Geez it must be nice to have that kind of dough eh? What is that bad boy around $9k? Nothing like an unlimited budget. I'd be happy with the 500vr however.
traveler wrote:
Geez it must be nice to have that kind of dough eh? What is that bad boy around $9k? Nothing like an unlimited budget. I'd be happy with the 500vr however.
I had the Canon 500mm, but over here it's all about focal length. Birds are very shy overhere
Don't want to sound like an a$$, but those pictures are really poor
and prove nothing... I wish FM wasn't just another place to post "amazing"
or "great" to any average quality image postings...
snowboarder wrote:
Don't want to sound like an a$$, but those pictures are really poor
and prove nothing... I wish FM wasn't just another place to post "amazing"
or "great" to any average quality image postings...
You do sound like an a$$. He only just received the lens and went to take some pics and wanted to share his first day results.
Jesus, I thought he did exceptionally well with that combination including the fact he used a monopod and not a tripod.
I am grateful someone has actually given us a bit of results on such a brand new lens.
I think for your first attempt they work pretty well, but get a sturdy tripod and post when you get a chance. I would love to see a few shots with the 1.4 off a tripod around 1250 of a second and then judge sharpness. I just ordered the len's from calumet and with nps may be able to get it in a week or so according to my rep. If anyone is looking for a 500 afs v1 I will have it on the buy and sell soon.. Thanks for posting the shots...
Great work Chris, keep working on that long lens technique! It is special for me anyway, to see what the big Nikon lenses can do, so keep posting your shots. I have not seen too many 400mm, 500mm or 600mm Nikon shots, note that they are ubiquitous at the C forum.
Todd Adamson wrote:
Maybe a dumb question, but why the VR on such a huge lens? Don't we usually turn off VR when shooting from a tripod?
I would think in a dynamic enough situation the lens would be used on a monopod, in which case VR would provide some benefit. Also, VRII, which is what the 600VR has, can be used on a tripod, unlike the original VR.
jamach wrote:
Great work Chris, keep working on that long lens technique! It is special for me anyway, to see what the big Nikon lenses can do, so keep posting your shots. I have not seen too many 400mm, 500mm or 600mm Nikon shots, note that they are ubiquitous at the C forum.
Joe
You'll find plenty of them on the Nature & Wildlife forum where you need the most reach to get the shots you want.
- Ken
Andre- I have the 400mm f2.8 VR and use it with a TC just about all the time. So I'm out to 650mm f4.8 (and on a dx sensor that equates to like 975mm or something).
I use a monopod, carry the set up around like I would bear a cross! VR is real handy for static stuff like birds who have landed, or insect/flower tele-macro shots. For BIF or other moving shots I pretty much leave it off unless I forget. This month has been almost all bugs, so here's the link - http://www.pbase.com/azrichg/july_08
Trying to get any DOF with this combo is difficult at such short shooting distances, but with VR I can slow the SS down a whole lot and get my aperture up past 8 even with usable results. The only variable left is subject movement and wind which explains this shot-
that's the whole frame resized btw. 1/80th at f10 ISO 360. The shot before it is also f10.
So VR is a quick, but cheap, tripod in my world! Now that I think of it, I have my VR setting to normal, I wonder if with a Monopod it's better to have it on 'tripod?'
Thanks Ken, let me rephrase the statement and also let's see some of your pictures- Great work Chris, keep working on that long lens technique! It is special for me anyway, to see what the big Nikon lenses can do, and look at those pictures in this forum, so keep posting your shots. I have not seen too many 400mm, 500mm or 600mm Nikon shots posted in this forum, note that they are ubiquitous at the Nature and Wildlife forum, but that is mostly a Canon forum.
Pixel Perfect wrote:
It's not trivial to get sharp images at such long FL and takes a practice to get the technique right, something I'm still learning. I'd say the softness is nothing to do with the TC - these superteles really work wonderfully with a TC, even a 2x IMO and I'm sure the Nikon's are as good as the Canon's in this regard.
Here's two shots taken @ 1000mm = 500 + 2x on my old 1D II. I used a sturdy tripod, and wimberley gimbal head and had IS off (I tried both)
Pixel Perfect -- Those look great. I too shoot with the 500/4IS and 600/4IS with a Mk3, and the results are really fantastic all the time. I must admit to having (had) some lust for the new Nikon VR supertele's (switching), but after seeing this and other postings I'm glad to be in the C camp... Just my opinion.
I know Chris on a personal basis and have seen his wonderful images using the C word. I would say that it is a matter time and practice of getting used to a new setup and brand new long lens. Before too long, he will be able to crank out great shots again with the N word.
Todd Adamson wrote:
But would anyone actually hand-hold with that lens??
Yes. I can point to aviation (ground-to-air in particular) as an area where hand-holding is almost the only way to use a lens. And I have at least one friend (world-class shooter) who handholds Canon's 600 and their new 800 for extended periods of time without a problem.
If you care enough about something, you'll build up the requisite strength and stamina. I remember when I first moved to a 70-200, thinking it was long, heavy, and awkward. Later, of course, it became a non-issue. I do have trouble handholding my 200-400 for extended periods of time, but mostly because I'm not getting enough exercise and photo practice.
AGeoJO wrote:
I know Chris on a personal basis and have seen his wonderful images using the C word. I would say that it is a matter time and practice of getting used to a new setup and brand new long lens. Before too long, he will be able to crank out great shots again with the N word.
Thanks for the support Joshua. It's more difficult to handle the 600 than with the 500. It will take some time but I'll manage. There're always people who want to have a laugh about others and have nothing important to contribute.