Kingfishers, 80-400mm+1.4TC and 2 cameras used for comparison

[Stagecoach]

For the past week I have had a single Kingfisher sitting on a perch at around the same time each morning but all attempts to get reasonably close have failed. Today I looked out and there were two of them so I thought I must have a go from the bedroom window.

The D800 was already set up with the 80-400 + 1.4x TC so I shot off a few and as the birds never moved I swapped the lens and TC to the old D300 and took a few more.

The results surprised me, and the two images shown are each basically identical to all the others from their respective cameras. These two had the focus point in near enough the same position at the hack of the head on the closest bird.

In PP I have cropped the images from both the D300 and D800 nearly identical. I have adjusted the WB to be the same for each, used each cameras lens profile in ACR, used the same sharpening in PS for each (yes I know this is not best practice) and done nothing else.

No 1
D800, 80-400 at 400mm, 1.4TC, 1/250s, f/8, ISO900



No 2
D300, 80-400 at 400mm, 1.4TC, 1/125s, f/8, ISO320



For info I have played with additional sharpening with the images from the D800 but can not achieve similar final results to the shots from the D300. This is of course not a controlled test but what great real world subjects to have a 'fun' test with

Not a clue why I have the results I have here.

Grahame

[Shadowman]

Nice captures.

[James G]

Any captures of Kingfishers are a thrill for me, and these are beautiful.

As regards the differences between the two rigs I can only speculate, but I note there are no significant shadows in the images. So... maybe it is simply down to changes in the ambient light and the cloud cover lifting a little?

The birds may not have moved but neither did you as far as I can tell!

[rankin]

Great shots. Thanks for sharing.

[george013]

For the past week I have had a single Kingfisher sitting on a perch at around the same time each morning but all attempts to get reasonably close have failed. Today I looked out and there were two of them so I thought I must have a go from the bedroom window.

The D800 was already set up with the 80-400 + 1.4x TC so I shot off a few and as the birds never moved I swapped the lens and TC to the old D300 and took a few more.

The results surprised me, and the two images shown are each basically identical to all the others from their respective cameras. These two had the focus point in near enough the same position at the hack of the head on the closest bird.

In PP I have cropped the images from both the D300 and D800 nearly identical. I have adjusted the WB to be the same for each, used each cameras lens profile in ACR, used the same sharpening in PS for each (yes I know this is not best practice) and done nothing else.

No 1
D800, 80-400 at 400mm, 1.4TC, 1/250s, f/8, ISO900



No 2
D300, 80-400 at 400mm, 1.4TC, 1/125s, f/8, ISO320



For info I have played with additional sharpening with the images from the D800 but can not achieve similar final results to the shots from the D300. This is of course not a controlled test but what great real world subjects to have a 'fun' test with

Not a clue why I have the results I have here.

Grahame

The D300 is for sure sharper and more detailed. Even with a lower shutterspeed.

I always wondered and still do about the results of high res cameras showing a relative small picture. I don't know if this is the reason.

George

[JBW]

i am beginning to lust for the Tamron 70-300 as well as the macro.

[Stagecoach]

Thank you John

[Stagecoach]

Any captures of Kingfishers are a thrill for me, and these are beautiful.

As regards the differences between the two rigs I can only speculate, but I note there are no significant shadows in the images. So... maybe it is simply down to changes in the ambient light and the cloud cover lifting a little?

The birds may not have moved but neither did you as far as I can tell!

James,

Kingfishers are quite rare here and with the frequency of recent sightings and then these two I'm wondering if they are young ones or an adult pair.

The lighting was overcast with cloud and may have changed slightly in the few minutes between shots but I don't think enough to make any significant difference with IQ.

The location I was shooting from only gave me a small leeway for camera position hence the very similar framing but if you open in the lytebox and scroll between the two shots, one moved his head

[Stagecoach]

Great shots. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you "Rankin", and welcome to CiC.

[Stagecoach]

The D300 is for sure sharper and more detailed. Even with a lower shutterspeed.

I always wondered and still do about the results of high res cameras showing a relative small picture. I don't know if this is the reason.

George

George,

I have read lots about cropping and equivalence between CF and FF results but have never undertaken any controlled comparisons with my rigs to form any conclusion of my own.

There is a possibility that the difference here is caused by back or front focus error which is something I can easily check.

[Stagecoach]

i am beginning to lust for the Tamron 70-300 as well as the macro.

Brian,

The problem is that once you get a 300mm you start lusting for more

But if you are able to get reasonably close to your subjects, patience essential, no reason why you can not get acceptable results at 300mm.

Grahame

[rtbaum]

In regards to the original question....lower ISO on D300, could that be the reason for the difference?

[Stagecoach]

In regards to the original question....lower ISO on D300, could that be the reason for the difference?

It's a possibility but from my experience so far with the D800 and having a lot of confidence with its high ISO performance (as long as exposures were good as these were) it's not something I have noted before.

Another test to do

[dje]

Nice shot Grahame. It's surprising that the D300 shot is sharper than the D800 shot. I would definitely check the AF calibration on the D800. I wonder if the teleconverter might be affecting the AF behaviour?

The only other possibility I can think of is camera movement/shutter shock/mirror slap. You didn't say if you used a tripod.

Dave

[Wavelength]

What a matching color for the birds with that pipe; really an interesting shot

[rudi]

Good shots Grahame,
My first idea was that n1 was a bit out of focus and n2 properly focused. But that answer seems to be too easy ??

[IzzieK]

Not having used a teleconverter before, I was wondering if that made the difference too...anyway, it will be nice to see more of your experiment on other shots too. How is your rickety internet going over your part of the pond?

[dem]

The lens+teleconverter combo projects the same image on either a 36 Mpx full frame or a 12 Mpx APS-C sensor. The pixel size (area) of the D800 is smaller than that of the D300 by about 20%, so one would expect a slightly higher resolving power from the D800. In both cases the pixels are too big to worry about diffraction softening at a given aperture.

So why did the D800 produce a softer image? The camera shake seems to be unlikely as D800 was fired at a higher shutter speed than the D300. The ISO of 900 on the D800 is still quite low to worry about it. The D800 might have a back/front focusing issue with this lens+teleconverter combo, but as others said, more tests are needed.

[Stagecoach]

Nice shot Grahame. It's surprising that the D300 shot is sharper than the D800 shot. I would definitely check the AF calibration on the D800. I wonder if the teleconverter might be affecting the AF behaviour?

The only other possibility I can think of is camera movement/shutter shock/mirror slap. You didn't say if you used a tripod.

Dave

Dave,

I'm planning to undertake basic checks of the AF calibration tomorrow.

All the shots were 'handheld' but I had good support of the lens on the windowsill and against an upright. I'm working on the basis that as all 7 shots I took with the D800 were similar I think I can eliminate camera movement but shutter shock/mirror slap would be greater than the D300. I'll do some tests using mirror up for comparison.

[Stagecoach]

What a matching color for the birds with that pipe; really an interesting shot

Thanks Nandakumar.

The pipe is an old green hosepipe over fencing wire coiled in a spiral to support tomato plants