arbitrage wrote:
Which foot is on your 600? And Is that a a QD socket on it?
Kirk, with QD. I tried the Wimberley 616 and didn't like it - too short and the end (designed for a flash attachment that I never use) is a little sharp.
While the Kirk foot doesn't have the same ergonomics as the Sony foot, it's still usable. Hand held I shoot with a vertical grip attached to the foot. I wish someone would make an arca-swiss compatible grip like this one - https://opticsfactory.com/ar15-bipod-foregrip/QD-GRIPBIPOD I have it on one of my rifles and it's awesome.
I don't use the QD socket. As far as I understand they work best if the second QD is on the camera body. I'm wondering if people actually use QD?
dclark wrote:
Interesting set up. Maybe you can start a thread about the equipment and your assessment. I use the CamRanger with their motorized gimbal. The CamRanger is excellent but the gimbal is mediocre, or worse, with a large lens.
Dave
Dave, that's a ProAim gimbal. It's a pretty heavy duty device, designed mostly for video "on a budget". Very inexpensive. A real "pro" video gimbal is in a $10k+ zone. It has great damping control and works very smoothly. I tired the Canon 300/2.8 II on it with no issues. All communications to the camera are either direct (wifi) or via a mobile router (Netgear MR5100) using standard Canon software.
I'm too lazy to start a new thread The assessment was to figure out with my kids what do Eastern Phoebes eat. Since it wasn't exactly a 600/4 GM lens - no picture here but a link: https://photostream.us/#/photo/4956 (you can zoom by pressing the orientation change button twice). Thanks!
A different view, looking down on a woodpecker from 200 feet above the forest floor... While it was pecking, another bird flew by overhead. He stopped to make sure that it was not a threat...
AGeoJO wrote:
A different view, looking down on a woodpecker from 200 feet above the forest floor... While it was pecking, another bird flew by overhead. He stopped to make sure that it was not a threat...
roadapple wrote:
Beautiful species of a woodpecker ! Great captured image , Joshua
Thank you very much, Tom!
lifeandmylens wrote:
What a cool bird, great shot!
Thank you very much, Shawn!
louie champan wrote:
Aside from being a superb shot, wow ISO 12800 that's incredible.
Thank you very much, Louie! I used the Recall Custom Hold feature quite a bit. I programmed in 3 different lower ISO settings that I can recall by a push of the AEL button. But the main AF button is used to mostly capture fast actions, BIF shots, using between 1/1000sec or 1/2000sec. The main thing is to get the insurance shots using a fast shutter speed, resulting in a fairly high ISO So, after I feel confident that the bird will stay stationary, then I recall the custom setting and get the SS to about 1/250sec or so to get the lower ISO. I was still in the initial phase of high SS here but Denoise definitely does a great job in reducing the noise.
saaketham wrote:
Had a fun and exciting trip, @AGeoJO@ ?
Thank you for your note, Anil.
The trip itself was great and I had fun in the photography end but the external circumstances less so. A lot, and I meant a lot of bugs, hot, humid, and sticky. I realized though that we were in the boonies... Both my shooting buddy and I are physically in pretty good shape. But at the end of the day, we were tired, and drenched in sweat... A shower at the lodge never felt so good.
We visited 4 observation towers, the tallest being 80 m or some 220 feet. And we did each twice a day, AM and PM sessions. First by boat, then a hike for 20 minutes, climbed up to the top but in order to get the best shots, we had to climb down a few levels as the birds were not always visible from the highest level. Sometimes, the lighting, less foliage or what not was better at a lower level or two. So, we constantly moved up and down. The tripod was left on the highest level but I used a monopod using my harness support for better mobility.
Well, that's a brief explanation of my experience there.
AGeoJO wrote:
The trip itself was great and I had fun in the photography end but the external circumstances less so
Wow, that sounds like fun, but also a lot of work. ha ha. Hope to see some kick-a$$ photos from you soon.
AGeoJO wrote:
A different view, looking down on a woodpecker from 200 feet above the forest floor... While it was pecking, another bird flew by overhead. He stopped to make sure that it was not a threat...
Very cool looking woodpecker. Not your usual black/white/red type I'm wondering how much did you crop this image while shooting from 200ft above? It turned out great for ISO 12800.
docusync wrote:
Very cool looking woodpecker. Not your usual black/white/red type I'm wondering how much did you crop this image while shooting from 200ft above? It turned out great for ISO 12800.
Thank you very much! Yes, the woodpeckers there are little bit more colorful than what we used to see here. I did crop that image but not by much since the woodpecker wasn't that far away from my shooting position and I had the 1.4X TC for that one. The noise level wasn't that bad because it was fairly bright when I took that image, showing minimal shadows, where noise would normally manifests itself.
The trip itself was great and I had fun in the photography end but the external circumstances less so. A lot, and I meant a lot of bugs, hot, humid, and sticky. I realized though that we were in the boonies... Both my shooting buddy and I are physically in pretty good shape. But at the end of the day, we were tired, and drenched in sweat... A shower at the lodge never felt so good.
We visited 4 observation towers, the tallest being 80 m or some 220 feet. And we did each twice a day, AM and PM sessions. First by boat, then a hike for 20 minutes, climbed up to the top but in order to get the best shots, we had to climb down a few levels as the birds were not always visible from the highest level. Sometimes, the lighting, less foliage or what not was better at a lower level or two. So, we constantly moved up and down. The tripod was left on the highest level but I used a monopod using my harness support for better mobility.
Well, that's a brief explanation of my experience there....Show more →
You need a vacation after this one. That's a lot of exercise
AGeoJO wrote:
I used the Recall Custom Hold feature quite a bit. I programmed in 3 different lower ISO settings that I can recall by a push of the AEL button.
Joshua, would you mind to share how you programmed 3 different ISO's to the AEL?
saaketham wrote:
A couple of these posted in A1 thread as well
And, how do you like the 600GM so far?
How does it compare to the Sigma 500/4? I expect favorably?
Enjoy your lens, I can only dream of one for the coming 6 months, but after that it is either the 600GM or a Nikon Z9 set-up, if they ever deliver on it...
lifeandmylens wrote:
Joshua, would you mind to share how you programmed 3 different ISO's to the AEL?
Sure, no problem, Shawn!
It is based on the Custom Recall Hold feature that has been around in the last few recent Sony cameras. If you are not familiar with it, you can check out Mark Galer's video here: .
There are 3 settings and I programmed all in increasing ISO of one-stop, starting with ISO 320 and recall them by pushing the AEL button. Next I used "My Menu1" menu to program in the "Custom Key Setting". Since I programmed in my most needed menu functions there and seldom go to the actual menu, the "My Menu1" is by default recalled each time I push the "Menu" button. The regular AF button is used to capture movement/in-flight of birds. I also used Auto-ISO, BTW. But when the bird lands and perches, I can push the AEL button and get a lower ISO setting right away of the bird. And I can change the 3 "Custom Recall Hold" settings easily from 1 to 3, depending on the lighting conditions. After getting used to this, it can be done fast. There is always the possibility that the bird takes off while shooting in lower ISO setting, resulting in slowish shutter speed. You may get some movement blur of the take off in that case... Yes, it happened to me on this trip a few times.
I hope this helps,
Joshua
I have it on one of my rifles and it's awesome.
