Couldn't wait to get out and give my new toy a blast, we were up at 2:50am and arrived at RSPB minsmere at around 5am, first light was really nice.
I didn't have any shots in mind, other than to go to one of the shore hides and try to get some action shots of the birds fighting/mating/flying, just to give the lens a workout and see how it performed..
The answer is that its utterly fantastic, far better than I imagined, to be completley honest..
It has the overall IQ of the 300 F2.8, but with the obvious extra length, and the focusing is just as quick.
Being able to shoot at this focal length and F4 opens up a totally new realm in wildlife photography, as some of you may know i've been using a 300mm F2.8 with a 2x converter for a long time, to just ditch the converter and shoot straight with all the IQ is just a godsend, I suppose its obvious for a £5k lens but the fact is with wildlife photography you need to buy a very long lens or you can't do much, unless your shooting huge animals on safari, or its donna nook or somewhere where you can get real close.
The IS system on this lens is also brilliant, even when its sat on my Gitzo 5540LS + Wimberley 2, you still get obvious vibrations, even after practing Moose Peterson's long lens technique i'd say that IS is still very much, a big point about this lens.
There are obvious drawbacks, the first is its size and weight, it is NOT fun to carry around, i'll say it again... It utterly SUCKS to move around. We walked around the reserve which is 2500 acres, around 4 times and whilst I think I got on better than I thought I would, the huge black mark on my shoulder makes me think otherwise - but I expected it, i've read all the reviews i've asked all the questions so I'd be foolish to have expected it to not be difficult.
The whole rig is carried over my shoulder with the Tripod legs extended to act as a balance and the lens going across my shoulders.
But the fact remains, that once its setup in position it totally rocks.
The other drawback is the amount of attention carrying such an object generates, yesterday I got called words such as, "Astronomer" "telescope man" "papparazi", then all the normal people walking up and saying, "CAN U SEE BIRDS 3 MILES AWAY WIT DAT????///" and no end of other stuff you can imagine.
And walking around a nature reserve with loads of other photographers and bird people, its like being a woman walking down the highstreet with huge ****, it was so funny, people just gawp constantly..
I think in summary, using this lens to me, is like a duck to water.. however at this point in time i'm looking for ways to broaden my horizons, I think this lens is right for my kind of photography, but I wouldn't want to get caught up in the never ending world of constant birds on sticks.. At the end of the year i'm going to a Golden Eagle hide in Norway, then Canada with Miguel Lasa from digital SLR photography magazine to do my favourite creature - Snowy Owls, which should be a break from the norm, after that i'd like to just keep shooting and see what happens!
I didn't have any shots in mind, other than to go to one of the shore hides and try to get some action shots of the birds fighting/mating/flying, just to give the lens a workout and see how it performed..
The answer is that its utterly fantastic, far better than I imagined, to be completley honest..
It has the overall IQ of the 300 F2.8, but with the obvious extra length, and the focusing is just as quick.
Being able to shoot at this focal length and F4 opens up a totally new realm in wildlife photography, as some of you may know i've been using a 300mm F2.8 with a 2x converter for a long time, to just ditch the converter and shoot straight with all the IQ is just a godsend, I suppose its obvious for a £5k lens but the fact is with wildlife photography you need to buy a very long lens or you can't do much, unless your shooting huge animals on safari, or its donna nook or somewhere where you can get real close.
The IS system on this lens is also brilliant, even when its sat on my Gitzo 5540LS + Wimberley 2, you still get obvious vibrations, even after practing Moose Peterson's long lens technique i'd say that IS is still very much, a big point about this lens.
There are obvious drawbacks, the first is its size and weight, it is NOT fun to carry around, i'll say it again... It utterly SUCKS to move around. We walked around the reserve which is 2500 acres, around 4 times and whilst I think I got on better than I thought I would, the huge black mark on my shoulder makes me think otherwise - but I expected it, i've read all the reviews i've asked all the questions so I'd be foolish to have expected it to not be difficult.
The whole rig is carried over my shoulder with the Tripod legs extended to act as a balance and the lens going across my shoulders.
But the fact remains, that once its setup in position it totally rocks.
The other drawback is the amount of attention carrying such an object generates, yesterday I got called words such as, "Astronomer" "telescope man" "papparazi", then all the normal people walking up and saying, "CAN U SEE BIRDS 3 MILES AWAY WIT DAT????///" and no end of other stuff you can imagine.
And walking around a nature reserve with loads of other photographers and bird people, its like being a woman walking down the highstreet with huge ****, it was so funny, people just gawp constantly..
I think in summary, using this lens to me, is like a duck to water.. however at this point in time i'm looking for ways to broaden my horizons, I think this lens is right for my kind of photography, but I wouldn't want to get caught up in the never ending world of constant birds on sticks.. At the end of the year i'm going to a Golden Eagle hide in Norway, then Canada with Miguel Lasa from digital SLR photography magazine to do my favourite creature - Snowy Owls, which should be a break from the norm, after that i'd like to just keep shooting and see what happens!
