Would a flagship mirrorless have captured this launching hawk in perfect focus?
Today I went to a local estuary that has a fishermen's co-op, and of course, lots of pigeons. I was elated when a Cooper's hawk swooped in and landed. It was a hungry juvenile and it came to catch a pigeon. Cooper's belong to the family Accipitridae. Relative to other hawks, accipiters have stubbier wings and a very long, narrow group of tail feathers (called the retrices (plural), that acts as a rudder, allowing them to navigate through open woodlands with speed. Accipiters are sometimes called "darters".
They are ambush predators, often perching on the edge of woodlands, waiting and watching. When an unsuspecting passerine bird appears in the open, the chase is on. The passerine bird instantly spots the Coopers chasing it.
When scared, a pigeon is much faster than a passerine. I'm not certain, but I don't think a Cooper's can catch a Pigeon in a straight race in open, treeless habitat. I've seen such a chase just once, and the terrified pigeon shifted into high gear and pulled away from the Coopers.
So when this Cooper's you see in the images showed, I was determined to get in position to try to capture its attempt on a pigeon. But the only thing I got was a couple of perched shots and one when it was launching. That shot looked good in the camera, but you know how that can go. I got home and it was soft! Apparently I kept the AF on single point and when the bird launched, the focus somehow ended up on the railing behind it.
At one point the Coopers flew up and onto a utility pole, causing the pigeons to take to flight. Once the hawk perched, the flock of about 30 pigeons came, making several passes and coming with 20 feet of the perched hawk below them. They knew the hawk would not attempt a chase in the open.
In the future, I want to be able to photograph these quick hawks in action.
MY QUESTION: Would the flagship mirrorless have nailed this hawk? Would it have instantly stuck focus on the eye? Needless to say, my D850 just does not do it. I know my D500 is quicker but I did not have it with me.
After all this Z9 talk on the forum lately, I ask you this: Does the A1 focus on the bird's eye in this situation. And how fast is it to acquire once the focus button is depressed.
Would a flagship mirrorless have captured this launching hawk in perfect focus?
Today I went to a local estuary that has a fishermen's co-op, and of course, lots of pigeons. I was elated when a Cooper's hawk swooped in and landed. It was a hungry juvenile and it came to catch a pigeon. Cooper's belong to the family Accipitridae. Relative to other hawks, accipiters have stubbier wings and a very long, narrow group of tail feathers (called the retrices (plural), that acts as a rudder, allowing them to navigate through open woodlands with speed. Accipiters are sometimes called "darters".
They are ambush predators, often perching on the edge of woodlands, waiting and watching. When an unsuspecting passerine bird appears in the open, the chase is on. The passerine bird instantly spots the Coopers chasing it.
I'm not certain, but I don't think a Cooper's can catch a Pigeon in a straight race in open, treeless habitat. I've seen such a chase once, and the terrified pigeon shifted into high gear and pulled away from the Coopers.
So when this Cooper's you see in the images showed, I was determined to get in position to try to capture its attempt on a pigeon. But the only thing I got was a couple of perched shots and one when it was launching. That shot looked good in the camera, but you know how that can go. I got home and it was soft! Apparently I kept the AF on single point and when the bird launched, the focus somehow ended up on the railing behind it.
At one point the Coopers flew up and onto a utility pole, causing the pigeons to take to flight. Once the hawk perched, the flock of about 30 pigeons came, making several passes and coming with 20 feet of the perched hawk below them. They knew the hawk would not attempt a chase in the open.
In the future, I want to be able to photograph these quick hawks in action.
MY QUESTION: Would the flagship mirrorless have nailed this hawk? Would it have instantly stuck focus on the eye? Needless to say, my D850 just does not do it. I know my D500 is quicker but I did not have it with me.
After all this Z9 talk on the forum lately, I ask you this: Does the A1 focus on the bird's eye in this situation. And how fast is it to acquire once the focus button is depressed.
I am trying to learn what to expect with the Z9.
Robert
Thanks
Oct 23, 2021 at 08:26 PM
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