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A7r, A7r2 - and why I'm keeping both ...

k-hawinkler

k-hawinkler

Well-known member
While I am waiting to see how the Sony FE 70-200/2.8 GM OSS lens and assorted 1.4x and 2x teleconverters turn out, I decided to use my Nikon D800E + Nikkor AF-S 80-400/4.5-5.6 VR lens and visit the Turkey Vulture roost at Bandelier National Monument today. The Nikon system should give me an idea what kind of images to expect from my A7r2 and the above mentioned GM lens and teleconverters.

This spring I saw the first vultures a little over a week ago, first day just 1, next day 3, a day later the 3 plus another 12 to 15 that showed much much later in the evening. The following day just 3 showed up. Two days ago there were about 15, and today I counted upwards of 40 of them, but there were probably not more than 50. So, they seem to be back in full force for the summer until late September.

This image shows the roost surroundings and some flight activity early in the evening.



@ 80 mm


Next image shows the main roost to the right and some overflow space to the left. The main roost is the at the top forked fir tree.



@ 195 mm


There are several trees surrounding the main roost tree that serve as overflow space. Here is one of them.



@ 220 mm


With that many Turkey Vultures competing for the same roost space it can get quite hectic.



@ 400 mm


The strongest birds seem to prefer the top spots.



@ 400 mm, heavily cropped.


All but one image are slightly cropped, the last one heavily.
So, focal lengths from 70 or 80 mm up to 400 mm seem to cover most cases, especially for BIF.
To get a "portrait" shot of a stationary Turkey Vulture at this distance I could use a 560 mm manual focus only Leica R lens on the A7r2. :grin:

BTW, two days ago I stumbled on a mating pair when trying out different camera systems. Here is the shot taken with my Nikon system.



@ 400 mm, not cropped.

Images taken with an E-M1 + Oly 300/4 lens cam be found here: http://www.getdpi.com/forum/4-3rds-...m5-e-m5-2-etc-peculiarities-2.html#post686144
@ #79 and following.

This is another shot taken with my Nikon system.



@ 400 mm


Finally, this is a heavily cropped shot from last year with the A7r + Leica APO-R 280/4, manual focus only.



The full image is here: https://winklers.smugmug.com/KHW/Pi.../i-wngp63h/0/O/_DSC5406_7360x4912_Define2.jpg


Provided the Sony GM lenses on an A7r2 work out as hoped, that hopefully should give me another AF option for these kinds of shots. :thumbup:
I am very curious though whether that lens will be able match the Leica APO-R 280/4 performance.
 
k-hawinkler

k-hawinkler

Well-known member
Sandia Mountain near Albuquerque, as seen from Bandelier National Monument.



A7r2 + FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS @ F/8, ISO 250, 1/50 s.
 
k-hawinkler

k-hawinkler

Well-known member
The Turkey Vulture Roost at Bandelier National Monument, as seen from the Overlook Point above at the Mesa level. Frijoles Canyon partly sunlit.

Processed with Capture One Pro 9.1.1.


Additionally processed with CS6 and Nik.


100% Crop. The Roost is the at the Top Forked Fir Tree in the Center of the Picture and the Surrounding Lower Trees act as Overflow Space for up to 50 TuVus.


A7r2 + Leica Vario-Elmar-R 105-280/4.2 @ 280 mm, F/4.2, ISO 800, 1/320 s.
 
k-hawinkler

k-hawinkler

Well-known member


A7r2 + FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS @ F/11, ISO 100, 1/200 s.



A7r2 + Leica Vario-Elmar-R 105-280/4.2 @ 105 mm, F/11, ISO 100, 1/400 s.
 
Last edited:
k-hawinkler

k-hawinkler

Well-known member
Bandelier National Monument: Turkey Vultures and White-throated Swifts.

This image was extracted from the following video.


A7r2 + FE 25/2 Batis

The video was shot in XAVC S 4K, so 3840x2160 resolution, and then down sampled to 1080p, so 1920x1080 resolution.

[video]https://videos.smugmug.com/KHW/Pics-by-Date/2016-04-25-A7r2252-FE-Batis/i-JS8XzZF/0/SMIL/JS8XzZF.smil/master.m3u8[/video]

After clicking on the link above, please expand video to full screen for viewing.
 
k-hawinkler

k-hawinkler

Well-known member
The Bandelier National Monument Turkey Vulture Aerial Evening Show Around Their Roost.

This image was extracted from the following video, about 6 minutes in length.



A7r2 + FE 25/2 Batis

The video was shot in XAVC S 4K, so 3840x2160 resolution, and then down sampled to 1080p, so 1920x1080 resolution.

[video]https://videos.smugmug.com/KHW/Pics-by-Date/2016-04-25-A7r2252-FE-Batis/i-XRjKh2x/0/SMIL/XRjKh2x.smil/master.m3u8[/video]

After clicking on the link above, please expand video to full screen for viewing.

Depending on the weather, the Turkey Vultures either arrive at the roost one by one or in larger groups.
If it's very windy above the mesas the Turkey Vultures exploit that condition and are soaring along and between the canyon walls for extended periods.
I shot the above video on one of those evenings as it was getting darker and darker.

There was a lot of flight activity before and after this 6 minute interval.
I saw pretty much all the vultures in the roost trees jump out of their roost at least 3 times for another round of soaring.
The last time they did that, it was already pretty pretty dark. Night time soaring in the wind! :loco:
 
k-hawinkler

k-hawinkler

Well-known member
Unfortunately this particular Voigtländer 15/4.5 III E-mount lens has unacceptably poor corner performance and has to go back. :banghead:













 
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