Something Long for Travel?

[Jan Anne]

Good point Sten, I only shoot at single frame speed with the a7S so had to test it to see the black out phenomena.

At 5 fps it was very manageable but it will probably become an issue at higher frame rates, curious how Sony will deal with this issue if they do come out with the rumored pro a9 camera.

[Frank Fremerey]

That is one of the shortfalls for a newer system/mount, like Fuji, is that it takes a while to fill out the lens line-up. Fuji's FX lens are very good. If you were here I'd toss an XT1 and a bag full of lenses into the trunk of your car so you could play.

Gary: How happy are you with the AF-speed and AF-precision of the Fuji. You have the comparsion to the Olympus system.

With my D600 as well as with my D3 and my X100T I loose a lot of frames to bad focussing. With a friends Oly EM1 all frames are dead sharp, only sometimes the focus is on some object that came into the way or the background.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

The 300/4E PF is a lot of fun and very effective for travel tele use. I'm generally happy with its outcome although the contrast on skin tends to be a bit low. The image quality shines when photographing subjects with colour and contrasty detail. The sharpness is  high and I find the sport mode VR to be very useful for stabilizing the lightweight lens when photographing moving subjects. However, although it is good it's not comparable with e.g. the 200/2 II. I sometimes combine the 300/4 PF with the 70-200/4 if I need those focal lengths with high image quality in a compact package. The two weight  together about the same as the 70-200/2.8 by itself. f/4 is usually fast enough for me to be able to photograph outdoor subjects with movement-freezing shutter speeds. I have the 200-500/5.6 also, but prefer to use it on a tripod or at very least a monopod, and mostly for static subjects at least during the winter months; a lot of the time in the winter it just can't stop the movement effectively and the light level is often dim so that it affects AF tracking.  On sunny days, I expect to be able to use it for aircraft, summer outdoor concerts, and some sports. If I were to have just one long lens, I would not choose a lens with a smaller maximum aperture than f/4.  If you need more pixels on the subject, the D7200 would seem to be an excellent choice with AF performance and image quality beyond its price point.

[Gary]

The problem with mirrorless for action photography is viewfinder blackout during high speed frame bursts.

That used to be a severe problem. But with the faster refresh rates/updated software of the newer generation cameras, the blackout is barely noticeable on the lower FPS. I rarely shoot at 8FPS, but I'll do a quick test this afternoon.

[Gary]

Gary: How happy are you with the AF-speed and AF-precision of the Fuji. You have the comparsion to the Olympus system.

With my D600 as well as with my D3 and my X100T I loose a lot of frames to bad focussing. With a friends Oly EM1 all frames are dead sharp, only sometimes the focus is on some object that came into the way or the background.

I think the Oly AF is slightly better than the Fuji, but not really significantly better.

Mostly, I shoot people doing stuff in an uncontrolled environment. Lots of movement and changing light. With the exception of sports, extreme action, I don't see a difference in my keeper-rate between my old Canon 1D's, Oly EM1's/EM5's and Fuji XT1's. The first generation Fuji's were AF dogs and in low light they just howled and the viewfinder smeared when focusing on even slow moving subjects. I think the Contrast AF for stationary subjects is spot on ... no in-camera micro adjustments required. 2nd generation mirrorless focus is extremely fast, on a stationary subject you won't see a difference between a EM1, XT1 or a D1/D4. But, (the big but), DSLR's are much better for shooting fast action especially fast action in low light.  If I was working, say shooting a nighttime football game, with my XT1's and to the right was a photographer with a D4 and to my left a photog with a 1DX ... they'd outshoot me ... I'd get scooped ... after a couple games of getting outshot by the competition, I'd get fired. But if I was covering something slower moving ... like a fire or a concert ... no problem ... the Fuji would keep up with the 3x more expensive cameras. And, not that it really matters, but at the end of the day my poor-old-sore back would be less sore shooting mirrorless. I am much higher on the mirrorless action AF learning curve ... and I can successfully shoot sports with my mirrorless cameras. Shooting sports with a mirrorless is harder than a dSLR.  You will have less keepers shooting mirrorless as opposed to shooting a dSLR. But I do fine as a hobbyist ... 



The Fuji viewfinder is significantly better than the EM1. In very bright California sunshine, the dark shadows lose detail with the Oly viewfinder ... the Fuji shadows do not black out.  Another plus to EVF is that they can be set to ramp up in dark conditions and they can be set to reflect your exposure ... often, especially when in a rush, I'll just adjust my settings to a good looking picture in the viewfinder and shoot away. I'll use the spot meter to fine tune the settings. The EVF in the XT1 is huge.

Sometime back, a friend's brother was killed when his doughnut shop was robbed. The local community pulled together and had a nighttime "Peace March" to protest the violence and to honor Andy. There was a news photog covering the event that eyed my hardware. We chatted, he worked for the LA Times, my former paper.  He said he remember my name, (I doubt it as I left in the '80's). He was using 1D's but in parting he said that mirrorless is the future.


FUJIFILM X-T1 w/ Fujinon 50-140
ISO: 6400
Focal Length: 140mm (210mm in 35mm)
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure Time: 1/60


FUJIFILM X-T1 w/ Fujinon 10-24
ISO: 6400
Focal Length: 10mm (15mm in 35mm)
Aperture: f/4
Exposure Time: 1/60


FUJIFILM X-T1 w/ Fujinon 50-140
ISO: 6400
Focal Length: 50mm (75mm in 35mm)
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure Time: 1/60

[Ilkka Nissilä]

On many mirrorless cameras the EVF delay increases by several hundred ms when high fps continuous mode is used. Thus the user must anticipate the effects of the delay on framing if the subject is moving laterally. Since this delay is not present (or is much shorter) in single shot mode, the user needs to frame such situations differently to get the intended composition. I think this makes such cameras impossible to use for most action. If there is an EVF camera which shows a real time image instead of a slide show in high fps mode I would be happy to know about it.

[ColinM]

With my D600 as well as with my D3 and my X100T I loose a lot of frames to bad focussing.

The spec & capability of the lens has a lot to do with the accuracy of focussing, in addition to mage quality. Hence the difference in keeper rates between (say) a Nikon 300mm f4 and the equivalent f2.8.

So whilst the lenses for Mirrorless cameras may be high quality, do they get close to this level of performance? (I know Olympus make a premium tele range, but not if a sports photographer would rely on it to shoot a night time game).

If not, then at this extreme end of the performance envelope, there will still be a difference. And for the vast majority of users (and situations) this wouldn't be enough to stop them using Mirrorless.

With a friends Oly EM1 all frames are dead sharp, only sometimes the focus is on some object that came into the way or the background.

Actually sharp focus of something else apart from the desired subject seems almost as bad - esp if you mean a telephoto shot where DOF isn't going to save you. I have *lots* of pictures of not-quite-sharp hawks; they all get binned!

[Frank Fremerey]

Gary: Great coverage. You got it man. People in situations is your great stregth. Thank you for your answer too. I am really happpy with what I can do with the Fuji RAF files now after a few month of getting used to them, esp the colors ion the dark and at high ISO. I can push an pull them, wow! Af is another thing. Thank you.

[Jan Anne]

In the last three months a lot of interesting things happened regarding this topic, Nikon actually announced a proper successor of the D300 with some amazing specs that pretty much check all my boxes. Together with a 200-500VR or 200-400VR the D500 would be my ideal wildlife solution and a very good reason to finally add a Nikon to my camera bag again.

In the mean time Sony also introduced the A6300 however, a $1000 APS-C mirrorless camera which can do 8fps with little viewfinder blackout, 425 PDAF points covering the entire frame and improved compatibility with third party autofocus lenses. Though I have no interest (yet) in the A6300 itself it kind of predicts what the minimum specs will be for the MKIII iterations of the a7 cameras or even something a little more sporty (a9 is rumoured to challenge the D5 / 1Dx).

With that in mind I've chosen for the latest version of the Canon 100-400mm because thats the lens I wanted to have specs and features wise, also makes for a lot more compact travel lens than the mentioned Nikon lenses. This is my first Canon lens ever btw, and yes if you told me 2 years ago I would buy a Canon lens I would probably call you crazy

So I've chosen glass over camera in the hope that the next generation of the Sony cameras will give me the desired camera performance to complete the "Something Long for Travel" package. Btw this does not rule out the option to get a D500 and some premium long glass if I ever want to get serious again about wildlife, the 100-400 would actually open up the option to get me a nice exotic prime again

Still figuring out the best settings for the best AF performance, the grip (plus custom Arca plate) of the MKII Sony is big and comfortable enough btw for the big Canon.

Enough talk, here's the Canon mounted on an a7RII using a Metabones IV T adapter, note the 0.98m minimal close focus

Sony a7S and Voigtlander 125/2.5 EF, Home 2016

[bjornthun]

The initial test reports indicate that the Sony A6300 has done away with the lag that is usually asociated with mirrorless cameras. The sensor has got copper wiring instead of aluminum before, and the processor, CPU, in the camera is upgraded. It can now do 8 fps with only minimal viewfinder blackout.

Another interesting aspect of the copper wired sensor is that it allows for avgreater angle of incidence of light falling onto the sensor. This may be even more significant in future 35mm format mk III generations from Sony, should the also get copper wired sensors. I'm sure such cameras will be tested with RF lenses and Kolari thin sensor cover mods by enthusiasts over at fredmiranda.

Kolari offers a thin sensor cover mod that will be of interest to anyone shooting rangefinder wide angles on Sony A7 series of cameras, since smearing and astigmatism issues are adressed with a thin sensor cover.

[Erik Lund]

Congratulations JA!

I think it looks a little large on the Sony,,, Let's see how you like it over time

I recommended always this 'long zoom' lens to Canon shooters/ friends over time, they have all been very happy with it!

Never head about how it takes converters, but 400 is pretty far

[Mike G]

Fuji 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR Fujinon Lens is on sale in the UK £1399. Weighs 1.375 kg, and with a compatable 1.4 teleconverter £1499.

I have no idea what it handles like though, as I won't be getting one!

[Jan Anne]

Never head about how it takes converters, but 400 is pretty far

Especially on a 42MP full frame sensor, an APS-C crop is still 18MP

And thanks 

[Jan Anne]

Fuji 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR Fujinon Lens is on sale in the UK £1399. Weighs 1.375 kg

For roughly the same price and weight the Canon version is full frame, does work on my Sony a7RII but also on the upcoming Canon FF mirrorless and should in theory also work on the rumored Nikon FX mirrorless camera.

Again, this is the lens I wanted, the grip holding the sensor will change over time

[ArendV]

Congratulations JA, will be interested in the first results !
Like many others in this thread I am happy with the 300/4E PF with TC-14E III, but the Canon is more flexible being a zoom lens and optically also very good !