[tim60]

Canada Rockies - I see you are watching the same ospreys as I have been watching this year. As you probably know there are two nests, the one on the way to the lake and the second one by the boat launch. The pictures I have attached here are by the nest on the road. This fellow was very patient with me and allowed me to change lenses and make some comparison shots. The first shot was taken with the Takumar 300 and I then changed to the da 55-300. It is interesting to see how differently the two lenses rendered the same subject. Not sure which I even prefer. I have also included a photo (da 55-300) of a redwing blackbird I found on the rushes alongside the west end of the lake. I haven't had time to travel out there since the ospreys have hatched so I'm going to try tomorrow if possible.

I much prefer the middle one, with the light green background.

Couple of weeks ago I was challenged using my 300/6.3 TeleTak preset for speakers at a convention. There is such a passion for dim illumination in those conference halls. Wide open (no DoF forgiveness on focus) and slow exposures (~1/15-1/20) and handheld for mobility aroudn the room. But when it works !!!

[8540tomg]

Canada_Rockies - the last pic is great!

Great shots Tom, I dun find the background distracting, the bird stand out from the background.

Thanks Kenny.

Most kind.

Tom G

[G_Money]

Panoguy, your second bird is a female Red-winged Blackbird.

[panoguy]

Nice grackle/sparrow/something capture Panoguy. I sympathize with your Cedar Waxwings problems. Don't look too close at the adult shot above - the focus is on one of the branches. The two chick shots (not counting the many, many discarded) were manually focused. I seem to have much better luck that way.

Thanks! I think adult cedar waxwings are made from blur and softness...

Panoguy, your second bird is a female Red-winged Blackbird.

Aha, thanks for that G_money! It was pretty small for an adult, and there were 3 others like it in the same tree, which is why I guessed it was a juvenile something. Very different from the males (and not dive-bombing my head, either!).

[kengoh]

Little Buttonquail shot from inside car handheld the Sigma 500/F4.5 with bean bag as support.
Was chasing this little fellow like mad, kept hiding inside bushes and tall grass.
Luckily got him in the end.

[8540tomg]

Nailed yet another one Ken.

Very fine.

Tom G

[jatrax]

Stellar Jay DA L 55-300

Attached Images

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[Canada_Rockies]

Clear and crisp Jatrax.

[Lowell Goudge]

Excellent light on that third shot, Canada_Rockies!

Waxwings around here never stop moving, so I have a trashcan full of blurred tailfeathers and empty limbs from trying to hit them. When one finally paused, my K-5 and Sigma 100-300/4 focused on the branch above him...



But all was not lost. I stumbled on a tree full of these juveniles (grackle? sparrow?), and they were quite content to wait while I put a 1.4x TC onto the Sigma 100-300 to get a good look at their weird feathering. No AF system is gonna miss that test-pattern plumage!

Nice shots. The grackle? Is actually a female red winged blackbird. The most often mis identified bird we have

[Frogfish]

Well my birding has just been curtailed somewhat. Yesterday the SDM on my DA*300 stopped - not a peep, no warning, just dead. Dropped it off today - it will take quite a while (5-6 weeks) to get it back they forecast and cost me ca. US$300 to have it repaired (it is 2 months out of warranty). So now I'm down to the Tokina 300/2.8 (doesn't seem to work well with TCs) or the SMC 300/4 (pretty old and pretty heavy) !

I'm now giving serious consideration to a D800E and a used Sigma 500/4.5 I spied in one of the shops in the camera mall today (with camo wrap it is US$1,500 cheaper than a new one for Pentax mount - giving me US$1,500 to go towards the D800E). Sell off the DA*300 and one of my K5s after the repair.

[stormtech]

Well my birding has just been curtailed somewhat. Yesterday the SDM on my DA*300 stopped - not a peep, no warning, just dead. Dropped it off today - it will take quite a while (5-6 weeks) to get it back they forecast and cost me ca. US$300 to have it repaired (it is 2 months out of warranty). So now I'm down to the Tokina 300/2.8 (doesn't seem to work well with TCs) or the SMC 300/4 (pretty old and pretty heavy) !

I'm now giving serious consideration to a D800E and a used Sigma 500/4.5 I spied in one of the shops in the camera mall today (with camo wrap it is US$1,500 cheaper than a new one for Pentax mount - giving me US$1,500 to go toward the D800E). Sell off the DA*300 and one of my K5s after the repair.

What a shame - at least you have some sort of backup lenses to work with.

I thought I wanted a DA*300 - came very close to selling my FA*300 4.5 and was going to "upgrade" to the DA*300 - not going to do it now. I also read of an SDM failure here with the DA* 60-250 in the last month here in the US - same results from the Pentax repair facility - 5-6 weeks to wait for the motor.

[dadipentak]

I think adult cedar waxwings are made from blur and softness...

:!

[jatrax]

Clear and crisp Jatrax.

Thank You sir! I keep trying and learning.

I have however spent some time pondering the absurdity of trying to take pictures of small objects that refuse to remain still with a lens so long that it is hard to get images of still objects to remain still.

[Lowell Goudge]

Well my birding has just been curtailed somewhat. Yesterday the SDM on my DA*300 stopped - not a peep, no warning, just dead. Dropped it off today - it will take quite a while (5-6 weeks) to get it back they forecast and cost me ca. US$300 to have it repaired (it is 2 months out of warranty). So now I'm down to the Tokina 300/2.8 (doesn't seem to work well with TCs) or the SMC 300/4 (pretty old and pretty heavy) !

I think you need a reality check, the DA300/4 is actually marginally heavier than the K300/4 1070g vs 1020 G and add another 90G for the hood on the DA, the K has it built in. who said newer is lighter in the first place???

I'm now giving serious consideration to a D800E and a used Sigma 500/4.5 I spied in one of the shops in the camera mall today (with camo wrap it is US$1,500 cheaper than a new one for Pentax mount - giving me US$1,500 to go towards the D800E). Sell off the DA*300 and one of my K5s after the repair.

that's an interesting topic, but you've gotta question why it's there in the first place?

[Canada_Rockies]

Thank You sir! I keep trying and learning.

I have however spent some time pondering the absurdity of trying to take pictures of small objects that refuse to remain still with a lens so long that it is hard to get images of still objects to remain still.

Ain't that the truth LOL