Grackles are very common in Florida. During my last visit, while I was photographing birds near Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, a female grackle landed on a nearby bench and started showing off. At first, I did not pay attention, since I normally do not take pictures of common birds. But this one did everything it could to get my attention…it probably was asking for food, which it wouldn’t get from me anyway, since I don’t feed wildlife. After a short while, I turned my camera (Nikon D3s with Nikon 300mm f/4.0 AF-S + 1.4x TC) from the beautiful Roseate Spoonbills to the grackle and took a shot:
Boy, as soon as the shutter clicked, she started singing and showing off even more. Without waiting, I switched to live view mode and took the following video:
As I have pointed out a number of times before, the video functionality on the Nikon D3s is very useful. It is unfortunate that it cannot shoot 1080p, but 720p is currently more than enough for me – I just don’t shoot video much. I highly recommend watching it in HD quality!
About Nasim Mansurov
I’m truly amazed by the quality of the picture and the video. Actually more with the video. It has terrific light, sharpness and the sound is also pretty decent. How far were you from the grackle?
Also, the TC drops you min aperture to 5.6 (from 4) or you simply choose that one?
PS: I see the Salmon color being swap by a much pleasant blue :), and also the date tag looks much better now. Looking good Nasim, congrats
Rodrigo, I was standing about 5-7 feet away from the bird…maybe a little more.
Yes, the 1.4x TC drops f/4.0 to f/5.6, which is the aperture I use the most with the Nikon 300mm f/4.0 AF-S.
And yes, I changed a lot of colors thanks to your feedback :) Thank you!
Besides the video and resolution, would the picture be any different if it was taken with a D700 instead of the D3s?
I noticed that the ISO was low (220, was it in Auto-ISO mode?) so the D3s is not working the hardest either.
Just curious to know what was the rational, mere option, was intencional, if so what was it? Trying to dig into a photographer’s mind ;)
Also, not in this particular case but in general, the TCs would work and be useful if you were using a DX camera? Can they be reused if you upgrade from a DX to a FX?
Thank you!
Rodrigo, in this particular case, since I was shooting at ISO 220 (Auto ISO set to On), the image from the D700 would have been identical. It would have been a different story if I shot at ISOs above 1600…
When you are asking about rational and option, do you mean to ask why I chose to shoot at Auto ISO? If yes, I typically set Auto ISO to On during birding at all times and set a minimum acceptable shutter speed in case the light situation quickly changes. That way I do not have to change ISO and I can keep on shooting!
In terms of TCs, absolutely! They are designed to work both on DX and FX, although they do work a little better on FX in general.
Nasim, very useful feedback but I was questioning more why did you took the D3s and not the D700 (I’m assuming here you have both, if I’m wrong then the question is automatically answered).
I also though about the faster FPS (9 vs 5 if i’m not mistaken) but in real life when You are shooting do you take that made shots (+5) in a row?
Thanks for your time
Rodrigo, I have been taking D3s for birding lately, because it has better high ISO performance than the D700 in challenging light. With the D3s, I can shoot at ISO 3200 and 6400 without worrying much about image quality and noise. Plus, D3s gives me many more frames per second…and yes, those extra FPS actually do come in handy, especially when there is bird action :)
I see!
Thanks
PS: Was trying to write this as a reply to your last comment but there’s no reply button (but I do see it for all other comments so far). Probably we reached the comment replies limit number. Not really a problem but letting you know just in case.