March 13th, 2021 Via blog post comment by Barry Barfield
Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up and Info updates
Will you be creating a Users Guide for the Sony Alpha a1? I bought the Guides for the A9ii and the A74R from you and have loved my Sony bodies – I may just upgrade the A74R though …
My response:
Hi Barry, Good question. After just two days of working with the Alpha a1 — with its superb image files (see below) and a better AF system than the a9 ii, I can firmly state that it instantly obsoletes all a7r series bodies and all a9 series bodies. Its $6498.00 price tag will be prohibitive for many who will enjoy bargain prices on some great SONY used gear.
At this point, having almost completed the R5 Camera User’s e-Guide, I am pretty sure I will never do a formal Alpha a1 Camera User’s guide. Too much work, too few folks using the camera. The options with the a1 are similar to what is available on the a7r series bodies and all a9 series bodies but the menu system is both confusing and different. And then there are the AF options … My early thoughts are that the Face/Eye Subject: Bird technology on the Alpha a1 performs better than Face Detection plus tracking on the Canon EOS R5 (and R6). The new SONY technology performs in a totally different manner than the Canon technology. They are quite similar in that neither is perfect: at times both may fail to detect and track a perfectly visible bird’s eye.
All who purchased their Alpha a1 bodies via a BAA affiliate link will be subscribed to my Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up and Info updates. This same service may be purchased by anyone with an a1 body via a $150.00 Paypal to birdsasart@verizon.net indicating payment for Alpha a1 Info Updates. All getting the updates will be encouraged to shoot me questions with the answers copied to all in the group.
What’s Up?
Clemens, Donna, and I had a great day on Friday. We started in Lakeland, had a fast food breakfast on the run, and found a good wine shop on the way home. After my nap, neighbor Ron called to say that he had re-located the sole surviving chick (of the four hatched this year). Clemens and Donna headed down to the lake, found the chick, and had some fun. After they took a short break, they went back down to the lake to search for the chick. That found it but were unable to photograph it. They picked me up at 6:05pm and with the perfect conditions — a somewhat muted sun and a northeast wind, we had some great action right around sunset. Then it was up to the pool deck where we dined on grilled bone-in rib-eye steaks, a huge salad, and some fine wine provided by Donna. I hit the sack fairly early and woke at 2:45am to work on this blog post.
Today is Saturday 13 March 2021. We are leaving at 5:30am for Stick Marsh near Vero Beach with Clemens’ boat in tow. We are hoping to photograph Roseate Spoonbills and possibly other wading birds in flight. The forecast is for clear skies and north/northeast winds. Not bad for flight photography but not good … Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.
This blog post took about two hours to prepare and makes eighty-two days in a row with a new one. Please remember to use my B&H affiliate links or to save money at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout.
Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide
Two weeks ago, I sent out about a dozen copies of the almost finished Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide for review to folks who had previously gotten free copies of the R5/R6 AF e-Guide by using my affiliate links to purchase their Canon mirrorless gear. In the same vein, I contacted everyone who purchased the R5/R6 AF e-Guide last week. More recently, folks who purchased the R5/R6 AF Guide were offered the opportunity to purchase a copy the pre-publication guide for review. Many folks have responded with thoughtful reviews, most recently, IPT veteran Warren Howe. And Bruce Dudek has continued to be a valuable resource.
Because the camera and the Menus are so complex, this guide has required a ton of research, a lot of time, and a lot of effort (and will continue to do so until it is complete). It should be finished by the first week in March. 2021. The final update of the R5/R6 AF e-Guide has become part of the complete Camera User’s e-Guide; it has already been revised and expanded.
The complete Camera User’s guide will sell for $75.00. Folks who purchased their Canon gear using my links will receive a $65.00 discount; the guide will cost them a nominal $10.00. Folks who spent more than $7500.00 on Canon mirrorless gear using either of my affiliate links (B&H or Bedfords), will receive the Camera User’s e-Guide for free. Folks who purchased the R5/R6 AF e-Guide will receive a $10.00 discount on the User’s e-Guide. The best news is that the end is in sight.
New and Better Bedfords Discount Policy!
You can now save 3% on all of your Bedfords photo gear purchases by entering the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Your discount will be applied to your pre-tax total. In addition, by using the code you will get 2nd day air shipping via Fed Ex.
Grab a Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III and save $14.99. Purchase a Canon EOS R5 and your discount will be $116.97. Purchase a Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and save a remarkable $389.94! Your Bedford’s purchase no longer needs to be greater than $1,000.00 for you to receive a discount. The more you spend, the more you save.
Money Saving Reminder
Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would enjoy free second-day air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order to save 3% and enjoy free 2nd-day air shipping. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The wait lists at the big stores can be a year or longer for the hard to get items. Steve will surely get you your gear long before that. For the past year, he has been helping BAA Blog folks get their hands on items like the SONY a9 ii, the SONY 200-600 G OSS lens, the Canon EOS R5, the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is personable, helpful, and eager to please.
Gear Questions and Advice
Too many folks attending BAA IPTs (remember those?) 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.
A Bad Start Turns Around …
We arrived plenty early at my favorite Lakeland morning location but rather than sitting on their favorite bulkhead, the American White Pelicans were scattered around the lake. Working at 1200mm we were able to get some nice stuff on floating pelicans in pleasingly colored water. I headed east for a bit working on some pelicans, a Wood Stork, and a few Anhingas. I saw that Donna and Clemens were working a single cooperative pelican that had made its way onto the bulkhead. There are usually 15 to 20 of the huge birds on the bulkhead and isolating a single bird is difficult. Yesterday, with just one bird, doing that was very easy.
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This image was created on 12 March 2021 at my morning back-up location in Lakeland. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 640. Exposure determined with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. The exposure was confirmed as perfect by RawDigger: 1/1000 sec. at f/10 (stopped down 1/3-stop). AWB at 9:02am on a clear morning.
Zone/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
Image #2: Wood Duck drake resting
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Let’s Make a Wiggle
At about 8:30, I suggested that we make a wiggle. Clemens and Donna agreed so we headed to my Lakeland back-up morning location in search of Anhinga, Limpkin, and some ducks. We found a handsome Anhinga right on the steps where The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide says that you will find them. We worked that bird for a while. I glanced to my right and said, Wood Ducks coming! We were all astounded when a pair of woodies climbed up on the steps right in front of us. We switched tracks and worked them at point blank range for another 30 minutes. When the swam off they were replaced by a pair of Lesser Scaup, a tame Common Gallinule, and a hen Ring-necked Duck. All in all it had been a great morning.
It was my first opportunity to work with the Alpha a1’s Face/Eye Subject: Bird technology. I was pretty much astounded and interestingly enough, it works in a totally different manner than the R5’s Face Detection plus Tracking. So not only did I make lots of wonderul images, I learned a ton about my new camera.
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Click on the image to view a larger version.
Image #2A: Topaz DeNoise on the Wood Duck drake resting image
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Topaz DeNoise
As expected, Topaz DeNoise AI on Auto kills with a1 images. Remember that here we need to expose for the WHITEs. Doing that properly will always leave the dark tones about 1 2/3 stops too dark. If you do not get that concept you are referred to the section on Exposure Theory in the original soft cover The Art of Bird Photography. Order yours by phone and let Jim know that you would like me to personalize it for you.
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Click on the image to view a larger version.
Image #2B: 200% screen capture of the Wood Duck drake resting image
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200% Screen Capture
The sharpness and fine feather detail (FFD) of a1 image files is incredible. And don’t forget that this was made with the supposedly inferior SONY 200-600 G lens with the 1.4X teleconverter … If you go for an Alpha a1, be sure to use my B&H affiliate link or Bedfords.
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This image was created on 12 March 2021 down by the lake at ILE. I used the Induro GIT 404L/Levered-clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. Auto ISO set ISO 1000. Exposure determined via experience with the situation with Exposure Compensation on the Thumb Wheel. Multi Metering +2/3 stop: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 (wide open) in Shutter Priority (S) mode. AWB at 6:30pm on a clear evening.
Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
Image #3: Snowy Egret landing at sunset
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A Great Ending
Donna and Clemens picked me up right on time at 6:05pm and we were greeted by some nice color with the wind right behind us. We had some good chances. I need to go back and see if I can determine what caused the posterization. I like came with the raw file as a result of the sun being in the frame …
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The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide
You can purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store.
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The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide
126 pages, 87 photographs by Joe Przybyla and Arthur Morris.
The PDF for this e-Guide is an electronic download sent via e-mail.
Purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store.
I had thought about doing a guide to some of the great but little-known photo hotspots around central Florida for about a decade, but those plans never came to fruition. I met Joe online in the Avian Forum at BirdPhotographer’s.Net about two years ago. Joe’s photography has improved tremendously over the past few years; he credits the BAA blog, my books and PDFs, and his participation on BPN. The one thing that I learned right from the get-go about Joe is that he is a hard and tenacious worker, always striving to improve his skills and to grow his knowledge base. As he knew of more than a few good spots in central Florida, I broached the idea of us doing a photographic site guide that covered many of the little-known photographic hotspots from Brandon to Lakeland to Joe Overstreet Road to Indian Lake Estates (my Florida home for the past 20 years or so). After more than many, many dozens of hours of effort, The BIRDS AS ART Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide is now a reality. Thanks to Joe’s wife Dottie for her review of our writing. We all learned once again that writing is a process, a back and forth process. All thanks to the white pelicans of Lakeland. Here are the locations that are detailed in this e-Guide:
- Indian Lake Estates: Sandhills Cranes with chicks and colts, lots of vultures, and Ospreys up the kazoo!
- Gatorland, Kissimmee: Learn to make great images of wading birds in a cluttered rookery.
- The Brandon Rookery: Great for nesting Wood Storks, Great Egrets, and more.
- Circle Bar B Reserve, Lakeland: Here you will find a great variety of avian subjects in a great variety of habitats.
- Lake Morton, Lakeland: There are lots of silly tame birds here including and especially American White Pelican during the colder months.
- Lake Mirror, Lakeland: Tame Anhingas, Limpkins, and a zillion White Ibises at times.
- West Lake Parker, Lakeland: Here you will have a chance for two difficult birds, Snail Kite, and Purple Gallinule.
- Joe Overstreet Road, Kenansville: Crested Caracara, meadowlarks, Loggerhead Shrike, and much more on the fenceposts and barbed wire.
Each location includes a map, a detailed description of the best spots, best season, light and time of day instructions, the expected species, and an educational and inspirational gallery that is designed to open your eyes as to the possibilities.
You can purchase a copy here in the BAA Online Store.
Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
March 12th, 2021 The BAA Used Gear Page
The Used Gear page continues to be very active. The BAA Used Gear Page is the place to sell your used photographic equipment. We will help you to get your gear sold quickly for 30 to 70% or more than what the big guys are offering … Doubt me? Check out the Recent Sales list at the bottom of the page.
Sony Alpha a9 ii Mirrorless Digital Camera Body
How Much Do I Love My Sony Alpha a1?
BAA Record-Low Price
Arthur Morris is offering a SONY a9 ii conservatively rated as being in excellent plus condition for a BAA record-low $3177.00. The sale includes the original box and everything that came in it (except for the battery charger) and insured UPS ground shipping to lower-48 US addresses. I will throw in a copy of The Sony Camera User’s e-Guide and One Camera Set-up Video (a $100.00 value). Your new camera will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact artie via e-mail or by phone (or text) at 1-863-221-2372 (Eastern time zone).
From the moment I tracked that first incoming Brandt’s Cormorant, I knew that SONY a9 series bodies featured the world’ best AF. I upgraded to the a9 ii as soon as it was released for the slightly larger body size. I currently own two of them. A new a9 ii sells for $4,498.00 so you can save a very nice $1321.00 by grabbing my a9 ii ASAP. Not to mention that the new Sony A1 sells for $6498.00 … artie
What’s Up?
Clemens Van der Werf, Donna Bourdon, and I, enjoyed a pretty good Thursday morning on Lake Blue Cypress aboard Clemens’ flats boat. There was a bit too much north in the wind but by waiting until the birds turned toward us we had some pretty good chances. I used my new Sony Alpha a1 with the hand held 200-600GM to make 1837 flight images. 1836 were razor sharp on the Osprey’s eye. I gave it a great test drive and learned a ton, especially about how the amazing Face/Eye Subject: Bird technology works. The short answer is very well indeed. In fact, it performed much better than as shown in online videos by various reviewers. Read and see more about our crappie day below.
If you got your Sony Alpha a1 using my affiliate links from B&H or Bedfords, please shoot me your receipt via e-mail and I will send you my brief but very helpful set-up notes.
The wind strengthened by 9:30am and it quickly became impossible to photograph from the rocking boat. So we headed home for a smoked salmon and cream cheese brunch. At about five, joined by my right-hand man Jim Litzenberg and older daughter Jennifer, we dined on fresh tuna and Brussels’ sprouts. We went down to the lake at sunset. Conditions were perfect. Clemens made the winning image of two Ospreys fighting. The wading birds were not terribly cooperative and the sunset fizzled a bit early.
Today is Friday 12 March and the three of us are headed for Lakeland in hopes of doing some American White Pelican photography. The forecast is for clear skies with an east/northeast breeze. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.
I completed a final draft of the R5 guide early this morning. It will take me a day or two to get the PDF created. I will send the link to all who earned or purchased the guide soon thereafter. In addition, a link for the Educational R5 Gallery will be included. After any errors in this version are identified and corrected (thank you very much), I will send the final PDF. There will be no updates after that. Any new stuff will be shared in the blog.
Folks who wish to purchase a copy of the final draft and the video are invited to send a Paypal for $75.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net. They will of course receive the final PDF when it is completed in a week or ten days. Your guide may not be sent until Monday as I need to get the PDF done.
I was glad to learn last night that Used Gear Page regular Don Busby sold his Canon EOS-1DX Mark III dSLR in like-new condition with less than 10,000 shutter actuations for a very low $4500.00 (was $5499.00) in early February 2021.
This blog post took about 1 1/2 hours to prepare and makes eighty-one days in a row with a new one. Please remember to use my B&H affiliate links or to save money at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout.
Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide
Two weeks ago, I sent out about a dozen copies of the almost finished Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide for review to folks who had previously gotten free copies of the R5/R6 AF e-Guide by using my affiliate links to purchase their Canon mirrorless gear. In the same vein, I contacted everyone who purchased the R5/R6 AF e-Guide last week. More recently, folks who purchased the R5/R6 AF Guide were offered the opportunity to purchase a copy the pre-publication guide for review. Many folks have responded with thoughtful reviews, most recently, IPT veteran Warren Howe. And Bruce Dudek has continued to be a valuable resource.
Because the camera and the Menus are so complex, this guide has required a ton of research, a lot of time, and a lot of effort (and will continue to do so until it is complete). It should be finished by the first week in March. 2021. The final update of the R5/R6 AF e-Guide has become part of the complete Camera User’s e-Guide; it has already been revised and expanded.
The complete Camera User’s guide will sell for $75.00. Folks who purchased their Canon gear using my links will receive a $65.00 discount; the guide will cost them a nominal $10.00. Folks who spent more than $7500.00 on Canon mirrorless gear using either of my affiliate links (B&H or Bedfords), will receive the Camera User’s e-Guide for free. Folks who purchased the R5/R6 AF e-Guide will receive a $10.00 discount on the User’s e-Guide. The best news is that the end is in sight.
New and Better Bedfords Discount Policy!
You can now save 3% on all of your Bedfords photo gear purchases by entering the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Your discount will be applied to your pre-tax total. In addition, by using the code you will get 2nd day air shipping via Fed Ex.
Grab a Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III and save $14.99. Purchase a Canon EOS R5 and your discount will be $116.97. Purchase a Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and save a remarkable $389.94! Your Bedford’s purchase no longer needs to be greater than $1,000.00 for you to receive a discount. The more you spend, the more you save.
Money Saving Reminder
Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would enjoy free second-day air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order to save 3% and enjoy free 2nd-day air shipping. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The wait lists at the big stores can be a year or longer for the hard to get items. Steve will surely get you your gear long before that. For the past year, he has been helping BAA Blog folks get their hands on items like the SONY a9 ii, the SONY 200-600 G OSS lens, the Canon EOS R5, the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is personable, helpful, and eager to please.
Gear Questions and Advice
Too many folks attending BAA IPTs (remember those?) 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 11 March 2021 on Lake Blue Cypress. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 640. Exposure determined with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. The exposure was confirmed as perfect by RawDigger: 1/3200 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open). AWB at 8:21am with clear morning.
Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
Image #1: Osprey with whole crappie
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A Crappie Morning on Lake Blue Cypress
crap·pie
(/ˈkräpē) noun
A North American freshwater fish of the sunfish family, the male of which builds a nest and guards the eggs and young.
The first thing that Ospreys do when they land with a fresh-caught fish is to rip the head off. For some reason, this bird kept landing and taking flight with his prized catch. It circled cooperatively several times giving us our very best chance of the morning. With too much north in the northeast winds, landing shots were tough as almost all of the birds landed slightly way from us. With east or southeast winds we would have been famous as the birds would have been landing right at us.
Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
March 11th, 2021 What’s Up?
I published yesterday’s blog post just after 7:00am and went to work setting up my brand new Sony Alpha a1. I thought that I had a chance to finish by 7:30am and get out to do some photography on what turned out to be a sunny morning. Though the options and set-up are very similar to the options and set-ups of the a9 ii and the a7r iv, the menus are totally different and I had a huge problem trying to assign ISO to the Control Wheel. I e-mailed several folks asking for guidance but nobody knew how to help me. (Thanks to Geoff Newhouse for trying!) Once Geoff told me that he was sure that it could be done, I went back at it with a vengeance and on about my fiftieth time, I finally figgered it out. All by my lonesome. If you got your a1 using my affiliate links from B&H or Bedfords, please shoot me your receipt via e-mail and I will send you my brief but very helpful set-up notes.
Donna Bourdon and I had a good wind for sunset, but the color faded well before the sun went down. I was set up with the 600 GM, the 2X TC, and the Alpha a1 in Tv mode with Auto ISO (as usual) and had only a few decent chances. I was incredibly impressed by the speed and sureness of the AF system; it absolutely slammed onto the birds in flight and locked on tenaciously. The AF system of the Alpha a1 is clearly better than the AF system of the a9 ii. Clearly. I will probably not have a chance to test the Bird Eye recognition at least until I get to Merritt Island. Unless I try it on Ospreys in flight tomorrow.
I am hoping to share an Alpha a1 Osprey image with you here tomorrow.
Today is Thursday 11 March 2021. The forecast for Lake Blue Cypress is for mostly sunny with light east/northeast winds, not too bad at all for Osprey flight. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.
This blog post took a bit more less than one hour to prepare and makes eighty in a row with a new one. Please remember to use my B&H affiliate links or to save money at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout.
A Recent Comment by Jeff Walters
If Canon had Live Zebras would you be back full on? Or is Sony too far ahead?
My Reply
Great question Jeff. The short is is almost surely no. You’ve hit on SONY’s huge advantage: the Zebra technology. The other day while struggling with the R5’s in-viewfinder histogram, I realized something important. With the R5 you are looking at the admittedly lousy histogram — it usually misses seeing small bright highlights; if you go by the histogram, you wind up with some serious over-exposures. But the problem is that you are looking at the histogram while trying to frame the image. What I realized is that with SONY you are looking at the subject while noting the Zebras and dialing the ISO so that you have faint Zebras. The difference is that looking away from the subject with the R5 is always difficult at best, and usually fatal.
I have, however, avoided your question: would I switch back if Canon mirrorless offered Zebras with stills? The short answer is almost surely no. First off, AF with the a9 ii and the 600 GM with the 2X TC is insane. The best Canon might do with the R5/RF 2X TC, 600 III Is hope to tie. Another consideration is that I was unceremoniously (an inexplicably) let go as a Canon Explorer of Light about eight years ago. Huge thanks to program founder Michael Newler (aka Captain Explorer), the late Dave Metz, and Steve Inglima, for their (and Canon’s) incredible generosity over an eighteen year period. I did, and ironically, continue to do a ton for Canon; in recent months alone I have sold something like 51 R5 bodies via BAA affiliate link. I opted to take the high road when I was let go, and do not regret that. But it would be hard to imagine going back. Just because.
Don’t get me wrong, Canon has a better lens line-up by far, and the RF 100-500 is an absolute gem of a lens. I am baffled when folks e-mail complaining about the 1-5. In addition, the R5 with an adapter does extremely well on the fast EF super-telephoto lenses. On the other hand I have tried to become a SONY Artisan and my efforts have been pretty much ignored despite the fact that the number of Artisans who photograph birds is zero. As I (and Byron Katie) say often, You gotta love it.
Speaking of SONY, I took my brand new Sony Alpha a1 out for a test drive last night at sunset and was mega-impressed. I did not however, have a chance to play with the new Bird Eye recognition technology. Donna and I are headed for Lake Blue Cypress to meet up with Clemens Van der Werf and his boat to photograph Osprey. I am bringing only my SONY 600 GM, the 1.4X TC, and the Alpha a1. I will be shooting two systems for at least a while as the R5/RF100-500 with RF Extenders 1.4X and 2X TC are utterly superb for close work with tame birds. Time will tell how the Bird Eye recognition stuff stacks up against the R5’s Face Detection plus racking with animal eye.
Why No Photo in This Blog Post?
Donna got to ILE at about 3:00pm. At 3:30 we began setting up her brand new R5. We worked off and on for about an hour. Donna did not have a UHS ii card for her new body so I took the brand new Delkin UHS-II 128GB Power SD Memory Card out of my a1 and gave it to her. Now needing a card for my new camera, I figured what the heck so I opened the packet with one of my two brand new Sony 160GB CFexpress Type A TOUGH Memory Card, the super-fast card designed to maximize performance with the a1. I was smart enough to set up the a1 to shoot Compressed RAW as I need to find out how to convert the a1 raw files. But I was not smart enough to realize that I did not have a card reader that I could use to get the images onto my MacBook Pro. Duh. I had lots of other Delkin UHS-II cards that I could have used …
I will use a much slower UH-S II card all day today. Steve Elkins of Bedfords is sending me a ProGrade Digital CFexpress Type A & UHS-II SDXC Dual-Slot USB 3.2 Gen 2 Card Reader ($79.99) via Fed-Ex; it should arrive today or tomorrow the latest. That saves you $40.00 as compared to the cost of the Sony MRW-G2 CFexpress Type A/SD Memory Card Reader ($119.99) which is very hard to get right now. Right now, it looks as if Bedfords has both card readers in stock.
All of the links to the SONY stuff above go to Bedfords, so if you need a CFexpress Type A card and one of the readers to pair with your new Sony Alpha a1, be sure to enter the BIRDSASART code at checkout to save 3% and enjoy free second-day air shipping.
Tomorrow morning we are doing Stick Marsh over near Vero on Clemens boat. We head over to Merritt Island on Saturday to get in an extra day of shooting before the IPT begins.
Notes: It is likely that Delkin will — at some point, be making the CFexpress Type A cards. When that happens, I will switch to the Delkin cards. (I did have a problem with the single SONY Tough UHS-II card that I purchased in a pinch a while back …)
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CEA-G Series CFexpress Type A Memory Card
New standard for compact storage
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Made incredibly TOUGH
Thanks to Sony’s unique TOUGH card design, our CFexpress Type A cards offer over 10x greater bend resistance than the CFexpress Type A standard. Designed for absolute dependability, the resin body is 5x more impact-resistant than the CFexpress Type A standard, and provides IP57 dust and water protection. New heat-dissipating materials also ensure consistent high-speed data transfers, along with resistance to X-rays, UV, and electrostatic radiation.
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Dramatically expand your photographic possibilities, with uncompressed continuous RAW shooting for fast-moving action such as motor sports and wildlife. Writing speeds of up to 700 MB/s1 ensure ultra-fast camera buffer clearance for responsive, continuous shooting.
Dependable videography
Sony CFexpress Type A cards are optimized for continuous, high-bandwidth data writing, making them ideal for professional high-bitrate video recording, such as 4K 120p, where dependability is critical. For extra reassurance and video recording stability they also carry the VPG (Video Performance Guarantee) 400.
Speed up workflow with the CFexpress Type A card reader
Optimized for Sony CFexpress Type A memory cards, the optional MRW-G2 card reader allows you to transfer data via a SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps (USB 3.2) interface and take full advantage of high-speed backups and more efficient workflows. It’s compact, easy to carry, and works with both Sony CFexpress Type A and SDXC UHS-II/UHS-I memory cards.
Sony’s TOUGH for the roughest places
With a tough design, CFexpress Type A memory cards offer superior strength up to 10x greater than the CFexpress Type A standard, additional rigidity tested to 150 newtons of force, and can withstand falls of up to 24.6 feet.
Sony’s TOUGH for the toughest places
You can rely on CFexpress Type A memory cards to work faultlessly in extreme temperatures, X-rays, electrostatic environments, and intense UV light. A dust- and water-resistant design provides the reliability needed for outdoor use in challenging conditions (IP57).
File Rescue: Recover lost files
New and Better Bedfords Discount Policy!
You can now save 3% on all of your Bedfords photo gear purchases by entering the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Your discount will be applied to your pre-tax total. In addition, by using the code you will get 2nd day air shipping via Fed Ex.
Grab a Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III and save $14.99. Purchase a Canon EOS R5 and your discount will be $116.97. Purchase a Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and save a remarkable $389.94! Your Bedford’s purchase no longer needs to be greater than $1,000.00 for you to receive a discount. The more you spend, the more you save.
Money Saving Reminder
Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would enjoy free second-day air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order to save 3% and enjoy free 2nd-day air shipping. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The wait lists at the big stores can be a year or longer for the hard to get items. Steve will surely get you your gear long before that. For the past year, he has been helping BAA Blog folks get their hands on items like the SONY a9 ii, the SONY 200-600 G OSS lens, the Canon EOS R5, the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is personable, helpful, and eager to please.
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