Incoming Bird with Nikon 70-300CX

[The Smoking Camera]

An incoming black crowned night heron surprised me but I managed to fire off a couple of shots as it landed on an exposed tree trunk. The heron then treated me to some preening. Gotta say I've never shot birds before until I picked up the V3. Also have to say the 70-300CX is a much easier lens to handle than my 70-200's or 300 f4 AFS with the ft1 adapter. Hard to imagine another camera setup that allows a novice bird shooter to get these kinds of shots. The landing shots are cropped quite a bit, the others not so much.













--
Joe
http://www.thesmokingcamera.com

 

[Paul Pasco]

Awesome sequence Joe. You are truly a versatile photographer. Can't wait to see some beach shots with this lens.
--
Regards, Paul

Lili's Dad

 

[Bill Dewey]

I sure wish I had done that well my first, heck my first 100, times out! Well done, looks like I'd best me one of these, no doubt about it. Now, if it were just f2.8 ...... :-D

 

[Vlasty]

Wonderful. I really enjoy birds in flight photography. It really keeps me on my toes and hones my skills. Have to think and act quick. Vastly different than my landscape work and a good break. At times bif photography makes me feel like I'm playing a videogame. Heh.

Peapotty

Explore Peapotty’s 683 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

 

[Billy1]

Fantastic shots as always, Joe!

Wondering if you still have your V1 and if so does the 70-300CX focus as quickly with it?

Do you notice major difference in IQ using this lens between both these cameras ?

Thanks for sharing and please keep the pics coming,

--
Bill

Galleries by Bill Klein

www.pbase.com

 

[Microshooter]

Really love the last one Joe!! Nice catch. Gotta love the V with the fast response and high FPS.
--
Dan
"My most rewarding shots are things I didn't 'see' in the viewfinder."
Currently shoot with Nikon D800 & V2

 

[The Smoking Camera]

Awesome sequence Joe. You are truly a versatile photographer. Can't wait to see some beach shots with this lens.
--
Regards, Paul

Lili's Dad

Thanks Paul. Patiently waiting for some swells and surf. Haven't taken this powerful lens to Waikiki beach yet. With great power comes great responsibility.

 

[The Smoking Camera]

I sure wish I had done that well my first, heck my first 100, times out! Well done, looks like I'd best me one of these, no doubt about it. Now, if it were just f2.8 ...... :-D

 

[The Smoking Camera]

Wonderful. I really enjoy birds in flight photography. It really keeps me on my toes and hones my skills. Have to think and act quick. Vastly different than my landscape work and a good break. At times bif photography makes me feel like I'm playing a videogame. Heh.

Thanks for sharing your photos - really impressive and I definitely see the correlation to video games. I would guess you would also enjoy surf photography and whale photography. Both require total concentration, anticipation and quick action.

 

[The Smoking Camera]

Fantastic shots as always, Joe!

Wondering if you still have your V1 and if so does the 70-300CX focus as quickly with it?

Do you notice major difference in IQ using this lens between both these cameras ?

Thanks for sharing and please keep the pics coming,

Bill I still have my V1 but have not tried the 70-300CX lens with it nor have I made direct comparisons between the V1 and V3. If I had only the V1 I would still be tempted to get this lens because it is really that good. I would also get a grip to better handle the size and weight. The V2 is probably better just because of the grip. However, the V3 with the grip and the ability to use the AE-AL button to control focus just like my Nikon DSLRs is so helpful. It really does feel like a mini DSLR that packs a huge punch. Hope this helps.

 

[The Smoking Camera]

Really love the last one Joe!! Nice catch. Gotta love the V with the fast response and high FPS.
--
Dan

Thanks Dan. I think I was looking at a dragonfly when out of the corner of my eye I saw the heron. I literally turned around, pointed the camera in the direction, pressed the AF-ON assigned button and hit the shutter. And because I had Auto Area focus, the camera did the work to find the heron and nail the shots. Agree with you - this camera lens combo responds plenty fast and shoots faster than anything I have.

 

[King Vulture]

This is the lens Nikon should have had from the beginning. They kept coming out with short lenses and not taking advantage of that 2.7 crop factor. To a lot of folks, that crop factor (along with the speed) is the reason to go with a 1 series. You can get a dslr that will shoot all the normal family, friends, travel, etc. stuff cheaper and with a bit better image quality but no dslr is going to get you a hand holdable 810 f5.6 that shoots at 20 frames per second.

 

[Billy1]

Fantastic shots as always, Joe!

Wondering if you still have your V1 and if so does the 70-300CX focus as quickly with it?

Do you notice major difference in IQ using this lens between both these cameras ?

Thanks for sharing and please keep the pics coming,

Bill I still have my V1 but have not tried the 70-300CX lens with it nor have I made direct comparisons between the V1 and V3. If I had only the V1 I would still be tempted to get this lens because it is really that good. I would also get a grip to better handle the size and weight. The V2 is probably better just because of the grip. However, the V3 with the grip and the ability to use the AE-AL button to control focus just like my Nikon DSLRs is so helpful. It really does feel like a mini DSLR that packs a huge punch. Hope this helps.

 

[Tord S Eriksson]

Lovely shots, all of them!

 

[Kim Seng]

All your test has proven, this is more than a smoking camera. Just love your photography skill. This is a real practical review I like. Less talk talk and see more action what this camera can really do. It is sure above other mirrorless cameras.

 

[Vlasty]

Wonderful. I really enjoy birds in flight photography. It really keeps me on my toes and hones my skills. Have to think and act quick. Vastly different than my landscape work and a good break. At times bif photography makes me feel like I'm playing a videogame. Heh.

Thanks for sharing your photos - really impressive and I definitely see the correlation to video games. I would guess you would also enjoy surf photography and whale photography. Both require total concentration, anticipation and quick action.

 

[technic]

This is the lens Nikon should have had from the beginning. They kept coming out with short lenses and not taking advantage of that 2.7 crop factor. To a lot of folks, that crop factor (along with the speed) is the reason to go with a 1 series. You can get a dslr that will shoot all the normal family, friends, travel, etc. stuff cheaper and with a bit better image quality but no dslr is going to get you a hand holdable 810 f5.6 that shoots at 20 frames per second.

Maybe Nikon should try to make a fixed lens 'BIF' camera based on this lens, fusing CX70-300, V3 and EVF (and possibly making the lens a bit brighter at the same time) ;-)

Panasonic FZ1000 caters partly to the same users, but its lens is probably optically more compromised because it also includes the WA-standard focal length range. And it has less zoom reach which may be insufficient for birders. Many users are getting tired of lugging a DSLR with big lenses, and the advantages that these relatively small/light cameras offer in framerate and AF make them an attractive option for quickly moving subjects.

But Nikon really needs to work on the price, because at EUR 2200 (V3 + EVF + cx70-300) this is not equipment that people will buy easily.

And compliments to the OP for his great images; I think he is selling a lot of these lenses for Nikon ;-)

 

[JP Scherrer]

Nice serie (as usual) ;-) ! Extremely sharp and the bokeh of the 70-300 CX seem to be very smooth !

:-D

J-P.

Photo Galleries at http://www.pbase.com/scherrer
Spherical Panoramas at http://www.360cities.net/profile/jps

 

[LTZ470]

Fantastic shots Joe, these are awesome....5 & 6 are great shots of preening...

 

[tomhongkong]

I agree with the others, these are great shots and it is getting harder to resist buying the lens! Keep posting

thanks

tom