Real men use manual - AF is for the birds...

[jaapv]

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M8- 135/4.0 wide open. It was interesting, there was a bloke shooting a Canon 30D with 70-200 beside me. Although I had more out of focus shots than he had, I had a large number of keepers and he just one. Reasons?

1. I could see the birds fly into the frame, he could not

2. Shutter-lag. Most of his shots were the tip of the tail or clear blue sky...

[Guest guy_mancuso]

But you nailed it and that is ALL that counts. Nice shot

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[martinb]

Nice! One out of 200 frames?

[jaapv]

Thanks Guy . I'll post a little series in the Photo-forum when I have time.

[jaapv]

Nice! One out of 200 frames?

 

Success rate about 40%

[haroldnaaijer]

Nice shot, Jaap, I know how difficult it is, but why does she have a green belly?

groet,

Harold

[MP3]

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Congratulation, Jaapv. 40% is a very high rate in this arena.

[Skippy Sanchez]

M8- 135/4.0 wide open. It was interesting, there was a bloke shooting a Canon 30D with 70-200 beside me. Although I had more out of focus shots than he had, I had a large number of keepers and he just one. Reasons?

1. I could see the birds fly into the frame, he could not

2. Shutter-lag. Most of his shots were the tip of the tail or clear blue sky...

 

try as i might, i fail to see the connection here.

 

while i might agree on point #1 ("I could see the birds fly into the frame, he could not..."), i must disagree with point #2.

 

i have been using both the M8 & 30D on hundreds of newspaper assignments this past year and really don't believe there is any signifigant difference in "shutter lag."

 

my guess is the difference is in who has has faster reflexes, not the better camera.

 

i love my M8s, but am getting weary of the 'my-camera-is-better-than-yours' mentality i'm seeing on this website.

 

it's a tool for god's sake, that's all. it's like saying, "my toothbrush is better than your toothbrush."

[barjohn]

Well...it is...check my teeth

[eronald]

I can walk past your Ferrari on foot when you're caught in a traffic jam.

 

So, there !

 

Edmund

[yoMammabot]

Bravo! Wonderful shot!

 

And Skippy: I think its a credit to the Photographer in this case using a great tool where he has a distinct disadvantage.. but found strengths in the system and produced some very rewarding results.

[stunsworth]

That's an excellent shot, but I feel I ought to point out that...

 

 

1. 99.999% of wildlife shots are taken with an SLR

2. In this kind of shot, with those cameras, photographer reaction speed is more of a factor than shutter lag.

 

Neither of which is to detract from an excellent photograph.

[jaapv]

Thanks for the kind words, everybody . But- I've been doing extensive wildlife work since 1975, been into the African bush for weeks on end since it seems forever. My first real expedition was with 400/6.3/Visoflex/M3, since then (D)SLR work.And I agree 100% that an SLR is a very practical, if not superior tool. BUT I really was pleasantly surprised at the ease of using the M8 in this kind of dynamic application with a relatively short lens. Because of the ease of anticipation in the viewfinder, and responsiveness of the camera, I found it superior to an (D)SLR here. This shot was not a lucky fluke...

[jaapv]

Nice shot, Jaap, I know how difficult it is, but why does she have a green belly?

groet,

Harold

 

Reflection of the water

[Guest stnami]

thread............ ....................my bird doesn't even fly and the cousins across the sea got rid of their wings, and it an't a chook yard

[leicamode]

Love the shots! I am amazed by your skills at "flight photography"!

 

Well done:)

[dpattinson]

If you haven't seen it before Nick Brandt does some rather amazing wildlife photography with a manual focus camera (pentax 67) - and a normal/wide lens as well.

 

I think it's interesting to consider that apart from the tilt, you could take the same shots with an M and a standard lens - if you were willing to wait and get close

 

David.

[gogopix]

Dear Jaap

 

i think you have Viso as well.

Do you find the RF or screen SLR focusing easier in these situations (bird fligt)

regards

[Hans Roggen]

Hi Jaap,

 

Nice shots! More due to the photographer than the camera i think, so compliments to you instead of the M8 being better than the Canon.

 

Hans

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[DaveEP]

Nice shot Jaap. It's interesting that I noticed the same thing. The M8 + 135 got me more keepers than I got with a Canon + 70-200, probably because of the framing issue that you talk about. I think there were zero keepers from Canon and around 5 or 6 from the M8 out of around 20 shots. Not as good a ratio as you, but I am not complaining