Birds 2015

[Pitter]

Sury those a great Bald Eagle photos. Post would look nice with a little space between the images.

[sury]

Pitter, Thank you and did as suggested.

Sury

[mikehawthorne]

a hawk in australia, near the key side darwin.

mike hawthorne

[jbtaylor]

Testing out the Tamron 150-600.
Lousy light and too few subjects.

[sury]

Mike and JB,
Nice shots. JB, if lousy light results in that image, I am seriously tempted.

From yesterday's outing. With A900 and 70-400G.

Crop



Crop of crop:
[url=https://flic.kr/p/rVT6bh]

[jbtaylor]

Thank you Sury. I think the lens is a keeper.
Nice detail in that crop.

[aster]

Nice shot with the Tamron, JBTaylor.

Sury, "the crop of the crop" is very promising; not too soft and in fact some nice details of the plummage of the bird as well as the water drops suspended in midair is neat to the eyes.

Thanks for sharing,

Yildiz

[sury]

Thank you Sury. I think the lens is a keeper.
Nice detail in that crop.

JB,
I think I am suddenly afflicted GAS/LL syndrome, especially after my recent outing
to shoot birds. Based on your image and Yildiz's comment about bird being not
too soft, the root cause has been identified as not having enough reach.
Therefore a 150-600 lens acquisition could cure GAS as well as temper LL for foreseeable
future.

How is that as a rationalization to present Missus for getting 150-600?

With best regards,
Sury
P.S. GAS = Gadget Acquisition Syndrome, LL = Lens Lust

[sury]

Nice shot with the Tamron, JBTaylor.

Sury, "the crop of the crop" is very promising; not too soft and in fact some nice details of the plummage of the bird as well as the water drops suspended in midair is neat to the eyes.

Thanks for sharing,

Yildiz

Thank you Yildiz for your kind words. Much appreciated.

Sury

[jbtaylor]

"How is that as a rationalization to present Missus for getting 150-600?"

Honesty is a great principle to live by. Waiting a few months to tell her you purchased it would not violate that principle.
Don't be fooled. I got pretty close to that bird. The dilemma of distance persists.

[sury]

Well, can't hide the purchase since she pays the bills.
I am certainly finding 400 a bit short on reach. I do have
Tammy 200-500 and A700. Perhaps getting A77/II with
24MP and putting Tammy on it might give me the reach.
More often than not, I am cropping my birds in flight
anyway.

See me land on the water:



Oops, sorry.




I can fly far better, see:

[mikeriach]

Sury,

One thing I will agree with is the ability to do pretty severe crops with the 70-400G. My trip to Japan also showed up the shortfall in focal length when using the Big G. It's amazing when I think back to the good old film days when the biggest lens I had was a 400mm Sigma and cropping meant an expensive enlargement.

I have explored the alternative by using the A77 but it reveals a few issues:
1. the noise characteristics of the crop sensor are a disappointment compared to the A99
2. ditto, the IQ is not quite as crisp and you cant just add sharpening to compensate due to 1.
3. I am not the steady hand I used to be so I challenge the SSS to and beyond the limit, upping the ISO takes me back to point 1.

My only concerns are that adding the Tamron or Sigma 150-600 will mean replicating the blurred images from the A77 to the A99.
Also the Sigma zoom ring operates in reverse to the Sony direction.
Oh the dilema.....

I keep thinking the worst, Nikon with the Tamron lens so I can gain from the Tamron VC system. BIG cost to change, not sure I want to take the leap.
The ultimate A mount option is to go for the Sigma 300 f2.8 plus 2X converter or the Sony equivalent, gives a f5.6 rather than a f6.3. Clearly the Sigma option is more cost effective though still much more than the 150-600 options but I don't know anyone with the combos.

Decisions, decisions.

Mike

PS I'll need a bigger bag!!

[Pitter]

My bird lens is a Canon 400 5.6. I would love more reach but I am unwilling to carry around more weight on my bird walks. Also do not want to depend on a tripod for clear shots.

[the_hefay]

Great shots Mike, JB, and Sury.

[jbtaylor]

"Well, can't hide the purchase since she pays the bills."

Therein lies the problem.
Good discussion about lens and cameras. I purchased the Tamron knowing that my birding activities would be restricted to bright days and that I would do most of my shooting at f 8.0. There are other uses for the lens but when one assumes that they have 5 or more years use, the cost doesn't seem so bad.