ke3vg wrote:
Joshua, another great shot, I am feeling envy. The 1200mm shot is just amazing.
Premus, welcome to club, looking forward to see some great shots.
Thank you Mukesh. I won't be able to go into the field with the big 600 yet, but will post some from previous efforts in the other threads (100-400, Birds and wildlife). Your cormorant images are beautiful.
You guys are incredible! Do you live in the area to be able to take so many pictures?
ke3vg wrote:
One more of my sort of favorite bird!
The cormorant did put up a show for you, Mukesh and you certainly captured the most out of it!
RobAmy wrote:
All of you are killing it will the 600's, good stuff all around
Rob, I saw images you captured using your 400mm and optically both Sony and Canon are on equal footing. Just the AF, at least on a Sony body, is faster and more accurate and that's hardly surprising at all .
Primus wrote:
Thank you Mukesh. I won't be able to go into the field with the big 600 yet, but will post some from previous efforts in the other threads (100-400, Birds and wildlife). Your cormorant images are beautiful.
You guys are incredible! Do you live in the area to be able to take so many pictures?
Joshua, the dragonfly is simply unreal.
Pradeep
Thank you, Pradeep! Yes, the 2X TC works extremely well on the GM 600mm and the AF works great, too. But I am not sure about using it for small flying birds. I feel more confident with the 1.4X TC.
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For shits and giggles, I stacked 2 TCs this morning to capture perching/standing owls. I used my A7r III for evaluation. Here are 2 images using that "experiment" for a focal length of 1680mm. I did put an extension tube between the TCs to get that done and the camera sees only the 1.4X TC mounted on the camera directly and reads the setting as if it was only the 1.4X TC, resulting in an exif of "only" 840mm. And yes, the AF works fine. But for my purpose, I used it only for perching or standing owls this morning.
Right away, I noticed that there is a severe physical vignetting. So, the images posted here were cropped but really not much beyond removing the vignetting. I also enclosed a crop of the same image, similar to what I did for just using the 2X TC on the previous page. This is of the same adult owl from Thursday but the shooting circumstances are not the same. So, it is what it is.
How did it perform? The results are decent, I would say. I would use it in a pinch but I won't be doing this on a regular basis. I would not hesitate using the 2X TC though as it generates superb images. Maybe, and this is a definite maybe, I would prefer cropping the image taken with the 61MP sensor of the A7r IV using the 2X TC over stacking 2 TCs for more reach. We will see.
Really impressive for 1680mm with 2 TCs. I am sure you are pleased and pleased with your decision to purchase the 600mm GM. I wish we had burrowing owls around here. For that matter, I wish I knew owls of any kind were around here.
For shits and giggles, I stacked 2 TCs this morning to capture perching/standing owls. I used my A7r III for evaluation. Here are 2 images using that "experiment" for a focal length of 1680mm. I did put an extension tube between the TCs to get that done and the camera sees only the 1.4X TC mounted on the camera directly and reads the setting as if it was only the 1.4X TC, resulting in an exif of "only" 840mm. And yes, the AF works fine. But for my purpose, I used it only for perching or standing owls this morning.
Right away, I noticed that there is a severe physical vignetting. So, the images posted here were cropped but really not much beyond removing the vignetting. I also enclosed a crop of the same image, similar to what I did for just using the 2X TC on the previous page. This is of the same adult owl from Thursday but the shooting circumstances are not the same. So, it is what it is.
How did it perform? The results are decent, I would say. I would use it in a pinch but I won't be doing this on a regular basis. I would not hesitate using the 2X TC though as it generates superb images. Maybe, and this is a definite maybe, I would prefer cropping the image taken with the 61MP sensor of the A7r IV using the 2X TC over stacking 2 TCs for more reach. We will see.
Thank you, Mitesh! Not too shabby for 1,680mm, huh?
naturephoto1 wrote:
Hi Joshua,
Really impressive for 1680mm with 2 TCs. I am sure you are pleased and pleased with your decision to purchase the 600mm GM. I wish we had burrowing owls around here. For that matter, I wish I knew owls of any kind were around here.
Rich
Hi Rich, yes, but like I said, with the 61MP of the new A7r IV, it could be maybe even better. We will see.
The owl season may last for a few more weeks here. You can come on over... The airport is really nearby.
birdied wrote:
Wow Joshua !!! Amazing.
Birdie
Thank you, Birdie! The entire gang was out there this morning at the owl site.
AGeoJO wrote:
The cormorant did put up a show for you, Mukesh and you certainly captured the most out of it!
Rob, I saw images you captured using your 400mm and optically both Sony and Canon are on equal footing. Just the AF, at least on a Sony body, is faster and more accurate and that's hardly surprising at all .
Thank you, Pradeep! Yes, the 2X TC works extremely well on the GM 600mm and the AF works great, too. But I am not sure about using it for small flying birds. I feel more confident with the 1.4X TC.
___________________________________________
For shits and giggles, I stacked 2 TCs this morning to capture perching/standing owls. I used my A7r III for evaluation. Here are 2 images using that "experiment" for a focal length of 1680mm. I did put an extension tube between the TCs to get that done and the camera sees only the 1.4X TC mounted on the camera directly and reads the setting as if it was only the 1.4X TC, resulting in an exif of "only" 840mm. And yes, the AF works fine. But for my purpose, I used it only for perching or standing owls this morning.
Right away, I noticed that there is a severe physical vignetting. So, the images posted here were cropped but really not much beyond removing the vignetting. I also enclosed a crop of the same image, similar to what I did for just using the 2X TC on the previous page. This is of the same adult owl from Thursday but the shooting circumstances are not the same. So, it is what it is.
How did it perform? The results are decent, I would say. I would use it in a pinch but I won't be doing this on a regular basis. I would not hesitate using the 2X TC though as it generates superb images. Maybe, and this is a definite maybe, I would prefer cropping the image taken with the 61MP sensor of the A7r IV using the 2X TC over stacking 2 TCs for more reach. We will see.
CampK wrote:
Which extension tube do you use for stacking TCs?
Mine is the 16mm of a cheapo Fotga set. The function of the tube is to just provide space for the TCs to be mounted and to let the electronic info to go through. Shalu posted about it here in this thread, and he uses a Kenko set, which is sturdier I believe. I bought mine a few years back during my early Sony days. I forgot about them until recently after Shalu brought it up. The following day, a friend of mine showed me his. You have to cut a little bit of the plastic part of the Kenko to make it work. Mine happens to work without doing anything. So, I used mine for the very first time this morning for the owls although I tried it yesterday in my backyard to make sure that it was working.
Few shots from today, A7Riii, 600mm + 1.4 TC. Decided to go full time hand holding with this lens, too many action being missed by tripod. Let see how it goes....
ke3vg wrote:
Few shots from today, A7Riii, 600mm + 1.4 TC. Decided to go full time hand holding with this lens, too many action being missed by tripod. Let see how it goes....
Wow, the A7r III didn't do too badly for you - impressive, Mukesh! I know what you meant about missing some actions is you have the gear on a tripod. I am combining tripod, monopod and handholding, too now. Depending on the time of the day and how tired you are, the later is getting less and less. I do have a BushHawk from my old bird shooting days that I didn't use a lot because the lens was too heavy. I will try that out since Sony lenses are lighter now. I tried it on the G 200-600mm it is definitely a viable option. Let me put it this way, I can handhold that longer than without.
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I went to another birding spot and here is an image from there in addition to the dragonfly I already posted. I used a monopod for this one and no problem with tracking here. Too bad the skimmer was skimming more sideways rather than straight at me.... Oh, well.
For a change... a skimmer instead of owls and falcons :)
Joshua, incredible stuff. I have not used the 2x at all, as even with the 1.4x I get a lot of vignetting with the 100-400. However, I believe the Sony TCs are sharper than the ones from Canon, as well as being lighter and smaller.
So, with a good tripod, it should work very well, especially for shots of the moon!
I think you could print that owl picture quite large without any difficulty, it is that sharp.
AGeoJO wrote:
Wow, the A7r III didn't do too badly for you - impressive, Mukesh! I know what you meant about missing some actions is you have the gear on a tripod. I am combining tripod, monopod and handholding, too now. Depending on the time of the day and how tired you are, the later is getting less and less. I do have a BushHawk from my old bird shooting days that I didn't use a lot because the lens was too heavy. I will try that out since Sony lenses are lighter now. I tried it on the G 200-600mm it is definitely a viable option. Let me put it this way, I can handhold that longer than without.
_________________________________________
I went to another birding spot and here is an image from there in addition to the dragonfly I already posted. I used a monopod for this one and no problem with tracking here. Too bad the skimmer was skimming more sideways rather than straight at me.... Oh, well....Show more →
Love it, the action, lighting and colors are simply beautiful. bout the hand holding, especially with Bald Eagle action, tripod and monopod is too constraining. Always used the tripod with gimbal and manage to lose many great shots so this year with Sony combo the weight is reduced from 11+ lbs to 7+ lbs and also very balanced, so decided to go handhold. Practice it on Sunday, wasn't bad to hold it for good minute plus but it does get harder when the eagle chase is going on or they miss the first try to catch fish and try again. I will continue to practice so by November , hopefully I would build enough muscle to last the season.-
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