[MossyRocks]

I've never been involved in those debates. They look a little different. That's good enough for me. Especially since Downey Woodpeckers and Hairy Woodpeckers look close to the same, and aren't related at all. You'd think in this day an age, someone would have done genomes of tits and chickadees. Why would this even be the subject of debate?

I haven't either. Although when someone pointed out later last year a hairy woodpecker picture and I thought it looked like a downey one as that is what everyone has been calling them around me but I at least looked them up and found out what the difference was. Then it was deer season so I had a chance to watch the ones up there and found out that we have hairy woodpeckers there, not downey ones. As to why it is still a debate when a genetic test would resolve it, there is an old saying that probably applies more than it should:
Science advances one death at a time.

[ehrwien]

quality filter

Have you tried taking pics without the filter attached?

[marcusBMG]

Have you tried taking pics without the filter attached?

Yes - no difference. The castle turret test pics were without filter (and MF in 10 x live view K3-ii), the birds at the feeders with filter, AF. I took a whole suit of pics to get a sense of success rate. The lens did ok, a fairly normally high proportion of rejects due to AF slightly off, motion blur (light was very variable as the sun was on/off due to clouds, shutter speeds 1/200-1/2000) etc. I kept double checking focus in live view, it was pretty on most of the time. That was one of my main concerns when I raised this with the seller, that AF could be significantly affected. In terms of action it isn't, it's fast and doesn't really hunt any more than I would expect. Accuracy however is key....

When I did the AF fine tune I did test pics refocusing first from infinity several times, then from close focus several times, to see if there were differences, there wasn't. On the results focus looked close but tending to front even with max -10 adjustment, see sample test pic, 300mm f4 here ps that crop looks way better in the original, not sure whats happing with uploading...

The lack of iq at 300mm f4 is discernably worst at infinity/distant focus.

[Mike.P®]

I would be interested to hear from other users of this lens how this compares.
But I like the KS2, very nice camera.

I still have my 100-300mm F/4 (although it is the last variant which was the APO DG), there have been quite a few focusing issues with the older versions on later Pentax bodies for some reason (if I remember correctly there is a thread on this forum). I don't use mine now as I only have the K-1 and it is too short for the majority of the stuff I shoot but even wide open at f/4 mine is sharper than yours at f/8

I thought the same at first and had I seen a marsh tit flying around I would have just assumed it to be a yet another black capped chickadee. Although now I know there is debate as to how far separated tits and chickadees are.

I don't think we even have such a thing as a Chickadee in the UK.

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Last edited by Mike.P®; 02-11-2020 at 10:11 AM. Reason: Typo

[Mike.P®]

Another tit .... K-1 and 150-450mm


Blue tit by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr


Blue tit by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr


Oooh, just noticed that massive dust bunny ....

[MossyRocks]

I don't think we even have such a thing as a Chickadee in the UK.

I think because you guys call them all tits. Then again I I'm not someone who is into birding so I tend to group birds into very broad categories much like how I group colors into the old 16 color Microsoft palette. Nice shots though.

[Mike.P®]

I think because you guys call them all tits. Then again I I'm not someone who is into birding so I tend to group birds into very broad categories much like how I group colors into the old 16 color Microsoft palette. Nice shots though.

To be honest the only time I have ever heard the word was that it was something to do with a movie (which I just googled).

Suppose it's better than calling a film "My little Tit"

[jacamar]

A few more Costa Rica shots

Laughing Falcon



Damselfly



Spiny-tailed Lizard

[Mike.P®]

The other two are great but just love the Damselfly.

[jacamar]

The other two are great but just love the Damselfly.

Oops! - made the edit. Lighting was tough for that one. Thanks.

[Aaron28]

sigma 150-500os...k-3ii....Guntersville lake

[Ducatigaz]

A couple of shots with my K-5/Sigma 800mm F5.6 APO EX/Kirk window mount/RRS BH-55 ballhead.

[riseform]

Jacamar, love the laughing falcon! You and I seem to live in a parallel universe, frequently overlapping locations. I heard but did not see a laughing falcon on a recent Costa Rica trip.

Here are a few pictures with the K3ii and DFA 150-450 at 450. The Resplendent Quetzal was at a nest site and not close at all. I used a tripod for this shot. The Lesson's motmot was at a lodge feeder setup and the shot was handheld.





An aside here and simply an informative review for >300 shooters... Pentax purists, please skip the following paragraph.

I knew I could not easily bring the 560 on this trip due to the awkward size traveling with what is essentially a telescope. Despite backorder issues, I searched and was able to obtain the extremely small and lightweight Nikon 500 5.6 PF and a D500 to use for handheld BIF shots. The lens is so fast and so lightweight that I ended up using it handheld with an attached extended flash bracket and flash for the majority of the trip. The rainforest is so dark that a crop sensor and 5.6 lens isn't ideal, but the lightweight nature made humid hiking and handhold shooting with this setup a breeze. I didn't even use a black rapid strap and instead carried it by the very secure extended flash bracket, still allowing me to use my binoculars one handed. The price, weight and size of a full frame and/or F2.8 or 4 long lens made consideration of that option prohibitive since this is just a hobby. If I had carried a tripod through the rainforest, I would have missed many shots given the rapid presentation and disappearance of moving flocks. The 500 PF lens focuses very quickly with the only drawback being struggling in extreme low light and low contrast situations. I will never give up on Pentax, but this new setup will be my birding lens for long hikes and BIF photography from now on due to the quick focus and light weight. I don't see switching to a Nikon zoom as the Pentax DA 150-450 is weather sealed and a great lens paired with the K3 or K1. My DA 560 will be used for shots where I know I'm using a tripod (I still love it). I do not plan on posting non Pentax pictures on this site, but thought I'd share my experience as someone who has added to my quiver with an "affordable" long lens with qualities (easily handheld, extremely light weight, rapid focus) that are not yet available in our Pentax line up. The D 500 has some very nice features but the 500 lightweight lens was primarily responsible for my decision. I anticipate the upcoming Knew will bring similar or even better functionality from a camera standpoint. I also want to give a thumbs up to Topaz AI Denoise which I purchased at the holiday special through this site. It cleans up ISO 4000 shots amazingly.

[jacamar]

Jacamar, love the laughing falcon! You and I seem to live in a parallel universe, frequently overlapping locations. I heard but did not see a laughing falcon on a recent Costa Rica trip.

Thanks Riseform. The falcon was in a tree at the place where we are staying.- there was a broad-winged Hawk in the same spot earlier in the day but the hazy early morning light wasn't good enough. I agree with you about the light issue - most of my forest shots are at ISO 3200 at relatively low shutter speed and there's not much depth of field with the lens wide open. In open areas there's lots of bird activity in the early morning when it's not very light but by the time things brighten up things go quiet..Then you have harsh sunlight for the better part of the day. Not that I'm complaining - it's fabulous to be able to visit a lace like this.
Our guide showed us a female Ornate Hawk Eagle at it's nest but it was about 400m away. He did a much better job with a Swarovski telescope zoomed to 25x and his iPhone than I could do with my K-3, DA*300mm and 1.4X TC.
I use Nik Dfine (the free version) for noise on my computer at home but don't have it on my laptop here - maybe I will try Topaz.

[Des]

A few more Costa Rica shots

Great set Steve. Hope there are more CR shots to come.

I searched and was able to obtain the extremely small and lightweight Nikon 500 5.6 PF and a D500 to use for handheld BIF shots.

Thanks for sharing your experience Riseform. Those Nikon Phase Fresnel lenses seem interesting - there is obvious appeal in a 1.5kg 500mm f5.6 lens (In the Field With Nikon's 500mm f/5.6 PF | Fstoppers) or 755g 300mm f4 (Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4E PF VR (FX) - Review / Test Report). The only real knock on them seems to be susceptibility to flare. I wonder whether Pentax will go down that route too.