Images 1-3 are not cropped. Only #4 is, and simply for composition. Taken on Oct. 17th during a couple of hours. You'll have to guess what it is... 8-)





EXIF:
Date Modified 2008-10-19 20:10:03
Date Taken 2008-10-17 15:15:19
Camera PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D
Exposure Time 0.0012s (1/800)
Aperture f/6.3
ISO 320
Focal Length 600mm (900mm 35mm)
Photo Dimensions 3872 x 2592

EXIF:
Date Modified 2008-10-19 20:13:50
Date Taken 2008-10-17 14:56:53
Camera PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D
Exposure Time 0.0012s (1/800)
Aperture f/6.3
ISO 320
Focal Length 520mm (780mm 35mm)
Photo Dimensions 3872 x 2592

EXIF:
Date Modified 2008-10-19 18:22:39
Date Taken 2008-10-17 00:00:00
Camera PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D
Exposure Time 0.0005s (1/2000)
Aperture f/6.3
ISO 320
Focal Length 540mm (810mm 35mm)
Photo Dimensions 3872 x 2592

EXIF:
Date Modified 2008-10-19 20:42:34
Date Taken 2008-10-17 14:44:40
Camera PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D
Exposure Time 0.0012s (1/800)
Aperture f/5.6
ISO 100
Focal Length 250mm (375mm 35mm)
Photo Dimensions 2926 x 1703

Cheers,
Marc

[nirudha]

Goodness that's sharp for a lens with that range!! How much does it cost if it is available?

[8540tomg]

Great stuff Marc!

Tom G

[Jimbo]

Marc... Everytime I look at your pictures they tell me I have so much more to learn. Very nice work Marc and by the sounds of it, one great lens. Are these even available any more? JIMBO

[devisor]

really like how you frame your images.. you get really close.. and the whole bunch are cute

[Marc Langille]

Very nice work. I like the one with the duck and the splattered water most.

JMR

Thank you sir - it was simply timing/reacting...

Goodness that's sharp for a lens with that range!! How much does it cost if it is available?

Hi Nirudha,

It's a rare and unusual lens because it is very sharp at both ends of the focal lengths wide open. It's a constant aperture of 5.6 throughout the focal length range of 250-600mm. Excellent lens, but not light at around 11 pounds.

Original MSRP was approx. $7000. You can see Ron Boggs' review on it in the lens review database.

You would have to find it on the used market, or NIB in Japan, etc.

Regards,
Marc

[Marc Langille]

Great stuff Marc!

Tom G

Thank you Tom! I hope all is well with you?

Marc... Everytime I look at your pictures they tell me I have so much more to learn. Very nice work Marc and by the sounds of it, one great lens. Are these even available any more? JIMBO

Thanks Jimbo - I appreciate the kind words. Please remember I had very little time to "learn the lens"... All things considered I am quite happy with the results. I know shooting with that Sigma made a big difference for my technique during the competition, since no SR/IS/OS was used in that setup. The zoom certainly allowed a LOT of flexibility in the shooting.

Regarding availability: only on the used market, possibly NIB or mint in Japan. There's one on Ebay right now for $5600 or so, and cosmetically it's been used!

Regards,
Marc

[Marc Langille]

really like how you frame your images.. you get really close.. and the whole bunch are cute

Thank you for the kind words!

That "no cropping" rule from the wildlife photo competition really taught me a lot about being a better photographer. It really discourages being lazy about your compositions, and forces your mind to work hard on getting a solution if you aren't very close.

Cheers,
Marc

[Ron Boggs]

Nice work Marc, I believe we spoke on the phone just a couple hours before your shoot? Nice of the clouds to clear a bit for you!
Another great thing about this killer lens is the extremely near close focusing distance, somewhere around 10 feet as I recall (the 600/4 is around 16 feet as I recall). This is a huge factor when shooting around waterholes or bird feeders where you can get close to small birds. In my estimation it's the best backyard birding lens ever produced by any manufacturer. And it's no slouch for more distant targets either.
Note that there are also a few F*250-600's floating around out there, but probably priced similarly to the FA*. I bought mine new from Huppins in Spokane WA--they had to order it in for me--not an ordinary stocking item! At that time, Adorama had one in stock, but I wanted to buy from my friends at Huppins. That was in the late '90's. Bought my FA*600/4 new from B&H in '95 I think and that was a stock item for them.
Hope both Adorama and B&H stock the new supertele when it comes out!

Outstanding Mark, all of them, but my faves are the last two. The duck with the water droplets and the intent look in the heron's eyes. Is that splash from a fish it just missed?

BTW Marc, IMO the duck splashing shot makes quite an interesting portrait, just crop out the body.

[sawtooth235]

Marc,

Can I inquire how much sharpening do you apply in post processing to compensate for the low pass filter?

Ray

[Marc Langille]

Nice work Marc, I believe we spoke on the phone just a couple hours before your shoot? Nice of the clouds to clear a bit for you!

Thanks Ron! We spoke during my road trip north to Seattle, so you are correct.

The weather definitely cooperated!

Cheers,
Marc

[Marc Langille]

Outstanding Mark, all of them, but my faves are the last two. The duck with the water droplets and the intent look in the heron's eyes. Is that splash from a fish it just missed?

BTW Marc, IMO the duck splashing shot makes quite an interesting portrait, just crop out the body.

Thanks Gary! The splash is from the GBH retracting from the strike. I agree about the water droplets - I'll try the duck portrait...

Regards,
Marc

[Marc Langille]

Marc,

Can I inquire how much sharpening do you apply in post processing to compensate for the low pass filter?

Ray

Hi Ray,

Not a lot - it really depends on the shot. I'll NEVER sharpen an image if it's not already right on in terms of focus, just in an attempt to rescue it - it's discarded.

Normally with higher ISO values I may use Noise Ninja, so I need to sharpen a bit to offset NR smudging the finer details in the image. It's not a simple click here and there process. Normally the default of 60%, radius 1.0-1.2. Sometimes I'll reverse that and do around 45% at radius 4.2. There are many, many ways to approach this, and every photo can be unique. Rarely will I sharpen macros, and if I do on either count, it's not a lot.

A lot depends on the background and the exposure levels in the background. I am only looking to help define the details a bit, and remove any noticeable levels of graininess in the OOF background. I do not believe in enhancing a image so it appears over-sharpened, etc. That practice I sometimes see of over-sharpening and over-saturating images really does not appeal to me at all. Looks more like a Photoshop job of the subject you'd see on a poster, not in nature.

Hope that helps?

Regards,
Marc

[sawtooth235]

Marc,

Thanks for sharing your expertise. I really enjoy your work.

Ray

[vizjerei]

It is great to know they are from that lens, so I don't get upset because of my lack of skill, instead blaming on "that's because I don't have that lens."

Great shots, and look at all the details....