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11-21-2015, 10:18 AM - 1 Like   #511
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Some Bigma help with the problem of hunting. I'm sure most of you more experienced and educated shooters already know this but for me it is new and has been very helpful.

The Bigma 50-500 hunts like an old hound dog. Reading an article here I decided to try switching the AF to the rear button on my K5IIs and disabling the half-press on the shutter button. This has helped tremendously and cut the hunting in half or less. Since I recompose most shots, if I let off the half-press the Bigma starts the hunt all over again, but with the rear AF it locks the focus. So far I am well pleased with the results!

A few from this morning....all Jpegs.

Found a peanut...so proud!


Got tired of holding it!


Stubby Squirrel likes peanuts too!


Winter is coming fast.....hope we can keep up the posting here!

Regards!

11-21-2015, 11:44 AM   #512
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Caught this guy today.

11-21-2015, 01:26 PM   #513
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QuoteOriginally posted by Rupert Quote
Some Bigma help with the problem of hunting. I'm sure most of you more experienced and educated shooters already know this but for me it is new and has been very helpful.

The Bigma 50-500 hunts like an old hound dog. Reading an article here I decided to try switching the AF to the rear button on my K5IIs and disabling the half-press on the shutter button. This has helped tremendously and cut the hunting in half or less. Since I recompose most shots, if I let off the half-press the Bigma starts the hunt all over again, but with the rear AF it locks the focus. So far I am well pleased with the results!

A few from this morning....all Jpegs.

Found a peanut...so proud!


Got tired of holding it!


Stubby Squirrel likes peanuts too!


Winter is coming fast.....hope we can keep up the posting here!

Regards!
Suggestion: set your camera to Af C . That way holding the back button will track movement and lock when released. Another thing I use often too is both spot focus and spot metering that has helped cutting lens hunting in a lot of circumstances.
11-21-2015, 03:59 PM   #514
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QuoteOriginally posted by Oldbayrunner Quote
Suggestion: set your camera to Af C . That way holding the back button will track movement and lock when released. Another thing I use often too is both spot focus and spot metering that has helped cutting lens hunting in a lot of circumstances.
I appreciate the tip....it got a little dark early today but I will try it in the morning. I do use spot focus/metering already.

Here is my last shot today.....something lives in that hole out in the Woods of Otis, but I have no idea what it is? Otis claims it's a Gremlin, but I've never seen anything come in our go out. Any guess???



Regards!

11-21-2015, 05:33 PM   #515
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Rupert I have always used the rear AF button for focus. I disabled focussing with the shutter button. I find this to the best way to handle hunting. If I go past the focus point I just let off the AF button and press it again to switch the lens in the other direction. If you think the Bigma hunts you try a 55-300. They hunt like a blind old hound dog. I have been working 60 plus hours a week so I have had little time for much of anything. I was going through shots from this summer and came across this one. Pretty much got over looked.
Bigma 500mm 1/500 f10 on the K3

11-21-2015, 11:04 PM   #516
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I don't understand how you guys get such crisp photos and I get crap. This is untouched and my focus light was dead on the bird opening it's wings.


Crop of the same shot with no other processing so you can see the fuzz.


The light was good and my data was:
K3 with Sigma 50-500 and a Pentax 1.4x converter.
F6.3
ISO 200
Speed 1/320
focal 500 plus the 1.4
shutter priority
tripod

My guess is camera movement or being so far away but what am I doing wrong?
11-22-2015, 12:41 AM   #517
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You should set your f.stop to at least 8 to get them sharp, least with my lens it's the case.
Plus do you use a remote trigger, as using the regular shutter release will bring some movement.

Also is the back lens clean, I've found it can get misty sometimes.

11-22-2015, 05:52 AM   #518
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QuoteOriginally posted by charchri4 Quote
I don't understand how you guys get such crisp photos and I get crap. This is untouched and my focus light was dead on the bird opening it's wings.


Crop of the same shot with no other processing so you can see the fuzz.


The light was good and my data was:
K3 with Sigma 50-500 and a Pentax 1.4x converter.
F6.3
ISO 200
Speed 1/320
focal 500 plus the 1.4
shutter priority
tripod

My guess is camera movement or being so far away but what am I doing wrong?
For starters Bigmas coming with a learning curve. I'm still learning with mine. I have had very limited success using a converter with it. With the 1.4 converter I have to manual focus everything. I use live view and magnification. The Bigma has quick shift so you can manually focus anytime. All my shots are taken between f8-f11. When on a tripod make sure to disable both shake reduction and optical stabilization. I typically try to keep my shutter speed above 1/500 unless I am using a remote or shutter cable. At 500mm any camera movement with ruin a shot. You need a good heavy tripod that can absorb vibrations. When setting up I try to pick a location that will block the wind. I suggest first to remove the converter. Then go somewhere where you can shoot some static subjects. I went to park and shot some signs around the park to experiment with different settings to see what worked. I still manual focus on my shots when the subject is very far away.
11-22-2015, 07:15 AM   #519
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QuoteOriginally posted by charchri4 Quote
I don't understand how you guys get such crisp photos and I get crap. This is untouched and my focus light was dead on the bird opening it's wings.
That shot is very OOF.....no doubt about it. There could be a number of reasons. Camera shake seems most likely if you were locked on focus. Was SR in the on position? Was it handheld? What was the distance?

Drop the TC and see if focus improves. And take Scorpios advice and do a lot of testing at stationary objects using different settings. He is also right that the Bigmas take a lot of learning to get decent shots. It doesn't happen out of the box.

I disagree that you need F8 for a crisp shot......

F6.3 450mm 1/200 ISO 1600


Almost all of these shots are at f6.3 and at low shutter speeds at or below 1/200...all are handheld. You can view the EXIF if you click on the images.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/129469263@N03/albums/72157651162955781

https://www.flickr.com/photos/129469263@N03/albums/72157651153186152

It takes practice and learning how low a speed you can go for any given circumstance. I would shoot at higher speeds if I had the light, but most often don't.

I have also used the focus adjust on my K5IIs to adjust the lens...you might try that...it takes a while to find the best setting.

I would try to sit and take a lot of shots as Scorpio mentioned he has done, and when you begin to get what you want you will be on the right track to learning why and how some things work and others don't.

Don't give up, once you get there it is well worth the time spent on the trip!

Best Regards!

QuoteOriginally posted by Scorpio71GR Quote
I was going through shots from this summer and came across this one. Pretty much got over looked.
Glad you found it.....one of your better shots!
11-22-2015, 07:44 AM   #520
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Wow this is super helpful. Thank YOU! Sadly I have to wait till next weekend to try again...
11-22-2015, 08:52 AM - 1 Like   #521
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QuoteOriginally posted by charchri4 Quote
Wow this is super helpful. Thank YOU! Sadly I have to wait till next weekend to try again...
Unless you have a defective lens, which is highly doubtful, you should be able to get decent shots with regularity. The Bigmas do take some real working experience to get your method right.
Lots of people give up and quit. Don't be one of them! We can use you in this thread and will help you in any way we can.

Regards!


On a side note....

This is my first morning shot today to use the back AF button on my Bigma, and it works wonderfully. It has practically eliminated hunting and even appears to give me sharper more accurate results. This is going to make Bigma shooting much more enjoyable!

My only problem now is that I have several bags of those Bigma Hound Hunting Biscuits I bought on Amazon to try and slow the hunting....and now I don't need them!

My first squirrel today....Stubby Squirrel (he agreed to pose!) shot using the back AF button.


A little birdie sample using the back button.

Last edited by Rupert; 11-22-2015 at 11:39 AM.
11-22-2015, 12:59 PM - 1 Like   #522
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Hello Blackbird


A new visitor to my garden
Sigma 150-500

---------- Post added 11-22-2015 at 08:11 PM ----------

And there is this plump monster who eats more than all the others put together


At least it sits still unlike the other visitors.
11-22-2015, 01:19 PM   #523
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That's one fat pigeon.

11-22-2015, 02:35 PM - 1 Like   #524
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QuoteOriginally posted by Rupert Quote
A little birdie sample using the back button
Nice one Rupert, I envy you and your Cardinals. I can not even find one here.

QuoteOriginally posted by mohb Quote
And there is this plump monster who eats more than all the others put together
I think that one needs some of those low calorie seeds, nice capture.

QuoteOriginally posted by Rupert Quote
I disagree that you need F8 for a crisp shot......
I should have added that I find f6.3 is not very useful on very distant subjects. If you close enough, say less than a hundred feet, I find it to be ok. I am rarely ever that close, so I primarily stop down. With the K3 I do not worry too much about high ISO until I am over 2000.

Here is another shot from this summer I never did anything with. Awhile back I picked up DXO Optics Pro 10 when it was half off. I am still trying to figure it out. I have used Lightroom since version 1. It certainly is different. I do not think I would processed this one like this out of Lightroom. Going to take awhile experimenting on this some more.

Last edited by Scorpio71GR; 11-22-2015 at 06:00 PM.
11-22-2015, 03:07 PM - 2 Likes   #525
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QuoteOriginally posted by mohb Quote
Hello Blackbird
Nice shot! Get him more seeds!

QuoteOriginally posted by mohb Quote
And there is this plump monster who eats more than all the others put together
He looks like some of my fat squirrels! Nice shooting!

QuoteOriginally posted by Huxley Quote
That's one fat pigeon.
That's a cute little birdie...love the colors, nice shooting too!

QuoteOriginally posted by Scorpio71GR Quote
Nice one Rupert, I envy you and your Cardinals. I can not even find one here.
Thanks! Got lots of them here Scorpio!

QuoteOriginally posted by Scorpio71GR Quote
I should have added that I find f6.3 is not very useful on very distant subjects.
F6.3 0r 6.6 will get you a shot......f 8 will get you a better shot. Most of my shots are wide open to keep the ISO down and the speed up. It can work if you have the right kind of light, even if it is low light.

Old Bigma @ f6.7 .....a crop from about 60 feet away. Luck is always welcome too!


F7.1 and ISO 160 will get you better than wide open too.


QuoteOriginally posted by Scorpio71GR Quote
Here is another shot from this summer I never did anything with.
That is another one of your better shots of the Herons!


Winter is coming fast, there will still be a lot of birds to shoot here since I put out feed twice daily. You guys get out some feeders and you will have plenty to shoot....word travels fast when birds find a free meal!

Regards!
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