Owl in Flight with GH3 and 100-300mm

I got a bit too close and cropped part of the wing - but overall I was pretty impressed with the AF-C mode on the GH3 (it's not the best I've ever taken - but I am sure that it will get better as I practice more):

Nice picture.

It may be that you could get a crisper image by stopping down to f/7.1. At the long end, this lens goes a bit soft when wide open. I have done some tests that show it improves at f/6.7 and is best at f/7.1. f/8 is good also but not an improvement so I think f/7.1 is best to use.

Obviously you need to keep the shutter speed up for this kind of shot so I would shoot in A mode and set the Iso manually to get in the right speed range for the conditions of the day and type of subject. This is where it would be nice for Panasonic to provide auto-iso in manual mode because then you could set the shutter speed and aperture and allow the camera to set the correct Iso for optimum exposure. But it seems they never will...

very well done.  Its not the easiest to capture BIF with CDAF cameras and the AF on the 100-300mm isnt exactly fast, so you did well considering it was flying toward you

Tony Rogers wrote:

Nice picture.

It may be that you could get a crisper image by stopping down to f/7.1. At the long end, this lens goes a bit soft when wide open. I have done some tests that show it improves at f/6.7 and is best at f/7.1. f/8 is good also but not an improvement so I think f/7.1 is best to use.

Good info Tony.  I did some testing of my own comparing it against a few lenses and whilst I only tested it at 1 stop intervals, i found that wide open it aint the best at 300mm.  I am thinking that the Oly 75-300mm (at least the original version) may be a tad better but that is just based on one link (that i have lost of course lol) wher a guy compared them both and the Oly wide open at 300 certainly had better contrast and appearance of detail.

Sorry that I've not responded!
I agree it might have been sharper had I closed the lens down a bit - but then I'd have had a slower shutter speed or a higher ISO so that might have added blur anyway.
But I'm pleased with the result - better than I was expecting before I bought into the system!

It's pretty sharp anyway, I've got a handheld shot of the moon on the OM-D (with no e-shutter) that looks amazing - of course I have tripod mounted e-shutter shots of the moon too - taken from the luxury of an arm chair using LUMIX LINK

grumpyolderman wrote:

JamieTux wrote:

It's pretty sharp anyway, I've got a handheld shot of the moon on the OM-D (with no e-shutter) that looks amazing - of course I have tripod mounted e-shutter shots of the moon too - taken from the luxury of an arm chair using LUMIX LINK

I agree, an amazing shot to be proud off. I was more responding to the other guys...It is very tricky to get the long focal length sharp, even with image stabilisation. I just got myself a "monster" of a lens, a Pentacon 300mm F4, see how that goes, see if I can lift it!

Sorry I meant the lens, not my owl shot - but thank you
I loved the Nikon 300mm f4 - if the Pentax is similar you'll be very impressed.

How do you take shots of the moon from our armchair, have you got a mount with sideral drive? The moon goes through my viewfinder in a minute, I would love to get a mount for at least 2-3 min exposures (not hte moon, obviously).

I was playing more than anything I actually lined up ahead of where the moon was going - but I'm sure it take a few minutes to go through - but I've never timed it!
As for mounts - I bout my father an AstroTrac for his 60th, a couple of years ago (I asked advice from a Sony forum member, Nordjsterm I think is how you spell it) and Dad loves it - he thinks it's accurate enough for about a 5 minute exposure, then he resets and takes the next - then stacks at the end - here's a link to the results he gets with that http://www.t2landscapes.co.uk/p983829945

I'm sure he'd recommend it if you asked him.

He recently bought a ridiculously stable Arca Swiss head - he think that's made quite a difference too - but none of the photos on the gallery are using that yet.

JL

Nice shot!

I've practiced with the same birds a lot  At around 300mm I find 1/1000 and higher gives the best results even if you have to open the aperture or increase ISO, here's a link to one:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamestux/5726154328/

It was a different class of lens of course....