[Des]

Young Eastern Yellow Robin (juvenile brown feathers still showing), with their characteristic sideways perching. KP + DA 55-300 PLM at 300mm

[K2 to K50]

Young Eastern Yellow Robin (juvenile brown feathers still showing), with their characteristic sideways perching. KP + DA 55-300 PLM at 300mm

Lovely shot, Des.

[northcoastgreg]

With the DA* 300 + DA 1.4x converter:

[luftfluss]

Young Eastern Yellow Robin (juvenile brown feathers still showing), with their characteristic sideways perching. KP + DA 55-300 PLM at 300mm

Superb capture of a gorgeous bird!

[Des]

Lovely shot, Des.

Thanks Peter. They are gorgeous, aren't they?

Superb capture of a gorgeous bird!

Thanks. I just marvel sometimes at what the 55-300 PLM can do, for a consumer zoom - plus the joy of having friendly birds that will come fairly close (about 4-5m in this case).

[Weevil]

Chevêche des terriers / Burrowing Owl [Athene cunicularia]
2022.12.04 / Pembroke Park, FL USA

La chouette dans la nuit...

I wanted to test the limits of my camera. Here with a 500mm lens at full aperture, stabilized with a monopod. Photo taken from the other side of the street in the middle of the night (but some street lights in the corner) at low shutter speed and very VERY high ISO.
It gave a not too bad picture !


Chevêche des terriers / Burrowing Owl [Athene cunicularia]
More details and EXIF on Flickr
#PENTAX #pentaxk3mk3

(x-posted in the K3MK3 thread)

[redpit]

Chevêche des terriers / Burrowing Owl [Athene cunicularia]
2022.12.04 / Pembroke Park, FL USA

La chouette dans la nuit...

I wanted to test the limits of my camera. Here with a 500mm lens at full aperture, stabilized with a monopod. Photo taken from the other side of the street in the middle of the night (but some street lights in the corner) at low shutter speed and very VERY high ISO.
It gave a not too bad picture !


Chevêche des terriers / Burrowing Owl [Athene cunicularia]
More details and EXIF on Flickr
#PENTAX #pentaxk3mk3

(x-posted in the K3MK3 thread)

Excellent image!

[K2 to K50]

Chevêche des terriers / Burrowing Owl [Athene cunicularia]
2022.12.04 / Pembroke Park, FL USA

La chouette dans la nuit...

I wanted to test the limits of my camera. Here with a 500mm lens at full aperture, stabilized with a monopod. Photo taken from the other side of the street in the middle of the night (but some street lights in the corner) at low shutter speed and very VERY high ISO.
It gave a not too bad picture !


Chevêche des terriers / Burrowing Owl [Athene cunicularia]
More details and EXIF on Flickr
#PENTAX #pentaxk3mk3

(x-posted in the K3MK3 thread)

I wouldn't dream of trying to shoot a 400mm or above lens at 1/30s with just a monopod for support! And I don't think I have pushed much beyond 6400 ISO.

So - "....a not too bad picture?". A bloody good picture, mate!

[Lowell Goudge]

I wouldn't dream of trying to shoot a 400mm or above lens at 1/30s with just a monopod for support! And I don't think I have pushed much beyond 6400 ISO.

So - "....a not too bad picture?". A bloody good picture, mate!

You have no nerve at all

Here is a shot and close in 1:1 crop using a K300/4 and 1.7x AF Converter
This is at 1/40 HAND HELD using a K7.

and 100% crop of the head


If you consider the degrees of freedom a monopod eliminates, 1/30 with the shake reduction in the Pentax bodies, why not,

As for pushing high ISO, somewhere I posted a shot of a great blue heron at ISO25600, if I find it I will add the link, but here is a crop in of a shot I took with the K1 MKii of the moons of Jupiter at iso 25,600 hand held using the DA560, when I owned one



Sometimes you need to step out of your comfort zone

I have heard arguments about noise, etc and whether a shot is worth taking at high iso. My response is better to have the shot than nothing.

I think Weevil would agree with my point of view

Edit note:
Still looking for ISO 25,600, but here is ISO 12,800 with a K1 and D-FA 150-450 plus 1.4x TC shot wide open

[Weevil]

Sometimes you need to step out of your comfort zone

I have heard arguments about noise, etc and whether a shot is worth taking at high iso. My response is better to have the shot than nothing.

I think Weevil would agree with my point of view

Absolutely !! There would maybe be less keepers, but when those are nailed... I am always pleased by the result!
It's like shooting a long range rifle, you have to control your nerves and breath, get compact and shoot !

p.s. Of course here, some noise reduction PP is involved, but not that much.


More recently (let's say for about one year), after I saw very good photos taken with lower shutter speeds, I told to myself I should try that when the subject is pretty still and there are limited light conditions, by trying to to both raise the ISO and lower the shutter speed to get appropriate "real life" exposures, all this using the SR feature of course helps a lot IMO!

I used to do that (pushing the ISOs to limits) when I purchased my brand new K-1 in 2016... that one was also done at 12800 ISO, wide open @ 600mm in low light (but not as much as the Owl above), but shutter speed was much higher... I am sure I could've improved the photo with lower ISO grain, using lower shutter speed, especially du to the fact I was using a sturdy tripod.


Renard roux / Red Fox [Vulpes vulpes]

[swip]

Chevêche des terriers / Burrowing Owl [Athene cunicularia]
2022.12.04 / Pembroke Park, FL USA

La chouette dans la nuit...

I wanted to test the limits of my camera. Here with a 500mm lens at full aperture, stabilized with a monopod. Photo taken from the other side of the street in the middle of the night (but some street lights in the corner) at low shutter speed and very VERY high ISO.
It gave a not too bad picture !


Chevêche des terriers / Burrowing Owl [Athene cunicularia]
More details and EXIF on Flickr
#PENTAX #pentaxk3mk3

(x-posted in the K3MK3 thread)

Love the shot. One has to push the boundary once in a while to get the image you are seeking.

[Weevil]

Love the shot. One has to push the boundary once in a while to get the image you are seeking.

True !
Thanks Swip !

[bill.mc]

Hoverflies with a K3ii and a DA*300;






flickr

[Ducatigaz]

A few recent shots. This Red Kite was coming to feed on a roadkill Hare that I put out in a field. K3iii/FA*600mm F4 ED[IF]/RRS BH-55/Eckla window mount.







K3iii/Sigma 800mm F5.6 APO EX/RRS BH-55/Eckla window mount.





K3iii/FA*600mm F4 ED[IF]/Gitzo 5532 LS.

[Racer X 69]

Hoverflies with a K3ii and a DA*300;






flickr

Insect porn. LOL!