[crewl1]

Great work Visual Darkness. I like the way the white Q looks on the back of that lens.
The DA*300 is such a joy to use on the Q.
What position on the Kiwi adapter did you find works best?

[VisualDarkness]

Great work Visual Darkness. I like the way the white Q looks on the back of that lens.
The DA*300 is such a joy to use on the Q.
What position on the Kiwi adapter did you find works best?

Eh, the open and the "light touch to stop down a little".
I still can't get how to stop down with any kind of control.

[snostorm]

Hi Hans,

Very nice !!!

Who would have thought that we'd be talking about handholding at 700-1000mm EQ FLs . . . with lenses that are at least nearing "senior citizen" status? . . . and getting results like this!

The majority of the CA/PF in the first Glossy Ibis shot can be eliminated in PP by roughly selecting everything but the bird, then desaturating the magenta channel with the hue biased towards red. I tried this in PSPP X4, and it took about a minute. IMO, it's worth doing PP like this because the colors are distracting and unnatural.

Are you using an LCD loupe? This helps handholding the long glass easier because you can stabilize the camera by holding against your eye, and tuck your elbows in. It also helps in focusing because the view of the LCD is so much clearer.

Nice work -- especially for a first attempt in the field.

Scott

[VisualDarkness]

A short movie of the woodpecker at the great distance. It was only through the viewfinder I could make sure that it was a bird and not some tiny black thing moving in the wind! Sorry for messing up the in camera white balance, I really need a software correct this.

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

[crewl1]

Eh, the open and the "light touch to stop down a little".
I still can't get how to stop down with any kind of control.

That sounds tough. Even the Fotodiox has a range of click stops from 1-10 I think.
If this type shooting with the DA*300 becomes a hobby you will want to consider that adapter or better yet the Pentax

[crewl1]

A short movie of the woodpecker at the great distance. It was only through the viewfinder I could make sure that it was a bird and not some tiny black thing moving in the wind! Sorry for messing up the in camera white balance, I really need a software correct this.

Great Spotted Woodpecker - YouTube

Good job. The tripod seems pretty solid.

[VisualDarkness]

That sounds tough. Even the Fotodiox has a range of click stops from 1-10 I think.
If this type shooting with the DA*300 becomes a hobby you will want to consider that adapter or better yet the Pentax

Yeah, the Pentax one is one the list but I think my KIWI will be the one for a while. The KIWI one (obviously) got hard stops at fully opened and closed and one click right in the middle (dunno the aperture with a lens). The throw is so small too so any precision work is only done by watching the shutter speed changing on the Q when barely turning the ring.

Good job. The tripod seems pretty solid.

I cursed the lightness and combination of thin carbon fiber (slight flexing) legs and not as smooth ball head as my tripod!
It is great value and portability though and my brother uses it for wide-angle so he doesn't need 1500mm precision, I do now...

[hnikesch]

Pentax Q + DA*300 is an awesome combo!
I actually wasn't even sure it was a bird there as it was just a dot. The camera combo saw the woodpecker though!
Attachment 153964

Attachment 153965

Nice job with the 300, With that setup you need to really keep your eyes open for little things in the distance, I would have missed that woodpecker

Hans

[snostorm]

Hi Visual Darkness,

Nice work!

You guys are convincing me that I have to learn to use video on the Q. . .

The travel Sirui did a good job. I've been using an equivalent tripod as my main support for a while, and it's working out pretty well -- but I have to be careful to remember to use pretty strict technique. I've got Fotopro MGC 584N CF legs with a Vanguard ABH 120K ball head + Wimberley Sidekick, and it's been working well with both the Q and my DSLR gear (but usually with legs not fully extended with the latter). 4 lbs 6 oz including the head and Sidekick -- I'm getting spoiled. ..

Scott

[VisualDarkness]

Nice job with the 300, With that setup you need to really keep your eyes open for little things in the distance, I would have missed that woodpecker

Hans

I just thought I saw something moving far away and couldn't see anything but I knew that I heard a woodpecker earlier. Sadly the woodpecker seemed to see me better than I saw it so It looked at me (watching on the Q screen) and flew away just after the video and the one in focus shot. Only if I had falcon eyes!

Two closer distance birds, but way quicker!

[hnikesch]

I noticed lots of magenta fringe on the 135, can it be removed in post?

The majority of the CA/PF in the first Glossy Ibis shot can be eliminated in PP

Scott

Thanks guys, you are correct I missed the PF because this was the first Glossy Ibis I had ever seen and was impressed with his colors, I had to remove both red and green fringing. Looking back at the image that 135 isn't that bad, and it sure is easier to shoot.

Hans

[hnikesch]

Same 3 birds back in the pond today, this time with the Tamron 70-300 still hand held but I had some sun to help. Shooting @ f8 with shutter speeds between 1/125 to 1/500 sec. ISO 125 mostly zoomed between 200 and 300mm

Hans

[snostorm]

Only if I had falcon eyes!

Two closer distance birds, but way quicker!

I'd be very satisfied if I could just turn back the clock on my vision 40 years

Nice!

It really looks cold there. . .lakes are just starting to ice over completely here. I do spend a lot of time with my fingers crossed. ..

Scott

[VisualDarkness]

I'd be very satisfied if I could just turn back the clock on my vision 40 years

Nice!

It really looks cold there. . .lakes are just starting to ice over completely here. I do spend a lot of time with my fingers crossed. ..

Scott

It's not really as cold as it looks, just around freezing point. Actually we got rain and snow struggling with each other the last few days but at least it makes for some nice pics when it finally freezes (all the "ice crystals").

[snostorm]

Same 3 birds back in the pond today, this time with the Tamron 70-300 still hand held but I had some sun to help. Shooting @ f8 with shutter speeds between 1/125 to 1/500 sec. ISO 125 mostly zoomed between 200 and 300mm

Hi Hans,

Again, nicely done!

#1 and #4 show really good detail, and I think the faster shutter speeds and subjects standing relatively still had everything to do with this. I haven't shot enough to make up my own handholding 'rules of thumb' for shutter speeds with long teles adapted, but I'm beginning to suspect that I'll try to shoot mostly at faster than 1/400 if I can get away with it. It all has to do with the tradeoff between detail lost to noise and detail gained by the higher shutter speed. The Ibis was clearly moving, and the slower shutter speeds were a handicap.

I know you're enjoying the warm temps down there -- take advantage of them and the photo ops while you can. I'm jealous!

Scott