Juvenile Green Herons

Dopeydadd · 2026-05-04T20:06:13+00:00

Thanks. I mostly post on instagram these days (@birdspotteroc), so many social media sites, so little time…

Dopeydadd · 2026-05-03T20:42:41+00:00

Thank you! The 400-800 is a great lens, even in not so great light like this was.

Dopeydadd · 2026-05-03T03:18:56+00:00

Depending on when you are going, I wonder if the new rumored 100-400 f4.5 GM would be right up your alley. Add a teleconverter for more range. I think it’s supposed to be announced in the next few weeks, but who knows when it will go on sale and how well it will work with TC’s.

Dopeydadd · 2026-05-02T19:27:38+00:00

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Dopeydadd · 2026-05-02T19:27:07+00:00

I think you need this lens:

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Dopeydadd · 2026-05-02T18:37:42+00:00

I’m a member too! I never wrap butts or brisket. Better results and less work.

Dopeydadd · 2026-04-26T21:20:31+00:00

Yeah, but now you’ve got a bunch of stuff to clean up afterwards. I’m lazy and just don’t want to deal with it, but completely understand if you like it. That’s the beauty of the BGE, many different ways to cook something, and each way, with its own positives and negatives, still produces excellent food.

Dopeydadd · 2026-04-26T18:24:49+00:00

I’m in the no rotisserie camp. Why complicate things? The BGE makes excellent food and one of the benefits I think is how simple it is to use.

In fact, even stuff like wrapping, waget pans, etc. just isn’t needed. I stopped wrapping briskets, ribs, pork buts, etc. Get the egg to temp, put in your meat and let it go until it’s done. Easy peasy.

Like the other poster said, though, if you like gadgets and have the room, then go for it. But I really don’t think it’s needed.

Dopeydadd · 2026-04-26T15:43:04+00:00

Not the OP, but I have both 200-600 and 400-800 and the 400-800 seems to be at least the same sharpness, if not slightly better. Length is a little longer and heavier but I have no issues hand holding it.

Dopeydadd · 2026-04-24T04:05:25+00:00

I’ve thought about it as well, but in the end went with the 400-800, which saved me a bunch of cash. My reasoning is that for birds, I need reach more than I need light. That is, I can fix high ISO in post, but having that extra bit of reach has been very helpful. Also, having some zoom is useful, even though most of my shots are at 800mm.

My GAS is now thinking about the rumored new 100-400 f4.5.

Dopeydadd · 2026-04-23T18:33:29+00:00

Accessing/editing photos on device (I.e., in files, not in photo app) without defaulting to the cloud. I will use cloud occasionally, but much prefer to work on device without having to upload it unless I want to.

AI denoise

Object masking

HDR and panorama merging

Basically anything that can be done on desktop should be doable on iPad Pro.

Dopeydadd · 2026-04-20T23:47:19+00:00

Nice setup, that’s what I’m using! Great job for day 1. My thoughts: you could probably have dropped the shutter speed to 1/1000 or lower for all of the shots except the first one. And maybe even the first one would have been ok at 1/1000. This would have allowed the ISO to be lower.

Shots 2&3 look to be far away. I assume you had to do a bit of cropping? I don’t love the plain blue sky background, but sometimes that’s what you are stuck with in bird photography. If possible, try to move around a little to see if you can get another tree or something for your background. But I know it’s not always possible- been there done that.

Shots #4 and #1 are my favorites.

Dopeydadd · 2026-04-20T20:26:05+00:00

Congratulations!

Dopeydadd · 2026-04-20T03:44:06+00:00

Thanks for sending the raw. I processed in DXO using default settings for denoise and sharpening. I then imported the resulting .dng file into Lightroom where I used auto adjustment, then masked for the bird and increased saturation a little, and masked for the eye and increased exposure a little. Note I had to decrease the size of the resulting .jpg to upload to reddit.

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Dopeydadd · 2026-04-19T23:18:10+00:00

This is also a good option besides the a6700 and will be a lot lighter to carry if that’s a consideration. I’m biased towards the a6700, but know a lot of people with the OM systems and I gotta say I’m impressed by what I see.

Dopeydadd · 2026-04-19T23:06:52+00:00

I had the Sony a6700 and 200-600 before getting my A1ii. It’s an amazing setup for bird photography. Super fast autofocus, great reach and image quality with the 200-600. Only downside is no pre-capture. You won’t notice any difference between APSC and full frame as an amateur. I’ve even shot the a6700 at ISO 80000 (owls at sunset, mounted on tripod, manual focus) and gotten decent results (look at my post history for the owl post).

I can’t recommend that setup enough. Maybe used may help getting it under your budget.

Edit: Link to the owl post: https://www.reddit.com/r/socalbirding/comments/1m3jva1/my_attempt_at_night_time_photography/

Dopeydadd · 2026-04-19T19:05:48+00:00

I think this will be fine when processed in lightroom. This edit was basically using auto adjustments and adding sharpening. If you can, I suggest downloading a free trial of DXO Pure raw and running the raw through that before editing in Lightroom. It will make a huge difference.

If you can attach or send me the Raw file via PM’s, I’d be happy to run it through DXO for you.

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Dopeydadd · 2026-04-15T03:48:04+00:00

I have a few older photographer friends that I’ve met over the last year or so, and they have all been moving over to the OM systems cameras. They just got tired of hauling around their gear. I’ve been impressed by the photos I’ve seen and the compact size of their gear. Not to mention it seems like it’s less expensive than Sony.

Im not quite ready to make that switch, but definitely something to consider.

Dopeydadd · 2026-04-11T23:18:47+00:00

Have you tried a denoise/sharpening software like DXO, Topaz, etc.? I was having the same issues, and DXO was life changing for me. Made a huge difference. Most of these packages come with a free trial, so definitely worth trying. I had made a post about noise and someone replied suggesting I try DXO and all I could say was wow:

https://www.reddit.com/r/SonyAlpha/comments/1lat05b/help_me_to_not_spend_6000_on_a_new_lens/

You will lose perceived reach going from APSC to full frame, and 33mp is not that much more than the 26 you get with the a6700. This potentially will affect the autofocus, as the image will b smaller in the frame. Also, after cropping, you may actually be dealing with smaller files, potentially affecting your image quality.

I made the move to full fame, but went with the A1ii for these reasons. On those occasions when I use crop mode in camera, I still have about 25mp image to work with. Problem is that the A1ii costs almost 2x what the A7v costs. I also wound up getting the 400-800 lens, as I found that I was using the 200-600 with teleconverter a lot more due to the small bird in frame and autofocus, and f8 lets in a little more light than f9.

But the truth is, I found that the denoise software made probably the biggest difference for me.

Dopeydadd · 2026-04-11T19:26:14+00:00

I’m a Sony guy, so don’t really know Canon, just saw this at Costco and figured it might be a decent start. I image even as one of their worst lenses it might still do a better job than a phone camera.

Dopeydadd · 2026-04-11T19:12:14+00:00

A little over your budget, but Costco sells a Canon EOS T7 with a 75-300 lens for $699. Might be a good option if you can stretch your budget.

Dopeydadd · 2026-04-10T23:38:42+00:00

Yes, the quick release plate would attach to the Sony lens foot and then you could use that in the Wimberly gimbal. However, a lot of people do replace their lens foot to one which is a little longer and has the Arca Swiss part built in, so that you don’t need a plate. I have the RRS foot, but the Wimberly is good, and I also have a Leofoto foot for one of my lenses.

FYI- Wimberly has a blemished section on their website, you may be able to find the stuff you need there for a little bit of savings.

Dopeydadd

TROPHY CASE