OwlsEyes wrote:
Thank you very much. I agree with your sentiments about the Topaz Ai products. They have allowed me to shoot my D500's at iso's that I would have never used in the past. I have discovered that one needs to play with the Ai Clear settings in the DeNoise program, as this often produces a nicer image at high iso than does the standard denoise algorithm.
I am hoping to do some bear photography at the end of the month (if our state social distancing orders allow), this area often has very poor light. I will definitely be leveraging the Topaz DeNoise Ai, as tripods are not very usable in the area I am intending to go.
I can't wait to see your bear images. One can only wish, from down here in south. One of my colleagues lives in Chaska & has a cabin the woods somewhere along the MN/WI border. He's taken some incredible wildlife photos with the very least of gear. I'd love to visit.
I agree with you as well, on the AI Clear vs. Denoise AI processing engines. Until very recently, AI Clear has been superior for at processing the Z body files - at least for me. Denoise 1.3.3 seems to be getting close. I'm not totally comfy with Denoise 2.x yet. I've read some have discovered that the 2x version is just way too aggressive with sharpening and simply backing it down works. However, 1.3.3 & AI Clear are still working for me.
EyeSpyEagle wrote:
I can't wait to see your bear images. One can only wish, from down here in south. One of my colleagues lives in Chaska & has a cabin the woods somewhere along the MN/WI border. He's taken some incredible wildlife photos with the very least of gear. I'd love to visit.
I agree with you as well, on the AI Clear vs. Denoise AI processing engines. Until very recently, AI Clear has been superior for at processing the Z body files - at least for me. Denoise 1.3.3 seems to be getting close. I'm not totally comfy with Denoise 2.x yet. I've read some have discovered that the 2x version is just way too aggressive with sharpening and simply backing it down works. However, 1.3.3 & AI Clear are still working for me.
Hey Phil,
I live along the St. Croix River 30 miles from the cities. Wisconsin claims the east river bank, and MN claims the west. Our community is a tourist spot for locals and out of state visitors. The St. Croix is one of the most pristine rivers in the country... The river valley offers me near infinite photo ops when I'm not on the road or abroad.
I missed lots of good shots because I was very close to the flying bird. When I used the 200-500, if I get too close I can zoom out quickly. Then I ran out of battery
The weight and sharpness are good. I could carry it all day with no problem.
Still building experience.
Omar
d-500 nikon f/5.6 500 mm pf --- f/8 ss 1/1250 ec +2 iso 640
I think auto area AF is best used with sufficiently small aperture that the subject is fully within the depth of field. I may be imagining it but it seems to react to movement so that e.g. a moving part of the scene is more likely to be focused on. If I photograph pairs of skaters, it tends to focus on one of them and then alternate between the two.
In the D6, the user can choose a starting point also in auto-area AF, and choose to prioritise the eyes. However, it is most likely to be programmed for human eyes, not wildlife. I would expect these features to find themselves in D850 and D500 successors.
This is technology that will continue to be development and over time get better. I think guaranteed focus on an animal's eye is some time away, though. Different animals have different eyes and teaching an algorithm to always work no matter which species would be challenging. In an out-of-focus subject, the eye might not even be recognizable (or the species) and some hunting might be needed to collect enough image data to recognize the eye and focus on it.
Wow is it getting harder to be at the pond by sunrise. The mix of a 20 minute drive and 20 minute hike has me up at 4:00 and on the trail by 5:15 or so. Regardless, I prefer to shoot the mornings because of the dramatic light and reduced chance of seeing anyone else in this little forest.
What follows is my mix from mid-spring morning in Minnesota.
The 500PF never ceases to amaze. When you don't need to stop down even with a TC, that's the sign of truly great glass. The Z7+500PF+TC14EIII is a compact & powerful combo, and with the flip of a switch I can record quality 4k video to boot.
There's really nothing else on the market quite like it.
Gary Irwin wrote:
The 500PF never ceases to amaze. When you don't need to stop down even with a TC, that's the sign of truly great glass. The Z7+500PF+TC14EII is a compact & powerful combo, and with the flip of a switch I can record quality 4k video to boot.
There's really nothing else on the market quite like it.
I am really amazed by the details in this photo (specially with a converter).
So far I am using the 500mm pf with the d500. After gaining enough experience I will try it with the z7
never occurred to me to record the video whilst shooting stills.
Gary Irwin wrote:
The 500PF never ceases to amaze. When you don't need to stop down even with a TC, that's the sign of truly great glass. The Z7+500PF+TC14EII is a compact & powerful combo, and with the flip of a switch I can record quality 4k video to boot.
There's really nothing else on the market quite like it.
Camera
Nikon NIKON D500
Lens
AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR
Focal Length
500.0 mm (750.0 mm in 35mm)
Aperture
f/5.6
Exposure Time
0.00125s (1/800)
ISO
4000
Camera
Nikon NIKON D850
Lens
AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR
Focal Length
700.0 mm (700.0 mm in 35mm)
Aperture
f/8
Exposure Time
0.0004s (1/2500)
ISO
560
NissanPatrol wrote:
I am still building experience for the combination of d-500 with the f/5.6 500mm pf
It looks like if I take a burst with the VR on normal, the first shot is better than the following.
If the VR is off, all shots ok
not conclusive as I said still playing with it as there are many variables.
Omar
That is probably because VR will cause the viewfinder to jump, if you are on AFC that means it will focus on the wrong thing as the focus point moves off your subject. A lot of people who use the lens leave it on sport and have no issues.
NissanPatrol wrote:
I am still building experience for the combination of d-500 with the f/5.6 500mm pf
It looks like if I take a burst with the VR on normal, the first shot is better than the following.
If the VR is off, all shots ok
not conclusive as I said still playing with it as there are many variables.
Omar
FWIW, it's been my experience that Sport Mode VR works better on DSLR's.
After reading that someone noticed Normal Mode VR worked well on the Z Bodies, I tried it on my Z50 & Z6 and I agree that it seems to work "as expected" on the Z's. If I'm shooting with a D500 or D850, it's set to Sport Mode. At least that's what works "for me".
