Today was my second outing with the NIkon 80-400VR lens. I stil can't rely on better than about 1/200 at 400mm but that is okay. I tried the Better Beamer on the SB800 and am really happy with the results. I figured the flash would help freeze the motion and add to the usefullness of this lens, not to mention the advantages of fill flash.
My only gripe with the BB is that it weighs down the flash head. As such, the flash is directed too low. I used two small velcro strips as shims but until I jammed a penny between them, I couldn't get the flash to be centered in the frame. The biggest exposure problem was not using flash exposure compensation. Once I got done with most of my shots I looked a little closer at the images on the D2X's LCD. After doing so I took a few last shots with FEV dialed down by a 2/3 stop and the results were much better. It took some curves and or levels work to get these where they are but next time I'll have it nailed.
For the yawn, you can see the motion blur due to the 1/60 second shutter speed. I should have gone down to 1/125 or more. I don't do much flash photography so I sometimes forget to double check shutter speeds.
Greg
Edited by Greg Matty on Mar 27, 2006 at 05:08 PM GMT
Nice shots.
Maybe a stupid question about VR: are you waiting long enough before shooting (there is a 1 second delay at least between the moment you first press the shutter and the moment you can take the picture...) I was just thinking, remembering your last post that this could be an issue because 1/125 is a safe speed @400mm with that lens.
Maybe I am not waiting quite a full second. I'll try that today when I do more testing. I guess that is a reason why some say VR isn't great for action shots. In addition to high shutter speeds negating VR, having to wait that second can kill one like that yawn. I hope you are correct as I would really like to be able to rely on this lens at 1/125 at 400mm consistently.
Thanks for posting this. I just ordered my better beamer today (for a trip to Kruger NP in South Africa next month) so I appreciate the "heads up" about the "flash head down"
Roel wrote:
Thanks for posting this. I just ordered my better beamer today (for a trip to Kruger NP in South Africa next month) so I appreciate the "heads up" about the "flash head down"
Take care!
Roel,
I think the better beamer is the best thing going for wildlife photography for around $40 U.S. dollars. As you'll see in the instructions, set the flash head to 50mm. After doing that find a suitably dark area and fire a shot at a fairly wide angle, like 50-80mm. You should clearly see a patch of light and hopefully it will be centered in the middle of the frame, if not, you may need to shim it a little bit. I tried adjusting the light in the 200-300mm range and it was really tough to tell, then I accidentally took a shot at 80mm and I could clearly see it wasn't angled correctly. The last thing I would emphasize is the flash exposure compensation. For the tiger shots posted here, I left the FEV at 0 but my last few shots of the day were at -2/3 and they came out much better. The tiger way lieing with its back to me so they are boring to post, but the exposure is improved. A little testing and you'll be fine. Can't wait to see some pics for Africa.
