Yes, I think I would be able to live with this lens

[k-hawinkler]

They must not have been reading the weather reports. There is a lot of snow ahead of them. What type of cranes are these (I'm used to seeing European storks around now, but they have more black on them than these.) and what is their wingspan. I'd guess these were flying at anywhere from 300' to 1000' elevation.

scott

Many thanks scott. Much appreciated.

Since November these Sandhill cranes were at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in Southern New Mexico.
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Wildlife Refuge is about 135 miles south of our location.
Quoting from http://whozoo.org/AnlifeSS2001/melimass/MNM_SandhillCrane.htm:

"The sandhill cranes travel as much as 350 miles per day while migrating.
They fly at anywhere from 14 to 51 miles per hour in a V formation--often as high as 12,000 feet."

"Wingspan of 6 feet (1.8m)"

Folks around here live at an altitude of about 6500 to 7300 feet.
The highest mountain visible from our backyard is about 13,000 feet.

In the thermals the cranes gain altitude to very great hight.
Here is a shot of a flock of cranes some distance away from me and at great hight.

Then they glide to the next thermal.

 

[scott kirkpatrick]

Hmmm. Sandhill cranes. They are quite elegant. I estimated their height above wherever you were standing from their size, but with a six foot wingspan, they could have been 2000' AGL and that gets them to 9000' already. I don't know how high a gentle thermal will take you (glider pilots would know), but there must also be orographic lift around you.

Off topic, but there is a species of goose that migrates across the Himalayas. A recent article in Science reported on a flock that had radio monitors attached. They turn out to hug the ground, relatively speaking, because it is so hard for them to fly level at high altitudes, but they did not glide much. Their wings beat steadily as they climbed and descended over 17000' passes. That's a display of sheer power that I would love to see.

I'll be in southern CA for a few days this week, and will pick up the TC1.4 extender. Can anyone recommend a good place to see birds in a spare moment?

scott

 

[scott kirkpatrick]

I now have the TC1.4 extender for the 40-150 Pro zoom. I wanted to see if things stay sharp enough for me at the edges of the frame, so here are some samples from this afternoon. Mostly at 210mm, ISO 1600. Taken with a monopod, which was sort of belt and suspenders, since I got fairly high shutter speeds on all shots.

And with the weather improving, I saw several of these specimens blooming. Each accompanied by a photographer, a lighting assistant and a small army of bridesmaids in uniform:

scott

 

[Knorp]

For if you want to live with this lens but without its tripod adapter ...

Link => DR‐66 Decoration Ring

 

[Knorp]

For if you want to live with this lens but without its tripod adapter ...

Link => DR‐66 Decoration Ring

Got it for my 40-150/2.8: looks nice but pricey at €29

 

[Annna T]

One of the rumor sites said there would be a discount if you ordered the lens and 1.4X converter together, but when I put my order in there was no such deal in the $$ market. I even asked the support people and they said they had never heard of it. Is it different if you purchase in EUR?

scott

I was able to get the lens + TC at a much lower price in Switzerland, but I had to wait for a very long time before the combo was available. Also the prices have sunk considerably since the lens was issued.


Since Olympus items are distributed via Olympus EU in Germany, I'm sure you can get the combo in any EU countries. Supply may be a problem however.

Here you spare about 200$ when you buy the combo instead if the two items separately.