Nikon D750 & D780

Stay at Forest How for a few nights and you will likely see them. They are happy to be within a few metres of you if you don't make sudden movements/noise and put out some hazelnuts. The good thing is you don't need long lenses like other wildlife places, 200mm-300mm is plenty.
And here, the reds are mainly black /blackish in colour, very strange to see.
 
Heres one from Friday at the in-laws of my O/H `s Nephew
Taken with the Tamron 150-600 G2, this was a grab shot of opportunity that I got without him knowing.
Sorry if you cant see it on flickr but I am not supposed to post any shots of him or his brother on the net.

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I'm on a rib somewhere between Co Antrim, N Ireland and the island of Ours off the Scottish coast. Should be an interesting day!
 
I'm on a rib somewhere between Co Antrim, N Ireland and the island of Ours off the Scottish coast. Should be an interesting day!

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One from me from yesterday, Pink Floyd exhibition at V&A (though a bit pricey at £24, plus getting there, plus cake etc etc ;) ) if you like Pink Floyd well worth the visit, and the clever headphone system is great... I've always loved their album covers and to see the actual division bell was fab :) Busy, so this is pretty much a grab shot (well... if the truth were told, that's how all of my photography is LOL!)

Handheld 1/25th @ f/2.8 iso 1600, just a tweak and straighten in PS

View attachment 102017
 
No chickens today because the poultry gathering restrictions aren't lifted until tomorrow - everywhere except the region where I live which has had two more avian flu cases. But chickens lay eggs, and judging and showing eggs is a deadly serious business. For some it's the winning, not the taking part!

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So a weekend of using the 24-70 VR.

My brief summary lol

Positives:

Well built, even though it's more plastic than non VR version.
Tight zoom and focus rings with no play what so ever (best zoom I have tried period).
VR is very good, I believe it's the same generation as my 70-200 F4.
Quick focus (same as non VR).
Nice walk about range.
Image quality is excellent

Negatives:
It's big and it's heavy and there is no getting away from that. Yeah if you use a 70-200 2.8 then maybe it's not a big deal to you, bit for a lens with such a short range it is ridiculously big. Heavier than my 70-200 F4 and bigger.
Front element is 82mm - no longer matches the rest of the trinity.
Felt front heavy on D750, might be better balanced on D800.
If you don't need/want VR the older model does exactly the same for less money. IQ wise (and this is purely my opinion) is the same.

I guess it's all down to individual needs, you want the best, then this is it. Well, the Sigma is out soon so let's see.

It's made me appreciate my primes even more though. IMO my 50mm at 2.8 is better and my 28mm at 2.8 is better.

But this is not a prime Vs zoom review, that's just my small opinion!

So I would recommend this lens to anyone looking for a 24-70 but also take a careful look at its alternatives.

The non VR produces just as good images, you also have the Tamron. The build quality is worse and the VC is not as good, but it costs about 3 times less and you get a longer warranty.

Well it's back with its owner this evening and my primes are back with me.

Hopefully this ramble of rubbish might be good for someone!!
 
Day out to Jura, a scottish island in the Inner Hebrides. Left Cushendall, Co Antrim at 11am, about 4 hours after i would have ideally left, almost 3 hours in a rib to the northern end of Jura to a Sea Eagle nest site. The group has never failed to see the eagles on previous trips. Turns out they haven't nested this year so we saw none. 20 mins more took us south to the harbour at Craighouse, the only village on the island for around 3pm. Great area for Otters, the last time the group was there they watched 5 and one lady took photos of one with her phone as it ate a fish at her foot. We looked for 2 hours and saw none. Onto boat at 5.30pm, bounced about until we arrived back in Cushendall at 8pm. Better off at the river watching kingfishers
 
Day out to Jura, a scottish island in the Inner Hebrides. Left Cushendall, Co Antrim at 11am, about 4 hours after i would have ideally left, almost 3 hours in a rib to the northern end of Jura to a Sea Eagle nest site. The group has never failed to see the eagles on previous trips. Turns out they haven't nested this year so we saw none. 20 mins more took us south to the harbour at Craighouse, the only village on the island for around 3pm. Great area for Otters, the last time the group was there they watched 5 and one lady took photos of one with her phone as it ate a fish at her foot. We looked for 2 hours and saw none. Onto boat at 5.30pm, bounced about until we arrived back in Cushendall at 8pm. Better off at the river watching kingfishers
Blimey! That sound like a trek and a half!
 
Day out to Jura, a scottish island in the Inner Hebrides. Left Cushendall, Co Antrim at 11am, about 4 hours after i would have ideally left, almost 3 hours in a rib to the northern end of Jura to a Sea Eagle nest site. The group has never failed to see the eagles on previous trips. Turns out they haven't nested this year so we saw none. 20 mins more took us south to the harbour at Craighouse, the only village on the island for around 3pm. Great area for Otters, the last time the group was there they watched 5 and one lady took photos of one with her phone as it ate a fish at her foot. We looked for 2 hours and saw none. Onto boat at 5.30pm, bounced about until we arrived back in Cushendall at 8pm. Better off at the river watching kingfishers
:(
 
I've just finished my last morning at Forest How and now on my way home. A couple more taken earlier in the week.

Forest How Red Squirrel by Rob Cain, on Flickr

Where did that go? by Rob Cain, on Flickr

Does anyone else use group AF? I normally use single point but tried group part way through the week after having slight miss focus issues and I'm now really liking group AF.
 
She's arrived :D
If it's got wheels, boobs or a sensor, you just know that it's gonna cost you lots in the long run [emoji23] [emoji23] [emoji23] [emoji23] [emoji23]
 
I've just finished my last morning at Forest How and now on my way home. A couple more taken earlier in the week.

Forest How Red Squirrel by Rob Cain, on Flickr

Where did that go? by Rob Cain, on Flickr

Does anyone else use group AF? I normally use single point but tried group part way through the week after having slight miss focus issues and I'm now really liking group AF.
Nice yet again.

I have tried it as mine was real hit and miss for a while on single point focus. Soon went back to single point. Was worse I found more oof than on single point
 
Couldn't quite work that out. I think my mind has gone
Lol, just put it over your lens, select custom WB and then point it towards the light source/direction from which you're taking the photo.
 
Your pictures don't have any WB issues Toby, why are you obsessing?
Because I often spend quite a bit of time faffing to get colours as natural as I can and if I can set an accurate custom WB it'd save me a lot of time. I'm trying to streamline my PP and have created a preset that gives me accurate colours so if I can get WB accurate then PP should hopefully just be a one step process for general shots.
 
Because I often spend quite a bit of time faffing to get colours as natural as I can and if I can set an accurate custom WB it'd save me a lot of time. I'm trying to streamline my PP and have created a preset that gives me accurate colours so if I can get WB accurate then PP should hopefully just be a one step process for general shots.

It's all bobbins mate. Getting an exact may well be a good starting base but you will have your own warmer or cooler preference. I personally think with time and practice, you develop an eye for colour. Unless you have an issue you'll be 99% of where you need to be most of the time.

Interesting thing I took from the workshop was rocking the slider back and forth from large to smaller increments until you settle with a pleasing rendition - it works
 
Because I often spend quite a bit of time faffing to get colours as natural as I can and if I can set an accurate custom WB it'd save me a lot of time. I'm trying to streamline my PP and have created a preset that gives me accurate colours so if I can get WB accurate then PP should hopefully just be a one step process for general shots.
I can see there being quite a lot of faffing in camera with that WB corrector. Whilst they says it takes 10-15 seconds to do light changes constantly outside so what may have been correct may not be correct a few minutes later. Unless you are in a studio where you can fully control the light I can't see much point in WB checkers unless you are shooting JPEG where you can't easily alter the WB later.

It's all bobbins mate. Getting an exact may well be a good starting base but you will have your own warmer or cooler preference. I personally think with time and practice, you develop an eye for colour. Unless you have an issue you'll be 99% of where you need to be most of the time.

Interesting thing I took from the workshop was rocking the slider back and forth from large to smaller increments until you settle with a pleasing rendition - it works

I've never thought of using the slider. Looks like a quick way of checking different WB effects.
 
It's all bobbins mate. Getting an exact may well be a good starting base but you will have your own warmer or cooler preference. I personally think with time and practice, you develop an eye for colour. Unless you have an issue you'll be 99% of where you need to be most of the time.

Interesting thing I took from the workshop was rocking the slider back and forth from large to smaller increments until you settle with a pleasing rendition - it works
The trouble is when you start messing with WB and tint your eyes get accustomed to the new setting and you can 'forget' what is normal, i.e. your eyes deceive you. I've sometimes edited a pic thinking it was OK and then when I've gone back to it the next day the temp/tint's well off :LOL: I do have a reference photo now though so can compare to that ;)

I can see there being quite a lot of faffing in camera with that WB corrector. Whilst they says it takes 10-15 seconds to do light changes constantly outside so what may have been correct may not be correct a few minutes later. Unless you are in a studio where you can fully control the light I can't see much point in WB checkers unless you are shooting JPEG where you can't easily alter the WB later.
very true, but on the flip side when I've used auto the temp/tint can sometimes change from shot to shot, so I'd rather have a consistent WB over a period of time (say an hour).

I've never thought of using the slider. Looks like a quick way of checking different WB effects.
How do you change WB if not through the slider?
 
Brilliant mate. :clap:

Re the WB, I just whack it on cloudy and don't worry about it. Life's too short mate. Retire the lab coat and go out shooting.
Tbh if there's something where I can set WB in 10s then it's no big deal, if it's going to be faff then I'll stick to what I'm doing already ;) Cloudy's often too warm for me :p
 
The trouble is when you start messing with WB and tint your eyes get accustomed to the new setting and you can 'forget' what is normal, i.e. your eyes deceive you. I've sometimes edited a pic thinking it was OK and then when I've gone back to it the next day the temp/tint's well off :LOL: I do have a reference photo now though so can compare to that ;)

very true, but on the flip side when I've used auto the temp/tint can sometimes change from shot to shot, so I'd rather have a consistent WB over a period of time (say an hour).

How do you change WB if not through the slider?

Another tip then: have you got your background set to white?! That's your reference point.

Try the 'waggle' approach, it might surprise you [emoji106]
 
Another tip then: have you got your background set to white?! That's your reference point.

Try the 'waggle' approach, it might surprise you [emoji106]
Background in LR? Didn't know you could?
I always use the sliders but always done incremental steps, I'll try waggling next time ;)
 
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