Camera Labs

Hi All,
It's coming up to the point to where the Spring Gobbler season is about a month and a half away here in PA and I'm getting ready to go hunting that illustrious gobbler once again. Only this year I am wanting to take my D90 and attempt to get a shot of the turkey or turkeys around my decoy. What I am wondering is since the wild turkeys all have excellent eyesight and if the slightest thing seems out of place they won't come in to the decoy. I need a way to cut down on the glare from my lens and to possibly camouflage my camera in any way. I thought of using camo duct tape, but I am a little leery of doing that because of the residue and the stickiness that it leaves behind. What I am planning on doing is setting up my decoy and then having my D90 set up on a tripod probably about 10 ft away from me but about 60 feet away from the decoy outside of the line of fire so that there is no possible way of shooting my camera. I am planning on having it set to action scene mode and triggering it with my remote to capture the actual shot or quite possibly get a picture or two of something similar that I had happen to me a few years ago while I was turkey hunting with my uncle calling in a gobbler for him. We had a hen come in and jump up and spur our decoy a few times. Please don't lecture me on leaving my camera set up in the spot if I'm not there I am not a child to where I need reminded not to do that.
Gunner out

Hey Gunner...

Have a peek here....think these will fit the bill

http://www.lenscoat.com/nikon-covers-c-1.html

I hope your AF is alot quieter than mine.
We raised a few Gobblers at my home...we don't have them wild here.
One cagey bird thats for sure.

_________________
Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-55mm,Pentax 50-200mm,Sigma 17-70mm,Sigma 70-300mm, Sigma 50-500mm

kpr,
Thanks that is a great idea, and I will definitely look into doing that.
Gunner out

lol at camouflage teles

In my MUCH younger days I trained as a sniper, and we used to hide the glare from the front of the sight by draping a green scrim scarf over it. This is a net of threads about 1mm thick which is arranged in a square pattern which are about 7-8mm apart.

When close to the front element they don't affect the view much at all, though obviously a little less light will get through. Get a couple metre squared of the stuff and drape over your head and shoulders as well as the camera and you'll also break up the obvious outline of head and shoulders too. Happy hunting!

_________________

Canon EOS 50D/EF-S 18-55mm IS/EF-S 55250mm IS/EF 50mm F1.8 II /Lowepro AW Slingshot 200/ Digital Ixus 860 IS

PC>Q6700/MSI P45 Zilent/6GB 800mhz DDR2/2x 4870 1GB/Samsung Spinpoint F1 500GB/Maxtor 200GB+80GB


My Flickr

That's a great tip Mike, but it will also reduce contrast a little. Something to keep in mind for postprocessing

_________________
I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

Thats true, but should definately be correctable. Put it this way, there was enough contrast to get a headshot at 300m and a one round kill at 600m, LOL!

_________________

Canon EOS 50D/EF-S 18-55mm IS/EF-S 55250mm IS/EF 50mm F1.8 II /Lowepro AW Slingshot 200/ Digital Ixus 860 IS

PC>Q6700/MSI P45 Zilent/6GB 800mhz DDR2/2x 4870 1GB/Samsung Spinpoint F1 500GB/Maxtor 200GB+80GB


My Flickr

just recieved a lens coat for my 100-400 so I agree with what kpr said.. these things are cool.. only thing is it takes a while to get used to the feel of the lens after you put it on... I'm still trying. It also keeps it warmer so your hands dont get quite as cold quite as fast.... and I would imagine it will insulate the lens a "tiny" bit as well on really cold days.

A positive for the company.... my first one got lost in the mail.. I opted for the cheapest shipping so no tracking was available... and they sent me a second one without any questions.... they offered before I even asked.

Also wrote a suggestion to think tank and suggested to them to make a version of their hydrophobia 70-200 with a camo pattern... gonna take mine to a local painter to paint a camo pattern on it for me with a paint that wont wear off too easy.

_________________
Canon 7D + 50D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM + EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Pelican // Black Rapid // Think Tank // Manfrotto // Garmin

Reflections On Canadian Wildlife
My Flickr

Swonkie...

I've chased a few critters and I can tell you the camo certainly makes a world of differance.
When I raise my black cam with 500mm attached black bears take notice.
On the odd occasion I'm not wearing a hat of some sort and attempting to sneak on a whitetail with my white/grey hair,I'm picked off in seconds.
I can only imagine lifting a cam with a large white lens attached about the same dimensions of a deer's tail that signals alarm to them.

I didn't really buy into the theory that camo would be an asset for critters til I experienced it myself.

IT WORKS!

_________________
Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-55mm,Pentax 50-200mm,Sigma 17-70mm,Sigma 70-300mm, Sigma 50-500mm

In BC, the wilds run after you. I was playing in the Pitt Meadow area and we couldn't get the Deer of the tee off. Yelling, screaming, making fast and large movement. They wanted their grass and they were going to get it.Heck on the 10th hole, a black bear was sitting and watching people tee off. We have coyote crossing fairways, Lynx coming to rural area. No need for a camo. You actually need some pepper spray

_________________
Canon T2i (550D)- Tamron 17-50 F2.8 Non-VC, Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM, Canon EF-S 55-250mm F4.5-F5.6
http://www.astronomyphotography.com

LOL out here everything gets shot at hunting season or not.... cant get within 50 meters of a coyote on a good day. deer, ducks, bears, moose and everything else the same thing.... latest thing up here is teens terrorizing moose in 4X4s out of thickets and chasing them all over the place... still got a bounty on coyotes so they are open game any time... farmers hate ducks in their fields so they are constantly taking pot shots at them, gophers/ground squirrels mess up farmers fields according to the farmers so its a weekend pass-time around here shooting them... and then they wonder why the raptor population is declining ... without camo gear and/or a blind up here you're gonna be out of luck more often than not. Even then its still hard to get shots at a close range outside of the city limits and away from urban wildlife. I'm lucky enough to know some farmers/landowners here who let me set up blinds for the summer.... I also put out cash bounties to anyone who can put me on certain species like raptors on nests with young, lynx, coyotes with active dens, and a few other things for good photos. 2 reasons for this... maybe if I pay a few ppl they will actually leave the animals alone.. especially when they have babies... and also cause its basically the same thing eco-tourists do when they "hire" a company to put them onto wildlife... raising awareness goes a long way.. even with farmers when they can get a few hundred dollars from me for leaving a coyote alone and guiding me to them in their natural environ instead of a $25.00 bounty for its paws. Dont get many taking me up on it.. only 2 last summer but to me even one is worth the effort....

_________________
Canon 7D + 50D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM + EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Pelican // Black Rapid // Think Tank // Manfrotto // Garmin

Reflections On Canadian Wildlife
My Flickr

If you’re planning on using a tripod and a remote shutter release maybe you could just drape some camo cloth over the camera and tripod. You could try cutting a hole in the cloth big enough for you lens hood and using an elastic band around the hood to hold the material in place. The corners would have to be either pegged to the ground or attached to the tripod legs in some manner to keep the cloth in place.

Sorry, I have an idea in my head but I’m having a hard time explaining it.

_________________
Nikon D7000, Nikkor AF-S DX 18-55MM f/3.5-5.6G VR, Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8D, Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4 IF-ED, NIKKOR TC-14E II

flickr