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Birds in Action at 15 fps, and more: Nikon 1 (1 Viewer)

I'll be back in Sydney on Saturday so next week I'll give the J5 and V2 and run on the scope and the 300/4 PF.
Neil.
Good luck, Neil. I wish you a Sparrowhawk within 5m as it just happened to me, when I was on my way to the supermarket. Having the V2 at 30fps worked well... 59 shots in 3 seconds, then the bird was gone.
 
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Thank you for the comments, Neil (and Niels). These three photos were the 8th, 22nd and 23rd of the series. Each is (roughly) a 1600x1200 pixels segment of the original, thus the first shot is "smaller". Looking at the original of the second (= 22nd) photo, the peregrine is in the upper left corner - I was already "losing contact" with the central focus point. Here are two earlier photos, the 13th and the 19th, when I still had the focus point on the bird.

This forum has narrow limits for posting images. At dpreview files can be large and include the exif information. For gallery photos a 100% view is available. Perhaps I'll make another attempt to edit some of these more carefully (I fear I pushed the dark areas too much) and post at dpreview, linking here. Or would it be better not to edit much and just do NR in DxO?

If you have already then i have missed it,out of interest i would like to have another go with the V2 for BIF,in the past i could never keep the bird in the frame with it unlike the M4/3.

I will be using the 30-110 on larger birds that i will be able to get close to,can you give me a run down on your settings please,
 
If you have already then i have missed it,out of interest i would like to have another go with the V2 for BIF,in the past i could never keep the bird in the frame with it unlike the M4/3.

I will be using the 30-110 on larger birds that i will be able to get close to,can you give me a run down on your settings please,

I had posted a link in the short note accompanying the Gold Finch shot above. Someone had started threads in various "mirrorless" sections at dpreview to find out which mirrorless had the best AF-C for BIF. Personally I believe that AF-C is only part of the fun, often (for small birds) a high shutter speed or a 30fps ability is relevant. I felt obliged to post some examples. But there hasn't been much of a debate.

The main mirrorless BIF rivals to the N1 + CX70-300 are probably the camera which you are using, Panasonic GX8 + Pana-LEICA 100-400, or the Olympus EM-1 Mk ii + Oly 300/f4 + MK-14. Both have 800+mm efov, a nice focal length for birding. To use a prime lens can't be too limiting, as 90% of my birding with the N1 is at 810mm efov. This small disadvantage is perhaps compensated by Olympus' "Capture Pro" mode that helps to catch the moment when birds fly away.

That you had more problems to keep the bird in the frame with the N1 than with your M4/3 may be the fault of the FT-1. A few days ago I took a long series of a starting cormorant (ran on the water, then took off). The bird was large in the frame, no need to crop - and still there was only one photo in the series where the bird wasn't in the frame, so that I cut off its head. ;) I rarely miss a mid-sized or large bird.

My settings (with the cx70-300) are Manual mode at 15fps, AF-C - but no subject tracking, as Stirr prefers. I need to practice that more. So it is almost always the fixed central focus square for me. Plus centre-weighed metering (in his latest article Stirr says he varies between matrix or center-weighted).
 
Thanks thats pretty much as i thought although i wasnt sure between center or matrix as on the panasonic i use matrix,

Been playing in the traffic today 3:) as the weather was too poor for birding,i did 50 shots @ 15fps of a car coming at me @ 30mph and got a very mixed result,it kept being in focus going out coming in ect.

I tried the next one at 5 fps did 22 shots and every one was sharp so i will try 15 and 5 hopefully tomorrow.

Latest update i changed from the GX8 to the G80 as its better to hold and if anything it may have the edge on the GX8.
 
As a note on prime v zoom this is the details from my last session as you can see where i shoot i would be stuck trying to use a prime.
 

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As a note on prime v zoom this is the details from my last session as you can see where i shoot i would be stuck trying to use a prime.
Agreed - if I think about it, there are quite a few occasions where I like to take a 70mm photo in between. A prime lens lacks flexibility. Also, this concrete Olympus set-up weighs 2.1 kg, perhaps too heavy for my taste.
 
Zooms are nice and flexible, but with the Oly 300mm/f4 prime AF speed will be faster as the camera's af-system gets more light to work with. The dimmer light and at higher frame rates the greater the difference will be.
 
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Zooms are nice and flexible, but with the Oly 300mm/f4 prime AF speed will be faster as the camera's af-system gets more light to work with. The dimmer light and at higher frame rates the greater the difference will be.

Not a lot if you add the 1.4 but on its own yes.
 
Gave it a try and must admit it worked well to say i only had a 110mm lens,i think i have learned a lot about using mirrorless since i last tried BIF with thre V2.

15 fps is not for me but 5 fps on it is very nice,the sensor shows its age though in high contrast situations.

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A few more
 

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Some ducks,needed a longer lens for these.
 

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A couple of pigeons.i could only get to the local public park hence the subjects.
 

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Gave it a try and must admit it worked well to say i only had a 110mm lens,i think i have learned a lot about using mirrorless since i last tried BIF with thre V2.

15 fps is not for me but 5 fps on it is very nice,the sensor shows its age though in high contrast situations.

Well done. Pigeons are fast. I often prefer 5fps, even for small bird-BIF - it is a more relaxed kind of shooting, when you rarely run into a full buffer. The high shutter speed usually required for BIF was a pain for me particularly during the winter - you are right, the "ancient sensor" too often means an ISO at high levels. That's why I tried some BIF at low shutter speeds, practicing "panning" in the winter. It was fun, maybe I'll post some of the results.

Shooting with the 30-110 mm at least you avoid "clipped wings" with ducks. Here are two consecutive shots from a series - it's often dangerously close to clipping a wing (or a head) with the CX 70-300.
 

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A CX 100-200 made the same way as the other lenses so it could be light and cheap would have been nice,its my feeling Nikon were frightened of where the 1 series could go.
 
Never owned nor used the Nikon 1 system but always felt that i should give it a try, it certainly looks o be a wonderful system for bird photography but am mightily put off by all the uncertainty that surrounds it's​continuing existence. Surely if the DL compact system is now dead Nikon can't allow the 1 system to die also. You would have to believe that a V4 has to be on the cards plus more lens options or does Nikon's losses of late stop that too?
I believe however that the j,5 has been a big money maker for them. Must say I am tempted to buy a S,/H j5 to try out and hopefully then be ready and prepared for when the ,V4 does come out. Would this be wise or a waste of money!
 
wise or a waste of money!

Good question and i wish i could answer,the 1 series is very good on its CAF and i was tempted to go with it rather than m4/3,in the end though the lack of lenses and signs of future development stopped me.

I would say the CAF has the edge on m4/3 but there are more things to consider,i can crop far better with m4/3 so dont need to fill the frame and risk cutting the subject off.

The j5 is a very good camera but i couldnt work with a LCD rear screen i need a viewfinder,they did some restricting with it as far as the FT-1 adapter working goes so that could limit your lens choices and you lose CAF when a none CX lens is used.

The one thing that nearly swung it for me was with the V2 and FT-1 i could use my Sigma 150-600 C giving me a FOV= 405mm-1620mm with AF and OIS,i could for some reason hand hold it at full tele,no idea how.

A couple from the V2 and Sigma
 

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Outstanding shots! Thanks for the reply. Still the problem remains, to much uncertainty with the system but you do feel it has so much going for it and potential in the future. Would be a shame if Nikon blew it!
 
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