Birds Show Birds

[John King]

I found what seemed a really good deal on an AF-S 300 f/4 D and a TC-14EII and they showed up earlier this week. Got them for less than I could get a used Tamron or Sigma 100-400. Still shorter than 500+mm, but I do like it. It's at the top end of size/weight I want to deal with. The bare lens is silly sharp at f/5.6. I was going to post in the thread I opened up to close the loop.

Looks good, Eli. And the TC looks good too.

IME, teleconverters can be very dodgy. I have three, and only one is optically excellent. One of the other two is a cheap and nasty 2x. The other is a barely acceptable, highly expensive OEM Olympus FTs EC-14!

The really good one is a Teleplus focusing TC, 2x, for my film OM1. Cost around AUD 850 in the mid 1980s. Here's a sample on the back of my Olympus f/4 200, scanned from an Agfa Vista negative. Handheld, about 15-16 years ago.

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[lucien]

CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!!!!

 

[emorgan451]

Looks good, Eli. And the TC looks good too.

IME, teleconverters can be very dodgy. I have three, and only one is optically excellent. One of the other two is a cheap and nasty 2x. The other is a barely acceptable, highly expensive OEM Olympus FTs EC-14!

The really good one is a Teleplus focusing TC, 2x, for my film OM1. Cost around AUD 850 in the mid 1980s. Here's a sample on the back of my Olympus f/4 200, scanned from an Agfa Vista negative. Handheld, about 15-16 years ago.

Lovely photo John!
Yeah, definitely have to be careful with TC's. I actually though the EC-14 I had on the 50-200 non SWD did pretty well. I never had the MC-14 to pair with the 40-150 f2.8, but the MC-20 gave me some good shots, but was a steep drop in focus speed and really needed to be stopped down. I figured this time I'd go for a 1.4x and hope for the best

 

[John King]

Lovely photo John!
Yeah, definitely have to be careful with TC's. I actually though the EC-14 I had on the 50-200 non SWD did pretty well. I never had the MC-14 to pair with the 40-150 f2.8, but the MC-20 gave me some good shots, but was a steep drop in focus speed and really needed to be stopped down. I figured this time I'd go for a 1.4x and hope for the best

A friend also has an EC-14, and it is fine on his E-1 and E-30. Go figure ...

 

[saladin]

 

[emorgan451]

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[Stu]

Wattlebird

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[Avondale87]

Looks good, Eli. And the TC looks good too.

IME, teleconverters can be very dodgy. I have three, and only one is optically excellent. One of the other two is a cheap and nasty 2x. The other is a barely acceptable, highly expensive OEM Olympus FTs EC-14!

The really good one is a Teleplus focusing TC, 2x, for my film OM1. Cost around AUD 850 in the mid 1980s. Here's a sample on the back of my Olympus f/4 200, scanned from an Agfa Vista negative. Handheld, about 15-16 years ago.

View attachment 350557

What's this John?
Is this a "The cat ate my bird " excuse for no bird photo

Lovely cat

 

[RobD]

And here are a couple of male Wattle birds.

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[Avondale87]

I'll add another - Wattlebirds are beautiful Aussie birds

Yellow Wattlebird ~ Anthochaera paradoxa
Endemic to Tasmania and the largest of the Wattlebirds

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​

 

[John King]

What's this John?
Is this a "The cat ate my bird " excuse for no bird photo

Lovely cat

Or, "The bird ate my cat!" ...

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[Avondale87]

Or, "The bird ate my cat!" ...

View attachment 350795

very nice close-up John
Is that what the lump in the throat is?

 

[John King]

Richard, I think that the group had just had a feed. Then they marched off in single file to somewhere else ... At Healesville Native Wildlife Sanctuary.

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Geez, they are big birds when you are standing right next to them!
Top of their heads are at my chest level.

 

[Irene McC]

Guinea fowl chick, before they get their customary spots

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[rayvonn]

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CZJ 50mm F1.5 Contax RF Mount

 

[MiguelATF]

Spent a few hours wandering around the Finley Wildlife refuge, near Corvallis, Oregon. A cold, gray, wintry day... but there were birds everywhere.
A tiny yellow-rumped warbler was busy catching and swallowing small insects--

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While a spotted Towhee glared at me with one ferocious red eye while scarfing down seeds--

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On a nearby trail, a small bevy of California quail disappeared into the bushes when they heard approaching human footsteps, I barely caught one quick snap of this chap, the last in line, then they were all gone--

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At a larger pond, a GBH (Great Blue Heron) was calmly preening himself on a log outcropping while a small number of ducks kept him company; on the far side of the pond, a flock of tundra swans were raising a ruckus, calling and screeching and yodeling--

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Not too far away, was a family of ring-necked Ducks--

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Finally, on my way out, I came a cross a some great Egrets...
They were standing--

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Standing and flying--

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And flying--

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The Egrets made my day.

 

[Rose McGillicuddy]

And here are a couple of male Wattle birds.
View attachment 350778View attachment 350779

Are these related to the tui in NZ? Some similarities ..... does it have a very melodious call, and clever at mimicking sounds ?

 

[lucien]

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[John King]

Are these related to the tui in NZ? Some similarities ..... does it have a very melodious call, and clever at mimicking sounds ?

Fairly raucous but complex call. No mimicry that I have ever heard of, Rose.

 

[Zapp]