I recently purchased an Ameristep Doghouse Ground Blind, together with a matching Snow Tangle cover, and today I decided to try it out at the mountain pond at Azamidani. First impressions were that the blind was very easy to put up, and only slightly more difficult to put down and fold away. Today turned out to be a pretty good field test, as a storm hit the mountain mid-morning. Azamidai is pretty sheltered, so I hadn’t bothered securing the blind at all – it was just free-standing. No problems, though. Also, although it was not waterproof, no water was dripping inside, just trickling down the inside walls. I guess a few cans of scotchguard and some seam sealant would go a long way to making the blind fairly weatherproof.

So, how about photography from the blind? Fantastic! There are 3 sides with windows, plus a rear door. Each window consists of a large window which incorporates a smaller window. If you unzip the large section, there is plenty of viewing space for up to 3 people (sitting in a U), but it has no camo mesh, so you need to get some to cover it. The smaller window, however, does have camo mesh which is velcro-fastened. For photographic purposes, I only opened the small window and I removed the camo mesh screen. I positioned the lens hood end in line with the window, so I was sitting back towards the rear of the blind. The small window is like an inverted “U”, which is perfect if you want to use a camera-mounted flash unit. Today’s setup was the 7D, 300/2.8, 1.4x TC, camera-mounted 580EX Speedlite, all sitting atop a Gitzo 3531 Mountaineer tripod. I had a good field of view – just enough to cover the pond and some surrounding vegetation. I guess it would be simple to use my existing camo scrim to completely conceal everything but the camera lens, but I was so deep back in the blind that I think I was effectively invisible to the birds (I had all other windows and the rear door closed, so very dark inside). Indeed the birds didn’t notice me – but I was so close that they could hear the AF! The birds were literally just a few meters away, and they acted very freely.

In summary, if you want a fairly cheap blind that is great for photography as well as wildlife viewing, the Doghouse is a pretty good choice. The only real negatives are lack of screens for the large windows and, in particular, the rear door. Other than that, no worries! I also think that if you are photographing anything more than 6 meters away, it would have no idea you were in the blind even if the camo mesh on the smaller windows was down, meaning you could position the camera with lens protruding from the window, thus have greater field of view (for panning, for example). Conversely, if you were watching for a particular bird or animal to appear at a certain spot and did not need a wide field of view, you could position the tripod in the centre of the blind and have it and yourself completely invisible while maintaining excellent vision of the target area – you could also have the large window open!

My next few posts will feature photographs taken this morning from within the blind!

I thought I would post something about the new Canon EOS 7D, as I had a long time deciding on what to upgrade to from my trusty old 20D. At first I was going to buy a 5D MkII, but then baulked after reading reviews that listed its lag time and AF performance as negatives. I then started thinking about the new 1d MkIV. However, I really wanted a nice big piece of glass as well, as so my budget would not allow for either of the “pro” bodies if I wanted a super tele. So I took a closer look at the 7D. The thing that sold me on it (apart from the huge price savings) was its AF performance and speed. Although some initial users of the 7D reported Ai Servo focusing issues, the overall impression that the AF system was much better than that on any existing Canon body, apart from (perhaps) the 1D series. With the money saved, I could also buy the 300/2.8 I had been dreaming of!

So I went ahead and bought one. And I have to say that it is a great camera! I am very happy with it and impressed by its performance, build and responsiveness. I will post some photos that prove its Ai Servo AF ability, but take it from me that there is no issue with the AF that I can see – much better than anything Canon has offered the serious semi-pro photographer before. And 8fps is amazing and sounds like a (quiet) machine gun!

So if you are on the fence like I was, I would say go for the 7D and use the money saved to buy some decent glass. In my situation, I will probably get the 5D MkIII when it is released as my landscape & travel body (as long as Canon has addressed the current shortfalls), but for wildlife and BIF in particular, the 7D will serve me well for many years to come!