Birds and a teleconverter

[CherylL]

Add the 1.4 teleconverter with the Fuji 50-140mm. A few of my first shots.

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Cardinal by Cheryl, on Flickr

 

[Joel Bolden]

The Woodpecker was probably pounding away when you took that shot. The Cardinal shot are nice; good texture/detail. I've been using a 1.4x TC with my 55-300PLM/Pentax and as long as there's enough light to compensate for that 1 stop loss they work great.

 

[RVT1K]

I've got two and use them all the time.
One is a Nikon 1.7x that is mated to my Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 and the other is a Tamron 2x that is mated to my Tamron 300mm f/2.8.

Too much reach is never enough for birds!! Good luck and have fun.

 

[jeffashman]

Wonderful set! Gotta love the Cardinals!

 

[CherylL]

The Woodpecker was probably pounding away when you took that shot. The Cardinal shot are nice; good texture/detail. I've been using a 1.4x TC with my 55-300PLM/Pentax and as long as there's enough light to compensate for that 1 stop loss they work great.

The day was slightly overcast and that extra stop I had to bump up the ISO. I think my shutter speed should be higher? The woodpecker was moving. I plan on lots of practice this summer when the foliage comes in and nice evening light.

I've got two and use them all the time.
One is a Nikon 1.7x that is mated to my Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 and the other is a Tamron 2x that is mated to my Tamron 300mm f/2.8.

Too much reach is never enough for birds!! Good luck and have fun.

Too much reach is never enough, I agree! These were at 140mm. and would love to have a longer lens.

Wonderful set! Gotta love the Cardinals!

This year there are an abundance of Cardinals. There are 3 woodpeckers. I hope they stick around all summer.

 

[jeffashman]

The day was slightly overcast and that extra stop I had to bump up the ISO. I think my shutter speed should be higher? The woodpecker was moving. I plan on lots of practice this summer when the foliage comes in and nice evening light.


Too much reach is never enough, I agree! These were at 140mm. and would love to have a longer lens.


This year there are an abundance of Cardinals. There are 3 woodpeckers. I hope they stick around all summer.

Well, it's St. Louis, right?

 

[RVT1K]

Too much reach is never enough, I agree! These were at 140mm. and would love to have a longer lens.

With the Tamron 300mm f/2.8 & 2x tele-converter, it looks like a rocket launcher has been mounted to my camera although the tele doesn't add much.
But I think most people would be very surprised at how close I need to get in order to have a bird come even close to filling the frame.

 

[CherylL]

Well, it's St. Louis, right?

Yes the St Louis cardinals. I am across the river in Illinois. If I say Illinois then I get Oh Chicago.

 

[CherylL]

With the Tamron 300mm f/2.8 & 2x tele-converter, it looks like a rocket launcher has been mounted to my camera although the tele doesn't add much.
But I think most people would be very surprised at how close I need to get in order to have a bird come even close to filling the frame.

I saw an awesome bird photo on Flickr with the 1.4 teleconverter. Looked at the data and it was shot with a Fuji XF200 F2. Pricey!!

 

[MitchP]

Nice shooting! Teleconverters can be a blessing or a curse. I recently read an article that kind of makes sense from my experience. He was saying that a TC is good for filling the frame with your subject, but wasn't meant for cropping the pic in post. I find that generally true, for me at least.

As far as shutter speed, in my opinion for a bird feeder probably 500s to 1000s to freeze the action. If you are in Aperture Priority, experiment with the minimum shutter speed setting. If you want to get the bird landing, probably closer to 1000s. When I'm getting BIFs I'm usually in Manual Mode starting at 2500s. If I'm under exposed I can fix it in post, but there's no fixing motion blur. So my main concern is freezing motion and being in focus.

I see a super telephoto lens in your future Even the less expensive ones (Tamron or Sigma) are pretty great these days!

 

[jeffashman]

Yes the St Louis cardinals. I am across the river in Illinois. If I say Illinois then I get Oh Chicago.

I spent a couple of months at Scott AFB for training a very, very long time ago.

 

[terri]

Great work with the teleconverter, Cheryl! You got in tight, and both the DOF and light look good.

Love me some cardinals. I spoil all my back yard friends, too!

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[slat]

Nice shots.

 

[CherylL]

Nice shooting! Teleconverters can be a blessing or a curse. I recently read an article that kind of makes sense from my experience. He was saying that a TC is good for filling the frame with your subject, but wasn't meant for cropping the pic in post. I find that generally true, for me at least.

As far as shutter speed, in my opinion for a bird feeder probably 500s to 1000s to freeze the action. If you are in Aperture Priority, experiment with the minimum shutter speed setting. If you want to get the bird landing, probably closer to 1000s. When I'm getting BIFs I'm usually in Manual Mode starting at 2500s. If I'm under exposed I can fix it in post, but there's no fixing motion blur. So my main concern is freezing motion and being in focus.

I see a super telephoto lens in your future Even the less expensive ones (Tamron or Sigma) are pretty great these days!

Thanks for the shutter speed tips! The photos were cropped and I'll keep that in mind about minimal cropping. I shoot in manual mode. The Fuji XT-4 is easy to change settings with the dials.

 

[CherylL]

I spent a couple of months at Scott AFB for training a very, very long time ago.

I'm a few towns north of Scott AFB. Sometimes the huge cargo planes fly overhead.

Great work with the teleconverter, Cheryl! You got in tight, and both the DOF and light look good.

Love me some cardinals. I spoil all my back yard friends, too!

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Thanks Terri! Last year we didn't have many cardinals. This year is much better population. Hoping they will stick around all summer. Love watching the 3 woodpeckers.

Nice shots.

Thank you!