Baby steps with D500

jeminijoseph · Apr 25, 2016

There's an eagle nest very close to my home. I've been there few times, but never got a good shot. On Friday I went there and both babies were out and sitting on the ground. One of them was shy and took off immediately. This baby still learning to fly. I got very close to him but he didn't care. Also he was making short flights and runs. I was little worried about fox or other animals around. But next day I saw the baby is on the nest again. These are around 3-4 months olds. Parents are still around. Not sure if they started hunting by themselves..

These are taking with 80-400 AF-S. Love this combo. I've been using D4 and 500mm for 4 years. Now all of a sudden I can get better reach and hand holdability with some loss of light and slightly bad bokeh. I think the AF is far better. It's hard to miss a BIF and when you get it, it's really sharp. The baby in flight was the shy one and when I was taking pictures of the other one he came to check on me..

This one is a vertical crop. Around 3200X2300 or so

Practice flight

Looking out for the sibling

Playing

After a small flight

Another vertical crop

The light was harsh at 4pm or so

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Thanks
Jemini Joseph

www.wildbirdimages.com

engbert · Apr 25, 2016

These are excellent. The sharpness is astonishing.

I have to wait another few days for my D500.

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/30973952@N06/

WarbirdFZ5 · Apr 25, 2016

Very nice pictures!

Must be a great feeling to be able to get so close.

Thanks for sharing!

jeminijoseph · Apr 25, 2016

WarbirdFZ5 said:
Very nice pictures!

Must be a great feeling to be able to get so close.

Yes it's!. You may know how it feels especially such a great bird

WarbirdFZ5 said:
Thanks for sharing!

jeminijoseph · Apr 25, 2016

engbert said:
These are excellent. The sharpness is astonishing.

I think any current serious lenses will produce amazing sharpness with right processing. I know a super tele will produce sharper images. But the difference is not going to be visible unless you use proper tripod and look at 100%. But may be there shots are impossible with tripod..

Member said:
I have to wait another few days for my D500.

JimPearce · Apr 25, 2016

Beautiful portrait Jemini! I wouldn't complain about the bokeh there too much.

Mr Gadget · Apr 25, 2016

Simply outstanding! Excellent images! For me the verdict is in, the D500 is everything we hoped it would be.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful images.

Laslo Varadi · Apr 25, 2016

H Joe,

Excellent st of photos. But I think a lot of it has to do with you. I just got the D500 also but don't think I will be up to your standards anytime soon. Can you share your AF settings? Did you use AFC, single focus or D9, D25, etc.

I may be in teh Tampa area in October, perhaps we can meet?

jeminijoseph · Apr 25, 2016

Laslo Varadi said:
H Joe,

Excellent st of photos. But I think a lot of it has to do with you. I just got the D500 also but don't think I will be up to your standards anytime soon. Can you share your AF settings? Did you use AFC, single focus or D9, D25, etc.

I may be in teh Tampa area in October, perhaps we can meet?

jeminijoseph · Apr 25, 2016

JimPearce said:
Beautiful portrait Jemini! I wouldn't complain about the bokeh there too much.

The background being far enough definitely helps..

jeminijoseph · Apr 25, 2016

Mr Gadget said:
Simply outstanding! Excellent images! For me the verdict is in, the D500 is everything we hoped it would be.

Exactly.

Mr Gadget said:
Thank you for sharing this wonderful images.

Tim S · Apr 25, 2016

Cool shots, the clarity is quite striking.

ASR45 · Apr 25, 2016

Lovely images to behold.

Gradybaby · Apr 25, 2016

Outstanding got to love the additional reach.

jeminijoseph · Apr 25, 2016

Gradybaby said:
Outstanding got to love the additional reach.

Of course

jeminijoseph · Apr 25, 2016

ASR45 said:
Lovely images to behold.

jeminijoseph · Apr 25, 2016

This is the way I process them. Apply some NR to the background and sharpening only to the area it's needed. ISO 450. Who said 80-400 is not sharp

. View all images at full size. DPR doesn't show them in actual quality

100% crop, processed

--
Thanks
Jemini Joseph

www.wildbirdimages.com

MPileggi · Apr 25, 2016

Wonderful photos!! I haven't ordered this camera yet, as I've been waiting to see some actual samples from the D500. I've been using my old D7000 and Tamron 150-600 lens for a couple of years now for birds in flight. A friend let me use his new Nikon 200-500mm lens and I like it a lot.

Another friend keeps hammering me to buy a full frame, rather than this D500, saying I can just crop the photo for the same results have have better low light capabilities. Would you agree or disagree with his comments?

A Nikon D610 from Adorama is currently $1296.

The D500 seems to be a winner for birds in flight and other wildlife photography.

Thanks,

Monica

jeminijoseph · Apr 25, 2016

MPileggi said:
Wonderful photos!! I haven't ordered this camera yet, as I've been waiting to see some actual samples from the D500. I've been using my old D7000 and Tamron 150-600 lens for a couple of years now for birds in flight. A friend let me use his new Nikon 200-500mm lens and I like it a lot.

Another friend keeps hammering me to buy a full frame, rather than this D500, saying I can just crop the photo for the same results have have better low light capabilities. Would you agree or disagree with his comments?

A Nikon D610 from Adorama is currently $1296.

The D500 seems to be a winner for birds in flight and other wildlife photography.

Thanks,

Monica

Thanks for the comment Monica

Crop vs Full frame is a big subject. One thing I've learned from my experience is that a cropped image from full frame can better than crop sensor based on situation. This depends on the resolution of the bodies. If you compare the low ISO images from both I think crop sensor always help with extra reach. Not so easy to answer. For me the the best AF alone is enough reason to get D500. I will never get a 610 for WL. That's me. I try to shoot some action. Above images are necessarily my favorite keepers. I like to see they do something. So AF is very important for me. If you like to take portraits of static birds, then your friend is right. Good luck with your decision.

JJ168 · Apr 25, 2016

jeminijoseph said:
This is the way I process them. Apply some NR to the background and sharpening only to the area it's needed. ISO 450. Who said 80-400 is not sharp . View all images at full size. DPR doesn't show them in actual quality

Baby steps with D500

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