Thread: Pictures ! Anything goes, it is the camera corner after all !!

Hello here goes

Can anyone spot the Tim Man,s head in the photograph Hint He is smoking:-)

G'day Benz, this lens is certainly good for wildlife photography, especially hand held bird photography. Though there are a couple of things to note. At the upper and lower end of its range the focus is a bit soft. I find that it is best from about 130mm to 360mm. Also not having 'on the fly' manual overide of focus can be a nuisance when trying to focus behind a foreground object, such as a bird in a tree for example, and the lens is reasonably heavy to lug around, a chest carry pouch is a good idea when in the bush. Apart from these minor gripes it is a terrific lens. The VR is exactly what its cracked up to be and the lens is quite robust.
Heres a few more samples.

Unknown Prickly Flower (probably a weed), Carawine Gorge WA.



1/1000, f14, 240mm

Cockatiels, Rudall River NP WA



1/500, f11, 280mm

Bearded Dragon, near Coober Pedy SA



1/500, f18, 300mm

Budgerigars, near Emu Claypan SA



1/2000, f5.3, 310mm

Desert Rose, Rudall River NP WA



1/500, f11, 280mm

Egret, Cooper Creek SA



1/1000, f8, 400mm

Australian Reed-Warbler, Carawine Gorge WA



1/500, f9, 360mm, auto-focus ON.

Auto-focus was used for all these shots. The last photo shows how 'spot' focus allows focusing on a background subject.

All these shots were taken with a hand held Nikon D300. Having a lot of pixels certainly helps when it comes to cropping the shots later. The hardest thing I need to remember is not to push the lens at its upper end but to rely on PP to get a better result.
If I was able to wrap my head around PhotoShop or Nikons Capture NX the results could be even better.
I can recommend this lens for general purpose birding/nature photography at a cost that doesn't break the bank, (just bends it a bit).

Deano