Photographer, Lens, Sensor, or...?

**jawats** · 10-30-2021, 04:53 PM

Originally posted by Des

Definitely. And with a FF sensor, with lower pixel density than a KP or K-3iii. Even on an APS-C camera, 300mm is generally just the starting point for photographing birds in the wild, unless you can get unusually close. But that's just part of the trade-off. Carrying around a 2kg lens can detract from the experience too. So it's worth exploring how to get better results with what you have.

I agree with what others have said about the overexposure. For birding I usually use centre-weighted or spot metering, but in this situation it would only have exacerbated the over-exposure, because it would have weighted the exposure for the bird rather than the sky. Probably better to use matrix metering and bring up the exposure of the bird in post. Or (although it sound counter-intuitive) use fill flash. If you weren't too far away, and you had a reasonably powerful flash with HSS, it would add a bit of light to the bird and give more colour and detail. This would help with contrast, which is lacking in this sort of ambient light.

I also agree that TAv is Pentax's gift to bird photography (some would say the same about Hyper-program mode), because you often need to adjust both aperture and shutter speed. You can cap the ISO band at 1600 or 3200, where the K-1 should still be generally very good. One thing I love about the KP is the ability to set the ISO with the third wheel - I think you can do this with the K-1 too? So you have all three settings at your fingertips.

You can do a bit in post, especially with low ISO. This one was in similar flat light, with the humble K-S2 and DA L 55-300mm f4-5.8 at 260mm, f8, 1/400th, ISO. RAW file converted with no corrections.

After cropping and processing in DxO PL5 and Nik Color Efex Pro.

Still not great, but OK. The low ISO offered good scope for improving contrast. It's worth trying out the Nik Collection if you haven't already done so (it works as a plugin for LR). The free Google version is still available if you don't want to pay for the DxO version (there's not much difference between them). I find that some of the filters in Color Efex do things that are hard to replicate in PL, particularly Detail Extractor, the contrast filters (e.g. Tonal Contrast, Pro Contrast), Brilliance/Warmth and Darken/Lighten Center.

That's a nice edit!

I have LR and PS, the full versions. I will take a look at the Nik Collection - thank you!

Are there other filter / edit collections that are worthwhile looking into?

**Des** · 10-30-2021, 06:01 PM

Originally posted by jawats

Are there other filter / edit collections that are worthwhile looking into?

I'd be surprised if there were another collection as comprehensive as those in Nik. The different programs in the Nik Collection (Color Efex, Silver Efex, Analog Efex, Viveza, HDR Efex, etc) work in different ways. (I have barely scratched the surface with them.) Color Efex uses "filters", which are really individual processing tools. A number of the others work more like other editing programs. Even with your full versions of LR and PS, Nik offers ways of doing things that won't be readily achievable in your existing programs. There are quite a few videos on YouTube about integrating Nik programs into workflow with LR and PS, for wildlife photography for example.

**jawats** · 10-30-2021, 06:06 PM

Originally posted by Des

I'd be surprised if there were another collection as comprehensive as those in Nik. The different programs in the Nik Collection (Color Efex, Silver Efex, Analog Efex, Viveza, HDR Efex, etc) work in different ways. (I have barely scratched the surface with them.) Color Efex uses "filters", which are really individual processing tools. A number of the others work more like other editing programs. Even with your full versions of LR and PS, Nik offers ways of doing things that won't be readily achievable in your existing programs. There are quite a few videos on YouTube about integrating Nik programs into workflow with LR and PS, for wildlife photography for example.

I've downloaded and installed the free version. I'm watching some Anthony Morganti videos on them - thank you!

**Des** · 10-30-2021, 09:54 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by jawats

I've downloaded and installed the free version. I'm watching some Anthony Morganti videos on them - thank you!

I started with DxO's tutorials (Nik Collection By DxO - YouTube) and Robin Whalley's (Robin Whalley - YouTube), but the Morganti ones look interesting - I'll check them out too. Doesn't much matter which version of Nik they are talking about - there are minimal differences between the Google version and DxO's.

**robgski** · 10-31-2021, 02:59 AM - **3 Likes**

Originally posted by jawats

Stuffed and mounted, or animatronic?

6 months of patient waiting, and having a 100-300mm lens at hand in the car.

**jawats** · 10-31-2021, 08:14 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by robgski

6 months of patient waiting, and having a 100-300mm lens at hand in the car.

That IS patience.

**robgski** · 10-31-2021, 08:30 AM

Fortunately, this Cooper's Hawk has staked out a field and is successfully hunting there, so now I just need to stop by a few times a day. If it's there, I'll wait and see what happens. The day this images was captured, it had caught something to eat, so I was able to get pretty close, too. Finally, I used my car as a blind, which made it less likely to fly off.

**jawats** · 10-31-2021, 09:00 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by robgski

Fortunately, this Cooper's Hawk has staked out a field and is successfully hunting there, so now I just need to stop by a few times a day. If it's there, I'll wait and see what happens. The day this images was captured, it had caught something to eat, so I was able to get pretty close, too. Finally, I used my car as a blind, which made it less likely to fly off.

It's an amazingly clear photo.

I can only imagine...

Cooper's Hawk: *eating on a fence*

Car: *sidles up to fence*

Cooper's Hawk: PERSON?!? No...wait...only a car. Phew.

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10-30-2021, 04:53 PM	#31
jawats Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2017 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 756 Original Poster	Originally posted by Des Definitely. And with a FF sensor, with lower pixel density than a KP or K-3iii. Even on an APS-C camera, 300mm is generally just the starting point for photographing birds in the wild, unless you can get unusually close. But that's just part of the trade-off. Carrying around a 2kg lens can detract from the experience too. So it's worth exploring how to get better results with what you have. I agree with what others have said about the overexposure. For birding I usually use centre-weighted or spot metering, but in this situation it would only have exacerbated the over-exposure, because it would have weighted the exposure for the bird rather than the sky. Probably better to use matrix metering and bring up the exposure of the bird in post. Or (although it sound counter-intuitive) use fill flash. If you weren't too far away, and you had a reasonably powerful flash with HSS, it would add a bit of light to the bird and give more colour and detail. This would help with contrast, which is lacking in this sort of ambient light. I also agree that TAv is Pentax's gift to bird photography (some would say the same about Hyper-program mode), because you often need to adjust both aperture and shutter speed. You can cap the ISO band at 1600 or 3200, where the K-1 should still be generally very good. One thing I love about the KP is the ability to set the ISO with the third wheel - I think you can do this with the K-1 too? So you have all three settings at your fingertips. You can do a bit in post, especially with low ISO. This one was in similar flat light, with the humble K-S2 and DA L 55-300mm f4-5.8 at 260mm, f8, 1/400th, ISO. RAW file converted with no corrections. After cropping and processing in DxO PL5 and Nik Color Efex Pro. Still not great, but OK. The low ISO offered good scope for improving contrast. It's worth trying out the Nik Collection if you haven't already done so (it works as a plugin for LR). The free Google version is still available if you don't want to pay for the DxO version (there's not much difference between them). I find that some of the filters in Color Efex do things that are hard to replicate in PL, particularly Detail Extractor, the contrast filters (e.g. Tonal Contrast, Pro Contrast), Brilliance/Warmth and Darken/Lighten Center. That's a nice edit! I have LR and PS, the full versions. I will take a look at the Nik Collection - thank you! Are there other filter / edit collections that are worthwhile looking into?

10-30-2021, 06:01 PM	#32
Des Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Victoria Australia Photos: Albums Posts: 6,423	Originally posted by jawats Are there other filter / edit collections that are worthwhile looking into? I'd be surprised if there were another collection as comprehensive as those in Nik. The different programs in the Nik Collection (Color Efex, Silver Efex, Analog Efex, Viveza, HDR Efex, etc) work in different ways. (I have barely scratched the surface with them.) Color Efex uses "filters", which are really individual processing tools. A number of the others work more like other editing programs. Even with your full versions of LR and PS, Nik offers ways of doing things that won't be readily achievable in your existing programs. There are quite a few videos on YouTube about integrating Nik programs into workflow with LR and PS, for wildlife photography for example.

10-30-2021, 06:06 PM	#33
jawats Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2017 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 756 Original Poster	Originally posted by Des I'd be surprised if there were another collection as comprehensive as those in Nik. The different programs in the Nik Collection (Color Efex, Silver Efex, Analog Efex, Viveza, HDR Efex, etc) work in different ways. (I have barely scratched the surface with them.) Color Efex uses "filters", which are really individual processing tools. A number of the others work more like other editing programs. Even with your full versions of LR and PS, Nik offers ways of doing things that won't be readily achievable in your existing programs. There are quite a few videos on YouTube about integrating Nik programs into workflow with LR and PS, for wildlife photography for example. I've downloaded and installed the free version. I'm watching some Anthony Morganti videos on them - thank you!

10-30-2021, 09:54 PM - 1 Like	#34
Des Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Victoria Australia Photos: Albums Posts: 6,423	Originally posted by jawats I've downloaded and installed the free version. I'm watching some Anthony Morganti videos on them - thank you! I started with DxO's tutorials (Nik Collection By DxO - YouTube) and Robin Whalley's (Robin Whalley - YouTube), but the Morganti ones look interesting - I'll check them out too. Doesn't much matter which version of Nik they are talking about - there are minimal differences between the Google version and DxO's.

10-31-2021, 02:59 AM - 3 Likes	#35
robgski Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Shenandoah Valley, Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,817	Originally posted by jawats Stuffed and mounted, or animatronic? 6 months of patient waiting, and having a 100-300mm lens at hand in the car.

10-31-2021, 08:14 AM - 1 Like	#36
jawats Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2017 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 756 Original Poster	Originally posted by robgski 6 months of patient waiting, and having a 100-300mm lens at hand in the car. That IS patience.

10-31-2021, 08:30 AM	#37
robgski Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Shenandoah Valley, Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,817	Fortunately, this Cooper's Hawk has staked out a field and is successfully hunting there, so now I just need to stop by a few times a day. If it's there, I'll wait and see what happens. The day this images was captured, it had caught something to eat, so I was able to get pretty close, too. Finally, I used my car as a blind, which made it less likely to fly off.

10-31-2021, 09:00 AM - 1 Like	#38
jawats Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2017 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 756 Original Poster	Originally posted by robgski Fortunately, this Cooper's Hawk has staked out a field and is successfully hunting there, so now I just need to stop by a few times a day. If it's there, I'll wait and see what happens. The day this images was captured, it had caught something to eat, so I was able to get pretty close, too. Finally, I used my car as a blind, which made it less likely to fly off. It's an amazingly clear photo. I can only imagine... Cooper's Hawk: eating on a fence Car: sidles up to fence Cooper's Hawk: PERSON?!? No...wait...only a car. Phew.