• 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.

going to MF from AF... (1 Viewer)

B

Biju.P.B

Well-known member
hi.. I've been shooting birds using a D300 and Sigma 170-500 for the last 5 years.. The AF in the lens sometimes gives me a lot of head aches.. Still, I was able to capture some good moments.. Over these years, I'm able to approach the birds a lot more without any hides and may be because of that, I'm able to get good pictures of some rare forest birds in poor light with the same lens.. I'm not interested in action shots (may be sour grapes.. hehe) .. So, planning to get an old manual focus 500mm P lens or a 600 f4 IF-Ed lens.. I've done 99.99 birding without a tripod and will try to continue so, though the users of these lenses strongly recommend some sort of support.. Opinion are welcome.. :)
o:D
 
Biju.P.B said:
hi.. I've been shooting birds using a D300 and Sigma 170-500 for the last 5 years.. The AF in the lens sometimes gives me a lot of head aches.. Still, I was able to capture some good moments.. Over these years, I'm able to approach the birds a lot more without any hides and may be because of that, I'm able to get good pictures of some rare forest birds in poor light with the same lens.. I'm not interested in action shots (may be sour grapes.. hehe) .. So, planning to get an old manual focus 500mm P lens or a 600 f4 IF-Ed lens.. I've done 99.99 birding without a tripod and will try to continue so, though the users of these lenses strongly recommend some sort of support.. Opinion are welcome.. :)
o:D
Click to expand...
Forest bird photography is about as tough as it gets IMO. Poor light and obscured views. I can agree that MF can be beneficial in some situations.
As for low light photography with an hand held lens , good luck to you if you can manage it, particularly with a 500 or 600mm lens.
I certainly needed a tripod for this one
http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/316314/ppuser/53820
 
Manual focus with digital SLRs can be tricky as the focus screen isn't really a focus screen anymore. The focussing aids (prism ring, section shifting.....) of "traditional" SLRs are missing. In some cameras (I think the D300 is one of them) the focus screen can be exchanged with one that offers those focussing aids. There is a company out there that sells those replacement screen as afaik Nikon doesn't.

The prime lenses are a bit faster and will give you faster shutter speeds, but the gain in the forest environment will be limited (i.e. you will still require high ISO or stationary subjects). A monopod as support is the minimum, a good (!) tripod and head are better.


Ulli
 
Spunds like a difficult task at best ...alas ..no experience with cameas you use.

I would use at least a good monopod to up the persentage of keepers ....almost good shots are not enough.

Why go through expense of travel and a great day out in the field wth disappointing results viewing your shots in browser.

Good luck in your endeavor ...look forward to viewing pics!
 
I too wwould also,atleast,try a monopod.I useed one an you would be surprised how versatile they are. You can walk with it attached to your camera already attached and set to eye level.With the mono/head loose you can lean either way and till keep your camera level and, with a short length of soft twine,youn lash it to a post or sapling for stabilityIt would be lighter and less cumbersome to carry and already set up for"grab shots".Telescopic too.
Think about it
maurice
 
I've had luck with decreasing spot focus dot to its smallest ( camera set ) . Still shooting AF it helps when peeking through the twigs . Otherwise Crank up the ISO for better DOF
in manual . With a freshly charged battery and large CF card , the pray and spray rapid fire method increases the keeper images ratio greatly . I use a mono pod 90% OF THE TIME, even short as a grip .
 
Last edited:
seaspirit said:
The following is a link to the company that sells the MF focusing screens for a number of digital SLRs. Never tried one, never seen one, but would look into it when considering MF lenses.

http://www.katzeyeoptics.com/item--Nikon-D300-Focusing-Screen--prod_D300.html

Ulli
Click to expand...

Had one on my D2x and it was really useful. Understand they can be a bit fiddly to install on non pro bodies (which are designed to have interchangeable screens) but well worth the effort. May take a bit of practice to get the hang of-unless you are old enough to have grown up with manual focus slr's.
 
thanx a lot.. its wonderful to have so many helping hands.. I'm really confused now.. Should I go for lens having AF or should I go for a longer MF version.. ? I'm not much interested in action shots... I'm happy to watch them sit :) .. The forest near my home is mostly semi-evergreen forests and several patches of good evergreen forests.. Its pretty difficult (I think almost impractical) to wait and hope for a particular bird to peep in.. A tripod or a monopod will definitely hamper my movements inside the forest.. Mostly, there wont be any paths.. and sometimes, the undergrowth will be really thick.. Is there any good places in UK or Ireland or USA (I've got good friends here ..) to get some secondhand lenses having older version AF..? (I dont mind any problem with AF speed).. And what about a used 200-400mm lens? Is there an AF-i version? or an older AF version?
 
Biju those are very nice photos. I like the fact that you have included some nice information about the birds and their habits.
 
I would get the AF lens as the DX sensor in the D300 needs a sharp focus . This is more so than film cameras . I believe you only have an in focus Dot indicator on the far left view finder display . Focusing by eye in any extremely low light can produce poor quality images .
 
Last edited:
Hi Biju;
Your idea to look for a used AF 200-400 F4 Nikkor is a good one. I used to have the "new" sigma 150-500mm HSM and I loved it. Took most of my photos handheld, but couldn't use the tele converter because the light and quality dropped too much. Then I met someone who had gone from a Sigma to a Nikkor 200-400mm ...... many dollars later and I'm very pleased with my Nikkor 200-400mm the jump in image quality is amazing. I have a Nikkor 1.4TC attatched and almost never remove it. I still take some handheld shots but I much prefer to use my monopod with ball head. Take a look at my Flickr photostream, I have a set for the Sigma and here is the link to the Nikkor set. The Chipping Sparrow was taken handheld with the 1.4 TC. Most are taken using my carbon fiber monopod, I hardly even know it's there anymore. Sometimes I remove it and use it as a walking stick, you should get one and give it a try.

Flickr link http://www.flickr.com/photos/8006833@N08/sets/72157624276816605/

Cheers Paul
 
Warning! This thread is more than 13 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.

Similar threads

E
Upgrading from Sigma 150-600 C to Nikkor 500mm PF
Replies
4
Views
2K
rezMole
rezMole
W
Considering a Partial Camera Upgrade - D500 w/ 200-500mm lens
2
Replies
34
Views
4K
BriLee
B
A
Hello
Replies
19
Views
783
MelospizaMelodiaFan
MelospizaMelodiaFan
C
I've got a Canon R7 and need to update my lenses
Replies
15
Views
1K
Barred Wobbler
Barred Wobbler
C
Tamron 150-600 G2 or Sigma 150-600 C on D500?
Replies
10
Views
4K
Colin06
C

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top