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Cake day: July 1st, 2023

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  • Weight - sounds like you should do OK, and are used to the challenge, but I’d still recommend trying the lens on a camera in the camera shop first, if you are lucky enough that’s possible. The knee monopod - I know it well from the times I was able to use it! Oh, a factoid - handheld pointing directly upwards to spot goldcrests really emphasises the weight problem.

    Hood - I can’t remember - now you mention it, it probably did, as the hood I use is a Canon one, and I’d guess there’s a plenty of cheaper third party options for me to have bought. So change the advice to “Actually use the hood you get, regardless of apparent need due to weather”.



  • Just for completeness, I did have a lot of pleasure birding with the RF600 F11 lens for a few years - no zoom, fixed aperture, but it served me well (and much lighter and so easier to aim). The RF200-800 is only better as a matter of degree (a bit more reach, a bit more light, and occasionally that zoom is useful), rather than a step change improvement. That “degree” does of course mean some shots noticeably change from OK to nice, because bird shots are often on the limits of what a camera can make look good.



  • Observations then:

    • Obviously a very expensive lens for most people

    • I’ve paired it with a good (and expensive) Full-frame body

    • This was in good light - which you can’t rely on (see various of my other posts over the last few months for examples): ISO 320 at 1/1250. I normally expect more round ISO 1000-5000 in my birding shots, and you can tell the difference.

    • A Teleconverter is in effect waveshands doing an optical crop, which, in effect is losing you precious light. If the subject is brightly lit that won’t be a problem, but yes, for more usual lighting, can result in what you say. There’s some optical distortion as well, but I suspect its often not bad.

    • The lens is seriously heavy. I do use it handheld for birds, but can only hold it on target for a couple of minutes, before resting it more comfortably. There again, I’m not strong. But do test out the weight (on a camera) before purchase - I was a little gung ho on this.

    • Do get a hood, not for glare, but to protect against knocks, especially while learning to handle it






  • And that, too, is a proper use of a camera :) Quietly satisfying.

    if you haven’t already, one thing to ask yourself is whether you should rotate the shot to make the leftmost verticals truly vertical. it’s not a question with a universal correct answer - with a photo like this, you could easily decide that true vertical will look too clinical and against the spirit of the rest of the photo, and that the “out of the camera” angle is better. And it is your opinion that counts!













  • KevinFRK@lemmy.worldOPtobirding@lemmy.worldJust another Red Kite
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    1 month ago

    Because I’ve watched them so much, I’m familiar with their flight patterns (loosely, a lazy horizontal corkscrew, a lazy half straight glide, and then a determined “I want to get there” flight - oh, and a circling up on thermals which is a “no hoper” for photos) - with those I find it much easier now to predict and track their flight. Though a good lens and auto-focus obviously helps a lot!