Here are two links to some bald eagle photos I took along the Mississippi River this week. Near Red Wing Minnesota, in an area where the river has open water even in winter.
I used the Z9 + FTZII + 500 mm PF + 2x TCIII. The birds were not close, so I wanted more focal length. I also wanted to try the 500 mm PF + 2x TC on the Z9. I have used that combo on the Z7II and found the optics good enough to be useful (better than cropping) at least in good light, but it was too slow for flying birds, even the larger, slower ones. (I have also used the Z9 with the 500 mm PF and the 1.4x TCIII and 1.7x TCII. Those worked well too.)
The 500 mm PF and 2x TC worked quite well on the Z9. Much better than on the Z7II. (And of course, given the combination is f11, it would not AF on my D500 and D850). I know that eagles are larger and slower birds, but I was still impressed with the performance. And there is some depth of field with f11.
I was using Wide Area Large, with animal subject detection. 1/3200 and f11 (wide open for this combo). -0.3 exposure comp. Auto ISO. High efficiency raw*. Converted in ACR, without sharpening. Noise reduction and sharpening in PS with Topaz Denoise and Sharpen plugins.
Even though I was shooting at 1000 mm, the photos are significantly cropped.
I acquired focus and followed the birds with Wide Area Large. The birds were far enough away that the camera did not find eyes (and probably did not need to). It found the head or whatever part of the body I had in the focus box. I had some photos where the focus point was on the feet (checked in Nikon NX Studio). I thought it was odd the camera picked the feet, then I remembered what mode I was in and that’s where I had the focus box trying to follow the birds.
These two sets are the closest fishing passes I got. The wind was blowing out from shore behind me, so the birds were often facing me (or at least not facing away) when they grabbed fish. But the Mississippi is a big river and most of the fishing was out in the middle or further. I also got lots of shots of eagles flying by. Practicing to get to know the Z9. Like it a lot so far.
wwelke.smugmug.com
wwelke.smugmug.com
I used the Z9 + FTZII + 500 mm PF + 2x TCIII. The birds were not close, so I wanted more focal length. I also wanted to try the 500 mm PF + 2x TC on the Z9. I have used that combo on the Z7II and found the optics good enough to be useful (better than cropping) at least in good light, but it was too slow for flying birds, even the larger, slower ones. (I have also used the Z9 with the 500 mm PF and the 1.4x TCIII and 1.7x TCII. Those worked well too.)
The 500 mm PF and 2x TC worked quite well on the Z9. Much better than on the Z7II. (And of course, given the combination is f11, it would not AF on my D500 and D850). I know that eagles are larger and slower birds, but I was still impressed with the performance. And there is some depth of field with f11.
I was using Wide Area Large, with animal subject detection. 1/3200 and f11 (wide open for this combo). -0.3 exposure comp. Auto ISO. High efficiency raw*. Converted in ACR, without sharpening. Noise reduction and sharpening in PS with Topaz Denoise and Sharpen plugins.
Even though I was shooting at 1000 mm, the photos are significantly cropped.
I acquired focus and followed the birds with Wide Area Large. The birds were far enough away that the camera did not find eyes (and probably did not need to). It found the head or whatever part of the body I had in the focus box. I had some photos where the focus point was on the feet (checked in Nikon NX Studio). I thought it was odd the camera picked the feet, then I remembered what mode I was in and that’s where I had the focus box trying to follow the birds.
These two sets are the closest fishing passes I got. The wind was blowing out from shore behind me, so the birds were often facing me (or at least not facing away) when they grabbed fish. But the Mississippi is a big river and most of the fishing was out in the middle or further. I also got lots of shots of eagles flying by. Practicing to get to know the Z9. Like it a lot so far.
1 29 2022 Colvill Sequence #1 - wwelke
This gallery hosted by SmugMug; your photos look better here.
wwelke.smugmug.com
1 29 Colvill Sequence #2 - wwelke
This gallery hosted by SmugMug; your photos look better here.
wwelke.smugmug.com
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