Analyzing Lens Choice for Hand Held Flight Photography

Your Fave?

Which of today’s two featured flight images do you like best? Why? Which background do you like best?

What’s Up?

I headed back to Santee on Saturday morning. Right outside of the park fence, adjacent to my new favorite morning spot, there was a large tree removal operation replete with three very loud wood chippers. The ducks stayed away in droves. I moved a bit to the north and had an OK morning. On Saturday afternoon I tidied up my AirBnB and watched the two NFL playoff games.

Last weekend all five of the teams I was rooting for won. When the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the favored Tennessee Titans with a last second field goal, I was six for six. I was rooting for the San Francisco 49ers to topple the Green Bay Packers who were favored by 5 1/2 points. After the first half, the 49ers chances looked to be somewhere between slim and none as their offense was non-existent. With the help of a blocked field goal, a blocked punt returned for a Niner’s touchdown, and a field goal by Robbie “Good as” Gould with zero time left on the clock, San Fran pulled off a miracle win. Now I am seven for seven thanks to the two underdogs winning.

I am torn between rooting for the Rams or for Tampa Bay in the first game. I will surely be pulling for the KC Chiefs to defeat the Buffalo Bills in the second game. I really like both teams a lot, but have been a huge Patrick Mahomes fan for forever.

I was glad to learn yesterday that John Flynn’s Canon 600mm f/4L IS II lens in excellent condition sold for a BAA record-low $4899.00 within hours of being listed.

Today is Sunday 23 January 2022. The forecast is for cool, clear, and sunny with a gentle breeze from the northeast. I will be heading to the cliffs for more pelicans and more. I have a special Sunday plan in mind. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about ninety minutes to prepare and makes 72 days in a row with a new one.

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Steve Elkins of Bedfords let me know recently that he had several Sony a1 bodies in stock. If one of them has your name on it, please click here and be sure to enter the BIRDSASART coupon code check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. Right now, in lieu of the 3% credit refunded to the card you used for your purchase, you will receive a Sony 160GB CFexpress Type A TOUGH Memory Card, a $399.99 value!

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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. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.

This image was created on 17 January 2022 at La Jolla, CA. While seated, I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter (at 400mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. ISO 2000: 1/2000 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 8:55:26am on a cloudy morning. Tracking: Zone AF/C with Bird/Face-Eye Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Brown Pelican — low light flight

Sony 70-200 II for Flight Photography

With large birds like pelicans at relatively close range, I love the new 70-200 for flight photography — usually with either the 1.4X TC or the 2X TC. Much smaller and much lighter than the 200-600, it is a dream to hand hold. And it is faster as well. One and one-third stops faster with the 1.4X TC, and one-third stop faster with the 2X in place.

Image #1A: AF Point for the Brown Pelican — low light flight image

a1/70-200 f/2.8 AF Performance

AF performance with the 70-200 f/2.8GM lens and the a1 is other-worldly, even with the 2X TC in place. Initial focusing acquisition is lightning fast and the Bird/Face-Eye Detection is nothing short of amazing.

Image #1B: Topaz DeNoise AI on the Brown Pelican — low light flight image

How Good is Topaz DeNoise AI?

Be sure to click on the screen capture to see the great job done by DeNoise AI. Viewing at 400%, it is easy to see the complete elimination of the ISO 2000 noise in the dark tones on the pelican’s belly. As regular readers know, I run DeNoise on virtually every image that I process immediately after executing the crop with the Delete Cropped Pixels box checked. For images made in sunny conditions, I used Standard. For images made in low light, I use Low Light. You can check all four methods by using the Comparison View, but I rarely do that anymore as I am confident as noted above.

Great Topaz News!

Be sure to check out the Sharpen AI item below.

Folks who use the BAA Topaz link to purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or the Utility Bundle (or any other Topaz plug-ins), will receive a 15% discount by entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout. If the stuff is on sale (as it usually is), you save 15% off of the sale price! To get the discount you must use my link and you must enter the discount code. Be sure to start with this link.

Those who purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or any other Topaz plug-ins using my link and then entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout can e-mail to request a short Getting Started with Topaz e-Guide. Please include a copy of your Topaz receipt that shows the discount. Aside from the basics, the guide explains how to install the plug-ins so that they appear in the Photoshop Filter Menu.

This image was created on 20 January 2022 at La Jolla, CA. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 255mm), and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) ISO 1000. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2500 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:34:04am on a barely sunny morning. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Brown Pelican adult in flight on sunny morning

When the Sun Shines

When the sun comes out, I will often go to the 200-600 for birds in flight despite that fact that it is larger and heavier, and thus more difficult to hand hold. Not to mention that it is at least 1/3 stop slower than the 70-200 with either TC. So what not just stay with the 70-200?

Reach. Since the size of the bird in the frame is a factor of the square of the focal length, the 200-600 at the long end is the clear winner. And on sunny days, working with the slightly slower lens is not a problem for folks who can hand hold it successfully. Here is the math comparing the maximum focal lengths of the two rigs: the 70-200 with the 2X TC (i.e., 400mm) and the 200-600 alone (at 600mm). Four squared is 16. Six squared is 36. 36 divided by 16 is 2.25. Thus, the size of the bird in the frame at 600mm will be two and one-quarter times larger than the size of the bird in the frame at 400mm!

Please note that Image #2 was created from a horizontal original. Canvas was added above and below.

The Choice With Other Systems

As all major camera systems offer a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, and longer hand holdable lenses, the same considerations discussed above will come into play. One thorn in the side for folks on the dark side is the fact that the Nikon TCE 20, their 2X TC, is a real clunker.

Image #2A: Topaz Sharpen AI on the head and breast of the Brown Pelican adult in flight on sunny morning image

Topaz Sharpen AI

The truth is that I rarely use Topaz Sharpen AI. And I am even not sure why I tried it with Image #2. But was sure am glad that I did as the improvement was monumental. Be sure to click on the screen capture to see that improvement while viewing the high-res version. Note that I increased the magnification to 200%.

Actually, the sharpened selection looked a bit too sharp, so I simply reduced the opacity of the layer to 70%.

Great Topaz News!

Be sure to check out the DeNoise AI item above.

Folks who use the BAA Topaz link to purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or the Utility Bundle (or any other Topaz plug-ins), will receive a 15% discount by entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout. If the stuff is on sale (as it usually is), you save 15% off of the sale price! To get the discount you must use my link and you must enter the discount code. Be sure to start with this link.

Those who purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or any other Topaz plug-ins using my link and then entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout can e-mail to request a short Getting Started with Topaz e-Guide. Please include a copy of your Topaz receipt that shows the discount. Aside from the basics, the guide explains how to install the plug-ins so that they appear in the Photoshop Filter Menu.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.