid Box XL-