Got tired of seeing others' wonderful hummingbird pics. I have never been able to shoot one before. Each time I try to use my camera near them, they run away. Well, today I got a bit more luck, tho nothing at the level of others' shots. I was using my Leica R 280/4 apo with a 1.4x extender. Yes, manual focus, but I used TAP on my A7rii. It is SLOW to acquire focus, but heck, I figured I would have a better chance with TAP than without. I know I should probably buy the new Sony 100-400 and an A9 if I really want to do this sort of thing, but I am waiting, and I do love this old Leica lens! Here are couple of grabs (heavy crops):
Sony ILCE-7RM2 + Leica APO-Telyt-R 280/4 @ ISO 2500, f/4, EXPOSURE TIME 0.0005s (1/2000), manual focus.
But I have to admit, I am getting more keepers with A9 and FE 100-400.
I have discovered I need to get closer and work on them getting used to me. Only two problems: First getting closer exacerbates focusing difficulties. Second, I have to go to work tomorrow! ☹️
How do you like the 100-400 compared to the Leica 280? I assume the Leica is sharper corner to corner and better corrected, but I assume the 100-400 has way better autofocus.....
Luvwine wrote:
I have discovered I need to get closer and work on them getting used to me. Only two problems: First getting closer exacerbates focusing difficulties. Second, I have to go to work tomorrow! ☹️
How do you like the 100-400 compared to the Leica 280? I assume the Leica is sharper corner to corner and better corrected, but I assume the 100-400 has way better autofocus.....
Thanks Stephen.
I have not done a detailed comparison.
However, I find both lenses stunning in their own right, complementary and use both.
The Leica 280/4 with the A7rII, the FE 100-400 only with the A9 for HIFs and other BIFs.
Focusing of my A7rII and a6300 are simply not fast enough for me with the FE 100-400 for fast action scenes.
Getting close, in fact very close to hummers is the key.
No sudden movements on my part either when they show up, otherwise they get spooked.
I probably got my best shots within a foot or two of distance before I got the FE 100-400.
Here are some images, shot with A9 and FE 90f2.8 MACRO G OSS.
Some photos from around Blue Ridge, Georgia. Didn't have a tripod but attempted some photos of a waterfall. Definitely, want to go back again with a tripod. Hopefully took care of all the sensor dust, have some swabs on the way.
AGeoJO wrote:
Lovely images of your daughter, Derek! In 10 years or so, you will have to deal with boys that show interest in her . I hope you understand that I didn't mean it in a bad way and consider this as a compliment.
thanks – i must say i'm not looking forward to that, or many other aspects of having 14 years of teenagers in the house.
Lone Tree at Stone Mountain. Nothing like a mile hike straight up to get the heart rate up. It was quite windy up here so I cranked up the ISO to 800. I also used a relatively wide aperture at f4 to help isolate the tree.
AGeoJO wrote:
Lovely images of your daughter, Derek! In 10 years or so, you will have to deal with boys that show interest in her . I hope you understand that I didn't mean it in a bad way and consider this as a compliment.
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Another image from a session late last year where I used the FE 70-200mm GM lens quite a bit. I just went back and still found a lot of images I need to work on and this is one of them at 200mm and at f/2.8.
Joshua - perfect color balance and skin tone in this shot! Well done.
