The birds they mock me

[DibblyDobbler]

LongQ said:

DibblyDobbler said:

Ta

By the way - it was shot wide open (f4), 600mm equiv (max focal length) and handheld at 1/30th!

Good bit of kit the RX10iii

When you think how much it would cost to but a full 600mm lens and a body to make best use of it the RX10iii starts to look quite inexpensive for that sort of work.

Flikr says 1/80th btw. Obviously that is much less impressive ....

Mind you, a robin at that speed ... hmm. Are you sure it was not a stuffed one? It certainly looks well fed!

The Dunnock was 1/30th

Obviously it can't get near a FF + 600mm prime setup but it's still pretty blooming impressive IMHO

[LongQ]

DibblyDobbler said:

LongQ said:

DibblyDobbler said:

Ta

By the way - it was shot wide open (f4), 600mm equiv (max focal length) and handheld at 1/30th!

Good bit of kit the RX10iii

When you think how much it would cost to but a full 600mm lens and a body to make best use of it the RX10iii starts to look quite inexpensive for that sort of work.

Flikr says 1/80th btw. Obviously that is much less impressive ....

Mind you, a robin at that speed ... hmm. Are you sure it was not a stuffed one? It certainly looks well fed!

The Dunnock was 1/30th

Obviously it can't get near a FF + 600mm prime setup but it's still pretty blooming impressive IMHO

Ah, so the Dunnock is stuffed?



Well, I don't have FF but I do have a 600mm prime, albeit an old one, that when I get things right and the light is good and the adapter hangs in there can produce some cracking results. No AF though and no focus screen to that aspect is a bit hit and miss.

Other than background bokeh, maybe and in the right circumstances, I don't think it would beat your shots. The total cost of a decent body and the lens - if one could find one that was usable - might be about the same as the Sony.

FF body and 600mm prime new would, I guess, be about £11-12k at best? Possibly closer to £15k and upwards for the sort of kit the full time bird shooters?

So, roughly, 10x the investment.

Of course we are at the rarefied level when discussing what adds value here .... but it is s big difference that maybe has not really existed before even for those who are comfortable just living with older kit. People like me for example.

Dropping back to APS-C I guess things are a little more closely matched. Maybe 2x the price?

[DibblyDobbler]

LongQ said:

DibblyDobbler said:

LongQ said:

DibblyDobbler said:

Ta

By the way - it was shot wide open (f4), 600mm equiv (max focal length) and handheld at 1/30th!

Good bit of kit the RX10iii

When you think how much it would cost to but a full 600mm lens and a body to make best use of it the RX10iii starts to look quite inexpensive for that sort of work.

Flikr says 1/80th btw. Obviously that is much less impressive ....

Mind you, a robin at that speed ... hmm. Are you sure it was not a stuffed one? It certainly looks well fed!

The Dunnock was 1/30th

Obviously it can't get near a FF + 600mm prime setup but it's still pretty blooming impressive IMHO

Ah, so the Dunnock is stuffed?



Well, I don't have FF but I do have a 600mm prime, albeit an old one, that when I get things right and the light is good and the adapter hangs in there can produce some cracking results. No AF though and no focus screen to that aspect is a bit hit and miss.

Other than background bokeh, maybe and in the right circumstances, I don't think it would beat your shots. The total cost of a decent body and the lens - if one could find one that was usable - might be about the same as the Sony.

FF body and 600mm prime new would, I guess, be about £11-12k at best? Possibly closer to £15k and upwards for the sort of kit the full time bird shooters?

So, roughly, 10x the investment.

Of course we are at the rarefied level when discussing what adds value here .... but it is s big difference that maybe has not really existed before even for those who are comfortable just living with older kit. People like me for example.

Dropping back to APS-C I guess things are a little more closely matched. Maybe 2x the price?

Well I don't disagree LQ - I used to run an APS-C body with a 400 prime and I thought it was great but really didn't give me anything much over the Sony at 600mm equiv (and the Sony can obviously do a lot more besides!). You do need decent light (I wouldn't trust it much above iso400) but the lens is undeniably sharp

[DibblyDobbler]

Robin Portrait by Mike Smith, on Flickr

[LongQ]

DibblyDobbler said:

Robin Portrait by Mike Smith, on Flickr

That's ridiculous.

Should be assume that's you reflected in the robin's eye?

Even more ridiculous.

1/80th at 220mm ?

Absurd.

[DibblyDobbler]

LongQ said:

That's ridiculous.

Should be assume that's you reflected in the robin's eye?

Even more ridiculous.

1/80th at 220mm ?

Absurd.

Cheers - yes I believe you can see me (kneeling) and Mrs DD (standing) in front of a low fence

I agree it is a bit silly but I wanted to see how far I could push a closeup and still get a decent result - sort of a macro crossover

I think I've done Robins to death now so next up is the Kingfisher which I spotted at the park last weekend but scarpered before I could get close enough - I've got a feeling it might be a wee bit trickier than the (extremely tame) Robins!

[LongQ]

DibblyDobbler said:

LongQ said:

That's ridiculous.

Should be assume that's you reflected in the robin's eye?

Even more ridiculous.

1/80th at 220mm ?

Absurd.

Cheers - yes I believe you can see me (kneeling) and Mrs DD (standing) in front of a low fence

I agree it is a bit silly but I wanted to see how far I could push a closeup and still get a decent result - sort of a macro crossover

I think I've done Robins to death now so next up is the Kingfisher which I spotted at the park last weekend but scarpered before I could get close enough - I've got a feeling it might be a wee bit trickier than the (extremely tame) Robins!

I have heard that Kingfishers are more than a little trickier. Hummingbirds possibly slightly easier one gathers. Not that you will see many in our part of the world.

The robin is probably talking to his agent about image rights and similar matters as we converse. Best avoided before they ask you where to send the invoice ...

[jmorgan]

River near me has a few kingfishers. Only been trying for 10 years, few I have had over that time have not been good with my bog standard 300. Keep telling the boss I need a better one.

Doesn't help when the little sod just flits away after I have been standing near it where I would have got a good shot and I had not spotted it.

[jimmy156]

Caught this chap in the snow, really must get out and do some more bird photography this year!

IMG_2445 by jimmyb156, on Flickr

[jamesbilluk]

Some amazing photos in this thread!

Here are some first attempts for me, whilst in Costa Rica, these were all in the wild, I was using a Fuji X-Pro2, some with a 55-200, and the 90mm 2.0 prime (amazingly sharp lens)















Wish I had a longer lens for this one -



And one from the UK, Ive sold the X pro 2 for an XT2, this was with my new fuji film 100-400 on its first outing



and this little Robin today -



Looking forward to getting out more with the camera and lens,

Edited by jamesbilluk on Wednesday 15th February 14:18

Edited by jamesbilluk on Wednesday 15th February 16:18

[JSS 911]

Finally got a few shots of these beauties

Waxwing by John, on Flickr

Waxwing by John, on Flickr

[DibblyDobbler]

These are great John

[K12beano]

Stunning!

[Tyre Tread]

Will you guys stop waxwing lyrical about them.

[Gandahar]

My daughter after spending the last several years looking at Minecraft etc is doing the Duke of Edinburgh and has decided to do bird photography. She has been taking snaps constantly

I was going to show here this thread but after seeing the great pictures just on the first page worried she might think she is not doing too good. It's not for the want of trying though. 600 pictures yesterday ....

Bit different from when I went on holiday with a roll of 24 snaps that had to be sent off to bonus print.

However I sneaked out her camera today and got some action footage of our apple tree. Multiple goldfinches and a green finch, plus a long tailed tit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_soNfU_WUus

pedcking order rules

[Gandahar]

JSS 911 said:

Finally got a few shots of these beauties

Waxwing by John, on Flickr

Waxwing by John, on Flickr

yep, bow down, cracking shots.

[kevin63]

DSC_1582 by Kev Dunnington, on Flickr

DSC_1533 by Kev Dunnington, on Flickr

DSC_1596 by Kev Dunnington, on Flickr

DSC_0565 by Kev Dunnington, on Flickr

[JSS 911]

Gandahar said:

JSS 911 said:

Finally got a few shots of these beauties

Waxwing by John, on Flickr

Waxwing by John, on Flickr

yep, bow down, cracking shots.

But I did take about 120 shots in about 20mins to get a few good ones

[Gandahar]

JSS 911 said:

Gandahar said:

JSS 911 said:

Finally got a few shots of these beauties

Waxwing by John, on Flickr

Waxwing by John, on Flickr

yep, bow down, cracking shots.

But I did take about 120 shots in about 20mins to get a few good ones

I heard we had a very good berry harvest so lots of birds are benefitting. My daughter still bashing away, or should say clicking



she does it all on auto of course, though strangely likes the manual focus button. I've tried to get better shots on full manual and occasionally can, but as I am just a novice the "brain" in the camera has enough boffins programming it to make auto a better bet. Cameras are epic bits of kit, shame the smartphone is reducing the bottom end but glad my daughter likes these 1 inch sensor superzooms and can see the difference. Thank you Duke of Edinburgh.

Personally I am saving up for what replaces the Sony RX100 V and Panasonic LX10, as I prefer just to have the camera to hand when I am out and about. I've had my Canon SX220 for 5 years and time has caught up with it, time wise and scratches wise. As a snappy camera it has done stirling work, never an issue. Probably would be still working strong in 20 years time.

Edited by Gandahar on Saturday 25th February 18:35

[Japveesix]

Not the world's best photos by a long stretch by I was a bit excited this morning to wake up to the gentle mating calls of a pair of ravens who look like they're thinking of nesting on our neighbours roof at the end of our garden!

I used to think (going back a few years now) that ravens were only found in the remote parts of Wales, Dartmoor etc. So to be able to watch them so clearly on a roof on an ex-council estate in Bristol is rather nice

Ravens2 by Joe Clarke, on Flickr

Ravens3 by Joe Clarke, on Flickr