Pixel Perfect wrote:
Thanks Lance, we have Superb Wrens galore on the NSW South Coast. These were all at Shoalhaven Heads. The boys are already in breeding plumage too.
Garuna wrote:
Any idea whether cropping a 400mm image to 560mm is better or worse than using TC 1.4 ?
The 1.4 TC is great. The bare lens will give you the best quality. Cropping in post , or DX mode in camera will give you better quality , but it's not a drastic difference IMO , both are very useable. The biggest advantage to cropping is the ability to keep the ISO lower with the difference in light gathering F4.5 vs F6.3.
Garuna wrote:
Any idea whether cropping a 400mm image to 560mm is better or worse than using TC 1.4 ?
FWIW, if you check pg 27 of this thread I compared all 4 scenarios. Personally, I'm at a point where the only reason I prefer using the 1.4 is because it helps me to frame a distant image. In other words, I find that if I don't use the tc and just frame in FX, I have a hard time judging if the subject is simply too far away and not worth shooting. Not sure if that makes sense to anyone else but it helps me. And if I'm "light challenged", I use shootme's advice above and crop instead of the tc. The photos below mirror my point. Fairly high ISO and fairly low SS. I had the 1.4 with me but didn't want to give up the light so I used DX mode and cropped for the Wren. The Cardinal was a cropped FX.
The gannets are back and seeing them fishing is always an amazing experience as they dive bomb from maybe 20-30m above the water like an arrow and apparently have been recorded at depths of 20m or more. The trouble is they are usually too far out to capture with any detail. I got relatively lucky a few weeks ago off the south end of Werri beach as they just off the point. Still even with the Z9 and 400 + 1.4x they were heavy crops and this is where the 800 would have been welcome. Still I did manage a fluke timing shot and some shots as he left the water.
Adult gannet
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-1.4x lens560mmf/6.31/2500s450 ISO+0.3 EV
juvenile gannet
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-1.4x lens560mmf/6.31/4000s640 ISO+0.7 EV
Bombs away
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-1.4x lens560mmf/6.31/2500s400 ISO+1.0 EV
We have impact
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-1.4x lens560mmf/6.31/2500s560 ISO+1.0 EV
The long take-off
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-1.4x lens560mmf/6.31/2500s1000 ISO+1.0 EV
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-1.4x lens560mmf/6.31/2500s1000 ISO+1.0 EV
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-1.4x lens560mmf/6.31/2500s1000 ISO+1.0 EV
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-1.4x lens560mmf/6.31/2500s1000 ISO+1.0 EV
JustShootMe wrote:
The 1.4 TC is great. The bare lens will give you the best quality. Cropping in post , or DX mode in camera will give you better quality , but it's not a drastic difference IMO , both are very useable. The biggest advantage to cropping is the ability to keep the ISO lower with the difference in light gathering F4.5 vs F6.3.
I don't think there is any material difference in the amount of light hitting the sensor under each approach. One approach admits light through a larger aperture but the other records photons over a larger area. I think you will find the SNR is equivalent in both image files given the same FOV.
This Brown booby showed up randomly at the local park I visit daily. He really shouldn't be in central TX , he put on quite a show for a few days with his hunting skills. The local birding community went nuts , and everyone came to see the Booby. Yesterday he was found dead , not sure why. The pond where he was hanging around was quite small , and although there were tiny fish , maybe that wasn't enough for such a large bird.
Uncropped photo
NIKON Z 8NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S lens400mmf/4.51/5000s450 ISO0.0 EV
NIKON Z 8NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-1.4x lens560mmf/6.31/1000s400 ISO0.0 EV
NIKON Z 8NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-1.4x lens560mmf/6.31/1600s1800 ISO0.0 EV
NIKON Z 8NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-1.4x lens560mmf/6.31/2000s900 ISO0.0 EV
NIKON Z 8NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-1.4x lens560mmf/6.31/1600s720 ISO0.0 EV
I used the 400mm f4.5 with a Viltrox 12mm extension tube to get a little closer to our bird bath this morning, and it works quite well - this image was shot in DX mode, but no additional cropping was applied.
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
NIKON Z 8NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S lens400mmf/4.51/640s3600 ISO0.0 EV
