THANKYOU Pentax Autofocus & Shake Reduction !

I had to be pleased today, and in awe of the capabilities given to me by my Pentax camera. Before I got the K7 4 years ago there was no way in hell I was ever going to get these shots without having to spend a great deal more money. I had a 70-300mm but never came close to anything like these quick grabs today .....

Taken through a dirty back window to our garden, handheld with SR active ....

Pentax K7 & Tamron AF70-300mm 1:4-5.6 Di LD ...... ISO 400, F5.6, 180thsec, at 300mm ...











I don't even have a clue what the birds are, I've never been interested at all in them, but I think my interest may be increasing

Of course I got a good number of OOF ones .... these birds seemed to move their heads so fast, I couldn't even guess when to take the shots. I just waited till they had their faces forwards and shot as quickly as I could for the couple of seconds I had each time.

But there was no way I would ever have been able to get anything OK at 180th sec at 300mm without some very expensive lens on my previous film SLR system . Thanks Pentax !!

Those are excellent! Bird photography is very difficult to get to grips with, but fascinating.

First one would make a good Christmas card, as an avid birder these are good.

Goldfinch, Nigel..

► https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_goldfinch

And yes, great shots. I like shooting birds, there's a few in my K-7 album on Flickr. I need to get out more

Great shots, Nigel - you've captured the details well and, in your processing, you have revealed the bird's markings and colours wonderfully. You have also shown us the quality possible from the Tamron at 300mm wide open, when in the right hands.

Cheers.
Philip

Lovely shots of these goldfinches, Nigel. I don't really get bird photography, although I like seeing bids and love taking pictures. (One of my favourite moments in 2015 was when I found a tern colony in Wales)

I guess it's the fact that every bird has been photographed so well by experts so what's the point? Same with butterflies... Open any nature book.

Cracking shots Nigel, they really are good, and a complete change from your normal type of shooting, i am a little disappointed that there was no flash used in these though

Happy shooting
Derek

These are lovely shots Nigel.
I got some of these a few years ago through a back window with the same combination (K7 and Tamron). SR worked its magic for me too! I am not a birding expert, but these (and finches generally I believe) love Niger Seeds. They may take a while to be attracted to the feeder (as in several months), but once they have found it they love it!

Beautiful shot's of the Goldfinch. 👍

Great shots. I have yet to catch a bird posing like that with my 300mm Tamron...

Nice shots the Tamron lens is a very handy tool for the money.
Regards Ian

Thanks everyone for your responses Clearly sweet little birdies are a popular photographic subject here at PU !

John, thanks, and I would imagine that actually finding the birds and getting close enough is as much the challenge as the specific camera skills ....

Thanks also Don, I'll know what to have ready for this years cards then

Steve, as you can see I am a complete bird ignoramus! I'll check out your album.... Very rare now to see photos from the K7.

Philip, stein and Phil, that Tamron zoom has got to be the most value packed 79 pounds that anyone could spend on photography .... Of course I'd love an F4 300mm, but the Tamron packs a real punch I've found.

Derek, the problem was that when I kept taking the flash stand with softbox outside and setting it up at a 45deg degree angle and just above their heads, they would keep flying away! So I assumed that goldfinches prefer available light photography

Andrew, I'm with you really on the whole birds thing ... But I admit it was enjoyable!

Thanks also Rob and Andy ....I think the attraction for the birds were the berries on the branches ... Hopefully they'll come back for more soon.

Very nice Nigel. Particularly the first one with less clutter in the background

Very good images Nigel. Plenty of contrast and detail.

Best regards

Thanks Alan and Gary, glad you saw them

Now Alan, I can sense your worry, you've finally got some proper competition on your hands ..... And don't imagine it will just stop with a few Goldfingers .... No, I'll be at my back window now every day just poised for when all those Kinghunters and Shed Owls come swooping in!