Real incospicuos.
From a post at DPREVIW.com
Well, I've enjoyed the commentary on what I thought was a pretty comical sight when I took the picture. Due to the popularity, I've gone back and posted more photos of the guy in a new gallery: http://www.pbase.com/ssmithx/photographer
To clarify for everyone:
- Not posed. I witnessed him in action for three days at the Ryder Cup... suprisingly (or not) looking exactly the same each day.
- All Canon equipment. Nikon straps on a few.
- Huge fan of duct tape. In fact, he had a roll of it hanging from a hook that was attached to his vest.
- All film. I watched him wrestle with cameras, tripods, and bags trying to change rolls of film and make notes on the canisters.
- A close up inspection of his badge confirms his name is Alex Jackson as one of the posts indicates.
- Clearly a known entity in the golf world. He was acknowledged by players and caddies alike. The fans even seemed to enjoy his presence.
- He seems to be a fan of Stena Line - note the hat and several stickers. I assumed it was related to his work, though Stena Line is a large ferry / shipping operation that travels Scandenavian and UK routes.
- If anyone has a link to this guys work, would love to see. He definitely works hard.
My thanks to vernix for posting a message for me at pbase explaining why my page views drastically increased over the past week. I couldn't figure it out until I saw this thread. I'll look forward to seeing if the other images spark more discussion.
Missing one photo...
Credit: http://www.pbase.com/ssmithx/photographer
Anyhow, it seems his Canon straps broke, so a Nikon rep gave him a few Nikon straps.
"So waht happens when he needs to call go to the bathroom?"
"He uses a remote release."
Amazing. Originally I thought that was the 1200mm on his back, an $80,000+ behemoth. Then I realized it was too small....
Lucky SOB....
Oh on the matter of the 1200....
Worth atleast $80,000. Current price unknown. 12 in existance. 2 for Sports Illustrated. 8 to private collectors. 2 unkown.
So let's see. Mark II. Good range of 'L' lenses. XL2 DV Cam.
Holy crap. Too much. House or lenses?
Ugh. Sticking to Nikon....
Although the Nikon 1200-1700 f/4 is so much cooler. So much more expensive though.
And bigger.
And people thought the thread about the plethora of Canons was cool...
From a post at DPREVIW.com
Well, I've enjoyed the commentary on what I thought was a pretty comical sight when I took the picture. Due to the popularity, I've gone back and posted more photos of the guy in a new gallery: http://www.pbase.com/ssmithx/photographer
To clarify for everyone:
- Not posed. I witnessed him in action for three days at the Ryder Cup... suprisingly (or not) looking exactly the same each day.
- All Canon equipment. Nikon straps on a few.
- Huge fan of duct tape. In fact, he had a roll of it hanging from a hook that was attached to his vest.
- All film. I watched him wrestle with cameras, tripods, and bags trying to change rolls of film and make notes on the canisters.
- A close up inspection of his badge confirms his name is Alex Jackson as one of the posts indicates.
- Clearly a known entity in the golf world. He was acknowledged by players and caddies alike. The fans even seemed to enjoy his presence.
- He seems to be a fan of Stena Line - note the hat and several stickers. I assumed it was related to his work, though Stena Line is a large ferry / shipping operation that travels Scandenavian and UK routes.
- If anyone has a link to this guys work, would love to see. He definitely works hard.
My thanks to vernix for posting a message for me at pbase explaining why my page views drastically increased over the past week. I couldn't figure it out until I saw this thread. I'll look forward to seeing if the other images spark more discussion.
Missing one photo...
Credit: http://www.pbase.com/ssmithx/photographer
Anyhow, it seems his Canon straps broke, so a Nikon rep gave him a few Nikon straps.
"So waht happens when he needs to call go to the bathroom?"
"He uses a remote release."
Amazing. Originally I thought that was the 1200mm on his back, an $80,000+ behemoth. Then I realized it was too small....
Lucky SOB....
Oh on the matter of the 1200....
My Glass Is Bigger Than Your Glass:
The Most Extreme Lens Available For The XL1
The Watchdog notes: I was very fortunate recently to have been invited to the Canon Imaging Center in Salt Lake City, Utah for the 2002 Winter Olympics. This facility is operated by Canon Professional Services as a courtesy to properly credentialed pro photographers, who may freely check out Canon digital still cameras, DV camcorders and the full array of Canon EOS still photography lenses. One day I was discussing the merits of Canon EOS lenses on the XL1S, and Dave Metz of CPS suggested trying out the "Big Guy" with the camcorder.
The "Big Guy" is Canon's largest EOS prime lens, a ridiculously huge 1200mm monstrosity. There are only about ten of these things in existence. Sports Illustrated owns two of them. Generally speaking you have to be a major corporation to even think about buying one, as they're individually hand milled in Japan to the tune of about USD$80,000 each. Knowing that I had a rare opportunity here, I thought I would take some photos for all of you to drool over.
We had to point this thing down the length of West 200th St. in Salt Lake City, towards the Wasatch Mountains several miles away, in order to see anything through it. Remember that the XL1 EOS adapter multiplies the focal length of any EOS lens by a factor of 7.2, so this 1200mm lens had an effective 35mm equivalent focal length in the neighborhood of 8640mm, which isn't a lens anymore, but a telescope.
Kevin Fogarty of Canon Professional Services reads the lower line of an optometrist's eye chart on an office wall about twenty blocks away. But seriously, you could actually see a license plate clearly on a car about a half-mile down the street. We did get the attention of some passing cops; not surprising since this rig looks like a bizarre kind of rocket launcher.
Now that's an outrageous amount of glass. The Canon 1200mm prime lens has an aperture of f/5.6; it soaks up a lot of light and needs a bright, sunny day to work well. It uses Canon's ultrasonic optical tecnology but does not have image stabilization. It does include its very own heavy-duty tripod. You don't mount this lens to a camera; instead, you mount a camera to this lens.
Canon technician Seiji Matsu****a observes life on a distant planet. Throwing aside all inhibitions, we've added a 2x extender, which you can see between the back end of the lens and the EOS adapter. This doubles the effective focal length to a 35mm equivalent of 17280mm, yes, there are five digits in that number, which of course is utterly insane.
Brian Matsumoto of Canon Professional Services demonstrates the bulk and heft of this gigantic lens. Check out the massive built-in handle. It weighs about forty pounds and has its own hardshell shipping case. Whenever I see this lens, it makes me think it's some moving part off of a battleship somewhere.
My thanks to the crew at the Canon Imaging Center for setting up this little experiment for the benefit of the Watchdog. I'm sure an XL1 has been married to the 1200mm lens before, but I've never seen it until now. Hope you enjoy these pics as much as I do!
The Most Extreme Lens Available For The XL1
The Watchdog notes: I was very fortunate recently to have been invited to the Canon Imaging Center in Salt Lake City, Utah for the 2002 Winter Olympics. This facility is operated by Canon Professional Services as a courtesy to properly credentialed pro photographers, who may freely check out Canon digital still cameras, DV camcorders and the full array of Canon EOS still photography lenses. One day I was discussing the merits of Canon EOS lenses on the XL1S, and Dave Metz of CPS suggested trying out the "Big Guy" with the camcorder.
The "Big Guy" is Canon's largest EOS prime lens, a ridiculously huge 1200mm monstrosity. There are only about ten of these things in existence. Sports Illustrated owns two of them. Generally speaking you have to be a major corporation to even think about buying one, as they're individually hand milled in Japan to the tune of about USD$80,000 each. Knowing that I had a rare opportunity here, I thought I would take some photos for all of you to drool over.
We had to point this thing down the length of West 200th St. in Salt Lake City, towards the Wasatch Mountains several miles away, in order to see anything through it. Remember that the XL1 EOS adapter multiplies the focal length of any EOS lens by a factor of 7.2, so this 1200mm lens had an effective 35mm equivalent focal length in the neighborhood of 8640mm, which isn't a lens anymore, but a telescope.
Kevin Fogarty of Canon Professional Services reads the lower line of an optometrist's eye chart on an office wall about twenty blocks away. But seriously, you could actually see a license plate clearly on a car about a half-mile down the street. We did get the attention of some passing cops; not surprising since this rig looks like a bizarre kind of rocket launcher.
Now that's an outrageous amount of glass. The Canon 1200mm prime lens has an aperture of f/5.6; it soaks up a lot of light and needs a bright, sunny day to work well. It uses Canon's ultrasonic optical tecnology but does not have image stabilization. It does include its very own heavy-duty tripod. You don't mount this lens to a camera; instead, you mount a camera to this lens.
Canon technician Seiji Matsu****a observes life on a distant planet. Throwing aside all inhibitions, we've added a 2x extender, which you can see between the back end of the lens and the EOS adapter. This doubles the effective focal length to a 35mm equivalent of 17280mm, yes, there are five digits in that number, which of course is utterly insane.
Brian Matsumoto of Canon Professional Services demonstrates the bulk and heft of this gigantic lens. Check out the massive built-in handle. It weighs about forty pounds and has its own hardshell shipping case. Whenever I see this lens, it makes me think it's some moving part off of a battleship somewhere.
My thanks to the crew at the Canon Imaging Center for setting up this little experiment for the benefit of the Watchdog. I'm sure an XL1 has been married to the 1200mm lens before, but I've never seen it until now. Hope you enjoy these pics as much as I do!
Worth atleast $80,000. Current price unknown. 12 in existance. 2 for Sports Illustrated. 8 to private collectors. 2 unkown.
So let's see. Mark II. Good range of 'L' lenses. XL2 DV Cam.
Holy crap. Too much. House or lenses?
Ugh. Sticking to Nikon....
Although the Nikon 1200-1700 f/4 is so much cooler. So much more expensive though.
And bigger.
And people thought the thread about the plethora of Canons was cool...
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