[WPRESTO]

I found it and a f5.6 version in a local pawn shop and much preferred the 6.3 due to the lighter weight, better handling, and better IQ. Selling off the 5.6 made this lens free.

BTW, can any of the birders here ID the bird I posted? I'm just learning myself.

Looks like a GRAY JAY. They have a reputation for being fairly fearless around humans, even a bit brassy about begging for or even stealing bits of food.

[Canada_Rockies]

Looks like a GRAY JAY. They have a reputation for being fairly fearless around humans, even a bit brassy about begging for or even stealing bits of food.

Grey Jays in the national parks in the Canadian Rockies will make a "touch and go" if you turn your back on your lunch for two seconds. It has been quite funny to watch the reactions of visitors who are not familiar with the bird. Dining entertainment at no extra charge.

[boriscleto]

Looks like a GRAY JAY. They have a reputation for being fairly fearless around humans, even a bit brassy about begging for or even stealing bits of food.

I've seen a video of a Gray Jay taking a peanut off the top of someone's head...

[r0ckstarr]

Pretty close to minimum focus distance, no cropping, Pentax SMC A 400mm f5.6....

Suddenly, I want an A400. How did you get so close?

[jcdoss]

Suddenly, I want an A400. How did you get so close?

I thought Lenny's skills as a ninja stealthmaster were already widely known.

[dadipentak]

How did you get so close?

Didn't I ask you the same question recently?

[apfhex]

Having an easier time focus tracking now with the DA*300. Got this red-tailed hawk, then a rare (for me) sighting of a burrowing owl.

Attached Images

   

[WPRESTO]

Thomson's gazelle

[Sudhakar]

@apfhex,

Having an easier time focus tracking now with the DA*300. Got this red-tailed hawk, then a rare (for me) sighting of a burrowing owl.

Can you share the technique? I still struggle with DA*300 for moving objects.

[r0ckstarr]

Didn't I ask you the same question recently?

Yeah, you did! There's a big difference in size when it comes to that bird and a Night Heron.

I thought Lenny's skills as a ninja stealthmaster were already widely known.

I live under a rock.

[kengoh]

2 raptors (lifers) to share:

Asian Barred Owlets shot with K3 + Sigma 500 F4.5 + Pentax 1.4x TC
Glad to shoot this owl in broad daylight and in open clean perch.


The smallest (perhaps one of the cutest?) raptor in the world - Collared Falconet, only 15-18cm tall !!
Shot with K3 + Sigma 500 F4.5 + Pentax 1.4x TC 25m away...

[dadipentak]

I live under a rock.

Very stealthy!

---------- Post added 01-26-16 at 09:14 AM ----------

The smallest raptor in the world

He's adorable! Nice shots!

[WPRESTO]

I live under a rock.

Sounds like a good blind.

I've posted this anecdote somewhere on PF, so apologies if you've read it, but "under a rock" brings it to mind. We had a big male tomcat (16 pounds, but not at all fat) called "Pounce le Lion" or Pouncy for short, who was far less bright than a flashlight with dying batteries. He did sometimes catch mice outside and we suspected his method was to lie on the ground perfectly still (he was good at that) and pretend to be a rock. When a mouse came to hide under him, he just settled down harder and had it. Being witless was not Pouncy's fault. He died suddenly about age four, and an autopsy revealed he had an undetectable, untreatable congenital heart condition that severely impaired circulation, so his brain was probably always a bit oxygen-deprived. While he was alive we also said of him that he liked to hunt spiders in the basement, but three times in five they outwitted him.

[r0ckstarr]

Sounds like a good blind.

I've posted this anecdote somewhere on PF, so apologies if you've read it, but "under a rock" brings it to mind. We had a big male tomcat (16 pounds, but not at all fat) called "Pounce le Lion" or Pouncy for short, who was far less bright than a flashlight with dying batteries. He did sometimes catch mice outside and we suspected his method was to lie on the ground perfectly still (he was good at that) and pretend to be a rock. When a mouse came to hide under him, he just settled down harder and had it. Being witless was not Pouncy's fault. He died suddenly about age four, and an autopsy revealed he had an undetectable, untreatable congenital heart condition that severely impaired circulation, so his brain was probably always a bit oxygen-deprived. While he was alive we also said of him that he liked to hunt spiders in the basement, but three times in five they outwitted him.

Poor cat.

[WPRESTO]

Yes. We felt bad about Pouncy as he was sweet (= lethargic because of his crippled circulation). I had the vet do an autopsy because we had another cat. his sister (name: Mycelium AKA "Moldy"), and I wanted to be sure that his sudden death so young wasn't from a treatable cause that was a threat to her. She lived on to about 12, then just disappeared, we suspect the victim of a burly coyote seen prowling the woods at the time.