| Birds remain only targets of opportunity for me so there will be relatively few in number, although with time, the list has now grown to over fifty. I own up now there are some poor images but they are nevertheless good enough to establish having identified the species in the Goyt Valley (or thereabouts) area.
That said, for the information of fellow amateur photographers I have started carrying a Sigma 150-600 lens. I chose the Contemporary which is significantly lighter than the Sport model, though even the Contemporary is 260g heavier than I have been used to carrying. I have shed some other equipment to compensate. I want to be able to continue walking my usual routes carrying the lens, using my Quickshot Harness [see assets}.
Images anywhere shot with this new lens will include the suffix 'S600' with the image reference. If the shot is hand-held, the letters HH will be added. My preference always would be to use the monopod (and drop shutter speed) but sometimes you fire off a couple of shots hand-held first in case the subject moves, as often happens. My choice of long lens will vary on a day to day basis, in and out of season, for a variety of reasons. I also use a 1.4 extended 70-200 f2.8 which delivers superb images but the range is limited to 280mm. |
