[redpit]

The RAF are retiring the Tornado in March after 40 years of service, and are doing a final "lap of honour" to mark the occasion. I popped out to a field near Duxford with a work colleague and the trusty K-1 and DA* 300/4. 1 minute 12s of excitement...

Very good job!

[traderdrew]

Composite of two photos. K-3 with the Sigma 500mm F/4.5. It is actually the same bird. The bird on the bottom came out so sharp that a bit of color moire was on the wing. Topaz denoise can take it out with the clean color slider if it is minor.

[Basie]

That's a very nice portrait of the hyena. I find even with the lowly 55-300 that using spot AF works better for me, and when it doesn't I use MF

Thanks And for subtly correcting my spelling I find manual focus on the K5 and the KP viewfinder difficult and not very useful with these long lenses. Live view can be subject dependent, but the focus peaking on the KP makes manual focus an useful option. I mostly use center spot, but the I think area that is used for the spot is bigger than the small spot shown in the viewfinder and have some horrors of backgrounds in sharp focus and the skimmer on the water out of focus. I disagree with calling he 55-300 lowly. If you can stop down to f8 it is quite sharp and can rival the DA* 300 in good light, even at the long end.

[h4yn0nnym0u5e]

Very good job!

Nice Tornados photo, much better than the similar lower resolution images I've seen on the BBC! I too love my DA* 300.

Thank you both kindly. Maybe lower resolution means lower royalties - or perhaps nothing stacks up against the DA*300

[Canada_Rockies]

Thanks And for subtly correcting my spelling I find manual focus on the K5 and the KP viewfinder difficult and not very useful with these long lenses. Live view can be subject dependent, but the focus peaking on the KP makes manual focus an useful option. I mostly use center spot, but the I think area that is used for the spot is bigger than the small spot shown in the viewfinder and have some horrors of backgrounds in sharp focus and the skimmer on the water out of focus. I disagree with calling he 55-300 lowly. If you can stop down to f8 it is quite sharp and can rival the DA* 300 in good light, even at the long end.

It's pretty good for what it is, and I use it a lot, but it is lowly. Perhaps not when compared to the competition's equivalents, but compared to the 150-450 ...

[alfa75ts]

Some bigger 'Birds' than my usual. K3 DA*300.

A flypast at 90 metres with me at the top of a 20 metre cliff.





Funny, the last birds I shot there were Superb Fairy-wrens about 4 inches long and weighing half an ounce.

[Canada_Rockies]

Some bigger 'Birds' than my usual. K3 DA*300.

A flypast at 90 metres with me at the top of a 20 metre cliff.

Funny, the last birds I shot there were Superb Fairy-wrens about 4 inches long and weighing half an ounce.

I find the second of the two very, very good indeed. Were you wearing effective ear protectors?

[alfa75ts]

Were you wearing effective ear protectors?

No, I didn't think of it. Noise was pretty low, they were flying over some pretty expensive areas so noise abatement was probably a priority.

First sighting at 17km (a tad over 10 miles):


I'm guessing over Elwood Beach so 8km with AF locked on church at 1.5km:


300mm is getting too long:


Closest approach, a few hundred metres, 300mm is certainly too long:


100% crop:

[zzeitg]

DFA 150-450

[stihlmania]

I was lucky today to witness this birth, and be in a position to photograph it. I usually see only before and after......From start to finish the birth took 1 hour, 15 minutes...

[onlineflyer]

A bird in the bush

K-5iis + A* 300mm + AF 1.7X

[onlineflyer]

I was lucky today to witness this birth, and be in a position to photograph it. I usually see only before and after......From start to finish the birth took 1 hour, 15 minutes...

Wow, that's some series.

[jacamar]

Redheads don't often come in close so I took a few shots while I waited a while for this one to pop its head up. Now I think I prefer the shot with its head tucked in.





K-3, DA*300mm, 1.4x DA TC

[Canada_Rockies]

Redheads don't often come in close so I took a few shots while I waited a while for this one to pop its head up. Now I think I prefer the shot with its head tucked in.

K-3, DA*300mm, 1.4x DA TC

I prefer the first head tuck as well, but part of the reason has to be the reflection without the wake in the second. Both are excellent images.

[jacamar]

Both are excellent images.

Thanks Albert. The duck had built up a head of steam by the time I took the second shot.