[aslyfox]

" I'm [ not ] ready for my close up Mr. Deville "

no make up, the lighting is wrong, my hair

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[JimJohnson]

K-3 and DA 55-300 PLM

Great shots (as usual) Norm. Assuming you did candids of the Pine Marten - as opposed to pre-focusing and waiting for the subject to hit his/her mark? If so, how often do you find yourself overriding AF on your 55-300? Or do you use center focus and recompose? All those nearer branches like to sucker AF into making them the primary subject.

[normhead]

Great shots (as usual) Norm. Assuming you did candids of the Pine Marten - as opposed to pre-focusing and waiting for the subject to hit his/her mark? If so, how often do you find yourself overriding AF on your 55-300? Or do you use center focus and recompose? All those nearer branches like to sucker AF into making them the primary subject.

The AF with the 55-300 PLM is awesome. You can see the out of focus branches if you look closely at these images. The park staff have cut down some trees near where this guy lives. He's crawling around in those branches, and I'm peeking through all those branches with a hand held camera, and keeping the camera steady enough to focus. I was locking focus even on images I didn't take because a branch was blocking half his face and the window was extremely tight, and it was locking focus anyway. As well, the PLM adjusts so quickly, if you have it focused on a branch, you can move the camera slightly one way or the other until it locks focus on your subject, keeping the AF engaged, then shoot when it snaps into focus. Technique used for my DA*60-250 makes a DA 55-300 PLM seem like a wonder of modern technology.

I always shoot centre point focus AF.s. With the K-3 and K-1, you always have plenty of room to crop. I get the animal in focus, and if need be, zoom out to get sufficient crop room. I will (if I have time) select an alternate focus point to aid in framing.

In this one using the K-3 and PLM, the top left focal point was used to make sure the tail was in the frame, (always focus on the eye if possible) then 1000 pixels cropped off the right side to achieve the farming I wanted, giving me an approximately a 16 MP file, (same as a K-5 of K-1 in crop mode.) The shift of the selected point proved to be unnecessary in this image, I ended up cropping away what I gained in using a non central focal point, but you want to be tracking and shooting, not deciding if you have exactly the right focal point selected for each image. There are only so many things you want to be paying attention to while you're shooting. You set the camera, and live with it for a few minutes, then change and try a new setting. Changing settings on the fly will probably cost you more than it gives you. Anything over 12 MP is good as far as I'm concerned, so I don't mind at all cropping 24 MP or 36 MP to 12 or more, for an action shot.. I would rather shoot large and crop than shoot tight and not be able to do anything with it, for shots like this. These little guys move and where they were when you decided to release the shutter is often not where they are when the shutter is actually released. For landscapes, I crop nice and tight and try and use the whole frame.

[JimJohnson]

The AF with the 55-300 PLM is awesome.

I have both a first and second generation 55-300 (need to get on the ball and sell that 1st generation non-WR copy). It sounds like our wildlife and landscape techniques are similar. I have re-trained myself to use the AF button on the back rather than depend on the shutter release half-press. Using the shutter release focus in an environment full of sticks means I lose too many critter shots and have too many wonderfully crisp images of sticks. Same deal, center point and shoot slightly wide. I am not above locking focus and recomposing a bit if I think I have sufficient DOF and the time.

It always pays to ask if someone has a better approach - love your shots Norm; keep them coming.

[normhead]

I have both a first and second generation 55-300 (need to get on the ball and sell that 1st generation non-WR copy). It sounds like our wildlife and landscape techniques are similar. I have re-trained myself to use the AF button on the back rather than depend on the shutter release half-press. Using the shutter release focus in an environment full of sticks means I lose too many critter shots and have too many wonderfully crisp images of sticks. Same deal, center point and shoot slightly wide. I am not above locking focus and recomposing a bit if I think I have sufficient DOF and the time.

It always pays to ask if someone has a better approach - love your shots Norm; keep them coming.

Thanks for commenting. It's always nice to get thanks when you put some time into an answer.

I tried to train myself to use back button AF, it just didn't work for me. When i coached basketball, I realized it's easier to teach kids who know nothing than it is to teach kids who have bad habits. That's how I justify my inability to make use of back button AF.

[csa]

I tried to train myself to use back button AF, it just didn't work for me.

Same here Norm; it just seemed awkward to me.

[Canada_Rockies]

Thanks for commenting. It's always nice to get thanks when you put some time into an answer.

I tried to train myself to use back button AF, it just didn't work for me. When i coached basketball, I realized it's easier to teach kids who know nothing than it is to teach kids who have bad habits. That's how I justify my inability to make use of back button AF.

Same here Norm; it just seemed awkward to me.

Whereas I find it the only way to fly with slow AF.

[tuggie76]

K3ii with 300mm and 1.4 extender, taken through the patio door.

[JimJohnson]

K3ii with 300mm and 1.4 extender, taken through the patio door.

I'm impressed in two ways: First, this is a very nice image and second, your patio door is optically very good glass.

You obviously don't live in a 113 year old house with mostly original glass. About 7 years ago I purchased a used 55-300 and immediately upon receipt took a test shot through one of our windows at 300mm. My heart sank because I thought I had a decentered/delaminated/whatever lens. The distortion was terrible. The lens was actually picking up and magnifying the imperfections of the window glass. When I stepped outside and repeated a test shot of approximately the same subject and saw the MUCH crisper result, I had to laugh.

[tuggie76]

Thanks Jim, I must have been lucky, the door is about 10 years old, very seldom cleaned as I'd rather be taking photos. The sun must have been in the right spot!

[Jorgario]

With HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED WR:

[Rondec]

A couple of Mourning Dove shots (K3/DA 55-300)

[normhead]

Whereas I find it the only way to fly with slow AF.

We weren't talking about slow AF, I was talking about the DA 55-300 PLM.

---------- Post added 05-03-19 at 10:26 AM ----------

K3ii with 300mm and 1.4 extender, taken through the patio door.

We haven't had a single goldfinch this year, first time in 10 years we haven't had one or two nesting pairs turn up.

[tuggie76]

We haven't had a single goldfinch this year, first time in 10 years we haven't had one or two nesting pairs turn up.

I think we may have cornered the market! Usually 6-10 around with House Finches to match. We've been liberal with the nijer seed which seems to be working.

[tuggie76]

Today has been nearly all house-finches, this with 300mm only. 1/1000 sec f8 iso3200.