You can have this instead of a house :)

[kameraguy]

These don't come around often....

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/800557508-USE/Canon__Super_Telephoto_1200mm_f_5_6L.html

"Only" $99,000 used!

"...calling this lens a 'tele' is like calling King Kong a monkey." :rofl:

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/1117/116642jb1.jpg

[hvmercy]

dooooo itttttt! :)

[Hank]

what can it do? take pix of nudies from 3 miles away??? lol

[Dr. ///AMG]

Where do you get sub 100k homes at? N.O.?

[kameraguy]

I was thinking since Bay Area housing is way ridiculous still, why not do this instead of a downpayment on a ghetto condo.

LOL, yeah right! But damn, these really do NOT come around the used market often.

If you put this on a Canon XL2 with a 2x extender, your effective focal length is over 17000mm....yes, there are FIVE digits thurr :blink:

[kameraguy]

what can it do? take pix of nudies from 3 miles away??? lol
You know what....you certainly can get some freaky-deaky stuff from many blocks away with something like this :)

Here's an article which has examples of what you can get with monsters like this:
http://blogs.reuters.com/blog/2007/07/18/unleashing-the-beast

I got a chance to play with this lens from a Canon rep in 1996 and the compression you get is unreal. People look like they are sandwiched on top of one-another when you aim it down a sidewalk :wacko:

[redline]

That thing is whacked! There really are only a number of instances where this would be of value. As far as landscapes go, there would simply be too much atmospheric distortion to make use of it. Sure you could be 30 miles from a mountain and focus in on a minute detail, but you'd still have 30 miles of atmosphere between you and your subject! Think of 30 miles of smog, uv haze, birds, anything else that could get in the way.

[kameraguy]

It really is a specialized lens, but IMHO it's only as limited as you make any tool. It's definitely true you'll get some distortion from heat waves and what not, but there are some perspectives to be had with this thing. Would I buy one? Honestly not unless I had money to burn. But when I was shooting it, it was really viewing a whole new world :rolleyes:

I'll see if I can find some prints with it, but I have no idea where all that stuff is now. That was back in the film days and I have too many boxes of negatives to sort through. Arrrgh!

[redline]

Oh I bet its cool! Maybe its just because I haven't ever shot with anything like it, the concept just seems extremely limiting!

[Badinfo]

They must have used a film version of this lense when they shot Planet Earth.

[kameraguy]

This lens can be used for HD video with the right adapter :)

According to the Planet Earth technical notes "For the air shots, a special airborne camera was used with a 400 mm lens that was able to zoom into single animals from a kilometer away without disturbing them."

I believe that is a gyro-stabilized HD lens that is similar, if not the same, to those used by news helicopters.

Can you imagine how things would look through 1200mm with whatever crop factor is involved with those HD cameras?

[redline]

I really want to get a small Gyro! I know it sounds crazy, but they can produce some awesome results for panning and car to car auto photography!

[kameraguy]

Gyros are cool. A few years ago when i was frustrated in trying to build a stable car rig, I looked into the Kenyon gyros. I almost picked up a used KS-6 (http://www.ken-lab.com/stabilizers.html#KS6) on sportsshooter, but in the end decided it would be cheaper if I could figure out how to build a reliable rig!!

[98c43amg]

last time I looked a few weeks ago it was in stock... is and it still is... I better get there Sunday and snag it before someone realizes! LBA has set in; boy needs a new toy :littleboy: Now lemme find a Canon to K-mount adapter so I can use it as a M or K lens and I'll be set! :p Or maybe I can bargain them into throwing in a 5D or something...

[98c43amg]

You know what....you certainly can get some freaky-deaky stuff from many blocks away with something like this :)

Here's an article which has examples of what you can get with monsters like this:
http://blogs.reuters.com/blog/2007/07/18/unleashing-the-beast

I got a chance to play with this lens from a Canon rep in 1996 and the compression you get is unreal. People look like they are sandwiched on top of one-another when you aim it down a sidewalk :wacko: It would be even better in a vacuum :D; w/o the distortion and humidity of all the air between you and your subject.

P.S. I just bought a used 3x eyepiece and used my 300mm f/2.8 w/1.4x, 1.7x, 2x and 1.4x+1.7x TCs; pretty kewl as it made from a 1200 to 2100 'ish telescope.