I am using Tramadol for pain relief. Once the powerful stuff in me that was left over from the surgery began to wear off, I have had a bit of pain, especially when standing up or sitting down (as is expected from inguinal hernia surgery). I slept only about 3 or four hours on Thursday night but caught up during the day on Friday taking many long drowsy naps, again as expected. All in all I am feeling pretty good. I did many hours of work on the Used Gear Page and am almost caught up …<\/p>\n
I sold Anita North’s 1DX Mark II in excellent plus condition with extras and 247,000 shutter actuations for $3399 before it was even listed. (Anita is way trigger-happy but the 1DX II shutter is rated to 800,000 actuations.)<\/p>\n
Today makes two hundred sixty-five days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took two hours to prepare including the time spent on the image optimization. With all of my upcoming free time (or not…), the plan right now is to try to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health<\/em><\/strong> and good internet connections and my continuing insanity willing.<\/p>\n If you have rain gear (top and bottom) that you love, that is rugged, that is not rubberized, and that actually keeps you dry even when sitting in a puddle, please do share. And please be specific. A link is fine. <\/p>\n With the injured shoulder, the recently concluded DeSoto IPT, and the hernia surgery, I have gotten more than a bit behind on e-mails, especially some Used Gear Sales business. Many thanks for your patience. I will have lots of time to rest for the next week and will be catching up. <\/p>\n I use and depend on two Samsonite 29″ Spinners<\/a> for my world travels; they usually go at 49 1\/2 pounds each … Put them back to back with the handles pulled out and you can push or pull them anywhere with a fairly smooth surface. That leaves one hand free to pull your Think Tank Roller (the larger AIRPORT SECURITY™ V3.0 or the slightly smaller AIRPORT INTERNATIONAL™ V3.0 — I own both, the Security for maximum loads or the International when traveling light). The roomy and amazing Think Tank URBAN DISGUISE\u00ae 60 CLASSIC (V3.0) shoulder bag has a sleeve on it that slides onto the extended handle of your carry-on roller. Click here<\/a> to order your Think Tank stuff and receive a free gift. <\/p>\n The Samsonite Spinners are available in three colors. Click here<\/a> to order your pair from Amazon. Or click on this link<\/a> for lots more spinner options. <\/p>\n I have been saying this for a while: after many years in the business of brokering used gear sales, one pattern that I have seen is that most Nikon folks think that there stuff is worth a lot more than it actually is. That especially with regard to the sale of the older 600mm lenses, some of which weigh in the 12-14 pound range. If you can shed any light as to why this might be the case, I’d love to hear from you. <\/p>\n Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here<\/a> or shoot us an e-mail<\/a><\/center> with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D and 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. You can always see the current listings by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page. <\/p>\n Ron Gates is offering a Canon EF 70-200mm f\/2.8 L IS USM lens (the original version) in excellent condition for $899.00. There are a few nicks on the tripod collar. The sales includes the front and rears lens covers, the tough fabric zippered case, and insured ground shipping via major courier. <\/p>\n Please contact Ron via e-mail<\/a> or by phone at 972-890-4105 (Central time.)<\/p>\n I owned and used this lens, the original IS version of the incredibly versatile 70-200 for birds and wildlife and landscapes and Urbex for many years with both teleconverters. It was great indoors for events like granddaughter Maya\u2019s dance recitals. A new copy of the 70-200 II currently sells for $1,949 so you can save a small fortune by grabbing Ron\u2019s lens. <\/em> artie <\/p>\n Ron Gates is also offering a Canon EOS-1D X in near-mint condition for $2499. The sale includes the original box and everything that came in it and insured ground shipping via major courier. <\/p>\n Please contact Ron via e-mail<\/a> or by phone at 972-890-4105 (Central time.)<\/p>\n Two 1DX bodies served admirably as my workhorse digital camera bodies for several years when I was using Canon gear. The original 1DX has a superb AF system and produces high quality image files. It is fabulous for photographing birds in flight and in action. Some folks wish that they had kept there 1DX bodies and not upgraded to the 1DX Mark II. <\/em> artie <\/p>\n Ron Gates is also offering a Canon EOS 7D in near-mint condition for $350. The sale includes the strap, the front body cap, the battery charger, the instruction manuals, and insured ground shipping via major courier. <\/p>\n Please contact Ron via e-mail<\/a> or by phone at 972-890-4105 (Central time.)<\/p>\n Ron’s used Canon EOS 7D would make a great and inexpensive starter camera body for anyone wishing to explore the possibilities of digital photography.<\/em> artie <\/p>\n Ron Gates is also offering a MT-24EX Macro Twin Lite in excellent condition for $499. The sale includes the original box, the instruction manual, and insured ground shipping via major courier. <\/p>\n Please contact Ron via e-mail<\/a> or by phone at 972-890-4105 (Central time.)<\/p>\n I owned and used my Macro Twin Lite with my Canon 180mm macro lens for years. <\/em> artie <\/p>\n #1: I have been surprised that the items listed below did not sell quickly. <\/p>\n #2: I have been fairly criticized at times for encouraging folks to price their gear too low. That often when several items sell on the first day of listing …<\/p>\n #3: But many of you may not know that I almost always suggest a range of prices and give folks the final say. What often happens is that when the pick the higher price the stuff does not sell … And most of the time when they go with the lower price the stuff sells very quickly. I have learned that there is a very fine line. That said, there have been rare times when the seller opted for the highest price and the item sold quickly. In those cases I love to apologize for being wrong.<\/p>\n Price reduced $100 on April 20, 2018!<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n Steve Ellis is offering a used Nikkor 28-300mm 3.5-5.6 G ED VR lens in excellent condition for $499 (was $599). The lens has some very minor wear on the finish. The sale includes the original box, soft case, manual, lens hood, front and rear lens caps, and insured shipping via UPS Ground to US addresses only. Personal checks only; the lens will be shipped only after your check clears. <\/p>\n Contact Steve via e-mail<\/a><\/center> or call him at 1-203-247-4912 (Eastern time zone).<\/p>\n The 28-300 focal length range makes this lens very versatile. It is a great travel and B roll lens and a great lens to have at Bosque. It sells new at B&H for $964.95.<\/em> artie<\/p>\n Price reduced $100 on April 20, 2018<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n Margaret Page is offering a Tamron\u00a0SP 150-600mm f\/5-6.3 Di VC USD lens for Canon in like-new condition (used only once) for the ridiculously low price of $599 (was $699). The sale includes the lens hood, the soft case, the front and rear caps, the instruction sheet, the original box are included, and insured ground shipping via UPS. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.<\/p>\n Please contact Margaret via e-mail<\/a> or by phone at 706-761-5555 (Eastern time).<\/p>\n Several folks on IPTs have used this lens and made lots of sharp images. A telling factor is that there are no used copies of this lens available on eBay or in the B&H Used Gear listings.<\/em> artie<\/p>\n These two images were created on the 2nd San Diego IPT on the morning of January 31 at La Jolla, CA with the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f\/5.6E ED VR lens<\/a> (at 500mm) and the mega mega-pixel Nikon D850 DSLR.<\/a>. ISO 400. Matrix metering -2\/3 stop. One to the left and one up from the center Group (grp)\/Shutter Button\/Continuos (AI Servo in Canon) AF was active at the moment of exposure. In each image the upper AF point in the array just below and in front of the bird’s eye. Clicking on the image for a larger version will make it easier to compare. <\/p>\nRain Gear Help Needed<\/h3>\n
Thanks to the Patient<\/h3>\n
Samsonite 29″ Spinner Luggage<\/h3>\n
Dark-siders: Please Do Not Take This Personally<\/h3>\n
Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART<\/h3>\n
New Listings<\/h3>\n
Canon EF 70-200mm f\/2.8 L IS USM Lens<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Canon EOS-1D X<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Canon EOS 7D<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Canon MT-24EX Macro Twin Lite<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Some Used Gear Comments<\/h3>\n
Price Reductions!<\/h3>\n
Nikkor 28-300mm 3.5-5.6 G ED VR Lens<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Tamron SP 150-600 f\/5.6-6.5 Di VC USD<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\nImage 5001: 1\/2500 sec. at f\/6.3. Image 5013: 1\/2000 sec. at f\/7.1. Both in Manual mode. AUTO0 WB at 10:20am on a clear day. <\/p>\nBrandt’s Cormorant, gular panting<\/strong><\/h2>\n