Well, the 400mm f/3.5 is ordered and currently being shipped so I decided to go out today for some practice with the closest semblance I could muster. I slapped the TC-20E onto the 70-200mm, switched off the VR and autofocus and away I went to the gulf.
How hard can it be to manually focus on birds in flight while keeping steady enough to get great shots, right?
It's pretty damned tough. I did a great job of flunking out on it this afternoon, though it was my first attempt.
I got a few decent stills but this is going to take some work. Perhaps I'll find my groove once the lens arrives.
The 70-200mm has spoiled me for the last couple months with handheld shots, switching off the VR (particularly with the TC at 400mm) was a wake-up call.
The 400/3.5 finally made it yesterday. I took it out after work to the intercoastal but couldn't find much wildlife. Perhaps the birds melted, it was extremely hot so I hung it up and headed for the bar in search of refreshments.
Today I visited the Venice Rookery and another local reserve. The reserve was a bust, I hiked around there for about two hours and found nothing but heat and insects who seemed intent upon flying into my eyes. One thing I found particularly interesting upon that trek though was that this lens gets extremely heavy after hiking a couple miles.
After leaving the reserve I headed for the rookery and actually got a few shots. It's been a few months since I've had a really good prime and I forgot how great they are for shooting wide open, stopping down is not required with this tank. Many have said that it is front heavy and it is but mated with a D2H it seems perfectly balanced. There are some metering quirks but I'm getting the hang of it.
I've become quite fond of this lens in the short time that I've owned it. I still have quite a few OF files that get thrown out but with practice I'm thinking that most will be keepers. I like the challenge and the glass is certainly up to the task.
You are entirely correct, the difference between focusing the 70-200 and 400mm is huge. The damping seems similar but the range is completely different.
Looks like you have done very well in training camp and are ready for the season to start. Very nice images. You're not sleeping with this lens under your pillow now are you?
These are great shots!