You will love it! I have not had any problems due to the lack of focus limit adjustment, but that is an interesting question. I'm anxious to see what you do with your new lens.
Just hopped out of the helicopter from a morning of aerials. Man, 65 degrees, winds 3 knots out of the north, clear and a million. Makes one realize just how blessed we are to be able to do what we do.
You will love it! I have not had any problems due to the lack of focus limit adjustment, but that is an interesting question. I'm anxious to see what you do with your new lens.
JW
Jim,
I have a Peregrine pair that produces offspring 1.5 miles down the road, so this will be an interesting test for the lens a little later this spring. We expect some better weather later this weekend, so I'll see what I can get.
gerov wrote:
Jim,
I have a Peregrine pair that produces offspring 1.5 miles down the road, so this will be an interesting test for the lens a little later this spring. We expect some better weather later this weekend, so I'll see what I can get.
Gero
There used to be a female Peregrine falcon that nested on a window ledge at the old USF&G (downtown)building for many years. Workers at USF&G used to send me images of her and her young!
Good luck with your new "toy"! I have one also and enjoying it immensly!
Dan
Hi Dan,
I've been able to take a couple of shots with it, and the sharpness, detail, and bokeh have not disappointed. Nothing worth posting here yet - waiting for some sunshine!
gerov wrote:
Hi Dan,
I've been able to take a couple of shots with it, and the sharpness, detail, and bokeh have not disappointed. Nothing worth posting here yet - waiting for some sunshine!
And as for the last question - nope.
Can't wait to see some pix. Gero! I haven't been able to get my a$$ to Conowingo this season yet, I think the activities are picking up now. I had gone to NJ for ospreys twice the past few weeks but didn't really get what I was hoping to get. Folks got ospreys catching 2 or even 3 fish in one dive.
A few more from Sun N Fun, they may look similar but they are different frames in the same sequence. I like the frames with some clouds instead of just plain sky. The last shot was the SpaceX launch. The launch pad is very very far away even though where I was is supposedly the closest location.
Douglas L wrote:
Can't wait to see some pix. Gero! I haven't been able to get my a$$ to Conowingo this season yet, I think the activities are picking up now. I had gone to NJ for ospreys twice the past few weeks but didn't really get what I was hoping to get. Folks got ospreys catching 2 or even 3 fish in one dive.
A few more from Sun N Fun, they may look similar but they are different frames in the same sequence. I like the frames with some clouds instead of just plain sky. The last shot was the SpaceX launch. The launch pad is very very far away even though where I was is supposedly the closest location. ...Show more →
Very nice set, Douglas. Out of curiosity, how are you deciding between the 300+1.4x or 400-800, other than available light?
gerov wrote:
Very nice set, Douglas. Out of curiosity, how are you deciding between the 300+1.4x or 400-800, other than available light?
Thank you Gero. You are right, it's mainly because to the level of light. During day light, the F8 of the 400-800mm @800mm is fine, that would be my one lens for all during day time shows, unless I need wider than 400mm, that's where the Canon 200-800 shines. The Sony 400-800 is an internal zoom lens, to zoom from 400-800, or vice versa, it's just a flick of the finger. I used the 300 f2.8 +1.4X TC for the evening show due to the light. The 300 is excellent with 2X TC, which is what I use most on the 300, but I wanted more light for the evening show, so I just used the 1.4X.
gerov wrote:
Hi Dan,
I've been able to take a couple of shots with it, and the sharpness, detail, and bokeh have not disappointed. Nothing worth posting here yet - waiting for some sunshine!
And as for the last question - nope.
Sunshine seems to be in short supply this month Gero! Warmth also!!! hasn't been out of the low 50's in weeks!
Down in Montgomery County they have had some really fine sunny days with very mild temps.
Glad the 500 is being put to good use and look forward to images!
Stay safe and well!
Dan
Danpbphoto wrote:
Our landings could be quite hard Jim! We were at the mercy of the wind 100%!
Thanks!
Dan
I am no 'chute expert, but looks to me like those "highly maneuverable" chutes require a loadmaster. Could the problem in this incident be sizing the chute to the load? Hope they are OK.
Ray Swindle wrote:
I am no 'chute expert, but looks to me like those "highly maneuverable" chutes require a loadmaster. Could the problem in this incident be sizing the chute to the load? Hope they are OK.
https://www.azfamily.com/2025/04/13/paratroopers-injured-after-hard-landing-during-uofa-baseball-pre-game-ceremony/
We used the T-10 chute in my era as an airborne trooper Ray. For just airborne troops no loadmaster was specifically required in the traditional sense for its use.
Now during "payload drops" it indeed did require a loadmaster. While at Khe Sanh, aircraft was deploying supplies while still on the runway moving or about 5-10ft off the ground at 130 knots. We were heavily engaged in combat and out of ammunition and artillery shells. The NVA were in the mountains with heavy machine guns and mortars awaiting C130's/C-123's...We called them "mortar magnets" and "rocket bait" , these heavy transports needed to find more efficient ways of offloading cargo. "Speed offloading" and a new delivery technique by loadmasters LAPES was invented. Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System...
Such fun!!!!! I posted an image I took of 1 C130 doing just that some time ago.
Dan
I might add that most documentaries show NO Army infantry at Khe Sanh, we WERE there big time!!!
PS IF I knew I had a "scheduled jump" I loaded my own chute. Not that the loadmaster was not good at doing this...he was excellent BUT I felt safer doing it myself!
My understanding of the new MC-5 era chutes dont specificcaly require a loadmaster..it is part of their duties. At least for Army airborne..don't know about the Marines.
Danpbphoto wrote:
We used the T-10 chute in my era as an airborne trooper Ray. For just airborne troops no loadmaster was specifically required in the traditional sense for its use.
Now during "payload drops" it indeed did require a loadmaster. While at Khe Sanh, aircraft was deploying supplies while still on the runway moving or about 5-10 ft off the ground at 130 knots. We were heavily engaged in combat and out of ammunition and artillery shells. The NVA were in the mountains with heavy machine guns and mortars awaiting C130's/C-123's...We called them "mortar magnets" and "rocket bait" , these heavy transports needed to find more efficient ways of offloading cargo. "Speed offloading" and a new delivery technique by loadmasters LAPES was invented. Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System...
Such fun!!!!! I posted an image I took of 1 C130 doing just that some time ago.
Dan
I might add that most documentaries show NO Army infantry at Khe Sanh, we WERE there big time!!!
PS IF I knew I had a "scheduled jump" I loaded my own chute. Not that the loadmaster was not good at doing this...he was excellent BUT I felt safer doing it myself!
My understanding of the new MC-5 era chutes don't specifically require a loadmaster..it is part of their duties. At least for Army airborne..don't know about the Marines.
Pfew I jumped a course when I was drafted many moons ago 1990 era
I jumped also with the T10R old round canopy but I had to pack it myself from the beginning.
And when you drifted off course you had to field pack it and walk allllll the way back.
I say that thing was heavy.
Jan-Arie wrote:
Pfew I jumped a course when I was drafted many moons ago 1990 era
I jumped also with the T10R old round canopy but I had to pack it myself from the beginning.
And when you drifted off course you had to field pack it and walk allllll the way back.
I say that thing was heavy.
Oh no doubt about that! In order to qualify for "jump pay", military called it "Jump Allowance"...Say what You are going to pay me, allow me, extra for jumping out of a perfectly good plane and expect to land, attached to a "mushroom", on a "bullseye? OK!! ..then more than 90% of the time the "company clerk" forgot to add that to the Units Daily Log so we were always in "arears" on pay.....
Dan
Shot something fun yesterday. I tagged along with two of our Granddaughters to a friend's rodeo. They hold this rodeo once a month all year long and participants come from all over the country. When I got there I saw that the light wasn't going to favor me so I did some mental gymnastics and made the most of what I had. I wasn't there five minutes and I was over run with request to by the images that I was shooting. Four hours later the entire roster of participants had asked for my information and how they could buy prints from me. The rodeo sponsors have now asked me if I could come back every month. I did eat and inhale a yard or two of Texas dust, but it was fun, and apparently luctrative...............
Funny, as I was shooting I thought, this is like shooting an airshow where the pilots get to drink beer throughout the afternoon.......what could go wrong?
Oh, and I keep finding scenarios where 30fps is the gift that keeps on giving. You can quickly hit the buffer on the R5II at that frame rate, so you have to plan your bursts.
Actually, it is a technique used to wrangle cattle, the calves are not injured and it is a training competition to teach the cattlemen how to wrangle them without hurting them. Has nothing to do with getting "kicks". The cattle business, really all animal based food production, is not a pretty process, but it is what it is, unless you want to eat salads for the rest of your life. We are pretty fond of steaks and BBQ here in The Lone Star.
You are going to pay me, allow me, extra for jumping out of a perfectly good plane and expect to land, attached to a "mushroom", on a "bullseye
OK!! 
..then more than 90% of the time the "company clerk" forgot to add that to the Units Daily Log so we were always in "arears" on pay.....
