any tutorials to properly use canon 70-200 f2.8L is II usm lens?

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01-19-2014 09:17 PM
I am a novice, but want to learn properly the use of canon 70-200 f2.8L is II usm lens. Please help with my question. I am using a canon 60D camera. Thanks
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01-20-2014 10:29 AM
This is a great lens. My most favorite of all time.
There is a great big wide world out there with all kinds of fantastic stuff to shoot. Bolt that lens on and go out and shoot.
Shoot a lot. You will learn form the greatest teacher there is, experience.
EOS 1D, EOS 1D MK IIn, EOS 1D MK III, EOS 1Ds MK III, EOS 1D MK IV and EOS 1DX and many lenses.
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01-20-2014 11:10 AM
Are you trying to understand the switches?
I do not know of any "tutorials" per se, but can run you through what they do and why you'd care.
The lens has four switches on the side.
The top switch is a focus-range limiter. In the 1.4-infinity position it will use the full range. In the 2.5-infinity position it will not attempt to focus on close objects.
The next swtich down is the auto-focus / manual-focus switch ... common to all auto-focus lenses. You probably are familiar with that one already.
The next switch is turns the image stabilization on or off. All image stabilized lenses have one of these as well, so you're probably familiar with it.
The final switch is the most interesting... this changes the stabilizer mode.
Mode 1 provides full stabilization and this is the mode that works like just about every other lens with image stabilization. Most of the time, this is the mode you want.
Mode 2 is a special mode useful for "panning" shots. This mode is intended for situations where you're tracking a subject moving horizontally across the image. You don't want the stabilization to fight you as you track, but you don't want to completely switch off stabilization either. Basically you need to track in the horizontal direction, but stabilize in the vertical direction -- that's what mode 2 does.
This shot was taken with an EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM (original... not the "II") using image stabilization mode 2.
To get this shot, I slowed the shutter speed down to only 1/40th sec. This is normally too slow to "freeze" action, but in this case I want to imply motion. The camera is not still ... I'm using the camera hand-held at this speed and I'm tracking the rider by "panning" the camera down the street with the bike. The image stabilization will correct for any minor up/down movement of the lens, but will not attempt to correct for sideways movement (because of course we WANT the lens to be sweeping sideways).
When the shot it taken at this slow shutter speed, we get a blurred background and we also get blurred spokes on the bike -- which really helps convey the motion in the shot even though this is a "still" camera shot (no Photoshop effects here.)
Panning shots do take some practice and plan to get a lot of bad ones. I use "continuous" shooting and take a burst of shots as the subject moves past me, then evaluate to decide which one ultimately is the strongest image.
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da
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01-20-2014 11:30 AM
Nice summary of the possibilities with this lens. And there is material out there on when you miight not want to use IS. Sports, for instance.
It's not true, however, that all IS lenses have a switch. EF-M lenses, for example.
http://trulandphoto.zenfolio.com/
http://trulandphoto.blogspot.com/
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01-20-2014 11:59 AM
@trulandphoto wrote:Nice summary of the possibilities with this lens. And there is material out there on when you miight not want to use IS. Sports, for instance.
It's not true, however, that all IS lenses have a switch. EF-M lenses, for example.
I would actually encourage the use of IS for sports. While the shutter speeds to "freeze" action are fast enough that IS isn't needed to prevent blur due to camera movement, the IS system is actually in use while the camera is focusing. The camera will be able to lock focus faster and more accurately if you leave the IS switched on.
If you put the camera on a tripod then it's a good idea to switch the IS off.
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da
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01-20-2014 12:37 PM
Ditto. Tim.
There has been lots written about IS and the bottom line is, it is usually a good thing. Mounting on a tripod is really the only time it may work against you.
EOS 1D, EOS 1D MK IIn, EOS 1D MK III, EOS 1Ds MK III, EOS 1D MK IV and EOS 1DX and many lenses.

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01-20-2014 01:31 PM
Thanks for your words of encouragement

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01-20-2014 01:34 PM
Thanks for the technical information and photo sample, I will try to follow your directions and perhaps, capture same photo situation sometime soon.
Franklin
60D

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01-20-2014 01:35 PM

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01-20-2014 01:37 PM
