Nikon D7000 + Sigma 150-500 + Kenko 1.4TC

[SCraig]

I shot this early this morning and was pretty pleased with the results so I thought I'd pass it along for anyone interested in the Sigma 150-500.

It was shot with my D7000, a Sigma 150-500 at 500mm, and a Kenko Teleplus Pro 300 AF 1.4 DGX TC. I also removed my UV filter. Total focal length was 700mm (1,050mm 35mm equivalent) and the focal distance according to the EXIF data is 112.20 meters (368 feet). It was shot from a tripod, obviously, using a wireless remote and with my camera set for a 2 second exposure delay after the mirror raised. VR was turned off if I remember right (the EXIF data shows "On" but I'm pretty sure I turned it off on the lens, so I'm not 100% positive). Exposure was 1/250 second at f/9 and ISO 400. The original image is 14-bit RAW with noise reduction off. Autofocus was on and I used single-servo, single-point autofocus focused on the heron.

This is the relatively heavily cropped "Final" version .....

Here is the original version. No adjustments at all except embedding an sRGB color space and resizing it. Rather low contrast but nothing that can't be fixed in post processing. I don't think all of the lack of contrast was just the lens and TC but I'm sure some of it is. This was shot straight across a lake and there is always moisture in the air over lakes in the morning. Not heavy fog, but I always have a slight loss of contrast when shooting across water around here in the morning.

Here is a heavily cropped portion showing the detail in the bird. Some noise, but again nothing that can't be easily fixed.

Considering the distance and the fact that I was using a TC I was pretty pleased with the results. I've always had pretty good results with this lens but this is the first time I really tried to use it with my 1.4 TC.

 

[KmH]

I had 2 of Sigma's 150-500 mm lenses. Great lens for the price.

 

[SCraig]

I had 2 of Sigma's 150-500 mm lenses. Great lens for the price.

I agree, Keith. I've had this one a year and have had excellent results with it. It won't compare to a $8k Nikkor lens, but then I didn't pay $8k for it either.

 

[Majeed Badizadegan]

Those birds are hard to get close to.

 

[SCraig]

Those birds are hard to get close to.

Tell me about it! They are very, very shy and usually fly away as soon as they see a human. I ran across one late last year that was the exception though. It was wading around the edge of a lake when I saw it through some woods. I eased through the woods, and the Heron looked up and saw me, watched me for a minute, and then decided I wasn't a threat and ignored me completely. I was about 50' away with that same lens so I got some pretty decent shots of it before it decided enough was enough and flew away.

 

[orb9220]

Hmmm ours must be a tad humanized as got within 20-30 ft. multiple times over the course of the last year.
Shooting with a 55-200vr as all i had.


Great Blue Heron on the Bank 2 of 3 by Orbmiser, on Flickr


Great Blue Heron 2 of 5 by Orbmiser, on Flickr


Great Blue Heron on the Bank 1 of 3 by Orbmiser, on Flickr

Taken at different times along the bank of the Willamette River. And having a smaller one just means I have to make more of an effort on sneaking up on the them to get closer. Tho would love One of those Bima's! in my kit.
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[TCampbell]

Beautiful! I really like that first shot.

I have a friend who is a birder. They watch their bodies for clues. When their heads are tucked down, like Orbs' 2nd shot, they're still feeling comfortably safe and hoping not to get noticed. When they start to lift their head, they know they've been spotting and are now keeping an eye on (a) you and (b) planning their escape route. If they start to lift their heads, that would a good time to remain still for a bit.

There's a local nature preserve / park which has a heron aviary in it (on an island in the middle of a large pond.) I may have posted pictures from my visit there in the spring. Herons are normally loaners... except when they're raising young. At that point they set up nests like a condo complex... every one of my shots had a several heron nests high up in the trees.

They also have Sandhill Cranes that will show up in the spring to raise their young. They're the ones that REALLY surprised me. Normally you can't get within a 100 yards of them. But at this particular park, they've been so accustomed to people coming to look but not attempt to approach or chase them, that they'll approach YOU (btw, nobody seems to feed them. That was my initial suspicion.) I didn't see any herons approach people, but I did see the sandhill cranes doing it all the time (I was there for two days.) According to my birder friend, the sandhill cranes are normally even MORE shy than the herons. He couldn't believe what he was seeing in the park.

The set is here: Kensington Heron Days - a set on Flickr

The owl is a rescue bird that the park is rehabilitating and trying to train to hunt on it's own and become independent -- the rest of the shots are wild birds who like to use the park in the spring to raise young.

I have a Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS lens and I brought thatand a 2x converter THINKING that I'd be VERY far from the birds and need the longest focal lengths I could get. For the aviary shots, I did need a long focal length. But when I got to the Sandhill Cranes, I didn't have a SHORT enough focal length to get them. Even with the 2x removed I kept having to move away from them just so I could get them in the frame (on a full-frame camera... so 300mm isn't as much of a telephoto as it would be on an APS-C body). I went back to the car to get the 70-200mm.

 

[orb9220]

Great Advice TCampell and yep have to take it slow and observe their behavior and don't rush it.

Or a slip on the rocks or being noisy can cause them to skitter!


Great Blue Heron 3 of 5 - Caught me off guard and wasn't ready for flight by Orbmiser, on Flickr
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