In my country, there are tons of photographers, but birdwatchers aren't making an impact, so I have a goal, to make some sort of encyclopedia about every species I can shot with my nikon p950. And so far it worked perfectly for me. I have a friend who just started following my steps, and he bought a 1/23 compact camera, with 900mm (40X optical) the canon sx740, and he's enjoying his journey si far. Tha ks for the video, I'll now buy a D800 and a prime 500mm/ f/5.6 I guess. Wish me luck
Thanks for sharing these wonderful photos. That bald eagle tour must have been outstanding - I know the pictures are 🌟 This was a fantastic video, so thanks to both of you!
You also should consider the weight of the lens and camera if you handhold and what is the best lens/camera for flying birds vs stationary birds. My favorite all-around camera is the Nikon D7200 paired with a Nikon 55 - 300mm lens. I use it for all flying bird photos as well as stationary bird photos. The Nikon 200 - 500 lens is a great lens, too, but it's too heavy for me for panning. I also use a Nikon Z6 usually paired with a Nikon 500mm prime but i don't like prime lenses for flying birds. I also have a D7500, D7000, D7100, D500 and an old Panasonic point and shoot that i only use for butterflies. None of those do I like as much as the D7200 with the 55 - 300mm lens. I was thinking about this on my last bird trip. Maybe I like it so much because i use it so much. That is, i can change settings on it quickly. Also Topaz Gigapixel software is easy to use to enlarge your photos and add megapixels. Never use my smartphone camera because i don't know how to use it.
Thank you. I think you answered every one of my safari camera questions in one video, including whether or not I’m taking the Lowepro 250AW BP! Amazing!
Thank you for announcing the contest, I too have imposter syndrome! Lol, but I’m going to give it a try and enter! I vote for your Cardinal and elephant photos!
Excellent! As a newbie, my goal was to get really close to raptors and waterfowl so I focused on position of my popup blind and timing in terms of how many hours before dawn I need to arrive and setup here in Montana.
Thank you for the video...and imposter syndrome is real...I have never entered a competition but I have told myself that this year on, I will apply.....I will let you know when I submit..... let's support each other
Portrait - Definitely the first GBH. Classic, dramatic. Interaction - Yes to the South African helmet shrike feeding it's young and thirdly - Environment for me is the cardinal. Good Luck!
I like the first portrait of the blue heron - close up. The blue heron may be common, but I like the emotion it portrays - like it was posing for you. My second choice would be the elephant (elephants are also common in some parts) - it looks very geometric. I like the cardinal. The branch behind the head was an issue at first, but I ended up liking the way the white branch accentuates the red part of the crown. Good luck! I’ve never entered a contest before. I may enter this one for fun.
I scratch my head when people use this lens incorrectly...step further back like 20 or more steps ans shoot this lens full body in landscape...look at images by Lisa Holloway or Daniel Venter...they shoot full body landscape oriented photos on portraits with 200 f/2 lens...that's when you see this lens shine. so called baby 200/f2..head shots, half body portraits looks like same as a 50 1.8 nifty fifty $100 lens..lol..
Nicely constructed video. I shoot birds with a Nikon Z9 and 400/4.5. I have never ever had a better camera/lens combo. I am very happy with the setup, apart maybe the weight of the camera, but I tell myself, that's the price you have to pay (on a day to day basis). I have been curious about the OM system camera, and on the face of it, it has a lot of features that would appeal to me. Your video is very helpful in showing me all this. I don't mean to be mean, but your photo's (even of the surprise hummingbird) have shown me that I am better to stick with my Z9. If for nothing else the the special sauce that Nikon bake in, called colour science. The OM System photo's looked cold, anaemic and lacking in vibrancy, in one word 'lifeless'. Not your fault. I shoot all my photo's on a flat profile and add in a little vibrancy and clarity in LightRoom. Increasingly I use noise reduction too (so high ISO doesn't matter). But even though I shoot in a flat profile, there's more life in my Nikon photo's than in your OM-S captures. Again, no criticism of you, an observation on the camera itself. Thanks for the video. Informative, topical but it won't take the Nikon Z9 outta my hand!
At 5:53 mark, I actually like the image produced by the 105mm better, I think would say in general I prefer the image from 105 better, while the 135 1.8 is a lot more " technically perfect" lends, but the 105 just offer some magic, maybe that's what people called " character", call me crazy, I even like the Zeiss Milvus 135 F2 APO better than the new 135 Plena. Between the Plena and the 85 1.8S ( which I also own), in my opinion is huge huge difference and the Plena is a very clear winner, I really don't like how the 85 1.8 renders the background. so I bite the bullet and got the 85 1.2 also and will get rid of the 1.8 as soon as I have the time to do it.
i have the 100 400 s 400 4.5 and the 600mm 6.3 and its a perfect combo i was lucky that my 100 400mm is very sharp wide open 400 and 600mm razor sharp i find the 600mm better than 800mm focal lengh
I really enjoyed this video and learned quite a lot. I am new to bird photography and photography in general. I’ll have subscribed and will be going through your past videos. Thank you very much.
Using the drone for distance comparisons was ingenius! Loved the images, too! I currently have the 100-400mm , which is very sharp and autofocuses like the 70-200mm, but I'm looking for more reach for birds in flight and environment shots with songbirds. Saving up for this 800mm big guy! Looking forward to more videos!
$6000 is MUCH better than the $20,000 that Canon demands. I realize it's one/third stop of light less, but still, and AMAZING prime. Low weight, low price, and great IQ.
