Not been out for a while, for a variety of reasons, mainly due to poor weather coinciding with my days off.... still! There was a bit of a family windfall recently, and Mrs PB insisted I treated myself... and who was I to deny her!? A 2nd hand 800mm f6.8 was ordered (from Wex Photographic) on Wednesday afternoon, and it was delivered before lunch Thursday.... hats off to Wex and DPD for that service!! I'll put findings and thoughts of the lens in the Mirrorless thread in a while, but as I went out for a couple of hours in intermittent sunshine, I thought I'd share the results. (As it's been a while since I was out, and it's a new lens, this post is likely to be quite long!) Please note... user error was prevalent thoughout this trip, coz I didn't notice until I got home that the camera was set with -1.0 exposure compensation (AV on Canon). DOH!
First up, a bit of a scruffy distant Pheasant
Followed by a distant Greenfinch
Presumably a Chiffchaff (a bit distant.... can you spot the theme with a big lens in hand? lol)
I think this was the same bird, as one flew over my head from the tree, but the markings don't look right?
There were several mechanical flying beasts in quick succession
I could hear a buzzard keening from somewhere fairly close, so manoeuvred myself to have a view of the sky, as opposed to the tall trees either side, and a bright pop of colour caught my eye, 2 beautiful Comma's
And a little further along a lovely purple flower... from the minimum focussing distance of 15 feet, the small hairs on the stems were invisible!
And some more bright pops of colour
The Buzzard was still in plaintive crying mode, and then all of a sudden, over the hedgerow...
I took a vast quantity of Red Kite pics, so I'll limit myself to just those two... Further along another new looking butterfly, Speckled Wood (there were also a couple of whites, and a darter of some sort, none of which landed)
Then, finally, the Buzzard put in an appearance
All the while high overhead, Swallows were wheeling, almost directly above me
I could hear various corvids cackling and cawing, and suddenly out of right field...
I could here some more corvid cackling to the other side, and spied what I thought was a Kestrel being "escorted" by a crow.... nope, not a Kestrel... My 3rd ever Hobby
A fine conclusion to my outing... It was a premature conclusion, because my battery died, and I'd been in a rush to get out and try the new lens, but because the lens hood didn't fit in the "carry about" camera bag I use, I didn't take it and didn't even think of spare batteries
Anyhow, when I got home, I plonked myself down in the garden to see if anything would come to the feeder whilst I was there (it's only a small garden so quite often nothing appears) but I was graced by Robin
And a youngish looking Goldfinch
Thanks for reading/ viewing. Any thoughts on the early warbler gratefully received
Stay Safe All
A good selection of butterflies about PB. I like your Jay with the acorn, as soon as I can shake off covid that's what I am hoping to photograph... Great to have seen the hobby, hope to see some more testing soon.
Very nice post PB and a good variety of wildlife; glad you were able to get out and about with the new lens and stunning captures including the Jay in flight showing those beautiful blue/check feathers. I'd go for Chiffchaff too.
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Regards, Hazel
Cracking set of shots PB, jealous as hell of the lens, I used to dream of an 800mm Looking forward to seeing many more and great to get the Merlin. Decent Jay shots are like Hen teeth up here too
Speedy recovery Mac
As I've mentioned before, the trials and tribulations of editing photos, I had a quick go in Lightroom as I'd messed up the images in camera. I'm pleased with the outcomes... the 1st Kite shot redone
And the Hobby
I don't know what I was so apprehensive about!
Cheers Snappy... get well soon. We're away to Chichester week after next, so hopefully going to Pulborough Brooks and WWT Arundel, plenty of testing
Thanks Hazel, I was properly pleased I caught the Jay, as it was already in flight before I saw it
Thanks Scozmos. Even with just that couple of hours with the lens, I can tell it's going to make a difference
I've got an old 300mm prime and it's still a great lens but, only 300mm
I can't wait to try it with the TC and in crop mode.... see how wobbly that is in the viewfinder lmao