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I took a trip to Seward, Alaska near the end of July to visit a friend working for a marine tour company for the summer. We went on the 8 1/2 hour glacier cruise and saw a lot of really cool stuff. Seals and sea otters and such in the wildlife thread. I continue to be really impressed with the Nikon 200-500mm lens. It wasn't easy shooting from a moving boat but the lens is a champ.         pictures from the Alaska SeaLife Center (non-wild):   
Kenshin fucked around with this message at 06:34 on Aug 8, 2016 |
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Aug 8, 2016 06:14
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Regarding photos not being sharp on tele lenses. I have a Canon 300 F2.8 IS II and have the same problem. I have taken thousands of photos of birds with this thing, both stationary and in-flight, and with all kinds of settings (1/200 at F2.8 to 1/2000 at F8) at all times of day. I don't think i have taken a single photo i am satisfied with, in terms of photo quality. Not a single photo i have taken "pops" (e.g. like the swimming puffin photo in the previous post) In the beginning i chalked it up to inexperience with long rear end focal length (i use the 300 with 1,4x and 2x TC's mainly, but use it at 300 occasionally as well) but photos have not really improved as i have been using it, and it has almost been a year since i bought it now. I don't think it is my camera as my Canon 70-200 F2.8 IS II is extremely sharp on photo after photo, even with the 1,4x (heck, the best bird photos i have taken are at 280mm with the 70-200 and 1,4x TC). Also, since i have taken photos with great quality at 280 with the 70-200 but are unable to with the 300 i don't really feel its a telephoto inexperience issue either. On the other hand, with the 300 and 2x TC, on a tripod and manual focus using live view at 10x magnification i have taken sharp photos of the moon. I have been on the fence about asking as i suppose i feel that someone that buys a $7000 lens should not be asking questions about how to take sharp photos but right now this thing is just acting as a paperweight as i take the 70-200 out with me instead. Could it really be a AFMA issue?
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Aug 8, 2016 10:04
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Ineptitude posted:Could it really be a AFMA issue? Could be, yeah. Its definitely worth trying it out. Its a relatively common thing for people to send their lens and body to Canon to be calibrated when they get a new supertele. That 300 2.8 IS II should be killing it. I would definitely set it up on a tripod, do some testing to see where its falling short and do some AFMA. Maybe see if there's a local camera tech in your area. Here in Portland, there's a repair shop that will do a calibration and basic camera servicing for like $60, you might have something similar where you live. Kenshin posted:I took a trip to Seward, Alaska near the end of July to visit a friend working for a marine tour company for the summer. Thats an awesome friend to have. Nice stuff!
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Aug 8, 2016 18:20
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More shorebirds are returning to Humboldt Bay. The Long-billed Dowitchers are back. dowitcher-worm by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  dowitchers-reflection by Redwood Planet, on Flickr The camera-friendly Great Blue Heron at Arcata Marsh was letting me hang out nearby, but then it got perturbed by a Great Egret in its new favorite fishing spot and took off to give chase.  gbh-takeoff by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  wader-chase by Redwood Planet, on Flickr A sandpiper explosion in slow motion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBt0qGD-d9c
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Aug 10, 2016 08:16
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Hummingbirds and bushtits this morning in Discovery Park. 500mm, ISO 500, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec  500mm, ISO 1100, f/5.6, 1/3200 sec  500mm, ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/4000 sec Kenshin fucked around with this message at 02:40 on Aug 14, 2016 |
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Aug 13, 2016 23:40
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Ineptitude posted:Regarding photos not being sharp on tele lenses.  Mine is insanely sharp at 300, excellent at 420, and pretty good at 600. Does the lens have the latest firmware update? There was a change to the AF algorithm.
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Aug 14, 2016 02:12
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It's a scorcher today in Seattle, so I went out in the relatively cool morning (relatively) for a bit of quiet birding.  And seriously, this lens is so great. This is a 1:1 pixels cropped image:  500mm, f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO-720
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Aug 20, 2016 19:32
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That's pretty impressive for a zoom at the long end while wide open. Nice work getting those closeups of shy birds, too. A few from around Humboldt Bay:  pelican-downward by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  snowy-wings by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  heron-buddies by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  pelicans-mist by Redwood Planet, on Flickr I picked up a used D500 from B&H, and I'm putting it through the paces this weekend. The autofocus system is a HUGE step up from the D800's, and it's been able to get a focus lock in some very challenging situations. I'm still getting the AF fine tune dialed in and playing around with the settings to figure out what works for me, but I was able to get a swallow flying toward the camera in focus for the first time in my life yesterday. 
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Aug 21, 2016 21:29
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The Peregrine Falcons on Humboldt Bay have one fledgling this year. It came to Arcata Marsh to try hunting a couple times, but I didn't see it catch anything. peregrine-n00b-flight by Redwood Planet, on Flickr The weather has been really gloomy since then, but I had some nice close encounters with the parents while they chased sandpipers.  falcon-sandpipers 4 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  falcon-sandpipers 1 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  falcon-sandpipers 5 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr Western Sandpipers settling back onto the rocks after the falcons left:  sandpiper22 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr
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Aug 29, 2016 06:45
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Been in Austalia, birds there are fantastic.  Crimson Rosella by King Dugga, on Flickr  Australian Brush Turkey by King Dugga, on Flickr  Osprey by King Dugga, on Flickr The osprey was playing with its partner, they got ridiculously close. I think they steal scraps/get fed from fishermen because this one wasn't bothered at all when we walked right past it the first time. I should have set my shutter speed higher though, because there's just a bit of motion blur. Not used to shooting birds!
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Aug 30, 2016 16:18
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One of the only birds I got a good look at in Big Bend National Park this past April.
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Sep 1, 2016 08:15
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 CorellasSo I went for a drive recently with my friends, 30 or so of these guys flew into the tree above us when we stopped to barbeque lunch. They were in pairs like that. It was kinda cute, but then we heard this weird rear end noise   Getting Frisky wid it they were noisy as hell and right above us, as we were eating. Australia is cool I guess.
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Sep 2, 2016 10:53
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I did some video recording this morning while in Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. I'm still getting used to audio settings with the microphone (thus the hiss--I shouldn't be using auto-gain when it is so quiet outside!) and the motion/balance with the gimbal head mount and a super-telephoto. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mtm8hz90sJQ
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Sep 5, 2016 01:16
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Kenshin posted:I did some video recording this morning while in Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. That heron did a great job not to eat any salad. Cool vids!
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Sep 5, 2016 01:26
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A Saucy Bratwurst posted:
I spent a couple afternoons staking out the shorebird gathering spots during high tide. The falcons showed up.  peregrine by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  peregrine 4 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  peregrine 6 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  peregrine 2 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  peregrine 9 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr Of course, it had to make a kill in the one corner of the lake that I couldn't see from my position, then fly away from me to go eat its catch.  peregrine 7 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr
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Sep 6, 2016 04:47
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The look on his face is the only reason I kept and uploaded the photo.
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Sep 6, 2016 09:58
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A Swallow or two Swallow by Marc, on Flickr  Welcome Swallow by Marc, on Flickr Raikyn fucked around with this message at 08:43 on Sep 9, 2016 |
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Sep 9, 2016 06:55
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  Vaux's Swifts are in town!  I'll probably go out a third night in a row to try slower shutters speeds since this was pushing even full frame light limits. A few 1/160 test shots worked pretty well since they slow way down fluttering in.
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Sep 13, 2016 04:43
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Flocks of birds are fun. The Purple Martins in Austin can be quite spectacular. (This is from July 26, 2014)  
DorianGravy fucked around with this message at 05:15 on Sep 13, 2016 |
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Sep 13, 2016 05:10
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Bit of a dumb question but is using a polarizer when shooting birds on water a good idea? i've been debating getting one but 95mm filters are not particularly cheap and would hate to find out after the fact that i spent over a hundred dollars on a useless filter.
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Sep 15, 2016 12:24
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Ezekiel_980 posted:Bit of a dumb question but is using a polarizer when shooting birds on water a good idea? i've been debating getting one but 95mm filters are not particularly cheap and would hate to find out after the fact that i spent over a hundred dollars on a useless filter.
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Sep 15, 2016 15:09
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Kenshin posted:Yes especially for sunny days, and I need to buy one too, but haven't yet because they are pretty expensive. Any suggestions for what to look for when looking for a filter? So far I've seen some are multi coated and others are single coated. Since I don't beating them too badly I might opt for the single coat. I've been looking at b+w and they offer some with higher transmittance and if it means the same as it does in science land they that would simply mean that they let more light in. Does that mean they are less effective at polarization?
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Sep 15, 2016 15:37
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Ezekiel_980 posted:Any suggestions for what to look for when looking for a filter? So far I've seen some are multi coated and others are single coated. Since I don't beating them too badly I might opt for the single coat. Good coatings and glass let more light through, bad ones let less through. So higher transmittance doesn't mean less effective at polarization, just better materials. And single coated filters will flare more when a light source is in the frame (or just outside of it) than multicoated ones.
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Sep 15, 2016 17:43
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You're losing 2 stops of light right off the bat by using a circular polarizer, so any differences from the coatings and glass used will be pretty much inconsequential as far as overall transmission is concerned. Uncoated surfaces tend to wash out the color and contrast from an image, though.
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Sep 18, 2016 05:30
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 Embarcadero on Flickr
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Sep 19, 2016 17:44
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BetterLekNextTime posted:
Brown Pelicans fishing, captured at 120 frames per second: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PApy7Vg5zRY
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Sep 21, 2016 16:33
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 warbler-sunset by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  juvi-incoming by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  harrier-incoming by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  grebe-running2 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  gbh-sunset 1 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  egret-wing by Redwood Planet, on Flickr
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Sep 27, 2016 08:06
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Wow, those are fantastic.
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Sep 27, 2016 17:58
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yippee cahier posted:Wow, those are fantastic.
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Sep 27, 2016 21:16
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King Vulture, Costa Rica
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Oct 1, 2016 16:50
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What a wild-looking bird.
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Oct 1, 2016 20:22
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Everything about that bird is super cool and weird. He looks like a stern old lady dressed up in furs.
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Oct 1, 2016 20:49
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Low passes at a falconry demonstration. IMG_2615.jpg by Iain Compton, on Flickr  IMG_2737.jpg by Iain Compton, on Flickr  IMG_2419.jpg by Iain Compton, on Flickr
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Oct 2, 2016 16:49
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Spring in Australia means it's fairy wren season   
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Oct 10, 2016 11:38
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That second shot is adorable, toggle. A big school of smelt found its way into Arcata Marsh's brackish pond, so the wading birds are going nuts there.  ge-smelt by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  gbh-swallow 1 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  gbh-grab by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  ge-face 1 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  gbh-shake 2 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr
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Oct 10, 2016 15:31
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Hahaha that looks like the best most enjoyable shake.
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Oct 10, 2016 16:06
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my cat is norris posted:Hahaha that looks like the best most enjoyable shake.  ge-shakeout2 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  snowy-fluff by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  gbh-shake by Redwood Planet, on Flickr
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Oct 11, 2016 04:16
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 Bald Eagle by Tyler Huestis, on FlickrI think this is about a 4th year bald eagle neckbeard fucked around with this message at 02:07 on Oct 12, 2016 |
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Oct 12, 2016 02:05
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A reminder to be safe out there. There have been a few recent assaults/snatch and runs of high-end camera gear in the Bay Area. Nothing new really, but if you are out alone, be mindful of other people.
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Oct 12, 2016 16:14
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Couple of smallish shore birds variable oystercatcher by Marc, on Flickr  NZ Dotterel by Marc, on Flickr
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Oct 15, 2016 08:06
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