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Trying out Hoya ProND 1000 with 10-stops

Is Hoya ProND 1000 filter with 10-stops worth buying?

Hoya ProND 1000

Hoya ProND 1000

Many people seemed to like this ND filter because of the valuable price and because it did not go towards the red or green colors. It is what it is suppose to be, neutral in colors. This filter have 10-stops which  means it is a very dark filter which basically do not let in much light and you can use that for long exposures. When you want to use it you need to focus on the object before you put the ND filter on. So why you want to have long exposures? See the picture below then you will see what happens to the water.

It looks like smoke or fog is between the stones. The ocean waves are coming fast and hitting the stones and splashes all over but you won’t see that since the picture will make the moving objects look more smooth. When you have a long exposure the camera captures everything that happens within the limited time you want and it will become one combined picture.

The picture above was taken in Bulb mode with 56 sec in exposures. The hard part is to know how many seconds you are suppose to have since you wont be able to see the picture while doing it. The LCD screen will be dark even if you have chosen to see the image through it. Using slow shutter speed will make the picture cool and mystical.

It is all about guessing how long time you need to make the perfect picture. There are mobile apps that can calculate this for you so that you know exactly how many seconds you need to make the picture brighter after putting on the filter.

An advice is that you use the zoom in button on your camera when you are ready to focus on something. For example the picture above, here it is good to focus on a stone and zoom in to see that it becomes real sharp. Then just leave it like that and press the button to take the picture.

To see the picture better click on it to get a bigger size and more details. This picture of the waterfall have a exposure time of 49 seconds. The water becomes softer when you have long exposure. The light in the picture will also become brighter the longer  you keep the shutter open. The leaves in the picture is still very visible since they are laying still compared to the waterfall. A tripod is a must when you have to wait for so long to take a picture. The good thing is that you can use low ISO, this picture have 400 in ISO.

When you have low ISO numbers the picture will not have so much of the grainy touch to it, which is good. If you want to have a clear picture, then keep the ISO low. This kind of photography technique takes lots of patient to get it right. You have to try different shutter speeds till you find the right one for your picture.

This filter is really great, it works and it serves it’s purpose. It cost at the moment around 70-80 US dollars.

 

2016©ExpressivePhotos

Tamron 90mm – a rose

I went to a rose show where they had a lot of roses and other flowers. Tamron 90mm lens is one of a kind. I really like the macro lens. It’s great value for your money and it takes splendid pictures.

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Looking for a budget lens with great sharpness?

Then the Tamron 70-300mm is the answer

I wanted a camera that I could use during a Europe tour. I was not looking for a fancy lens, I just wanted a simple easy to use lens. I found Tamron 70-300mm. This lens is called Tamron AF SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 DI VC USD, but who can remember to say all of that?

I combined this lens with my full format camera Canon 6D. It was performing great. The auto focus on this lens is outstanding. It is absolutely steady when you want to take the picture when the auto focus is on. That is a big plus for this budget lens. The price is in favor for this Tamron lens, only 3000 SEK (350 US Dollar).

At 300mm

At 300mm

I combined this lens with my full format camera Canon 6D. It was performing great.

These pictures are taken at a folk dance event called europeade in Sweden with the combo Canon 6D and Tamron 70-300mm. The lens give sharp pictures, even when objects are moving.

This picture is taken with the combo Canon 70D and Tamron 70-300mm

I have noticed a little vignetting when I took some pictures at a airshow with the combo Canon 6D and Tamron 70-300mm. This happen when it was very bright sunshine that made everything look dark in the viewfinder. It can be that the sun was very bright and made the picture little darker sometimes and I had to put up the brightness in the camera. Otherwise the lens have really performed great all the time when I have used it. This picture is taken at 300mm. See example below:

The aperture starts at f4. This means the background might not be as blurry as you might wish for, but this can be done in Photoshop or Lightroom in post-production. So it is not a big deal.

The lens might be little heavy but if you are used to a lens like the big zoom lens Tamron 150-600mm. Then Tamron 70-300mm is not heavy at all.

It fits nicely into my small camera bag where I have a Canon 50mm f1.4 lens and Canon 24-105mm lens. Together all the three lenses will cover all your need when its comes to street photography, travels, dance events and even bird photography.

Want to know more about Tamron lenses? Click here for more info about Tamron 150-600mm. Maybe you are more into macro photography? Then Tamron 90mm is the lens for you

2015©Expressive Photos

Sandpiper in sunset

Sandpiper looking for food

Sandpiper looking for food

Pictures taken when it is sunset makes great pictures. The light is just right that that time. The sandpiper gets natural light on the front and the colors of the grass glows. This picture is taken in south of Sweden. This bird might look big but its very small. Luckily I had my Tamron 150-600 mm with me so that I could zoom in on the bird. It was taken from the car and through a fence.

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Eurasian Curlew with Tamron 150-600mm

Do I have something on my beak?

Eurasian Curlew

Eurasian Curlew

On a sunny day I took this picture of a Eurasian Curlew. Its a mid sized bird that looks very interesting with the long beak. It is taken at 600 mm with Tamron 150-600mm lens and with Canon 70D. Even if this picture is taken at the maximum length of 600 mm it still turned out sharp. Tamron perform great when it is sunny weather. All the details will be seen and it nicely blurred out the background. The aperture is at f7.1 in this picture.

2015©Expressive Photos

I want food!

Black-headed Gulls

Begging for food

Begging for food

I took this picture when I was near a pond in a park. These birds looked very funny, like they were having a conversation so I quickly took a picture of them. I think the little black-headed gull is saying to the other that it wants food.

I used Tamron 150-600 mm with Canon 6D. The 6D really make the picture look softer and I like the result. Have you ever tried this lens and camera combination? Which combination do you prefer?

To see more pictures of this combo click here or follow me on facebook by clicking here.

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Canon 70D vs 6D using Tamron 150-600mm

Quantity or quality, what do you want?

I recently got the Canon 6D and there is a great difference in quality when you are using Tamron 150-600mm. You can for example go down to 6.3 when you are using 600mm without any problems. On 70D the ISO would shot up very high if you were at 600 mm and you would get a lot of pixels showing when you were looking at the picture in your computer.

With Canon 6D you get better picture quality, since it is a full format camera house you can easier crop the picture in post production to only focus on the parts you like to keep. If you would crop a picture taken with Canon 70D that would effect the picture quality and make some parts blurry.

Canon 6D is not made to take pictures of birds flying by, that is much better with 70D since the picture per second is 7 and only 4,5 with 6D.

Duck sleeping peacefully

Duck sleeping peacefully

This picture is taken with Canon 6D and Tamron 150-600mm. It was little dark but 6D managed to take a great picture anyway. This picture is only taken at 250mm so there is a great sharpness in the picture. The ISO is at 1000 but there is no pixels visible compared if I would take this picture with 70D.

The softness that you get in the background with 6D is always a plus. I am now considering always using my Canon 6D for wildlife, but it is good to have 70D if you are expecting to take picture of flying birds or bigger animals like a tiger or leopard on a wildlife safari trip. I recommend to have both camera houses in your camera bag if you have the possibility.

Nuthatch hanging on

Nuthatch hanging on

This picture is also taken with Canon 6D, this is taken at 600mm but there are still nice sharpness and the background is blurred out to make the picture even better. The aperture is at f7.1. If I would take a picture with Canon 70D I would use f9 to f11 in aperture to get a sharper image. The amount of pictures that turns out great are more with Canon 6D then 70D.

If you have any question feel free to ask in the comments field below.

 

2015©Expressive Photos

Is it possible to take photos of insects with a telephoto lens?

Tamron 150-600mm lens delivers quality close-up photos of insects

I was out shooting some pictures of birds with the Tamron 150-600mm and then suddenly I saw a dragonfly on a leaf. I quickly zoomed in on it and took a picture. The result is showed below.

Red dragonfly (Oriental Scarlet Crocothemis servilia), its a male. Male is totally red colored and female is olivaceous brown in color. It lives everywhere near stagnant water reservoirs such as tanks, ponds and paddy fields. This shot is taken with my big lens, but I got it to look like macro photography. Its taken in India.

Red dragonfly (Oriental Scarlet Crocothemis servilia), its a male. Male is totally red colored and female is olivaceous brown in color. It lives everywhere near stagnant water reservoirs such as tanks, ponds and paddy fields. This shot is taken with my big lens, but I got it to look like macro photography. It’s taken in India.

 

Now who says you can’t take a good macro picture with a big lens? I just proved it is possible. Here is one more proof:

Green dragonfly

Green dragonfly

 

I also took a picture of a butterfly. I think the result turn out pretty good. I have not done anything to the picture just added my logo.

Butterfly taken with Tamron 150-600mm

Grey Pansy Butterfly taken with Tamron 150-600mm

I am not saying that you should replace your macro lenses with a telephoto lens. I am just glad you can take different photo styles with one lens.

 

 

Dont forget to follow this page and like the FB page. You can also check out more pictures on my Flickr page, the link is in the right menu.

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Crested Hawk Eagle – Tamron 150-600mm

Close up of a crested Hawk Eagle from India

The pictures below is Taken with a Canon 70D and Tamron 150-600mm. I took this picture in south of India. The Crested Hawk Eagle blend in with the environment so they can sometimes be hard to see. I was lucky enough to see this kind of bird twice.

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Tufted grey Langur – Tamron 150-600mm

Today’s picture is of a Langur from south of India. The picture is taken from a bus far away from the object. Used Canon 70D with a Tamron 150-600mm lens.

2015©Expressive Photos