Bird flight shots with KM 70-210f4 plus TC

AncientMariner · 18th February 2006

During a short holiday in Xiamen recently, I went for a dawn walk alone and came across flocks of birds in a lake. Though it was overcast and foggy, I could not resist trying some shots with the KM 70-210 f4, the longest lens I had brought along. Even though the lens has been described as slow, I had to couple on a TC because I needed the range.
Below are a couple of the shots I got.

It would appear even with my poor skills that lens is capable of in-flight shots of birds.

Below is another shot the next day when the fog lifted.

GENO · 18th February 2006

U never attach a UV filter on? it will help a bit, i think..

AncientMariner · 18th February 2006

Originally Posted by GENO

U never attach a UV filter on? it will help a bit, i think..

I did have a Hoya SHMC UV filter on to protect the lens.
The pics that bad, ah?

GENO · 18th February 2006

Originally Posted by AncientMariner

I did have a Hoya SHMC UV filter on to protect the lens.
The pics that bad, ah?

u got any photo taken without the TC?? is that the main problem??

AncientMariner · 18th February 2006

Originally Posted by GENO

u got any photo taken without the TC?? is that the main problem??

I did not try without TC because of the distance. I had enough problems with the camera "freezing" every few shots and the temp was reportedly only 12 deg. So didn't think to try anything else other than to get it working to shoot.
But I did crop the pics to remove bare space.

zcf · 18th February 2006

seem to have quite bad CA for the first 2.

Isaiahfortythirtyone · 18th February 2006

i dont think its so much of CA, more like image softness

Trigger Happy · 18th February 2006

did u have to resort to manual drive? i used a 2x kenko on my 70-300 sigma at the bird park and shot everything on manual that day. but the tc didn't affect my photos one bit. may just be the weather being foggy.

GENO · 18th February 2006

with TC on the lenses, it will become a little soft most of the time, i try before, end up giving up to take long distance pics..

AncientMariner · 19th February 2006

zcf - I examined the originals and you are right. CA is quite bad for the 1st pic but not so evident for the 2nd. I compensated EV +2 for the first since the heron looked black against the sky but none for the egret.

Isaiahfortythirtyone - Softness could probably be due to my panning failing to sync properly with the speed of the bird in flight or hand-shake since I was shot hand-held.

Trigger Happy - I used AF for the flight shots and manual for the last. The TC I used was a Kenko Mx-AF 1.5x Teleplus SHQ. It has allowed me to use AF even with my Tamron 200-500 which is f6.3 max at 500mm, though it does affect sharpness. However, that day the AF was "hunting" and I had to pan by estimating the flight speed and path of the subject.

Geno - I wd expect image quality to deteriorate when putting a TC esp non-APO in front of a telephoto lens but have to try first in order to test the limits mah.

18th February 2006	#1
AncientMariner Account Suspended Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Little Red Dot Posts: 1,067	Bird flight shots with KM 70-210f4 plus TC During a short holiday in Xiamen recently, I went for a dawn walk alone and came across flocks of birds in a lake. Though it was overcast and foggy, I could not resist trying some shots with the KM 70-210 f4, the longest lens I had brought along. Even though the lens has been described as slow, I had to couple on a TC because I needed the range. Below are a couple of the shots I got. It would appear even with my poor skills that lens is capable of in-flight shots of birds. Below is another shot the next day when the fog lifted. Last edited by AncientMariner; 18th February 2006 at 10:35 PM.

18th February 2006	#2
GENO Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Teddy Bear Land Posts: 2,859	Re: Bird flight shots with KM 70-210f4 plus TC U never attach a UV filter on? it will help a bit, i think.. __________________ Take both its legs down first, then cuts its tail, next is shoot between its eyes:devil:

18th February 2006	#6
zcf Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: 270 degree of Singapore Posts: 6,684	Re: Bird flight shots with KM 70-210f4 plus TC seem to have quite bad CA for the first 2. __________________ Sony Alpha 700 hobbyist

18th February 2006	#7
Isaiahfortythirtyone Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Clementi Posts: 2,470	Re: Bird flight shots with KM 70-210f4 plus TC i dont think its so much of CA, more like image softness

18th February 2006	#8
Trigger Happy Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: cockroach-infested parsee lees Posts: 1,331	Re: Bird flight shots with KM 70-210f4 plus TC did u have to resort to manual drive? i used a 2x kenko on my 70-300 sigma at the bird park and shot everything on manual that day. but the tc didn't affect my photos one bit. may just be the weather being foggy. __________________ Many are culled, few are chosen

19th February 2006	#10
AncientMariner Account Suspended Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Little Red Dot Posts: 1,067	Re: Bird flight shots with KM 70-210f4 plus TC zcf - I examined the originals and you are right. CA is quite bad for the 1st pic but not so evident for the 2nd. I compensated EV +2 for the first since the heron looked black against the sky but none for the egret. Isaiahfortythirtyone - Softness could probably be due to my panning failing to sync properly with the speed of the bird in flight or hand-shake since I was shot hand-held. Trigger Happy - I used AF for the flight shots and manual for the last. The TC I used was a Kenko Mx-AF 1.5x Teleplus SHQ. It has allowed me to use AF even with my Tamron 200-500 which is f6.3 max at 500mm, though it does affect sharpness. However, that day the AF was "hunting" and I had to pan by estimating the flight speed and path of the subject. Geno - I wd expect image quality to deteriorate when putting a TC esp non-APO in front of a telephoto lens but have to try first in order to test the limits mah.