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Gearchat: http://photorumors.com/2014/09/05/sigma-to-announce-new-150-600mm-f5-6-3-dg-os-hsm-and-18-300mm-f3-5-6-3-dc-macro-os-hsm-lenses/ Sigma is launching their own competitor to Tamron's 150-600mm lens. I love my Sigma 120-400 and I was going to buy the Tamron this fall, but I'll wait for pricing on the Sigma before I decide. Competition is good!
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# ? Sep 8, 2014 17:48 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 23:52 |
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That was a cool, unexpected announcement. A lot of the rumor sites were expecting a 300-600 but I think people are going to be stoked to have a Tammy competitor. The speculation is that the Sigma should be a better optical performer because of the larger filter size (105mm vs the Tammy 95mm) but its significantly heavier and probably more expensive. In other good gear news, the Nikon D750 sounds like its gonna be dope as hell for birding. If the rumors about specs and pricing are true, its going to be a $2500 action full frame with a faster burst, competitive AF and better sensor than the 5DIII. Its been really entertaining watching canon fans lose their loving minds over the last few days.
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# ? Sep 8, 2014 18:13 |
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I was really hoping for a D7200 or something so I could get a high performance crop-sensor body! As it is I might just stick with my D3200 for a while longer and if it doesn't look like Nikon is releasing a high-end crop sensor body I'll just pick up a D7100. I'm (probably) heading to Borneo (Kota Kinabalu) in March so I'd like to be on a better body than the D3200 by then. But yeah, I'm interested to see the weight difference between the Sigma and Tamron. Unless it is significantly heavier than the Tamron (and/or significantly more expensive) I'll probably go for it since for me Sigma is a known quantity and I've had nothing but great experience using the 120-400mm.
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# ? Sep 8, 2014 18:21 |
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Kenshin posted:But yeah, I'm interested to see the weight difference between the Sigma and Tamron. Unless it is significantly heavier than the Tamron (and/or significantly more expensive) I'll probably go for it since for me Sigma is a known quantity and I've had nothing but great experience using the 120-400mm. Weight: Sigma - 2860 g / 100.88 oz. Tamron - 1951 g / 68.8 oz. So, almost a kilo heavier. More glass = more weight. I wouldn't be holding my breath for any new high end crop camera from Nikon. They don't seem too concerned about answering the 7D/7DII
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# ? Sep 8, 2014 18:59 |
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800peepee51doodoo posted:Weight: Sigma - 2860 g / 100.88 oz. Tamron - 1951 g / 68.8 oz. Hot drat that's quite the increase. Guess I'd better keep up with my weightlifting schedule. They're going to have to really justify that much more weight with quality (and by not getting the price too much higher than the Tamron).
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# ? Sep 8, 2014 19:15 |
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Weight is a big negative with all of the new Global Vision Sigma lenses. I think a lot of it is that they are getting sharpness improvements by increasing the image circle so the sensor is seeing more of the center rather than the edges where IQ starts to fall off. That means bigger, heavier glass and they don't really seem concerned about compensating for it elsewhere, like using magnesium for the bodies like Canon does, for instance. Oh well, there's always trade offs for the price, I guess. If it helps, that lens weighs about what my 300 f2.8 does and I'm totally used to carrying that around. It doesn't really feel that heavy after a while.
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# ? Sep 8, 2014 19:25 |
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800peepee51doodoo posted:Weight is a big negative with all of the new Global Vision Sigma lenses. I think a lot of it is that they are getting sharpness improvements by increasing the image circle so the sensor is seeing more of the center rather than the edges where IQ starts to fall off. That means bigger, heavier glass and they don't really seem concerned about compensating for it elsewhere, like using magnesium for the bodies like Canon does, for instance. Oh well, there's always trade offs for the price, I guess. If it helps, that lens weighs about what my 300 f2.8 does and I'm totally used to carrying that around. It doesn't really feel that heavy after a while. Yeah. I've rented the Nikon 300mm f/2.8 VRII a few times (it's about 100g more than the new Sigma), and don't think I had too much of an issue. I'll probably rent that again this month and make sure I don't mind carrying the weight around, and will just stick with my 120-400mm for longer/steeper hikes where total weight carried becomes an issue. That is of course assuming that the Sigma is a similar price to the Tamron--if it's closer to $1500 I'm less likely to consider it unless it is a vastly superior lens to the Tamron. EDIT: I realize how absurd it is to hook up the Nikon or even this new Sigma to a D3200. Kenshin fucked around with this message at 19:31 on Sep 8, 2014 |
# ? Sep 8, 2014 19:29 |
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Kenshin posted:EDIT: I realize how absurd it is to hook up the Nikon or even this new Sigma to a D3200. Hah, I ran into a guy once when I was out looking for Short Eared Owls that had a Canon 500mm f4 IS VII mounted on a T2i. $10,000 lens, $500 camera.
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# ? Sep 8, 2014 19:36 |
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800peepee51doodoo posted:Hah, I ran into a guy once when I was out looking for Short Eared Owls that had a Canon 500mm f4 IS VII mounted on a T2i. $10,000 lens, $500 camera. If anything it's been one hell of a lesson for me that the lenses I use are largely more important than the camera body. Not that I wouldn't love better ISO performance, better autofocus, etc, but the quality of lenses and understanding concepts like shutter speed, correct aperture settings, and practice in what lighting I can shoot in have been far more valuable than if I had a higher-end camera body.
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# ? Sep 8, 2014 19:41 |
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Totally. Bodies come and go, experience and lenses last a lot longer.
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# ? Sep 8, 2014 19:45 |
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Female Mallard by straygiraffe, on Flickr
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# ? Sep 8, 2014 21:55 |
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800peepee51doodoo posted:Ruff it is. We've got a couple of them down on the Oregon coast right now, too. I guess there's a buff breasted up near Astoria. If the weather isn't poo poo and it hangs around, I might try to find that guy in the next day or two. I was down there two weekends ago looking for Buff Breasted. Completely missed them only to come home and find out someone had found "at least three" along a beach I had driven that same day.
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# ? Sep 8, 2014 22:19 |
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Hey Mallard buddy! Young Mallard by justincook5376, on Flickr I'd also like to contribute to the yellowlegs shots: Yellowlegs by justincook5376, on Flickr Disappointed my yellowlegs shots didn't come out better, i was super close. They looked good in the viewfinder! Urban invaders need love too: Rock Dove by justincook5376, on Flickr Finally, a Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch by justincook5376, on Flickr TheMirage fucked around with this message at 00:08 on Sep 9, 2014 |
# ? Sep 9, 2014 00:05 |
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Blargh I want a better zoom lens so bad and you folks are not helping!
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# ? Sep 9, 2014 00:20 |
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Ok, settling in to the new place in Colorado. No real raptor sightings (dense forest around where I live, gonna have to find some better viewing locations). The local birds are very different from northern Virginia. Stellar's Jays, and they're assholes. Stellars Jay by torgeaux, on Flickr Lots of hummingbird action. Better shot of hummingbird by torgeaux, on Flickr And, these guys. Lots, and lots, like Hitchcock levels of lots of these guys. Glaring by torgeaux, on Flickr
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# ? Sep 9, 2014 03:41 |
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torgeaux posted:Stellar's Jays, and they're assholes. All corvids are assholes, but like, the cool assholes that wear leather jackets and are hella mad at society. One time I watched a Cooper's Hawk in a full attack dive totally blindside a Stellar's Jay right out of a tree. The jay straight hosed that hawk up with some crazy ground fighting techniques and sent it packing, cawing after it. Don't gently caress with corvids.
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# ? Sep 9, 2014 03:50 |
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Can anyone help with ID on this? It was skimming for insects in a freshwater marsh today (near Humboldt Bay in northern California). My first guess was some kind of plover or turnstone, but after looking through guides and GIS, none of them seem like a solid match.
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# ? Sep 9, 2014 04:15 |
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Moon Potato posted:Can anyone help with ID on this? It was skimming for insects in a freshwater marsh today (near Humboldt Bay in northern California). My first guess was some kind of plover or turnstone, but after looking through guides and GIS, none of them seem like a solid match. I can't decide if this is a young Franklin's Gull or a Bonaparte's Gull. I'm leaning Bonaparte's.
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# ? Sep 9, 2014 04:23 |
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BeastOfExmoor posted:I can't decide if this is a young Franklin's Gull or a Bonaparte's Gull. I'm leaning Bonaparte's. A Long-billed Curlew yanking a massive marine worm out of the mud curlew-worm by Redwood Planet, on Flickr Snowy Egrets squabbling snowy-fight by Redwood Planet, on Flickr Despite a valiant effort, this pelican failed to turn itself inside out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI-vYO1OHmo Moon Potato fucked around with this message at 09:35 on Sep 9, 2014 |
# ? Sep 9, 2014 08:12 |
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BeastOfExmoor posted:I can't decide if this is a young Franklin's Gull or a Bonaparte's Gull. I'm leaning Bonaparte's.
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# ? Sep 9, 2014 09:38 |
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Slowly going through more Kenya shots. Here's a Grey-headed Kingfisher Kenshin posted:Gearchat: The guy who lead my safari was a pretty big Canon guy and he was saying that Canon's new 100-400 is coming out soon. Is this true? I haven't heard it anywhere else. Moon Potato posted:Can anyone help with ID on this? It was skimming for insects in a freshwater marsh today (near Humboldt Bay in northern California). My first guess was some kind of plover or turnstone, but after looking through guides and GIS, none of them seem like a solid match.
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# ? Sep 9, 2014 16:41 |
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InternetJunky posted:The guy who lead my safari was a pretty big Canon guy and he was saying that Canon's new 100-400 is coming out soon. Is this true? I haven't heard it anywhere else. That's been the rumor for like 5 years. If they do update it this year, it'll be a total surprise. The current rumors are for a new 400 f4 DO IS II for some reason. Those pics are dope as poo poo btw.
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# ? Sep 9, 2014 17:52 |
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800peepee51doodoo posted:That's been the rumor for like 5 years. If they do update it this year, it'll be a total surprise. The current rumors are for a new 400 f4 DO IS II for some reason. I know there's been so many rumours about the 100-400, but the way this guy was talking about it made it sound like the specs were already released. I've stopped listening to all Canon rumours years ago while waiting for the 7D v2 to come out, which has always been "right around the corner".
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# ? Sep 9, 2014 18:34 |
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InternetJunky posted:I know people seen to have settled on gull for this, but I think the juvi black tern looks exactly like this as well. (Audubon's image) The behavior was more tern-like than gull-like, too - it was in flight the whole time I was out, making passes around the marsh and skimming for food. Also, holy poo poo that's a beautiful kingfisher.
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# ? Sep 9, 2014 18:36 |
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I thought Black Tern for a moment because the behavior did indeed sound perfect. I didn't realize how little Black Terns actually looked like Terns. Here's a loving Tern (or two): Elegant Terns by beastofexmoor, on Flickr Really mediocre lighting and a bad angle, but here's my newest life bird, a Northern Goshawk. Only the second county record in eBird. Lake Janus Northern Goshawk by beastofexmoor, on Flickr Here's a few from my first pelagic birding trip. Shooting birds from a moving boat in the middle of the ocean is miserable. I have so many out of focus shots Buller's Shearwater by beastofexmoor, on Flickr Red Phalaropes by beastofexmoor, on Flickr Fork-Tailed Storm-Petrels by beastofexmoor, on Flickr
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# ? Sep 9, 2014 20:56 |
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BeastOfExmoor posted:
This one is great! I like the reflections.
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# ? Sep 9, 2014 21:54 |
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I forgot how long its been since I've pushed photos to Flickr. Here's a bunch more from a work trip I took to the Fargo area in May. 20140519-20140519-_MG_8450.jpg by beastofexmoor, on Flickr 20140519-20140519-_MG_8440.jpg by beastofexmoor, on Flickr 20140519-20140519-_MG_8407.jpg by beastofexmoor, on Flickr 20140519-20140519-_MG_8372.jpg by beastofexmoor, on Flickr 20140520-20140520-_MG_8515.jpg by beastofexmoor, on Flickr 20140520-20140520-_MG_8488.jpg by beastofexmoor, on Flickr Chestnut-Collared Longspur by beastofexmoor, on Flickr 20140523-20140523-_MG_8615.jpg by beastofexmoor, on Flickr Wilson's Snipe by beastofexmoor, on Flickr Greater Prairie-Chickens by beastofexmoor, on Flickr Canada Warbler by beastofexmoor, on Flickr
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# ? Sep 9, 2014 22:00 |
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Kenshin posted:EDIT: I realize how absurd it is to hook up the Nikon or even this new Sigma to a D3200. I just bought the tamron in nikon mount. I'm using it on a D5100 and it looks hilarious. It's like those 1/2 pint glasses that are identical proportions to a full pint glass, being held by a gorilla. Now to go find some far away things to take bad pictures of.
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# ? Sep 10, 2014 20:14 |
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Any guesses on this one? My guess is either a young Coopers or young Sharp Shinned Hawk Coopers or Sharpshinned? by justincook5376, on Flickr Coopers or Sharpshinned? by justincook5376, on Flickr Crow vs. Hawk by justincook5376, on Flickr
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# ? Sep 10, 2014 23:55 |
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TheMirage posted:Any guesses on this one? My guess is either a young Coopers or young Sharp Shinned Hawk That looks like a northern harrier to me. Especially, considering that it looks like meadows and marsh in the surrounding area -- instead of forest. Northern harriers love to fly like 20 ft off the ground and are best identified by the white band above the tail (called the rump patch).
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# ? Sep 11, 2014 00:29 |
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I ruled that out because it doesn't have the defining white butt. Here is a pic from the back Hawk Back by justincook5376, on Flickr
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# ? Sep 11, 2014 00:52 |
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That definitely tail definitely looks like a Cooper's Hawk.
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# ? Sep 11, 2014 01:03 |
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I'd call it a juvie Cooper's. It's too big to be a Sharpie, I think. The head seems farther forward/longer, too. Def not a harrier. Harriers have owlish faces and longer, thinner wings. Accipiters have broadish wings.
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# ? Sep 11, 2014 01:03 |
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800peepee51doodoo posted:I'd call it a juvie Cooper's. It's too big to be a Sharpie, I think. The head seems farther forward/longer, too. Def not a harrier. Harriers have owlish faces and longer, thinner wings. Accipiters have broadish wings. I was going to say Cooper's as well, if that is a Raven in those pictures like it looks like.
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# ? Sep 11, 2014 01:12 |
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I'd guess Coops too. Aside from the size, I think Sharpies are supposed to fly with their wrists a little more forward, while the front line of the wing is pretty straight on a Coops like it shows in the first photo.
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# ? Sep 11, 2014 01:33 |
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Coops it is. Thanks all
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# ? Sep 11, 2014 02:41 |
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That's a handsome young cooper's - nice shots, TheMirage. Apparently that juvi Black Tern I spotted the other day was the first one to be documented at Arcata Marsh since 2006. After I posted it to Facebook, the birders around here went nuts and started showing up in droves to get a look at it. I've had bad luck with being in the right place at the right time to get an interesting shot of it, but I at least got a clearer picture of it as it flew back to its roosting spot on an island today. black-tern-flight by Redwood Planet, on Flickr The Belted Kingfisher that I've been filming and photographing for a while is getting used to having me around and is letting me get considerably closer to it than it used to. queenfisher-chatter by Redwood Planet, on Flickr The little splashes here are the smelt freaking out as the kingfisher flies low over the water queenfisher-smelt by Redwood Planet, on Flickr This is the shot I've been trying to get for the last couple months. queenfisher-catch by Redwood Planet, on Flickr A Peregrine Falcon flew directly over me on its way to hunt a flock of Greater Yellowlegs peregrine-soaring by Redwood Planet, on Flickr Moon Potato fucked around with this message at 09:18 on Sep 11, 2014 |
# ? Sep 11, 2014 07:16 |
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Moon Potato posted:The Belted Kingfisher that I've been filming and photographing for a while is getting used to having me around and is letting me get considerably closer to it than it used to. Patience is a virtue! Very nice shots!
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# ? Sep 11, 2014 12:21 |
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Man I need to get in on this cool bird photoing business. All I have are pigeons and more ducks Even when I get out to the countryside there isn't much variation, and anything cool that I do find flees before I can even get it in range of my 70-300mm. Mallard by straygiraffe, on Flickr Pigeon in flight by straygiraffe, on Flickr
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# ? Sep 12, 2014 21:10 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 23:52 |
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Uh, apparently Sigma is going to release two 150-600mm lenses: http://www.dpreview.com/articles/1075466394/sigma-announces-two-150-600mm-f-5-6-3-dg-os-hsm-zooms The stats that leaked were for the heavier pro ("Sport") model. It'll be interesting to see the price and image quality difference.
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# ? Sep 13, 2014 18:31 |