photonoclast wrote:
Question for you 600/4 experts. I've been using the 200-600 for a few months, now on an A9, and no doubt the system is far beyond my present skill level to get the best out of it. I am now using the 1.4TC for virtually everything, unless the light gets low. Nevertheless, it is true that at least 99.5% of my shots have the zoom racked all the way out to 600. Given my primary subjects, shy Michigan songbirds, I need max reach for essentially everything. Here's the question: if I were to splurge for a 600/4, how much would it buy me in terms of how rapidly and accurately it grabs focus ? As you have taken 1000s of images with both, on an A9 (leave the A7iv aside for this question) is the difference substantial? Here's the thing - I don't know how much I would want to actually shoot at f4, since the depth of field is so small that only half the bird is in focus. I am wondering if the extra aperture of the 4 gives me better/quicker/more accurate focus, even if I'm then taking the shot at f8....Show more →
As we all know the circumstances in doing bird photography change quite rapidly and drastically. Unless we do it under controlled conditions, which we as bird photographers do NOT do, it would be difficult to evaluate or to compare the two lenses. Using the bare lens, the IQ difference between the two is not noticeable either, especially for web presentation. For sure not the difference indicated by the price. However, it is definitely noticeable if we include TCs in the equation, especially the 2X TC. The shallower depth of field of the f/4 prime lens yields smoother bokeh. In terms of focus acquisition, I believe the prime, due to the faster aperture, gets the upper hand but again, I didn’t do any direct comparison under controlled conditions.
The zoom lens though, considering the zoom range, the short zooming effect, the internal zooming mechanism, the optical quality and the price, is really the one to beat in that class. The new Canon 100-500mm doesn’t match, let alone beat the those aspects.
AGeoJO wrote:
As we all know the circumstances in doing bird photography change quite rapidly and drastically. Unless we do it under controlled conditions, which we as bird photographers do NOT do, it would be difficult to evaluate or to compare the two lenses. Using the bare lens, the IQ difference between the two is not noticeable either, especially for web presentation. For sure not the difference indicated by the price. However, it is definitely noticeable if we include TCs in the equation, especially the 2X TC. The shallower depth of field of the f/4 prime lens yields smoother bokeh. In terms of focus acquisition, I believe the prime, due to the faster aperture, gets the upper hand but again, I didn’t do any direct comparison under controlled conditions.
The zoom lens though, considering the zoom range, the short zooming effect, the internal zooming mechanism, the optical quality and the price, is really the one to beat in that class. The new Canon 100-500mm doesn’t match, let alone beat the those aspects.
trstahly wrote:
How are you getting such high shutter speeds and low ISO's these to not look that well lit?
I find myself at ISO 1600 around F4 to F5.6 most of the time with my a7rIV.
Most were with direct early sunlight on the subject with some of the backgrounds in deep shade still and across the lagoon a fair ways away. So in direct sun those SS/ISOs are possible. I think all of the shots were a little underexposed and I brought them all a little brighter when processing (although not a lot) so you could add at most a stop to each of the exposures to see what they would have been if exposed perfectly when shot.
Prior to this, I have photographed adult peregrine falcons taken off from their perch a few times but, for whatever reasons, this falcon took off in a big hurry. I was able to capture only 4 images and that only at the beginning of the flight. The acceleration this guy showed was incredible. Here is the first image of the sequence...
AGeoJO wrote:
Prior to this, I have photographed adult peregrine falcons taken off from their perch a few times but, for whatever reasons, this falcon took off in a big hurry. I was able to capture only 4 images and that only at the beginning of the flight. The acceleration this guy showed was incredible. Here is the first image of the sequence...
Beautiful shot, wow. I suppose you were waiting with your AF locked on the falcon prior to taking off the branch. Which AF settings did you use? Thanks a lot
JeyB wrote:
Beautiful shot, wow. I suppose you were waiting with your AF locked on the falcon prior to taking off the branch. Which AF settings did you use? Thanks a lot
Thank you very much, JeyB! Yes, I was anticipating that it would take off. I spent a lot of time at the falcon site after the pandemic started. Off the top of my head, it was like 2-3 times a week for good 3 months in May through July. The point I am trying to make here, I am not sure anymore which AF mode I had for this sequence. Sorry . I believe I had the camera in the Zone-AF, which was my favorite. In addition to that, I used the Center-AF and Real Time Tracking using Selectable Area with assists.
AGeoJO wrote:
Thank you very much, JeyB! Yes, I was anticipating that it would take off. I spent a lot of time at the falcon site after the pandemic started. Off the top of my head, it was like 2-3 times a week for good 3 months in May through July. The point I am trying to make here, I am not sure anymore which AF mode I had for this sequence. Sorry . I believe I had the camera in the Zone-AF, which was my favorite. In addition to that, I used the Center-AF and Real Time Tracking using Selectable Area with assists....Show more →
Ok, don't you worry, it is comprehensible to forget about three months ago settings
These two were captured last year but didn’t get posted. The burrowing owl population at my favorite site is really in a sad state... I hope they will be able to make a come back next year.
. I believe I had the camera in the Zone-AF, which was my favorite. In addition to that, I used the Center-AF and Real Time Tracking using Selectable Area with assists.
