p.82 #1 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
I brought out the big gun (400mm f2.8 fl) yesterday to my sons 8u global World Series travel baseball tournament. This is the first time I have used it for his baseball games. I usually either use a 100-400z or 70-200z but figured I’d give it a shot. It definitely did not disappoint. I did not miss focus on a single photo out of the 300 or so I took. I did miss the flexibility of the zoom at times but the quality of the photos made up for it. I was also wondering how the size and weight would come in to play but I had zero issues with it on the monopod. I did get some funny looks from a bunch of parents and even the comments, “Are you taking pictures of the moon with that thing?” 🤣🤣 All in all very happy with the results. CC welcomed and appreciated!
p.82 #2 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
NissanPatrol wrote:
Z9+pf500
Interesting Philip.
Learn something new every day.
I did not have a clue that Ospreys are native to Saudi Arabia
They have a worldwide distribution. Here is an excerpt from the link that is below it:
"The osprey is the second most widely distributed raptor species, after the peregrine falcon, and is one of only six land-birds with a cosmopolitan distribution. It is found in temperate and tropical regions of all continents, except Antarctica. "
p.82 #3 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
bs kite wrote:
Interesting Philip.
Learn something new every day.
I did not have a clue that Ospreys are native to Saudi Arabia
They have a worldwide distribution. Here is an excerpt from the link that is below it:
"The osprey is the second most widely distributed raptor species, after the peregrine falcon, and is one of only six land-birds with a cosmopolitan distribution. It is found in temperate and tropical regions of all continents, except Antarctica. "
p.82 #5 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Termite wrote:
CanadaMark: Thanks for your comparison! You've made me interested in the DXO raw converter. Do you - or anyone else reading this - have any experience with the DXO Pure Raw plug in? It seems like it would offer the best of both worlds - a better raw conversion, and I can still work within Lightroom/Photoshop, which are familiar to me.
I'm glad you found it useful.
The way I use DXO Pure RAW 2 is as a standalone just to batch convert my NEFs. The program spits out a DNG which can be edited by virtually any RAW editor, but I use Photoshop (ACR). DXO is the only program I have found so far that I can actually trust with a batch process - Topaz, for example, I don't really use anymore because results aren't as good and I'm constantly having to fiddle with it to get the best results.
DXO isn't perfect either, but it's much better in in my opinion. You still need to be careful with the automatic corrections (which you can disable). If your photo is too sharp to begin with, I find DXO Pure Raw can over sharpen it a bit if you leave sharpening enabled. The automatic lens corrections can crop your image as well, so depending on what you're doing (i.e. indoor real estate photography or a perfectly framed landscape), that may not be desirable. I am pretty sure Photo Lab 5 has a tool that will apply lens corrections without cropping, but Pure Raw does not have that same engine to my knowledge.
p.82 #11 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
These are zoo shots (except for the Black Cockatoo which is wild), but the birds are so beautiful and would be almost impossible for me to get in the wild (a number are very rare) that I thought I would post them just so you could see their beauty. All shot through cage wire except the last two!
1) Bourke's Parrot - uncommon - Australian native.
Z9 + Z 100-400 f4.5-5.6 VR S, 1/100s f/5.3 at 290.0mm iso1000
2) Rainbow Bee-eater - Australian native.
Z9 + 500 f5.6 PF, 1/100s f/5.6 at 500.0mm iso1600
3) Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo - Australian Native.
Z9 + 500 f5.6 PF, 1/250s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso2200
4) Princess Parrot - Australian Native.
Z9 + Z 100-400 f4.5-5.6 VR S, 1/100s f/5.6 at 400.0mm iso500
5) Scaly-breatsed Lorikeet takes a bath - Australian Native.
Z9 + 500 f5.6 PF, 1/250s f/5.6 at 500.0mm iso6400
6) Star Finch - Australian Native.
Z9 + Z 100-400 f4.5-5.6 VR S, 1/250s f/5.3 at 290.0mm iso1600
7) Purple-crowned Wren - rare - Australian Native
Z9 + Z 100-400 f4.5-5.6 VR S, 1/160s f/5.3 at 340.0mm iso2500
8) Diamond Firetail - Australian Native
Z9 + Z 100-400 f4.5-5.6 VR S, 1/160s f/5.0 at 230.0mm iso720
9) Turquoise Parrot - Australian Native
Z9 + Z 100-400 f4.5-5.6 VR S, 1/800s f/5.0 at 200.0mm iso1600
10) Long-tailed Finch - Australian Native
Z9 + Z 100-400 f4.5-5.6 VR S, 1/160s f/5.0 at 130.0mm iso720
11) Fairy Penguin or Little Penguin - Australian Native - world's smallest penguin standing only 20-30cm tall.
Z9 + Z 100-400 f4.5-5.6 VR S, 1/250s f/4.8 at 170.0mm iso110
12) Tawny Frogmouth - Australian Native.
Z9 + Z 100-400 f4.5-5.6 VR S, 1/640s f/5.6 at 400.0mm iso720
p.82 #15 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Lance B wrote:
These are zoo shots (except for the Black Cockatoo which is wild), but the birds are so beautiful and would be almost impossible for me to get in the wild (a number are very rare) that I thought I would post them just so you could see their beauty. All shot through cage wire except the last two!
1) Bourke's Parrot - uncommon - Australian native.
Z9 + Z 100-400 f4.5-5.6 VR S, 1/100s f/5.3 at 290.0mm iso1000
