Andrew CD wrote:
I do like your comment “… birds in every focal length”. Even though it makes me slightly green with envy. The birds — and the light — here in the UK tend to be slightly different. Particularly way up north where the air gets cold (roughly 57°N where I use my cameras most ).
I know. You guys have 2 weeks summer. Right? Sorry
ChrisMak wrote:
For ducks or other waterfowl eg. do you really need to shoot 120fps?
I think essentially any birds in flight are much better with 120 FPS because you can pick exactly the right wing position, which makes all the difference in how appealing the image is.
Douglas L wrote:
OK, this pushed me over the fence. I asked friend who has both the 300 GM and 200-600 to shoot a subject at 2.4 meters (the 200-600's MDF) to see the difference in size. Here are the results. I know some don't really care about MDF but I do, as I have this peculiar situation where I can shoot hummingbirds from about 2 to 2.5 meters. So the 300+2X TC will give me much bigger hummingbird at 2.5 meters than the 200-600 would.
Need to sell some lenses that I don't really use to get this puppy. I am keeping the 200-600 as my main airshow lens.
I do notice the yellow cast from the 300 GM+ 2X TC that Chrismac kept pointing out....Show more →
I just gotta say your friend has the worst taste in camera skins. . Great comparison test though!
I drove a few hours today to chase some more interesting birds. I carried an A1 and 600GM on a tripod and the A9III with the 300GM and 2x TC. I'll post more on my thoughts on this tomorrow in another thread but the performance of the A9III with that lens and TC was amazing. Absolutely no hesitation on focus and no missed focus either--it just nailed the eye on the birds every time. Excellent sharpness too. Best performance with a TC of any of the primes. To my eye it's so close the 600 that most people would never be able to tell without serious pixel-peeping.
jhapeman wrote:
I drove a few hours today to chase some more interesting birds. I carried an A1 and 600GM on a tripod and the A9III with the 300GM and 2x TC. I'll post more on my thoughts on this tomorrow in another thread but the performance of the A9III with that lens and TC was amazing. Absolutely no hesitation on focus and no missed focus either--it just nailed the eye on the birds every time. Excellent sharpness too. Best performance with a TC of any of the primes. To my eye it's so close the 600 that most people would never be able to tell without serious pixel-peeping. ...Show more →
Very interesting.
As someone that also recently purchased an A9III, but hasn’t has a chance to use it much yet. I would love to hear more details about how the A9III performed with the 300 + 2X TC. I would also be interested if you think the new AI focus modes on the A9III perform noticeably better than the A1’s AF
jhapeman wrote:
I just gotta say your friend has the worst taste in camera skins. . Great comparison test though!
Shall we say he has a very colorful taste? . He has an A9III too.
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robert614 wrote:
Very interesting.
As someone that also recently purchased an A9III, but hasn’t has a chance to use it much yet. I would love to hear more details about how the A9III performed with the 300 + 2X TC. I would also be interested if you think the new AI focus modes on the A9III perform noticeably better than the A1’s AF
Are you still shooting the Nikon 600 TC I sold you Robert? . I just bought a Z8 and an 800 PF. I shoot my 600 GM with a 1.4TC on almost all the time so may as well get the 800 PF. But I got to say I prefer how the Sony bodies work personally.
Douglas L wrote:
Shall we say he has a very colorful taste? . He has an A9III too.
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Are you still shooting the Nikon 600 TC I sold you Robert? . I just bought a Z8 and an 800 PF. I shoot my 600 GM with a 1.4TC on almost all the time so may as well get the 800 PF. But I got to say I prefer how the Sony bodies work personally.
I also use the 600GM with 1.4TC often, and am intrigued by the 800PF. If starting out today, a Z8 with 600PF and 800PF would be hard to ignore.
The real benefit of the 600GM for me is being able to shoot BIF wide open at F4 and get a great balance between fast shutter speed and reasonable iso.
The 800PF on the Z8 produces really great looking images, I hope you will share your comparison with the Sony 600GM.
Is it because of A9iii or lens or both? What do u think?
jhapeman wrote:
I drove a few hours today to chase some more interesting birds. I carried an A1 and 600GM on a tripod and the A9III with the 300GM and 2x TC. I'll post more on my thoughts on this tomorrow in another thread but the performance of the A9III with that lens and TC was amazing. Absolutely no hesitation on focus and no missed focus either--it just nailed the eye on the birds every time. Excellent sharpness too. Best performance with a TC of any of the primes. To my eye it's so close the 600 that most people would never be able to tell without serious pixel-peeping. ...Show more →
ChrisMak wrote:
I also use the 600GM with 1.4TC often, and am intrigued by the 800PF. If starting out today, a Z8 with 600PF and 800PF would be hard to ignore.
The real benefit of the 600GM for me is being able to shoot BIF wide open at F4 and get a great balance between fast shutter speed and reasonable iso.
The 800PF on the Z8 produces really great looking images, I hope you will share your comparison with the Sony 600GM.
Sorry for getting too off topic, I will have the Z8 in my hand tomorrow, the 800 PF in about a week. Based of what I have seen, the 800 PF is a tiny bit sharper than the Nikon 600TC with the TC engaged and the Sony GM with 1.4TC, but you have to pixel peep to see the tiny difference. The 800 PF can't do 600 at F4 for sure. Like I said, since I shoot the 600 GM with the TC and hand hold a vast vast majority of the time, may as well get the 800 PF, cheaper and lighter. If it works out, I will sell 600 GM to help fund the 300 GM. I hate to run two systems though. Now if Sony makes an 800mm f6.3, that will be a different story...
jhapeman wrote:
I drove a few hours today to chase some more interesting birds. I carried an A1 and 600GM on a tripod and the A9III with the 300GM and 2x TC. I'll post more on my thoughts on this tomorrow in another thread but the performance of the A9III with that lens and TC was amazing. Absolutely no hesitation on focus and no missed focus either--it just nailed the eye on the birds every time. Excellent sharpness too. Best performance with a TC of any of the primes. To my eye it's so close the 600 that most people would never be able to tell without serious pixel-peeping. ...Show more →
That's what I've been saying since the first post
Sony has fielded an additional option to work on certain focal lengths.
It is not a substitute, each lens has its own distinct connotation and characteristic, a 600f4 I'll take if I know I don't have a problem with bulk and weight, if I can work with mono or tripod (handheld you can take on-the-fly shots but not continuously), if I want to take advantage of maximum bokeh or if I need to stretch the focal length beyond 600.
I use the 300 because at 300, 420 or 600 it is overperforming and is very light.
The zoom if I know the subject might be at different distances and I have little time to get the shot.
jhapeman wrote:
I drove a few hours today to chase some more interesting birds. I carried an A1 and 600GM on a tripod and the A9III with the 300GM and 2x TC. I'll post more on my thoughts on this tomorrow in another thread but the performance of the A9III with that lens and TC was amazing. Absolutely no hesitation on focus and no missed focus either--it just nailed the eye on the birds every time. Excellent sharpness too. Best performance with a TC of any of the primes. To my eye it's so close the 600 that most people would never be able to tell without serious pixel-peeping. ...Show more →
Thanks for this info and I'm looking forward to your update. What was the time of day of your shoot and what was the lighting like?
Douglas L wrote:
Are you still shooting the Nikon 600 TC I sold you Robert? . I just bought a Z8 and an 800 PF. I shoot my 600 GM with a 1.4TC on almost all the time so may as well get the 800 PF. But I got to say I prefer how the Sony bodies work personally.
That wasn’t me. I wish I had a 600mm TC! Or a 800 PF for that matter 😄
Just received my 300. It came in an enormous box, and by the time I got to the lens and began to lift it out of the box, I nearly flung it across the room, because it was so light! My arms were anticipating something about twice the weight.
What a marvel of engineering. After having spent a lot of time shooting both Canon SLR models of their 300/2.8, it is amazing to have a lens that out performs those classics, all while being a fraction of the weight. Not much to shoot in between rain today, but the first few images were blisteringly sharp, with buttery bokeh. Lovely!
A quick review
Got my 300mm for 2 days now
Been shooting birds with 2X TC attached
Small and light, a tad heavier than 100-400mm
The hood is huge giving the impression of a large lens
Have immediately ordered a replacement hood here https://www.facebook.com/gpwalshdesigns/
AF is fast, fast , and accurate regardless of 2XTC (with A1)
Images are tack sharp as expected
This will be my everyday lens with TC attached to of course
Nothing negative to report on (except for the hood, minor issue)
).
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