What’s Up?
Walking, swimming, eating and sleeping well, and working hard. Along with lots of NFL games and MLB playoff baseball thanks to TIVO.
It was looking as if I had my Nikon 600 VR and my gripped D850 sold, but the buyer back out. If you are seriously interested, please shoot me an e-mail. My 500 PF and the rest are also available.
A New Approach
SONY a7r iii Mirrorless Digital Camera Body
I am offering a slightly used SONY a7r iii Mirrorless Digital camera body — the very one that made all of the great images in the last few blog posts as well as the one presented here today — for the very low price of $1998.00. The camera is in excellent plus condition. But for some tiny nicks and scratches on the base of the camera, it would be near mint; it has less than 12,000 actuations. The sale includes the original box and everything that came in it. Your purchase includes insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Others are invited to e-mail for shipping surcharge info. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact me via e-mail or leave a message on my cell phone at 863-221-2372 (Eastern time zone).
You’ve seen the images … Simply put, the a7r iii is a great camera body. It is selling new right now at B&H for $2998.00 (with a $500 instant rebate …) and the new a7r iv is going for $3,498.00! You can save a very cool $500.00 by grabbing my a7r iii right now. artie
Money Saving Reminder
If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase over $1,000.00, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon, Nikon, or SONY gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order.
Gear Questions and Advice
Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.
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This image was created on one of our two North Seymour landings on July 23 on the 2019 Galapagos Photo-Cruise of a Lifetime IPT. I used the handheld Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x teleconverter (at at 560mm) and the high mega-pixel Sony Alpha a7R III Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 3200. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/160 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. AWB at 5:48pm when a large cloudy covered the sun. Flexible Spot (S) Continuous/tracking AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was placed on the gull’s left eye. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Swallow-tailed Gull tight preening |
Pushing the Envelope with the SONY a7r iii
There is a pair of beautiful tame gulls courting on the rocks but they are strongly backlit. Then a big cloud covers the sun completely and allows me to get the perspective that I want. But we are headed back to the ship and need to be off the island by 6:00pm and the light level is very low. I don’t like the wide shot so I add the TC, set the aperture wide open, choose a shutter speed of 1/160 sec (with some trepidation), and raise the ISO (to 3200) on the rear wheel until the faintest Zebras appear on the white patch above the bird’s bill. As one of the bird’s preens, I am quickly moving the AF point in an effort to keep it squarely on the gull’s left eye. I made very few images and kept only two, but this frame was bingo!
ISO 3200 with the a7r iii is as clean as a whistle. No noise reduction was needed. The Optical Stabilization System (OSS) allowed me to make a very sharp image at a focal length (560mm) that was three and a half times greater than the shutter speed (1/160)! Not to mention that moving the AF point around the frame is an absolute pleasure with the a7r iii and that the AF is fast and accurate even with a TC.
“Pushing the Envelope”
From the very interesting Grammarist website here.
To push the envelope means to extend the boundary of what is possible, to take a risk by going farther than others think is acceptable. The term push the envelope was popularized in the early 1980s, following the publication of the book The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe. The book The Right Stuff chronicled American pilots who tested high-speed aircraft, including the early astronauts. Tom Wolfe quoted pilots using the term “pushing the outside of the envelope” to describe challenging speed records and other aerial feats. The envelope in question is the flight envelope, which includes all possible aircraft maneuvers. The idiom most probably originated among American pilots during World War II. After the publication of Wolfe’s book, the term push the envelope migrated into everyday English to be used in a figurative sense.
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Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).
Hi Artie! I absolutely love this photo! Swallow-tail Gulls are so beautiful. Seeing this photo takes me right back to the Galapagos Islands and the tour we took with you. Thanks for posting!
Hi Arthur, is a7riii and 200-600 a good combination for fast/erratically moving subjects(small birds)? Or for the subjects coming fast towards the camera?
Some says that the black outs in EVF also creates a problem at times, have you faced any such thing?
a9 or a7riv are better choices may be, but both are much costlier.So, was thinking about the above mentioned combo.
Hi Arijit. Thanks for your questions. Surely the a9 (my first choice) or an a7r IV with the 200-600 would do a bit better when trying to photograph fast, erratically moving subjects (small birds) or subjects flying quickly right at the camera. But as you note, they are a lot more money …
See the blog post here.
with love, artie
Not even sure why I really like this shot so much… but I do. Very engaging image. Great find.
Thanks, Mike. I think that it is that one sharp eye.
with love, artie
Gosh.What a photo.Artie’s for sure.This time l understand how Sony helps.
Thanks a stack JCE 🙂
with love, artie
So…Artie…are you ditching Nikon for Sony?
Yuppers.
a
Artie, regarding this paragraph:
“ISO 3200 with the a7r iii is as clean as a whistle. No noise reduction was needed. The Optical Stabilization System (OSS) allowed me to make a very sharp image at a focal length (560mm) that was three and a half times greater than the shutter speed (1/160)! Not to mention that moving the AF point around the frame is an absolute pleasure with the a7r iii and that the AF is fast and accurate even with a TC.”
The comment about the focal length being three and a half times greater than the shutter speed is somewhat confusing on my first read through. As I first read it, I was thinking about the number of stops of stabilization. Using the 1/focal length recommended shutter speed for handheld photography without stabilization, this would be less than two stops of stabilization, no? Have you tried going any slower with the Sony bodies?
Not trying to be pedantic by any means, just wondering what types of handheld performance you’ve gotten with they Sony system if you’ve tried to go slower.
Ryan
Also I do realize that the gull may have been moving so the 1/160 is still great. But subject motion shouldn’t really depend on focal length as much as size in the frame.
Hi Ryan, You are correct on both counts above. Thanks for setting for straight times two. All that said, I was surprised (and glad) to get such sharp stuff at 1/160 sec. at 560mm handheld.
I will let you know on the slower shutter speed question.
with love, artie
Great Picture. Makes me wish I was there. Thanks for sharing. Is there anything like using Zebras in the Canon system for getting perfect exposures?
Join me in 2020. Details soon. No on the Canon question.
with love, a