Thanks, @Allen_Brooks ! I’ll still use the 100-500 for sure – it’s hard to beat – but I was coveting more reach. I gave some early impressions in several replies here, The juvenile Western Bluebirds are learning the ropes . In addition I would add that although it’s a little heavier and longer than the 100-500, it feels about equally manageable. The focus ring has a surprising throw but that gives good precision. The zoom ring is tighter than I like, but probably someone with bigger hands wouldn’t complain about it. I use a follow focus lever (several on Amazon) on the zoom ring to give me more leverage and a quick idea where I am in the zoom range. (It’s a neat idea used in video to pull focus smoothly.) The MFD increases dramatically as you zoom longer, so that compromises magnification and it’s no good for dragonflies. It’s fine with the 2x. At the typical distances for small birds you have as much loss of sharpness from atmosphere as from optics. For me, the old basic sharpening in the LR Develop module works better than all the newfangled stuff. One feature I really like is that, unlike the 100-500, you can tweak focus manually in back button configuration, with AF removed from the shutter button. The small light loss compared to the 100-500 is not an issue for me, as getting more magnification of the subject balances out the compromised detail of higher noise.
i’m assuming these are Baltimore Orioles. I like the feeding behavior. Yes it is that time of year and a lot of the young ones are showing up at my feeders also. Well, not Baltimore Orioles but other species, including flickers, sparrows, chickadees, not hatches and Downey woodpeckers. I’ve got some new pictures so it’ll just take a while for me to post them.
Thanks, @David_Schoen ! I neglected to ID them – they are Bullock’s Orioles. We don’t get Baltimore’s here – just Bullock’s and Hooded. I’m seeing quite a few youngsters too. Different species seem to fledge over a fairly long period here.
Great behavioural shot Diane!. Love the colours, just falling into place.
When I was scrolling through the thumbnails, I instantly recognise this one as yours. The background not as clear as your usual. But I sure like the environment in this one. Would you consider a bigger crop?
Thanks, @Glenys_Passier and @Allen_Sparks ! Glenys, good point – the BG here isn’t very attractive. I did a cropped version. Is that what you had in mind?
And PS-- it is now SO much easier to add a revised version, with the new prompt at the top of a thread!
Ah!!! Better…and even betterer! I really like the version with more habitat. The birds are strong enough to carry the image well. It’s funny how I’m liking more habitat in images now.
Thanks, @Glenys_Passier ! And now I agree – you’ve taught me a good lesson! The full frame version posted at the top, even though it’s a raw file (with very basic adjustments). The one I posted just above was inadvertently the next frame in the sequence – at 20 fps. Not much difference.
