It was clear enough in Melbourne, just a little cloud near the horizon. First up I tried the SMCT 500/4.5 and 1.7AF TC which filled about half the frame vertically. I took quite a few shots to establish whether I needed to stop down at all and then popped inside to download. The results were fairly poor, as if it wasn't quite focused correctly. I had turned the AF off, but suspected that the TC wasn't quite right. I then ditched the TC and used the self timer to try and reduce vibration. Those results were much better so I decided to give the TC another go. This time I used the 500 wide open and left the AF on. The TC would hunt to the close end of its range then back to infinity and lock on. The results this time around were much better. I tended to underexpose and probably should have just used my spotmeter to get the right exposure. Anyway once I had set the white point and grey point in photoshop I was very happy with the result. I'll have to get an 8x10 done to see what it looks like "for real" but as a stock shot for later inclusion it is more than good enough.
FWIW, I was shooting from my driveway (compacted gravel) using a Berlebach tripod and a Manfrotto 029 head, so vibration from non-camera sources should have been at a minimum. Paul Ewins Melbourne, Australia
