Share Birds

[TNcasual]

Thanks much.

Well done getting the focus on the Grey Jay? in the bush.

It's a mockingbird.

Thanks. It took me some time trying to get the focus right. I think I may have the technique down now.

 

[faithblinded]

Dead Oak near the house got picked on hard yesterday. The Pileated was so relaxed, he even let me get up to his level on my roof about 20' away.

Hey Ken, your recent purchase of a Jobu Jr. gimbal is an example of "warped minds bending together." I bought one off ebay about 2 mo. ago & so far am really liking it. Too bad they no longer make it. Its light weight makes it a good match for m43 gear even the big ZD300. The only other light weight quality side mount gimbal I know of is the 4th D Mongoose & they are really spendy.

BTW, the very high activity level of the Pileated, dark target & close distance yielded the biggest C-AF challenge I've seen for this combo. It had a harder time locking focus than for any of the BIF I've done so far & would often hunt & just stop. Tried every combo, single large target w/ C-AF worked best & S-AF+MF or just MF produced almost no keepers. I've never seen this before & suspect I may have been experiencing a problem w/ intermittent contacts in the MMF-3 adapter. I almost always use this lens w/ the EC14 so have very limited experience using the lens alone. From experience, the small difference in fit that exists between mounts makes a difference w/ the electrical contacts in these adapters. Will have to do some testing.

Wow! Super work with the Pileated! They are fairly common near me, but they are by far the most cautious of our local peckers. They take up a much larger territory than the smaller peckers, making them harder to track down. The really big ones are easier to find based on the volume of their pecking than by sighting them. They are one of the birds I look for most, and continue to fall short when I see them. Can't wait to bag some good shots of one myself, but in the mean time, I'll live vicariously through your shots.

I actually bought the current version of the Jobu Jr3, with the one piece swing arm. You are right that they no longer sell the side mount Jobu Jr, but they do sell the Jr with a 2 piece swing arm that can be removed, and the quick clamp can then be mounted for side mount gimbal use. They just don't sell it alone as a side mount any longer. I'm finding it very well matched to the E-M1 40-150+TC combo. I've hated my ball head since the day I got this lens home, and haven't used my tripod much lately as a consequence. The Jobu has changed my tune. I'm so happy they make a quality unit so well suited to the size/weight of our gear. It's only 1.5 lb! It has me craving the new 300mm f4, and quietly eyeing ZD300 2.8's on ebay(Bigma's too, I really want a Bigma). I never realized just how nice a gimbal head is for wildlife, probably cause I never used one. I won't use it all the time, but if I can, I will! My next purchase is going to be some kind of ground pod/skimmer on which to mount the Jobu, for when I'm laying down peeking over the crest of a hill, laying in the reeds, etc.

Glad to hear I'm not the only nut around here. Some people must think we're crazy when they hear we're using a gimbal head with m4/3 gear.

 

[maritan]

Took the dogs out for a walk at the local riparian and got a chance to try the 40-150 Pro for the first time. Good, fast autofocus in bright conditions, but did have some misses. I also tried to get some with manual focusing, but I made mistakes having the aperture too wide open. I have to get used to depth of field at the long end especially.

Here's a few:

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I really liked the lighting on this one:

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I love the water droplet hanging off the beak:

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Feeding time:

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[tradesmith45]

Thanks much Ken.

It was great fun observing the Pileated work. I spent about an hour gradually getting closer to him as he worked over a 25' section of the dead Oak. Either a mate or competitor was in the area because they called back & forth. Over the hour he completely stripped all the moss & bark off 25' of the tree to get at bugs leaving a huge amount of material on the ground - really impressive.

After about a half hour, got the ladder on the other side of the house & climbed up. He showed no stress behaviors as long as I stayed below the crest of the roof even though I was in full view & a short distance away. Good shooting except the sun was nearly behind him making it hard to see.

It had rained hard the day before & that may be why these 2 were so approachable - they seemed really hungry. So I watched carefully for any signs of stress at my presence.

The only reason I got the Jobu was because my Sirui CF326 monopod has proved too short to shoot up into trees. The gimbal adds some (unfortunately not enough) height. Both peckers again demonstrated the monopod is still too short for me even w/ the Jobu.

Had been using & really liked the Sirui S-10 tilt head. Really light & works well on a monopod. While there is some additional risk of lens flop w/ the tilt head vs a gimbal, its never been a problem because even w/ a bit of tension in the clamp, the S-10 holds even the big ZD in place but moves smoothly.

I may breakdown & get a taller monopod & go back to using the tilt head because its so light.

Take note all you bird shooters about the value of having tall pods.

 

[faithblinded]

Thanks much Ken.

It was great fun observing the Pileated work. I spent about an hour gradually getting closer to him as he worked over a 25' section of the dead Oak. Either a mate or competitor was in the area because they called back & forth. Over the hour he completely stripped all the moss & bark off 25' of the tree to get at bugs leaving a huge amount of material on the ground - really impressive.

After about a half hour, got the ladder on the other side of the house & climbed up. He showed no stress behaviors as long as I stayed below the crest of the roof even though I was in full view & a short distance away. Good shooting except the sun was nearly behind him making it hard to see.

It had rained hard the day before & that may be why these 2 were so approachable - they seemed really hungry. So I watched carefully for any signs of stress at my presence.

The only reason I got the Jobu was because my Sirui CF326 monopod has proved too short to shoot up into trees. The gimbal adds some (unfortunately not enough) height. Both peckers again demonstrated the monopod is still too short for me even w/ the Jobu.

Had been using & really liked the Sirui S-10 tilt head. Really light & works well on a monopod. While there is some additional risk of lens flop w/ the tilt head vs a gimbal, its never been a problem because even w/ a bit of tension in the clamp, the S-10 holds even the big ZD in place but moves smoothly.

I may breakdown & get a taller monopod & go back to using the tilt head because its so light.

Take note all you bird shooters about the value of having tall pods.

Well he made you work for it. Getting out the ladder shows you are a trooper. You remind me of the one other sure sign of a Pileated in the area: massive piles of woodchips around the circumfrence of a tree. No other woodpecker can makes chips like a pileated.

Get this: I have the exact same monopod and tilt head(different branded head but same). I have used it alot with my Canon 200mm FD at events like Jazz Fest. I've yet to use it with the 40-150, since I don't like a monopod for wildlife shooting. It works and holds well, but I don't like adjusting the tilt head much. With wildlife I move the angle around too much.The gimbal is honestly the first thing that ever felt like it was helping rather than getting in my way, in terms of wildlife shooting from a pod. I may try the gimbal on the monopod, so I can copy you. Maybe it'll be the perfect compromise.

I'm 6'3" so I have accepted that no mono/tri pod is ever going to be tall enough for me unless I spend $1k or more, or want to carry a 10lb beast. Neither option is appealing. I'm always shopping for sub $500 carbon tripods without center column that approach 6 feet, but it's usually an exercise in frustration. C'est la vie.

 

[tradesmith45]

I'm always shopping for sub $500 carbon tripods without center column that approach 6 feet, but it's usually an exercise in frustration. C'est la vie.

I'm 4" shorter so don't need something so tall. I got a Feisol CT-3342: 56" high w/o column. Still too short but tallest, 2.5lb no column pod being made.

Do you know about the Sirui R 4203-L? Almost 71", 5.3 lbs & I've occasionally seen it under $500 but full retail is $599. Still cheaper than Gitzo & RRS.

 

[faithblinded]

I'm 4" shorter so don't need something so tall. I got a Feisol CT-3342: 56" high w/o column. Still too short but tallest, 2.5lb no column pod being made.

Do you know about the Sirui R 4203-L? Almost 71", 5.3 lbs & I've occasionally seen it under $500 but full retail is $599. Still cheaper than Gitzo & RRS.

The Feisol is the only pod on my list right now. Crazy, we have very similar notions about gear. I have a benro aluminum pod now that is wanting replaced, but I keep holding out for something taller in my price range. The Feisol 3442 is the closest thing I've found so far. With the Jobu jr3 gimbal and feisol pod, it would only be 4 lbs total. Add a 300+TC and go.

 

[lrlebron]

EM10 and the Oly 40-150mm

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[lrlebron]

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[Rasmus]

I had been considering doing just that. My thought is, set up the tripod with the 12-40 @ 12mm, focused on a wooded scene. Plug in the interval timer and have it shoot every 5 seconds, then go hide in several different spots as though watching wildlife where the camera is. Then you guys could play "Where's Waldo" with the images.

Why the interval timer and not just connect your cellphone to the camera with wifi?

 

[tradesmith45]

The Feisol is the only pod on my list right now. Crazy, we have very similar notions about gear.

Don't want to get into a long pod discussion here but our choice of the same gear is more a statement about the current pod market that has been dominated by either big DSLRs or folks wanting really compact gear for travel. As a result there is a large gap in the market for tall pods for ILC cameras for wildlife shooting.

We need pods that can quickly go from very tall to very short & that are light. Nearly all tall pods (both mono & tri) are way over built, heavy & expensive for us. To get tall-short you have to choose between no column, 2-piece column or 2 columns- long & short which takes longer to change. The Feisol & the spendy RRS TVC-24L are the only tallish no column pods lighter than the 5+ lb class. Silk & Oben are the only 2-piece column brands. With competition like this, the Feisol @ 2.5 lbs & <$400 easily wins though for me, the 2-piece Obens are a really close 2nd. I opted for the 3-section CT-3342 to eek out an additional 2" over the 4 section version of the Feisol. And I bought the optional center column though I'm not sure how much I'll actually use it.

 

[faithblinded]

Don't want to get into a long pod discussion here but our choice of the same gear is more a statement about the current pod market that has been dominated by either big DSLRs or folks wanting really compact gear for travel. As a result there is a large gap in the market for tall pods for ILC cameras for wildlife shooting.

We need pods that can quickly go from very tall to very short & that are light. Nearly all tall pods (both mono & tri) are way over built, heavy & expensive for us. To get tall-short you have to choose between no column, 2-piece column or 2 columns- long & short which takes longer to change. The Feisol & the spendy RRS TVC-24L are the only tallish no column pods lighter than the 5+ lb class. Silk & Oben are the only 2-piece column brands. With competition like this, the Feisol @ 2.5 lbs & <$400 easily wins though for me, the 2-piece Obens are a really close 2nd. I opted for the 3-section CT-3342 to eek out an additional 2" over the 4 section version of the Feisol. And I bought the optional center column though I'm not sure how much I'll actually use it.

You're right. Options well suited to the weight/size of "larger" m4/3 gear don't exactly abound. It's really frustrating with tripods. 8 million options, and only 2 or 3 that are right for a m4/3 wildlife photographer. Hopefully Fuji and Samsung have expanded the market enough to make tripod makers rethink some options for pro mirrorless kits.
When I finally upgrade, I'm getting a 4 section pod. I value the shorter collapsed length over the 2 inches in height, since I have to strap it to my motorcycle in the warm months, as well as at least a few plane trips a year where I'd like to take the pod. Still a pretty slick pod, either way.
Okay, back to the regularly scheduled bird photos, though I daresay this tangent is relevant to most folks that want to shoot birds more seriously.

 

[faithblinded]

Just making another pass through some shots from the past few weeks, here are a few I've tried to salvage, all from the same day. Please correct me if I get the species wrong.

Red Bellied Woodpecker (thanks to TNcasual 4 the correction)

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Male Northern Cardinal - these guys continue to frustrate me. So much harder to capture than their mates.

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Blue Jay - glad I took another look cause these are the best blue jay shots I've yet nabbed. Very much a love/hate relationship with them. They are large, beautiful, and smart. Very entertaining. They are also the forest alarm system, they alert every bird to your presence with their alarm calls. Annoying. They also often harass other species I like better. Darn jays! They are tough to get close to, as well.

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I like this shot, despite it's obvious flaws. Anyone else?

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Don't be happy with one session processing large batches of photos. I often come home with thousands of images, when out shooting birds. It's easy to get burnt out when you are trying to sort the keepers out of that many, and miss something. I would have missed these Jay shots had I not revisited these files. Happy birding.

 

[TNcasual]

I know it sounds silly, but that is a red-bellied woodpecker. Red-headed woodpeckers are larger and do not have the striped back.

 

[faithblinded]

I know it sounds silly, but that is a red-bellied woodpecker. Red-headed woodpeckers are larger and do not have the striped back.

I wasn't positive. Thanks for the correction. The red heads have a more completely red head, right? It's confusing, since every species in my area has red on the head somewhere. The woodpeckers I'm just never sure about, besides the tiny Downy's, and the giant Pileated. Haven't been birding long, it's alot to learn! thanks for helping my education along!

 

[faithblinded]

I thought I had nabbed one I was sure was a red headed pecker before, can you confirm? I know its a blah pic but I just want to be sure what I'm lookin at.

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[TNcasual]

Yes! That is a red-headed.

 

[faithblinded]

Yes! That is a red-headed.

I'll remember now that we've discussed it. Thanks!

 

[finerflower]

Sooo excited. I just got the Pany 100-300. I didn't think I'd see very many birds considering that its winter in New Jersey. However, I had a real itch to try out this lens and I was delighted to get this amazing capture. Also, this shot was handheld with Pany's IBIS. I also pushed the Shutter to 500 to test out my handholding skills. In reality, I will probably use a tripod.

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First Outing Pany 100-300 by hollysikora, on Flickr

 

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

Sooo excited. I just got the Pany 100-300. I didn't think I'd see very many birds considering that its winter in New Jersey. However, I had a real itch to try out this lens and I was delighted to get this amazing capture. Also, this shot was handheld with Pany's IBIS. I also pushed the Shutter to 500 to test out my handholding skills. In reality, I will probably use a tripod.

Nice catch, I still haven't seen one in the wild.