RFisher wrote:
arbitrage are we still in a hold pattern for a Commlite update and the Nikon 500 PF?
my a9 and 300PF are outstanding
perhaps Sony will surprise us soon
I have the Commlite....I'm not thrilled with it....it is pretty good on the 300PF and 200-500...I tried today with the 500FL and it is terrible....I had to MF to almost perfect before any green squares would light up during AF. But even on the 300PF it is not the same as using the MC-11 with 400DOII...that combo is very close to native....it nailed a couple in focus shots of blackbirds IF today with the 1.4TC attached.....
I still have 500PF on order....still haven't decided if I want it or not...every couple days I change my mind....
MedicineMan404 wrote:
The a9+300PF was the amazing combo I was speaking of. I'd add the a9+400DOii as 98% amazing.
Problem is the 400DOii is now getting heavy for me I had to use a monopod the other day
Robert, I have been using a monopod or even a tripod for quite sometime. To make things worse, my left arm suffers from tendonits last week during a photoshoot. It seems that handling not even holding heavy long lenses is very limitied in my photography future . I am afraid that I will have to give up the bird/wildlife end of my photography before too long. Tough to be old...
arbitrage wrote:
I have the Commlite....I'm not thrilled with it....it is pretty good on the 300PF and 200-500...I tried today with the 500FL and it is terrible....I had to MF to almost perfect before any green squares would light up during AF. But even on the 300PF it is not the same as using the MC-11 with 400DOII...that combo is very close to native....it nailed a couple in focus shots of blackbirds IF today with the 1.4TC attached.....
I still have 500PF on order....still haven't decided if I want it or not...every couple days I change my mind....
Jeff, that’s you 400mm DO Mark II on MC-11, I assume? What 1.4X TC did you use for those shots? Canon Mark III or Sigma TC-1401?
arbitrage wrote:
Yes it is the 400DOII and it was the Canon 1.4TCIII.
Geoff, sorry, for whatever reasons, I spelled your name incorrectly.
BTW, before the FW upgrade for the MC-11, I noticed the Canon 1.4X TC wasn’t up to snuff. Did you notice any improvement after the FW upgrade, even the with the Canon TC? Thanks!
AGeoJO wrote:
Geoff, sorry, for whatever reasons, I spelled your name incorrectly.
BTW, before the FW upgrade for the MC-11, I noticed the Canon 1.4X TC wasn’t up to snuff. Did you notice any improvement after the FW upgrade, even the with the Canon TC? Thanks!
My testing yesterday before and after the FW was with the 1.4TC on the lens so in that way yes there was improvement. The 2xTC struggles more but I can still shoot things with it. However, I've never owned the Sigma TCs so don't have any idea how they compare to my Canon ones. Overall I find the 400DOII with 1.4TC to work very well and with the 2xTC to work fairly well....I sometimes use the bare lens but 400mm on a 24MP FF sensor is not often enough reach for my subjects.
AGeoJO wrote:
Robert, I have been using a monopod or even a tripod for quite sometime. To make things worse, my left arm suffers from tendonits last week during a photoshoot. It seems that handling not even holding heavy long lenses is very limitied in my photography future . I am afraid that I will have to give up the bird/wildlife end of my photography before too long. Tough to be old...
Joshua, let me tell you what I hate hate hate the most about crossing 60. My eyes get dry, incredibly painfully dry like sand is chronically grinding between my eyelids and eyeball.
Try crossing 84, first the left eye is dry then the right eye tears enough to soak a tissue, trying to haul around my 28-300 gets really heavy after the first mile or so. I don't even carry my 100-400 any more, and the backpack stays in the trunk.
Paul Gardner wrote:
Try crossing 84, first the left eye is dry then the right eye tears enough to soak a tissue, trying to haul around my 28-300 gets really heavy after the first mile or so. I don't even carry my 100-400 any more, and the backpack stays in the trunk.
Paul, I admire you for being that active at 84. I wish I could still do that when I get there or even worse.... if I could get there. Kudos to you! I
Vancouver47 wrote:
I want to update the firmware in a Sigma MC-11 Canon EF to Sony E. I assume, I need a Sigma dock? Which one will mount the Canon EF to Sony E mount?
No, you don’t need the dock but you do need the USB cable that comes in the box with the MC-11. The end of the cable that goes into the adapter is proprietary but the other end is just a regular USB 2 cable that goes into your computer. You have to run the Sigma app that you can download from their website though. The name of the app escapes me now and I am using my mobile device now. Sigma Global something rather...
AGeoJO wrote:
No, you don’t need the dock but you do need the USB cable that comes in the box with the MC-11. The end of the cable that goes into the adapter is proprietary but the other end is just a regular USB 2 cable that goes into your computer. You have to run the Sigma app that you can download from their website though. The name of the app escapes me now and I am using my mobile device now. Sigma Global something rather...
Thanks for the info. The only local store that carries the MC-11 didn't know it had a USB port. Go figure
Yes, I sold it about a month ago...moving on...a friend of mine has the 600III on order and hoping to see it arrive in Jan. Maybe I'll go and give that a whirl when he gets it
That would be horrendous....... for the wallet . But hey, we live only once, right? I will wait until the dust has settled, like in a year or so and in the meantime, I hope we will know where Sony stands in that regard. Then I would be interested to make a move and who knows, there could be another FW upgrade for both MC-11 and Metabones.
AGeoJO wrote:
That would be horrendous....... for the wallet . But hey, we live only once, right? I will wait until the dust has settled, like in a year or so and in the meantime, I hope we will know where Sony stands in that regard. Then I would be interested to make a move and who knows, there could be another FW upgrade for both MC-11 and Metabones.
I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a Sony 500 or 600. 400 is great for most field sports but wildlife and birds needs a lot more on a FF body. If they can get the weight and balance down like the 400 on a 600 I'll be all in.
Do you have to purchase a dock to upgrade the firmware of the MC-11? I don't have any Canon lenses currently, but am curious for future reference.
I'm thinking of getting the Commlite for perched birds with my 200-500 and a7r III. I usually use it on the D500, but the IQ on the Sony sure is nice. A lot of people would say to get the D850 and call it a day, but I really like my mirrorless Sony gear and it's so much lighter than if I tried to go "all in" with Nikon DSLR.
40Driggs wrote:
Do you have to purchase a dock to upgrade the firmware of the MC-11? I don't have any Canon lenses currently, but am curious for future reference.
I'm thinking of getting the Commlite for perched birds with my 200-500 and a7r III. I usually use it on the D500, but the IQ on the Sony sure is nice. A lot of people would say to get the D850 and call it a day, but I really like my mirrorless Sony gear and it's so much lighter than if I tried to go "all in" with Nikon DSLR.
No, no dock is required for the FW update. One of the posts above on this page explains the circumstances.
Alex Phan and Geoff have adapted one or two Nikon lenses on the A9. I have not and I am not planing of doing so. The Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF looks great from the size and weight perspective but I am under the impression that AF-wise, it doesn't work well but the 300mm PF does, even with TC.
40Driggs wrote:
Do you have to purchase a dock to upgrade the firmware of the MC-11? I don't have any Canon lenses currently, but am curious for future reference.
I'm thinking of getting the Commlite for perched birds with my 200-500 and a7r III. I usually use it on the D500, but the IQ on the Sony sure is nice. A lot of people would say to get the D850 and call it a day, but I really like my mirrorless Sony gear and it's so much lighter than if I tried to go "all in" with Nikon DSLR.
Daniel, I love the 300PF and 500PF so much I entertained an 850 for a few moments; but having A7Riii (for us mirrorless lovers) I think the 850 would be a letdown.
40Driggs wrote:
Do you have to purchase a dock to upgrade the firmware of the MC-11? I don't have any Canon lenses currently, but am curious for future reference.
I'm thinking of getting the Commlite for perched birds with my 200-500 and a7r III. I usually use it on the D500, but the IQ on the Sony sure is nice. A lot of people would say to get the D850 and call it a day, but I really like my mirrorless Sony gear and it's so much lighter than if I tried to go "all in" with Nikon DSLR.
200-500 worked fairly well on my A9. 300PF works the best. 500 E FL is terrible...others report 500PF is terrible also.
I don't know how much difference an A9 makes over an A7RIII for Nikon stuff so can't say how it will be. But at least on the A9 the 200-500 would have been totally useable for perched birds.
arbitrage wrote:
200-500 worked fairly well on my A9. 300PF works the best. 500 E FL is terrible...others report 500PF is terrible also.
I don't know how much difference an A9 makes over an A7RIII for Nikon stuff so can't say how it will be. But at least on the A9 the 200-500 would have been totally useable for perched birds.
AFAIK, R3 does 3fps tracking with adapted lenses, fairly big handicap. Not sure what the A9 can do.
Charlie N wrote:
AFAIK, R3 does 3fps tracking with adapted lenses, fairly big handicap. Not sure what the A9 can do.
A9 was doing 10 I think with the Nikon lenses...never checked for sure but sounded like 10. The A9 does 10 with adapted Canon lenses with C-AF...20FPS without AF....some Sigma lenses do 20FPS with C-AF.
I had to use a monopod the other day 
. But hey, we live only once, right? I will wait until the dust has settled, like in a year or so and in the meantime, I hope we will know where Sony stands in that regard. Then I would be interested to make a move and who knows, there could be another FW upgrade for both MC-11 and Metabones.