NikonGear'23
Images => Nature, Flora, Fauna & Landscapes => Topic started by: Øivind Tøien on October 29, 2015, 10:14:18
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I have become quite fond of the squirrel, my closest neighbor. Squirrels in Alaska are nothing like the ones stealing peanuts in the parks, they can be quite skittish, although at times pretty noisy compared to their European counterparts. There is a lot of competition among squirrels, and this one, while really tiny, seems very healthy and is doing very well. It also seems that it has warmed up to my presence, which has been very convenient with the arrival of the 300/4 PF. Since I already posted a number of squirrel images in the PF thread, the new ones go here. All captures with VR on. The last one was captured with TC-14E mounted and was actually the first in the shot sequence, but because of the overcast murky weather and no need for it, I soon unmounted it. I actually like these images better than the ones I made in sunny weather. While squirrels are almost ideal subjects for VR use because of their stop-motion movement pattern, it can be tricky to avoid motion blur when they are eating like here.
#1
(http://otoien.zenfolio.com/img/s12/v171/p1596640509.jpg)
NIKON D5100, f/4 @ 300 mm, 1/125, ISO 800
I really like the way the 300 PF paints the colors in this one.
#2
(http://otoien.zenfolio.com/img/s12/v170/p1596640545.jpg)
D5100, f/4 @ 300 mm, 1/100, ISO 800
#3
(http://otoien.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v25/p1596640543.jpg)
D5100, f/4 @ 300 mm, 1/100, ISO 800
#4
(http://otoien.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v23/p1596640533.jpg)
D5100, f/4.5 @ 300 mm, 1/60, ISO 800
Oops..
#5
(http://otoien.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v48/p1596640743.jpg)
D5100, f/4.5 @ 300 mm, 1/80, ISO 800
#6
(http://otoien.zenfolio.com/img/s4/v9/p1596640537.jpg)
D5100, f/4 @ 300 mm, 1/100, ISO 800
This one had TC-14E mounted with the 300 PF:
#7
(http://otoien.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v109/p1596642497.jpg)
D5100, f/6.3 @ 420 mm, 1/100, ISO 800
There was a tendency for metering to underexpose with TC-14E, so exposure was lifted 2/3 stop in post. More sharpening was applied to this one than the others, which is not surprising considering the long shutter speed.
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Excellent proof that the lens works and is useful ... You have found a very co-operative model here :D
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I like your model direction and poses ;-)
cheers
afx
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Very cute indeed :)
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Cute and beautiful!
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Very accurate topic name. Squirrels are truly gorgeous and your images too.
Our squirrels are mostly the park type ones. Brave, boisterous and born thieves.
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It's a pleasure to see the "truly" natural squirrel, Øivind!
There ARE places in the suburbs of Tokyo where we can observe squirrels and photograph them using similar rigs as yours. But in most cases they are eating breads or even snacks, which is really disappointing and detracting! :D :(
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Thanks for the comments all of you.
Today I did a quick test of the video with the 300PF in VR standard mode; we are getting some new snow again. The 15 sec clip should illustrate how quick one has to be when focusing/reframing these animals. The first part was captured with D5100, while I switched to the AW1 in the second part. The end is a reminder that manual exposure should be used for video as the aperture appears to adjust in 1/3 steps on the AW1. Note the same location as in the last capture above; the squirrel seems to like it as it provides a cone holder.
The Zenfolio video compression looses some quality, but here we go:
http://otoien.zenfolio.com/img/s8/v83/o190588485/c1/p1599390851-200.mp4 (http://otoien.zenfolio.com/img/s8/v83/o190588485/c1/p1599390851-200.mp4)
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Cute yes but they can also be very destructive chewing stuff they didn't aughta.