Bird in flight /wildlife

ill finish it off with one from my current rig of choice the nikon d7200 and sigma 150-600 C again hand held .. but lets be honest Damion IF I hadn't listed cameras and lenses above and asked you to guess what was taken with what would you have known ..?????

happy mondays by jeff and jan cohen, on Flickr
 
@Damo1 a couple of BIF with the EM1-II and 100-400mm, the first was pretty straight forward but the second was tricky and required good AF as the bird suddenly turned and dive bombed into the water.


Varadero by TDG-77, on Flickr

Varadero by TDG-77, on Flickr
 
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The black fox , would never had a clue what was used to capture anything , fantastic shot , the point being you used the gear that had the potential and made an amazing image .
Snerkler they are also fantastic and number 2 is very dramatic !
Much much more practice required for me and maybe a little upgrade and a couple of additional bits ,
I’m also shocked by the manual focus images , now that does seem like a challenge .

I’ve not long discovered i have an owl nest a 1 min walk from my house , not sure what species yet I’ve been told little owls but could be tawny owls . I want to get images of them soon .
 
Damo1 said:
The black fox , would never had a clue what was used to capture anything , fantastic shot , the point being you used the gear that had the potential and made an amazing image .
Snerkler they are also fantastic and number 2 is very dramatic !
Much much more practice required for me and maybe a little upgrade and a couple of additional bits ,
I’m also shocked by the manual focus images , now that does seem like a challenge .

I’ve not long discovered i have an owl nest a 1 min walk from my house , not sure what species yet I’ve been told little owls but could be tawny owls . I want to get images of them soon .
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I've been looking for wild owls for ages and not found any yet, you're very lucky (y)

I'm not sure how those manual images were shot, but if I was doing it I'd tend to use pre-focus/range focus.
 
Damo1 said:
The black fox , would never had a clue what was used to capture anything , fantastic shot , the point being you used the gear that had the potential and made an amazing image .
Snerkler they are also fantastic and number 2 is very dramatic !
Much much more practice required for me and maybe a little upgrade and a couple of additional bits ,
I’m also shocked by the manual focus images , now that does seem like a challenge .

I’ve not long discovered i have an owl nest a 1 min walk from my house , not sure what species yet I’ve been told little owls but could be tawny owls . I want to get images of them soon .
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Your Olympus is more than capable of using manual focus lenses , I.e a k&f M42 to MFT adaptor is around £20 they are good adaptors , a 400mm manual lens around £100 or less if lucky .. your omd body will add ibis to the lens and once your past inifinity it’s fairly easy to get b.i.f .
with practise in fact I found that the actual hit rate is pretty similar to a A/F lenses you just have to ensure your aperture and shutter speed are good ... the only downside is that prices on m.f lenses have been rising recently as more people cotton on to it , the upside is that a lot of cheap glass can found still with patience and although heavier than modern lenses they are often of far better quality
 
@the black fox, you obviously have amazing skills to capture birds with manual focus. I take on board your tips re infinity, I will have a go! You haven't shared your settings, but the light looks good in all your images - do you usually shoot as wide an aperture as you can? I ask because the op was concerned re noise on MFT.

I think I need all the help I can get with autofocus :rolleyes: I do use manual lenses but not for action. I think a dog running along a beach would be difficult, especially as I find they usually run towards me :LOL: I guess you would have to pre-focus?

Can I ask more about your adapter? When I looked into getting one that enabled me to use my Canon lenses on my MFT I found them rather expensive, but perhaps I was looking for the wrong item or in the wrong place. Could you tell me more please? Apologies @Damo1 if this is slightly off topic, though hopefully may be relevant to you too.
 
Bebop said:
@the black fox, you obviously have amazing skills to capture birds with manual focus. I take on board your tips re infinity, I will have a go! You haven't shared your settings, but the light looks good in all your images - do you usually shoot as wide an aperture as you can? I ask because the op was concerned re noise on MFT.

I think I need all the help I can get with autofocus :rolleyes: I do use manual lenses but not for action. I think a dog running along a beach would be difficult, especially as I find they usually run towards me :LOL: I guess you would have to pre-focus?

Can I ask more about your adapter? When I looked into getting one that enabled me to use my Canon lenses on my MFT I found them rather expensive, but perhaps I was looking for the wrong item or in the wrong place. Could you tell me more please? Apologies @Damo1 if this is slightly off topic, though hopefully may be relevant to you too.
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Hmmm I almost always shoot in a.v and where possible stop down 1 or 2 stops at most to allow a bit of d.o.f .. your infinity point will also vary according to lens make and focal length ,take that 200 mm lens I used the inifinty point was approx 20 yards away , so in theory anything beyond that was basically in focus and you only need a millimetre or two to snap it into focus rather than massive throw from close to far as in a a.f lens .. so yes focus to infinity then adjust with baby moves .. hope that makes sense .. .

Adaptors there’s a massive choice out there if you search , I’m presuming that you were looking for a a.f type to use the autofocus on your canon lenses , I will look in a bit but I can’t see a dumb adaptor being that much . But if you look in the Panasonic thread on here I beleive Keith has just got a a.f one that’s workin* well

As expected just looked on e.bay a dumb adaptor are from £7 up and electronic a/f ones go from £95 upwards
 
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the black fox said:
Hmmm I almost always shoot in a.v and where possible stop down 1 or 2 stops at most to allow a bit of d.o.f .. your infinity point will also vary according to lens make and focal length ,take that 200 mm lens I used the inifinty point was approx 20 yards away , so in theory anything beyond that was basically in focus and you only need a millimetre or two to snap it into focus rather than massive throw from close to far as in a a.f lens .. so yes focus to infinity then adjust with baby moves .. hope that makes sense .. .

Adaptors there’s a massive choice out there if you search , I’m presuming that you were looking for a a.f type to use the autofocus on your canon lenses , I will look in a bit but I can’t see a dumb adaptor being that much . But if you look in the Panasonic thread on here I beleive Keith has just got a a.f one that’s workin* well

As expected just looked on e.bay a dumb adaptor are from £7 up and electronic a/f ones go from £95 upwards
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Thank you. I did manage to find some on Amazon for around £20. I might indulge. I'd be happy to go manual focus and aperture - wouldn't use them for action I expect, but don't fancy being stuck at the one aperture.
 
Bebop said:
Thank you. I did manage to find some on Amazon for around £20. I might indulge. I'd be happy to go manual focus and aperture - wouldn't use them for action I expect, but don't fancy being stuck at the one aperture.
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but thats the beauty of using legacy glass bebop , they all have there own aperture rings unlike modern a/f lenses , try this as its the cheap way to start , get a M42 to MFT adaptor from 10 to 20 quid on e.bay .. then something along the lines of a 135mm f2.8 lens again in M42 thread usually between £15 to £30 .. you can then have a play around till you decide this is for me or not , and if you dont like it stick it back on e.bay and you'll get your money back .. but with the added factor of on camera ibis I bet you'll get hooked ..
And then at a later date get something along the lines of a viltriox adaptor for your canon lenses
 
Hi Damion,

If your budget will run to it, I would go for the D500/200-500 combo - there are some good second-hand body's and lenses on ebay etc.

I have been using that kit for the past two years and can confirm that it outperforms most other similar combos for BIF in particular and is great value for money.

Anything shorter than 500mm, will soon leave you wanting more reach, especially for BIF/Wildlife!

Check out my blogs or flickr pages, if you want to see some results.

Good Luck
Glynn
 
Vintage Racer said:
Hi Damion,

If your budget will run to it, I would go for the D500/200-500 combo - there are some good second-hand body's and lenses on ebay etc.

I have been using that kit for the past two years and can confirm that it outperforms most other similar combos for BIF in particular and is great value for money.

Anything shorter than 500mm, will soon leave you wanting more reach, especially for BIF/Wildlife!

Check out my blogs or flickr pages, if you want to see some results.

Good Luck
Glynn
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Hi Glenn thanks for your comment , my budget will shortly run to it once I’ve sold off my remaining shooting equipment , i had wanted to go for a cheaper body and get a couple of better lenses together then up grade the body once I’d found some limits ( at the moment my limits are the limiting factor not equipment )
The D500 is top of my DSLR list because i see on the internet that it is an ideal bif/ wildlife camera body ( with out massive files to deal with ) but yes i will admit that rite now the 200-500 and a D500 would stretch me . Do you have any further must haves i can research , like i am with my currant mft system .
 
Damo1 said:
Hi Glenn thanks for your comment , my budget will shortly run to it once I’ve sold off my remaining shooting equipment , i had wanted to go for a cheaper body and get a couple of better lenses together then up grade the body once I’d found some limits ( at the moment my limits are the limiting factor not equipment )
The D500 is top of my DSLR list because i see on the internet that it is an ideal bif/ wildlife camera body ( with out massive files to deal with ) but yes i will admit that rite now the 200-500 and a D500 would stretch me . Do you have any further must haves i can research , like i am with my currant mft system .
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Another thing to think about is the heft of the D500 and 200-500mm, it's over 3kg. The EM1-II and 100-400mm is around 1.5kg.
 
snerkler said:
Another thing to think about is the heft of the D500 and 200-500mm, it's over 3kg. The EM1-II and 100-400mm is around 1.5kg.
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I agree it is a consideration , i do like battery grips and “big “ cameras but i will admit to not enjoying carrying them much
 
Damo1 said:
Hi Glenn thanks for your comment , my budget will shortly run to it once I’ve sold off my remaining shooting equipment , i had wanted to go for a cheaper body and get a couple of better lenses together then up grade the body once I’d found some limits ( at the moment my limits are the limiting factor not equipment )
The D500 is top of my DSLR list because i see on the internet that it is an ideal bif/ wildlife camera body ( with out massive files to deal with ) but yes i will admit that rite now the 200-500 and a D500 would stretch me . Do you have any further must haves i can research , like i am with my currant mft system .
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To be honest, I can only really speak authoratively about the D500. - I do understand the reality of budget, as I still dream of buying a 600f4 prime lens, but that's never likely to happen!

I also did stretch my budget to get the D500, but I am now so glad that I did. - For BIF, I really don't think it can be bettered, especially as the 'crop sensor' gives improved reach with any lens, over a full frame.

Personally, I would wait a bit longer to get the D500 when you can fund it, as anything else, will still leave you 'wondering' how much better the D500 would be.

Whatever you decide, enjoy what you go for!
 
I do apologise , my auto correct respelt you name and I didn’t realise . My apologies
 
Damo1 said:
I agree it is a consideration , i do like battery grips and “big “ cameras but i will admit to not enjoying carrying them much
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Obviously we all have different wants and needs but after several years of ownership I personally found handholding and carrying over 3kg of camera gear tiresome. To get equally good results, if not a touch better, for half the weight has been a godsend.

I’ve always lusted over a 500mm or 600mm f4 but I know for me the reality of lugging such heavy gear around would soon take the shine off. It must be great if weight isn’t an issue for you though (y)
 
Another problem i have is I’m fond of my em1.1 and Em5.1 so I’d quite like that feeling in future
 
Just out of interest how do the older Nikon/ canon pro bodies perform ie d3s/x (i keep coming back to this one in my fantasy camera room ) in this kind of arena ?
 
Just exploring with out spending money
 
Does anybody have any experience with the 200mm 2.8 panaleica?
I'm taking it that being a prime its a bit too restricted
 
Damo1 said:
Just out of interest how do the older Nikon/ canon pro bodies perform ie d3s/x (i keep coming back to this one in my fantasy camera room ) in this kind of arena ?
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D3s one that I have craved , ,hold there price well but still only 12mp .. I know the d500 is top drawer but I’m getting good results with the d7200 .. you can throw money at this game forever and still end up feeling like you need more . Set a budget and keep to it
 
Damo1 said:
Does anybody have any experience with the 200mm 2.8 panaleica?
I'm taking it that being a prime its a bit too restricted
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I surmise you are talking about the one for use on MFT body.

I am aware of one person who has it as well as the Olympus 300mm f4 and does rate the 200mm f2.8 in situations where the light is challenging and needs to keep the ISO as low as practically possible.

HTH
 
If your main use is still wildlife and BIF, 200mm is way too short!

Maybe a good compromise, would be a D7200, with the 200-500, until you can upgrade later?

With regards to the weight of the D500/200-500 combo, I would make 2 points.

1. The weight is an issue after half an hour or so, if hand-held, but it is certainly achievable. - I also have the 'grip' attached, which gives a better balance.

2. The easy solution, is to use it with either a decent monopod, or tripod, which will also improve your shots with any long lens anyway! - I use a 'Lensmaster' gimbal on my tripod and monopod for the majority of my BIF/Wildlife shots, as I get a higher percentage of 'keepers' that way. It also makes it easier to carry the kit over your shoulder when covering longer distances.

By all means, compromise on your equipment, but don't compromise on what you want to photograph!
 
Vintage Racer said:
If your main use is still wildlife and BIF, 200mm is way too short!

Maybe a good compromise, would be a D7200, with the 200-500, until you can upgrade later?

With regards to the weight of the D500/200-500 combo, I would make 2 points.

1. The weight is an issue after half an hour or so, if hand-held, but it is certainly achievable. - I also have the 'grip' attached, which gives a better balance.

2. The easy solution, is to use it with either a decent monopod, or tripod, which will also improve your shots with any long lens anyway! - I use a 'Lensmaster' gimbal on my tripod and monopod for the majority of my BIF/Wildlife shots, as I get a higher percentage of 'keepers' that way. It also makes it easier to carry the kit over your shoulder when covering longer distances.

By all means, compromise on your equipment, but don't compromise on what you want to photograph!
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200mm on m4/3 gives 400mm effective FOV/reach. Granted it's still some way off the 750mm effective reach you get with the D500 and 200-500mm combo, but 'could' be enough.
 
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