Sony RX10iii for birding/wildlife (2 Viewers)

[njlarsen]

F# is about light per surface area. Depth of field is determined by F# and sensor size: if F# is the same, then depth of field is narrower as the sensor gets larger.

Niels

 

[Steve Babbs]

So at the risk of appearing patronising from an in the field point of view F4 on a SLR may well give too shallow a depth of field but with a smaller sensor it is more likely to be okay. I do miss the narrow depth of field for 'arty' shots (although I have kept a SLR body and smaller lenses for these) but mostly the greater depth of field is an advantage with wildlife photography.

 

[njlarsen]

So at the risk of appearing patronising from an in the field point of view F4 on a SLR may well give too shallow a depth of field but with a smaller sensor it is more likely to be okay. I do miss the narrow depth of field for 'arty' shots (although I have kept a SLR body and smaller lenses for these) but mostly the greater depth of field is an advantage with wildlife photography.

I to some extent agree with the section in bold but also know that there are people who disagree. Each to their own.

Niels

 

[Steve Babbs]

I to some extent agree with the section in bold but also know that there are people who disagree. Each to their own.

Niels

Hence the word mostly. I totally agree there are times when, especially when going for a more atmospheric shot or when keen to make things stand out from a background, I would deliberately choose a shallow fov.

 

[Swissboy]

Hi Robert - it's an olive-backed sunbird, Cinnyris jugularis. Singapore's most common sunbird, easily seen all over the island, including in most urban parks etc.

Best regards,
patudo

Thanks Patudo! Turns out that I have seen it in SE Asia (according to my notes), but not in Singapore. And I could not remember it at any rate. It's also been a few years.

 

[MKinHK]

Here's a few more pix from my now 41/2 yr-old RX10iii. Recently I found a great video on YouTube from a South African photographer about using the smallest focal area which has been delivering some good results. As ever good light and getting close are also important prerequisites for getting the best out of the camera.

The Lesser Blue-eared Starling is of course an escape.

Cheers
Mike

 

[Swissboy]

Here's a few more pix from my now 41/2 yr-old RX10iii. Recently I found a great video on YouTube from a South African photographer about using the smallest focal area which has been delivering some good results. As ever good light and getting close are also important prerequisites for getting the best out of the camera.

The Lesser Blue-eared Starling is of course an escape.

Cheers
Mike

Thanks Mike, very convincingly demonstrates the high quality of both camera and photographer!
I need to look into this YouTube video as I have the RX10iv.

 

[MKinHK]

Many thanks Robert!

I've been having more success with the settings suggested by Richard de Gouveia (see link above) which has significantly increased my enjoyment of my bird photography in recent months.

Most recently, a friendly Pacific Reef Egret rounded off a mostly quiet day as it provided a wonderful subject on which to learn a bit more about the RX10iii's multi-shot sports mode to capture the various stages of its hunting and preening. The main lesson was that shooting multi-frame on focus tracking at 1/1000th second at f4 on was fast enough to freeze the bird in flight as the camera auto-selected the ISO. I'll post one shot here, but there's three series of shots of the bird repositioning after being swamped on its rock, of a successful hunting attempt, and of a fluffing of its feathers that showed its rarely seen breeding finery.



The same day, a Greater Sandplover tracking its way past me along the tideline provided another opportunity to get close and low in decent light. Making best use of the small area focus delivered a good number of keepers, of which several are displayed one post above the egrets.



A completely contrasting situation - photographing a male Japanese Paradise Flycatcher - my bird of the spring - in dense woodland on Po Toi, Hong Kong's offshore migrant trap, made even better use of the small area focus as it was essential for getting sharp images of the bird in a visually crowded environment.

And finally... and another low light situation, in which a Pygmy Wren Babbler posed beautifully for a few seconds as it foraged in the dark crannies of a stream bed alongside the top waterfall on my old patch at Ng Tung Chai.

Cheers
Mike