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Any lens for bird photography(wild birds)?


turbonetics

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Hi, I would like to know if there are any lenses that I could use with my SL for bird photography?

Ofcourse a lens that is good enough to produce nice details and with minimum focal length of 500mm.

Digiscoping can be discussed here too.

Iam coming from a background that used to own the Canon 600mm II lens so would appreciate something that could produce similar or better results.

Let's open for discussions.

 

Thank you.

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I've been using a Canon FD 500mm f/4.5 L.  Some correction for lateral chromatic aberration is required for best results, but once the corrections are applied the results are quite satisfactory.

 

gwteal04.jpg

 

amcoot06.jpg

 

I've also been using the 280mm f/4 APO-Telyt-R

 

rcking06.jpg

 

anhumm40.jpg

Edited by wildlightphoto
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I've been using a Canon FD 500mm f/4.5 L.  Some correction for lateral chromatic aberration is required for best results, but once the corrections are applied the results are quite satisfactory.

 

gwteal04.jpg

 

amcoot06.jpg

 

I've also been using the 280mm f/4 APO-Telyt-R

 

rcking06.jpg

 

anhumm40.jpg

 

 

 

Thank you.

what camera are u using with the Canon FD mount?

I guess those shot at 280mm must be a "tame" bird just like the Hummingbird with feeder.

also can I check between the FD 500mm and 280mm Telyt-R, which is a sharper lens that can produce better details?

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Thank you.

what camera are u using with the Canon FD mount?

I guess those shot at 280mm must be a "tame" bird just like the Hummingbird with feeder.

also can I check between the FD 500mm and 280mm Telyt-R, which is a sharper lens that can produce better details?

 

 

These photos were made with the SL.  I'm finding that in most respects the Sony a7II is better for the kind of bird photography I do because the viewfinder image 'shimmers' at the plane of focus, the exposure preview mode (called Setting Effect ON on the Sony) is sticky, and because the Sony has sensor stabilization.  The SL is much more responsive without resorting to electronic first shutter curtain, the Sony's electronic first shutter curtain mode produces uneven exposure at speeds faster than 1/1000 sec.

 

Comparing the 280 APO and 500 FD L, the APO is clearly sharper.  I have trouble with moire much more often with the APO, rarely with the FD.  Assuming solid support and/or a fast shutter speed and correction for lateral chromatic aberration the FD can produce quite good results.  The APO's color reproduction is richer.

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Doug,

 

I'm interested to know whether you've shot your 280/4 APO-Telyt-R with an APO 2x extender-R and whether you're impressed or otherwise with the results and whether you feel that it perceptibly detracts from image quality please?  (Incidentally this combination would of course reach the OP's minimum 500 mm focal length.)

 

Pete.

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Doug,

 

I'm interested to know whether you've shot your 280/4 APO-Telyt-R with an APO 2x extender-R and whether you're impressed or otherwise with the results and whether you feel that it perceptibly detracts from image quality please?  (Incidentally this combination would of course reach the OP's minimum 500 mm focal length.)

 

Pete.

 

 

I haven't used the 280+2x APO on the SL (sold the 2x APO :( ). On the R8 the viewfinder at f/8 was difficult to use, but this should not be a problem on the SL.  The steep focussing pitch at 560mm was difficult to get used to and I saw some color fringes at the edges of the DMR's image frame.  The color fringes were a problem more when pixel-peeping than when making a print.

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Actually much better. When you want to photograph a bird (or any other wildlife for that matter) you want to focus on the eye/beak. AF is more uncertain. Doug's skill is unequaled.

 

 

yes,u are right.

birds' eyes are too small and even on AF, it can misfocus to other parts of the bird especially those parts has higher contrast/colourful.

sometimes I do use MF even on my previous AF set-up.

this is something people who don't shoot bird won't understand.

in fact there are many ways to shoot birds and it is what u want to achieve before u decide what are the steps to take.

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I haven't used the 280+2x APO on the SL (sold the 2x APO :( ). On the R8 the viewfinder at f/8 was difficult to use, but this should not be a problem on the SL.  The steep focussing pitch at 560mm was difficult to get used to and I saw some color fringes at the edges of the DMR's image frame.  The color fringes were a problem more when pixel-peeping than when making a print.

 

 

Ha. You should have sold it back to me, now I'm looking for one again.

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Not even close to Doug's work, but as an example: How are you going to use Autofocus here? (African Goliath Kingfisher)

 

 

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Not even close to Doug's work, but as an example: How are you going to use Autofocus here? (African Goliath Kingfisher)

 

 

attachicon.gifL1002589.jpg

 

 

The camera will hunt between the front tweak and the bird.

Most people will focus at the neck area where the contrast between black and white, but in this case the eye of the bird may not be sharp.

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Autofocus wouldn't have worked here as well... :)

400 Telyt 6.8

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Not even close to Doug's work, but as an example: How are you going to use Autofocus here? (African Goliath Kingfisher)

 

 

attachicon.gifL1002589.jpg

 

 

A naive and inexperienced user (like me) might be tempted to use single point AF and place the "+" on the bird's eye. As long as the AF sensing area around the "+" doesn't include the twig, why wouldn't that work?

 

dgktkr

Edited by dgktkr
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Because the sensor area would include the twig. This being taken with a 400 mm lens, and thus waving around a bit, even more so because the image was shot from a boat, it would be difficult  if not impossible to keep it out of the AF area.

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Because the sensor area would include the twig. This being taken with a 400 mm lens, and thus waving around a bit, even more so because the image was shot from a boat, it would be difficult  if not impossible to keep it out of the AF area.

 

 

That seems to describe a difficult situation where even manually maintaining focus would require a good deal of skill (or luck!).

 

dgktkr

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