Is this a kestrel, Woody? I've only seen photos of them but never one in person. If so, it's a cute looking bird.
You sure get a lot of good wildlife photos! Do you have for to go to find them?
You are getting some great results with that new 500mm. Does this mean your 200-500 is now in storage or is going to be used as a trade for that new refrigerator layful:
2-500 has been sold, along with my old 300mm f/4 and 1.4x TC. Also gone is the D7100. Still no new fridge. Too much work to clean out the old one.
You are getting some great results with that new 500mm. Does this mean your 200-500 is now in storage or is going to be used as a trade for that new refrigerator layful:
2-500 has been sold, along with my old 300mm f/4 and 1.4x TC. Also gone is the D7100. Still no new fridge. Too much work to clean out the old one.
How did the 200-500mm perform for you, Woody? Or was your decision based more on the weight of the lens? When I rented one, it was just too heavy - I had tennis elbow surgery so am limited with strength in that arm. My 80-400mm is the heaviest I own and doubt I can handle anything heavier.
I'm a little surprised to hear about the 300mm and 1.4x TC although now you wouldn't really have a need for the TC. But I'm not too surprised about the D7100 as the D500 is a much better body. However, the 300mm is a fantastic lens.
The 2-500 was sharper than the Tamron 150-600, and not much different in weight, so I was happy with it for quite a while. I did have occasional problems with the lens not communicating with the body. The bottom line, though, is that the 500mm PF is quite a bit sharper, it's lighter, and AF is about twice as fast, IME. I finally felt like I could afford the lens, so I went for it.
I did have some hesitation about selling the 300mm, but in all honesty it was collecting dust. The lack of VC and the overlap with the Tamron 100-400 that I am keeping were the reasons to let the old timer go.
Woody, did you have the 300mm AF-S (with aperture ring) or the PF? I have both but found the older lens to be a tad sharper. But the lack of vibration reduction does make it a pain sometimes. How is the Tamron 100-400mm? Obviously it must perform well since you decided to keep it.