It's "New (to me anyway) lens day!!

[Spork3127]

I was "this close" to buying the new Tamron 90mm macro but found this guy over on FredMiranda.com for the same price. It was listed in "like new in box" condition and I'd believe it. The owner was transitioning to Nikon and had only used it a handful of times. I couldn't pass it up at that price for the condition.

 

[mom2rtk]

Congrats on your new toy!

 

[kcp1377]

Nice! Congratulations! I have the "old" 100mm macro and it's fantastic so this one should be even better!

 

[KVH]

You are going to get so spoiled with the sharpness of this lens.

 

[jvz82]

Awesome!! That lens is beautiful.

I just ordered a used Tamron 17-50mm lens. I'm so nervous about ordering used! I got a used 50mm 1.4 lens like 5 years ago and it's never given me any trouble. But I always feel a little nervous about what condition the lens will be in!

 

[Spork3127]

So I went down to Zoo Atlanta today to get a wildlife fix. Sadly, the animals weren't very active, even at opening when I arrived, and some of the "bigger ticket" animals weren't let out until late morning so they immediately went for shade. So I spent half the time I was there in the reptile house putting the new 100mm macro through some testing. Here are a couple of shots that I've processed so far.

Meller's Chameleon
Chameleon 1 by Jason, on Flickr

Emerald Tree Boa
Emerald Tree Boa 1 by Jason, on Flickr

 

[HPS3]

Great shots! Can you explain your setup as far as lighting, filter, shooting through glass etc.?

 

[Spork3127]

Great shots! Can you explain your setup as far as lighting, filter, shooting through glass etc.?

Honestly, it was camera, lens, and whatever lighting was provided by the enclosure. No flashes. The reptile house itself was fairly dark with the enclosures emitting a majority of the light. The only filter was a clear filter on the end for protection purposes. As for shooting through glass, I had the lens hood on which I think helped block out glare, etc. The challenging part was finding the right angle to get light on the subject while avoiding dirt/smudges/water on the glass (mostly on the inside of the glass) and then getting the right settings and being steady enough to snap away at a slower shutter speed. If you click on the name to view the shots on Flickr, it show's the settings used.

 

[Spork3127]

Here are the others that I've processed.

Eyelash Viper. This guy was a lot of fun to shoot. When I approached the enclosure, the back door was wide open. I stood there for a few seconds and a young lady guides a snake hook into the enclosure with a much less colorful eyelash viper on the end of it and places it towards the bottom. Once she was out of harms way, she evidently saw my camera and began waving to get my attention and signaled that she had one more. She went through the same process only placing this guy on some branches eye level in the center of the cage. He was so much more fun to shoot this way.
Eyelash Viper 1 by Jason, on Flickr

Eyelash Viper 2 by Jason, on Flickr

Colorado Desert Sidewinder
Colorado Desert Sidewinder 1 by Jason, on Flickr

Timber Rattlesnake
Timber Rattlesnake 1 by Jason, on Flickr

Timber Rattlesnake 2 by Jason, on Flickr