Jest Another Day in Pear-A-Dice - Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm in Alberta

[Chipper Chicken]

Thank you! That was fun!!!! These are incredibly beautiful birds!

I wasn't sure of the name, but I actually had one for a short time back in the late 80's, unfortunately I just had the one and he did not make it.

I've always wanted to try raising these again, maybe now I will. I loved the little call he did every night when I got home.

I really like your thread,
:cd
and I am subscribed too!

 

[bamadude]

Crayola long tailed snipe would be a better name

 

[scottcaddy]

Crayola long tailed snipe would be a better name

It might, just might be a better name.

But you know as well as I do, that the Name Nazis don't want to change names for any reason.
Nice try !!
Scott

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

Was fun seeing if the mystery birds could be ID'd...y'all just had to look in my sig file to read PHEASANT, eh?

So wicked...


Now for a request in helping me to provide the ongoing eye entertainments.

<oh my eyes!>​

Heads up to Oz and Vehve... anyone else that clicks the pics!

About a year & a half ago...I was given a very well used Canon EOS 350D Rebel XT (Canon lens - 18-55mm) which now might take one photo and seizes up with "error 99." Maybe it just needs a new battery since these are what....ten years young? Lots of changes as always...this camera is 8 Megapixels compared to three times that now!

Needless to say, I hugely miss taking much better photos so I do have a monumental birthday this year coming up and I may request a big B-day gift over jest my usual "cake & a card!"

I "think " I am looking at SLR Cameras with or without a lens (potential new lens - 18-135mm should do me?) if I can adapt the Canon one (Canon lens - 18-55mm) to the new body (can that even be done--different brands of lenses on the body?).

I am looking at Pentax first since I have an ancient one my father pre-inherited me and Rick has a 35mm Pentax ME Super with 50mm & 80-200 mm and a fish eye lens. Film cameras, not digital, but they all seemed sturdy & good at taking pics.


Pentax K-3 - 24.3 Megapixels
distinguished PENTAX weather sealing in a stunning magnesium alloy body
dual memory card slots


Canon EOS 6D - 20.2 Megapixels

Canon EOS 70D - 20.2 Megapixels


Nikon D7100 - 24.1 Megapixels


I really could careless about any video options (have one of the first digital video cameras back in 2000) but the more robust the camera (and lens), the better -- I am rough on equipment & need it to stand up to duck poo conditions--everyday fare here!

Have I missed any obvious choices to contemplate? Thinking in the price range of $1,500 or so & hoping for around ten year's use if possible.

Appreciate the help so I can keep on clicking and posting dem photos fer amusements...

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[ozexpat]

Heel low:

Was fun seeing if the mystery birds could be ID'd...y'all just had to look in my sig file to read PHEASANT, eh?

So wicked...


Now for a request in helping me to provide the ongoing eye entertainments.

<oh my eyes!>​

Heads up to Oz and Vehve... anyone else that clicks the pics!

About a year & a half ago...I was given a very well used Canon EOS 350D Rebel XT (Canon lens - 18-55mm) which now might take one photo and seizes up with "error 99." Maybe it just needs a new battery since these are what....ten years young? Lots of changes as always...this camera is 8 Megapixels compared to three times that now!

Needless to say, I hugely miss taking much better photos so I do have a monumental birthday this year coming up and I may request a big B-day gift over jest my usual "cake & a card!"

I "think " I am looking at SLR Cameras with or without a lens (potential new lens - 18-135mm should do me?) if I can adapt the Canon one (Canon lens - 18-55mm) to the new body (can that even be done--different brands of lenses on the body?).

I am looking at Pentax first since I have an ancient one my father pre-inherited me and Rick has a 35mm Pentax ME Super with 50mm & 80-200 mm and a fish eye lens. Film cameras, not digital, but they all seemed sturdy & good at taking pics.


Pentax K-3 - 24.3 Megapixels
distinguished PENTAX weather sealing in a stunning magnesium alloy body
dual memory card slots


Canon EOS 6D - 20.2 Megapixels

Canon EOS 70D - 20.2 Megapixels


Nikon D7100 - 24.1 Megapixels


I really could careless about any video options (have one of the first digital video cameras back in 2000) but the more robust the camera (and lens), the better -- I am rough on equipment & need it to stand up to duck poo conditions--everyday fare here!

Have I missed any obvious choices to contemplate? Thinking in the price range of $1,500 or so & hoping for around ten year's use if possible.

Appreciate the help so I can keep on clicking and posting dem photos fer amusements...

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

Thats a whole lot of money for a camera.

I tend to have a Philosophy of buying atleast one or two generations back at a whole lot less money and spend the rest on a lens.

My wife and I have 4 300D, 2 350D and a 40D

I use the old 300D in an underwater housing for SCUBA.

The 40D is a great camera. The 50D is a good upgrade and the 60D is still 1000 bucks with a 18-135mm lens and is available new.

So...

The 18-55mm will be redundant with the 18-135 so switching brands is a moot point.

For what you will ever really need, save 400 bucks and buy the 60D. If you want to spend money, still buy the 60D with the above lens and then add a used Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM for a grand more.

Unless you plan to put your photos on the side of a building - all those extra mega pixels will do is fill your hard drive

 

[vehve]

I'm a Canon man myself too, but I'm a mere amateur when it comes to photography. Oz's advice sound good though - and I'd say pretty much any Canon DSLR body will be something you'll like - the lens is what makes the difference. There are decent lenses from other manufacturers than Canon as well, Tamron makes pretty good Canon lenses, and I have a pretty decent Sigma on my EOS 500D. Both brands should be a bit cheaper than Canon's own lenses.

 

[CanuckBock]

Thats a whole lot of money for a camera.

I tend to have a Philosophy of buying atleast one or two generations back at a whole lot less money and spend the rest on a lens.

My wife and I have 4 300D, 2 350D and a 40D

I use the old 300D in an underwater housing for SCUBA.

The 40D is a great camera. The 50D is a good upgrade and the 60D is still 1000 bucks with a 18-135mm lens and is available new.

So...

The 18-55mm will be redundant with the 18-135 so switching brands is a moot point.

For what you will ever really need, save 400 bucks and buy the 60D. If you want to spend money, still buy the 60D with the above lens and then add a used Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM for a grand more.

Unless you plan to put your photos on the side of a building - all those extra mega pixels will do is fill your hard drive

So Oz...I guess Santa would not be advised to fill MY stocking with a Hasselblad this Christmas, eh? More like I shall be expecting warmth giving coal, perhaps?

I have always figured what is good for the gander is also good for the goose...

Rick has made this his own - added whitewalls, new chrome, new paint, brakes, the mechanicals like new rad/fan upgrade, etc.,etc...torn up nuckles & pimped her out...​

So when Rick was near the age I am nearing, for his birthday, I bought him the red Chev (making three years of payments since I figure me and the kid wore out his first truck!). He durn near came to tears because nobody had EVER given him such an extravagant gift. Spoil me Hero, I say!

Insured, plated, fueled & all that lil' boy had to do was give her a quick wash at the car wash where the kid & I had snuck it to for the big reveal! We had him drive my car to town and had him drop us off to do "some boring" shopping & said we would meet him at the car wash in an hour or so. Turned out perfect as he drove up and parked right beside his "new/old ride." The kid & I commented on the unit being "just like the one he always wanted"... 4x4, right year, good shape...heck, maybe it even had air (it does with manual windows--better 'cause the power windows in some years screw up alot!). Course he looked and then mumbled something about may be offending the owner if he was caught "staring" at their truck but you could just SEE how much he liked it right off. I handed him the keys and said something about he better have enough "car wash change" to wash MY car & HIS truck!

We took his old canopy from his original truck and had it painted to match this truck.

​

My glass etchings live onwards in his b-day gift.​

​

I think at $1,500 & under in today's money for a camera, he is getting off cheep, cheaper!

Now I have to hold up the parameters I stated that the camera MUST survive the abuse I so readily dish out! Sorta like the critters have to be tough to survive me, never mind the climate here!

So I click pics of the birds outside in minus ten Celsius (14 degree Fahrenheit--that's t-shirt winter weather here and MY fav temperature -- no bugs & you can work comfortably in it)...liquid like stuff sprays about so equipment should be sealed up against the usual dirt & dust. This is VERY important for the camera AND lenses to survive moi and my intended use for the camera.


Whilst I will not be doing any Calvin Klein bloomer billboard ad shoots in the near future...I have had my photos published often enough by the media in magazines, newsletters, newspapers and on the Net.

One of several of my photos published in Small Farm Canada, think it was the May issue that featured Chanteclers.

Three Chant chicks​

This is a photograph of Makins as a pup I took with the Pentax 35mm film camera. She earned $400 in pupper kibbles (dog food)--way to earn yer keep, eh!

Out of 130 Entrants, she won Best Dog Photo in the Central Alberta Adviser Contest - Paws for Prizes
- October 14, 1997 -

​

Less pixels is OK and a MOST valid & logical point, but need to be higher than 8 as the old Canon plus more than ten as my current "fits in my pocket" camera or why bother thinking it is an upgrade. I am also working at being good about storing pics to DVD's even tho my 'puter has TB's of available space.

400 zoom is too much zoom zoom, 200 from Rick's lens should suffice I think for me now. I do know the 55mm sucks on getting any good distance pics like of the Jacobs out and about on pasture.

I'm a Canon man myself too, but I'm a mere amateur when it comes to photography. Oz's advice sound good though - and I'd say pretty much any Canon DSLR body will be something you'll like - the lens is what makes the difference. There are decent lenses from other manufacturers than Canon as well, Tamron makes pretty good Canon lenses, and I have a pretty decent Sigma on my EOS 500D. Both brands should be a bit cheaper than Canon's own lenses.

OK...you both like Canon. It is a popular brand and I did express interest in a model by them to be fair about comparing rival options.

I have gone back and taken Oz's advice about stepping back a generation in the technology ... looking at a Pentax without the confusing "anti-aliasing filter" which I did NOT want to begin with.

Thinking about:

Pentax K-5 II with 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 ED WR (16.3 Megapixels) - $1,068.87


Rivals to what I am thinking of are the Canon EOS 650D and Nikon D7000.

So I will gladly take Oz's advice and step some models back but not the brand. Pentax has me hooked regarding their attitude towards weather proofing their units...

My father's first job was as a bike courier for reporters running the undeveloped film to the local newspaper--all to buy a good camera of his very own.

​

Rick had his camera equipment when I met him ... again Pentax...

​

Kinda a Ford vs. Chev thing I figure...

Since the camera body I am looking at has an auto calibration feature and says it can use any Pentax lens ever made...I will follow Oz's advice that the LENSES are what matters and we do have a few Pentax ones already! I might have to learn better camera skills but this old dog has a few more tricks left to learn.

I cut and pasted so valuable features (to me at least!) on the model I am considering ...

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/pentax_k5_ii_review/:

The sealing of both lenses & camera are important ... operates at -10C ... calibrates other lenses ... sits well on our tripod ... jpegs ... quick continuous shooting--when a bird poses--get THAT shot ... dust removal ... pre-printed manual ... large LCD screen--I wear glasses ... long battery life--hate quitting mid-shoot ... easily pressed buttons--cold fingees can fumble ...

So I am tres happy with both your inputs and have used that to make an important decision.

Thank you VERY MUCH!

​

I hope to be able to take better than these ....

​

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[vehve]

They do sell underwater housings for Canon cameras...

I've never had problems with my 500D in -20C, and I've used it in light rain too. It has some sort of automatic cleaning function, and apparently if you get dust on the image sensor, it will learn to correct those spots in the pictures. Just proclaiming my love for Canon cameras...

As the K-5 doesn't have a full size image sensor, the lenses you have will behave a bit differently with it, it will crop the shots more tightly than with the film camera. If you want to get the most out of the lenses, I suggest finding a Pentax with a full size image sensor. Or then you can take the lenses with you and take the camera for a test drive before buying it, see how you like them together. Before I bought my tele lens for the 500D, I used my dads old 35-105mm lens from his EOS 300 film camera. It worked sort of like a 50-170mm lens on it.

As a last comment, I will say that there is a reason why Canon and Nikon together hold a 80% market share in DSLR sales. That also means that you can find used lenses more easily.

 

[ozexpat]

My underwater strobes and housing are ikelite.

I used to be an Olympus fan but moved to canon because of the lenses.

400 zoom is way to much until you have one. My wife uses the 100-400 as her standard lens. Most of the time its in the 100-200 area but it's great to have the extra power. The image stabilization is awesome.

 

[CanuckBock]

They do sell underwater housings for Canon cameras...

I've never had problems with my 500D in -20C, and I've used it in light rain too. It has some sort of automatic cleaning function, and apparently if you get dust on the image sensor, it will learn to correct those spots in the pictures. Just proclaiming my love for Canon cameras...

As the K-5 doesn't have a full size image sensor, the lenses you have will behave a bit differently with it, it will crop the shots more tightly than with the film camera. If you want to get the most out of the lenses, I suggest finding a Pentax with a full size image sensor. Or then you can take the lenses with you and take the camera for a test drive before buying it, see how you like them together. Before I bought my tele lens for the 500D, I used my dads old 35-105mm lens from his EOS 300 film camera. It worked sort of like a 50-170mm lens on it.

As a last comment, I will say that there is a reason why Canon and Nikon together hold a 80% market share in DSLR sales. That also means that you can find used lenses more easily.

And I could wrap myself in saran wrap to waterproof ???

One fellow says he has washed his Pentax under a running tap to get mud off...that he has used it in -15C weather. These are things the makers are not advising one to do...

Like I said, it is a Ford vs. Chev debate. I have never used or done something because everyone else does simply because I often see people choose items based on reasons I don't quantify. Probably why I raise poultry...because I always have and because it is now very UNfashionable...har har!

Chickeney Renegade!

Excellent tips on using older lenses with more modern bodies...thank you for helping me to expect it not to be an exacting science. I'm OK with that too because basically, I expect to rarely change lenses as the 18-135mm will probably suffice for most of my applications & meet my expectations.

I am not sure I will be looking for any used lenses. I will be pretty pleased with the range that a maximum of 135mm shall give me coming from 55mm!

My underwater strobes and housing are ikelite.

I used to be an Olympus fan but moved to canon because of the lenses.

400 zoom is way to much until you have one. My wife uses the 100-400 as her standard lens. Most of the time its in the 100-200 area but it's great to have the extra power. The image stabilization is awesome.

And Pentax lenses are why I want the camera body to be same brand as the lenses we already posses. I do laugh as I have gone on to read some reviews and some tout Pentax as the best "glass in the world!" It sure is opinionated...

Ah ha...let's leave me to my dementia in NOT knowing all that I am missing out on by NOT having a 400 mm as my "standard" lens! I shall be happy enough going from a 55mm to 135mm...oh the many wonders that are THAT closer!

Recall that Gary Larson Far Side cartoon with the eye ball in the side mirror?

"objects in mirror are closer than they appear"​

I expect the only draw back now is do I get it sooner or wait...I have had a nagging request in the back of my mind as Henk has asked me (thinking it has been a while...few years at least!) to contribute duck photos for his duck calculator (the chicken one is linked below...the duck one is on hold while he clarifies the inheritance of Buff I guess...).

http://home.kpn.nl/h.meijers69/kruising.html

Right now many of the ducks are looking quite spiffy in their new feather outfits AND it is not below freezing for them. Would be nice to get that duck portfolio OFF my to-do list...decisions decisions, eh?

​

Dutch Hookbill White hen photographed in February​

Again dear Fellows...thanks ever so much for the assistance...most helpful in altering & narrowing my decision process down. I thank you!!!!

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

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