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Dave Stargazer

Dave Stargazer

Well-known member
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I've seen a number of these guys this spring - a good sign since they been locally endangered since 1977, and I hadn't seen one here at all until a few years ago.

Also this is the 'proof is in the pudding'/field test add on to this thread https://bcgforums.com/index.php?threads/revealed-use-a-tc-or-just-crop-in-post.26451/ - Z 400mm f/4.5 + TC-2.0x, handheld. Original capture has the bird barely fitting in the frame - almost no cropping here, but downscaling to post on this forum.

Cheers!

CC.Black-crowned Night Heron profile.1f.1920.DavidEArmstrong_Z9_20230719_170116_640-1.jpg
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Butlerkid said:
Nice image, Dave! Impressive capture data. Hand held @ 1/100? WOW! And ISO 64.......you sure had plenty of light. Ideal opportunity for using the 2x tele!
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Thanks, Karen! Yes, close to noon, but with some cloud cover. I have a strategy to try and eek out the best IQ, but only works for relatively stationary objects. To my eye iso64 on the Z9 (and the D850) are just so good, I try to get a good capture with that - but my bias toward that low ISO means I miss some shots due to subject motion --> blur. Still refining! When it works though - this one was 1/50th! https://bcgforums.com/index.php?threads/fawn-in-flowers.25497/

Just checked and the final work in PS is 8356x4644 - so this is quite downscaled - the detail is really good (but I also did a pretty full version of sharpening, etc.).

Cheers!
 
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Dave Stargazer said:
Thanks, Karen! Yes, close to noon, but with some cloud cover. I have a strategy to try and eek out the best IQ, but only works for relatively stationary objects. To my eye iso64 on the Z9 (and the D850) are just so good, I try to get a good capture with that - but my bias toward that low ISO means I miss some shots due to subject motion --> blur. Still refining! When it works though - this one was 1/50th! https://bcgforums.com/index.php?threads/fawn-in-flowers.25497/

Just checked and the final work in PS is 8356x4644 - so this is quite downscaled - the detail is really good (but I also did a pretty full version of sharpening, etc.).

Cheers!
Click to expand...
I hear you about ISO 64. It is one of the reasons I enjoy architectural photography. It is the exact opposite of photographing wildlife. It is slow and methodical. Buildings aren't moving! Time to get a perfect (hopefully) composition. ISO 64 and I don't care how long the shutter speed is. And my favorite lenses (14-24 f2.8 and 15mm fish!!) combined are less than the 600mm TC! LOL!

Still, wildlife photography is very rewarding.
 
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Butlerkid said:
I hear you about ISO 64. It is one of the reasons I enjoy architectural photography. It is the exact opposite of photographing wildlife. It is slow and methodical. Buildings aren't moving! Time to get a perfect (hopefully) composition. ISO 64 and I don't care how long the shutter speed is. And my favorite lenses (14-24 f2.8 and 15mm fish!!) combined are less than the 600mm TC! LOL!

Still, wildlife photography is very rewarding.
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Yea I'm a landscaper first, so mostly unmoving haha. I got sucked into wildlife by (a good copy of) the 200-500mm - now 'resting' with the 400mm taking over apparently!

I'm actually surprised Nikon hasn't even announced tilt shift lenses for the Z mount yet. I'm not knowledgable in the field of optics, but that short flange distance *has* to have some advantages wrt those - we've already see that with the Z 14-24mm vs. the F version, and I expect to see some more extreme UWA coming out. Z 14mm f/1.8? Astrophotogs are waiting!

Cheers!
 
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What is amazing is how sharp the image is with an effective 800mm focal length and a slowish shutter speed of 1/100s. The camera's internal optical stabilization is working incredibly well.
 
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Butlerkid said:
BTW - your Flickr site is amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed the visit. So many stunning images!
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Thank you so much, Karen! I try to make each post there be special in some way - although when you get back to 2018 you'll see bird "record" shots that aren't good haha - just for ID purposes for the birding group. Those early ones are before I started to really get control of my workflow, esp color control (which is more important to my landscape/abstract work, than the wildlife work where I try to not stray quite so far from reality).

I do wish there was a better way to present my work there - I like Flickr because I have more control over the way things are displayed, but certainly not remotely total control. Albums have some kind of organization/presentation, but not enough. The other reason I like Flickr is that it's a really nice community of (mostly) photographers - kind of like here!

Cheers!
 
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Calson said:
What is amazing is how sharp the image is with an effective 800mm focal length and a slowish shutter speed of 1/100s. The camera's internal optical stabilization is working incredibly well.
Click to expand...
Ok, now you've done it! Since this is so downscaled here, I'm actually going to post a 100% crop of a portion of this work (which I never do! well... almost never! haha). The VR of the 400mm + Z9 is beyond any other body/lens combo I've used. Cheers!

CC.Black-crowned Night Heron profile.1f.tight crop.1715.DavidEArmstrong_Z9_20230719_170116_640...jpg
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