Hi Christian That's interesting, thanks for the test. Must have been a heavy lens/flash combo to carry... It's really a pretty bird. If you mount your Canon combo on a Pentax, you can participate in the "crappy lens competition" as well - only joking ;-)
I tried to get some bird photos today but after more than 2 hours walk I returned with only 3 photos ;-) I used a cheap Braun 38m flash and the mirror lens for a reach of about 10 meters fill flash at ISO 400 and wonder if the 125/sec synchronization will get any sharp takes at all. That's part of the experiment and fun. I really have to forget using the mirror lens in the forest, it is simply too dark for a F8 lens without a huge flash + extender. I seems to me that birds are most active in the morning and later in the evening, when the light is again nearly insufficient for such a slow lens? So it is really a challenge to get some good shots without a professional flash. greetings Markus >>-----Original Message----- >>From: Christian [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >>Sent: Monday, March 27, 2006 5:11 PM >>To: [email protected] >>Subject: More about birds on a budget >> >> >>Thinking about the latest thread on what lens for bird photography >>without breaking the bank, I went out and did a quick field test. >> >>Here is a 300/4 with 1.4x extender AND 2x extender for a total of 840mm >>f11 equivalent. I used a Sigma flash with Kirk flash x-tender for a bit >>of extra light. The bird was about 50 feet away and this is quite a >>crop and resized for the web, etc, etc. (It's crappy composition; I hate >>the looking-up-perspective, but it's a pretty bird: a Northern >>"yellow-shafted" flicker (Colaptes auratus) a type of woodpecker common >>around here). >> >>http://ww2.xian.us:8080/flicker_IMG_4798.jpg >> >>~200k >> >>As a test I'm happy with the sharpness, color and lack of any obvious >>lens artifacts. The combination of lens and 2 TCs was a bit difficult >>to focus due to so much loss of light, but definitely doable. >> >>-- >> >>Christian >>http://photography.skofteland.net >>
