• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

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

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!

I honestly believe if they scrap it its because they are scared of its potential as it stands.

Although the bodies where not cheap most of the lenses before the 70-300 where not a bad price at all.

I keep thinking about selling my V2 set up then changing my mind.

I still wonder if the scrapping of the DL range was because the focus ect was so good.
 
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!
I am using my Nikon J5 mainly for landscapes, macro or longtime exposures. And (rarely) combined with a legacy lens via adapter and manual focusing. BIF with a loupe and the cx 70-300 doesn't work half as well as with the V2. So the J5 de facto remains my "second option". It is a great camera and when the weather is sunny, it is able to produce fine photos. However, the V2 gets the vast majority of practice on my daily walks.

The uncertainty regarding the N1 isn't entirely negative, as it leads to lower prices for used gear. Not long ago a V2 was sold for Euro 200 and a CX 70-300 for Euro 550. - I understand that the V2 is "dated" in many respects. For my needs it is more than sufficient, but then I come from a bridge camera (SX 50) and couldn't afford to pay 3k+ for the latest mirrorless cameras.

Edit: The Nikon J5 would be a much more regular companion for my birding walks, if it could shoot 5fps. Its buffer size is half the size of the V2's, it is cruel that we are forced to use 10fps, which fills the buffer too fast.
 
Last edited:
The Buzzard photo is a little older (January), but I love it. Four of these five shots can be seen in better resolution at dpreview: Chaffinch, Treecreeper and Fire-/Goldcrest are here, the Buzzard has got a thread of its own.
 

Attachments

  • Chaffinch.jpg
    Chaffinch.jpg
    620.1 KB · Views: 253
  • Treecreeper.jpg
    Treecreeper.jpg
    191.2 KB · Views: 208
  • Fire and Goldcrest.jpg
    Fire and Goldcrest.jpg
    122.9 KB · Views: 199
  • Nuthatch.jpg
    Nuthatch.jpg
    660.6 KB · Views: 239
  • Buzzard.jpg
    Buzzard.jpg
    539.9 KB · Views: 209
Hunting Barn Swallow

A barn swallow picks up an insect.
 

Attachments

  • BSwallow 1.jpg
    BSwallow 1.jpg
    536.6 KB · Views: 182
  • BSwallow 2.jpg
    BSwallow 2.jpg
    545.7 KB · Views: 196
  • BSwallow 3.jpg
    BSwallow 3.jpg
    542.6 KB · Views: 221
  • BSwallow 4.jpg
    BSwallow 4.jpg
    547.1 KB · Views: 192
Thanks, Niels and Mike.
Lovely set,you have given me something to aim for ;)
If you can't find a swallow, try a wagtail. ;) I've posted a longer hunting sequence at dpreview; here are five of these shots in smaller resolution.

This is a kind of "true bird watching" with the Nikon V2 that wasn't possible with my former bridge camera (SX50). That said, from the 16 images (in 15fps mode, from start to landing; 1/2500 sec, iso 500) I find the shots 12-15 a little blurry. The autofocus system isn't really made for small birds.
 

Attachments

  • Wagtail6.jpg
    Wagtail6.jpg
    463.1 KB · Views: 170
  • Wagtail7.jpg
    Wagtail7.jpg
    472.1 KB · Views: 181
  • Wagtail8.jpg
    Wagtail8.jpg
    483.3 KB · Views: 194
  • Wagtail9.jpg
    Wagtail9.jpg
    485.6 KB · Views: 181
  • Wagtail11.jpg
    Wagtail11.jpg
    453.1 KB · Views: 169
Last edited:
From an encounter with a hunting hobby. Only one of the 64 shots showed both the bird and the insect. Apologies for the heavy crop and the bad quality. ;)
 

Attachments

  • Hunting Hobby.jpg
    Hunting Hobby.jpg
    125.3 KB · Views: 256
Thanks, Niels and Mike.

If you can't find a swallow, try a wagtail. ;) I've posted a longer hunting sequence at dpreview; here are five of these shots in smaller resolution. .

Got a three shot sequence but screwed up the exposure and needed to pull it back in PP so they are not brilliant.

G80 100-400
 

Attachments

  • P1070163.jpg
    P1070163.jpg
    170.4 KB · Views: 178
  • P1070164.jpg
    P1070164.jpg
    138.2 KB · Views: 186
  • P1070165.jpg
    P1070165.jpg
    274.2 KB · Views: 185
Got a three shot sequence but screwed up the exposure and needed to pull it back in PP so they are not brilliant.
G80 100-400

Thank you for posting those from my favourite bird. - This year I haven't had many opportunities with migrating swifts - still hoping to improve upon this shot from 2016.
 

Attachments

  • Swift.jpg
    Swift.jpg
    160.5 KB · Views: 206
Sparrowhawk at 30fps

On my way to the supermarket I was crossing a bridge, having the V2 ready for a flying mute swan or duck. The noise of shrieking little birds should have warned me, still it was a surprise when a male Sparrowhawk landed just 5 meters away from me. The bird looked around, stared at me and flew away, an encounter of perhaps 3-5 seconds.

Later I found that for these 59 shots I had the camera set at 30fps. Weird, since I use this only rarely - for small birds. Clearly not my usual bridge-crossing setting. Yet I won't complain. Here are ten photos, including nine of the 11 consecutive shots of the bird's departure.
 

Attachments

  • SparrowH 3.jpg
    SparrowH 3.jpg
    573.5 KB · Views: 177
  • SparrowH 5.jpg
    SparrowH 5.jpg
    436.1 KB · Views: 166
  • SparrowH 7.jpg
    SparrowH 7.jpg
    439.4 KB · Views: 157
  • SparrowH 8.jpg
    SparrowH 8.jpg
    428 KB · Views: 164
  • SparrowH 9.jpg
    SparrowH 9.jpg
    460 KB · Views: 198
Last edited:

Attachments

  • SparrowH 10.jpg
    SparrowH 10.jpg
    393.7 KB · Views: 181
  • SparrowH 11.jpg
    SparrowH 11.jpg
    505.1 KB · Views: 182
  • SparrowH 12.jpg
    SparrowH 12.jpg
    408.1 KB · Views: 190
  • SparrowH 13.jpg
    SparrowH 13.jpg
    491.8 KB · Views: 165
  • SparrowH 14.jpg
    SparrowH 14.jpg
    363.3 KB · Views: 169
To prepare for a short trip to the coast, I went to the river to practice swallows in flight. The last time I had done that was a while ago, yet the refreshment course went pretty well. These five photos were taken within 35 minutes, on 14 September, around noon, on a sunny day.

Expensive cameras occasionally struggle with BIF photography against a background, as I have learned in various internet threads. The Nikon V2 behaves surprisingly well. - I've posted the same photos in higher resolution at dpreview.
 

Attachments

  • Swal1.jpg
    Swal1.jpg
    111 KB · Views: 176
  • Swal2.jpg
    Swal2.jpg
    169.2 KB · Views: 203
  • Swal3.jpg
    Swal3.jpg
    160.2 KB · Views: 146
  • Swal4.jpg
    Swal4.jpg
    115.4 KB · Views: 151
  • Swal5.jpg
    Swal5.jpg
    94.2 KB · Views: 180
Peregrine Mirror Attack

A Peregrine falcon attacks his mirror image, crashing into the reflecting surface of a building with a loud "boom". Watched in February. I've later checked in the web to find out more about the incident. - It seems only certain mammals are known to be self-aware, the prime example being the chimpanzee with the red dot on the forehead, who looks in the mirror and then tries to wipe it away. The peregrine must have mistaken the mirror image for a rival. Similar cases are frequently reported, it seems, and only in spring = courtship time.

There is noise in the shadows. Yet it's an unusual episode, so I thought I'd share it nevertheless.
 

Attachments

  • Pereg1.jpg
    Pereg1.jpg
    441.1 KB · Views: 170
  • Pereg2.jpg
    Pereg2.jpg
    380.6 KB · Views: 167
  • Pereg3.jpg
    Pereg3.jpg
    532.5 KB · Views: 173
  • Pereg4.jpg
    Pereg4.jpg
    349 KB · Views: 182
  • Pereg6.jpg
    Pereg6.jpg
    435 KB · Views: 158
A Peregrine falcon attacks his mirror image, crashing into the reflecting surface of a building with a loud "boom". Watched in February. I've later checked in the web to find out more about the incident. - It seems only certain mammals are known to be self-aware, the prime example being the chimpanzee with the red dot on the forehead, who looks in the mirror and then tries to wipe it away. The peregrine must have mistaken the mirror image for a rival. Similar cases are frequently reported, it seems, and only in spring = courtship time.

There is noise in the shadows. Yet it's an unusual episode, so I thought I'd share it nevertheless.

Thanks for sharing HermitIbis....an intriguing series of shots! :t:
 
[...]. I've later checked in the web to find out more about the incident. - It seems only certain mammals are known to be self-aware, the prime example being the chimpanzee with the red dot on the forehead, who looks in the mirror and then tries to wipe it away.[...]

Actually, there are at least two bird species that pass the Mirror Test... Pigeons and Corvids (although only the Eurasian Magpie was regularly tested among Corvids). Of the two, Pigeons are regarded as smarter... see here

The interesting point is that the behaviour you've captured shows that Pigeons are smarter than Peregrines... though they can't avoid one falling out of the sky towards them at great speed ;)
 
Thank you, Ken and Chris.
Actually, there are at least two bird species that pass the Mirror Test... Pigeons and Corvids (although only the Eurasian Magpie was regularly tested among Corvids). Of the two, Pigeons are regarded as smarter... see here

The interesting point is that the behaviour you've captured shows that Pigeons are smarter than Peregrines... though they can't avoid one falling out of the sky towards them at great speed ;)

This Mirror Test wiki is great stuff - many thanks. Since I read a book on corvids I've already had lots of respect for magpies; it's pretty hard to get close shots. I've looked for more and found a Wiki entry on bird intelligence, including the observation "Cormorants used by Chinese fishermen that were given every eighth fish as a reward were found to be able to keep count up to seven" and this remark on pigeons:
Untrained pigeons have never been able to pass the mirror test. However, pigeons do not normally have access to mirrors and do not have the necessary experiences to use them.
The "Mirror Test" piece has a section "Criticism" which includes the following:
Another concern with the MSR test is that some species quickly respond aggressively to their mirror reflection as if it were a threatening conspecific thereby preventing the animal to calmly consider what the reflection actually represents.
So we can't be 100% sure whether peregrines are self-aware. What I can confirm from my own city walks: they are very good in hunting pigeons. ;)
 
Thank you, Ken and Chris.


This Mirror Test wiki is great stuff - many thanks. Since I read a book on corvids I've already had lots of respect for magpies; it's pretty hard to get close shots. I've looked for more and found a Wiki entry on bird intelligence, including the observation "Cormorants used by Chinese fishermen that were given every eighth fish as a reward were found to be able to keep count up to seven" and this remark on pigeons:

The "Mirror Test" piece has a section "Criticism" which includes the following:

So we can't be 100% sure whether peregrines are self-aware. What I can confirm from my own city walks: they are very good in hunting pigeons. ;)

Yes, it's all interesting stuff. I guess the other problem with knowing which animals are self-aware is whether we are really intelligent enough to design an accurate test... because I'm pretty sure Humans aren't as smart as we think we are ;)

(Some good action shots with your set up, BTW)
 
Warning! This thread is more than 5 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top