Hi LZ, here is my response:
To Jkoerner - what you said in Michael address is true, but partially.
What I said was completely true.
The D850 is
not 'the' absolute best Nikon choice for every type of photography.
It is excellent at everything, unsurpassed in optimal light/maximal pixel applications, but a distant third amongst current offerings for fast-action/wildlife.
His work is among the most interesting I've ever seen, but it is his job and his gears. He is a real MASTER in what he is doing. So is his point of view.
Your opinion.
I respect (and like) Michael and his work ... a lot
However, with more than a decade's experience with macro myself, I can emphatically tell you that stacking images of flowers is
not the most difficult macro work to implement. The difference seen in vibration movements at 1:2 are negligible compared to movements at much greater magnifications.Try doing a 50-image stack of a rose in your home ... you'll find it stays still and "behaves" the whole time. Then try doing a 50-image stack, at 4:1, of a
live spider ... who may move a palp, a leg, or otherwise 're-adjust itself' ... over and above camera/other vibration at that magnification ... and you'll see just how subtle tiny movements can affect an image. Oh, and then try to do "after-stack touch-ups" on
the hundreds of bristly hairs many arthropods possess ... that may 'mis-align' for mechanical reasons and/or in conjunction with their own subtle movements ... and report back to me
that level of difficulty compared to touching-up smooth flower/leaf edges of larger, immobile flowers @ 1:2
Stany is liking completely different things in photography, so his job is forming his preferences. You are liking 300/4 new lens, for exmp., and you do show us your great images. But your lens is not for me, I am happy with my 80-400G, because it carries great convenience for my kind of interest, as well as higher quality thru the zoom!
That was exactly my point:
different applications demand different tools.
Michael's err was in reprimanding Stany (and me) based on
his (Michael's) preferences,
not on the preferences of Stany as a
wildlife (not studio-stack) photographer.
There is actually universal agreement among all of us that, for Live View, critical, photography (in optimal light), the D850 is
the preferred Nikon body to use.
However,
for fast-action wildlife photography ... where speed,
reach, low-light, as well as AF prowess (
and coverage) can matter more than anything ... suddenly the D850 starts taking a back seat to other options. Stany also mentioned the D810's buttery shutter sound, compared to the clacking of the D850, affecting his ability to keep wildlife around. Totally different experiences/shooting needs between the two photographers. Thus, totally different preferences between the two cameras.
There are 3 things you're confusing:
likes (preferences),
facts, and
applications.
Our preferences are our subjective biases; facts are inherent properties to the gear; while applications are our choices (intelligent or not) of
how to apply the facts of various gear options to match our preferences.
Speaking of which, one fact you need to accept is that the 80-400 zoom is
not a 'higher-quality' optic than the 300mm PF (or any other modern telephoto).
It may be your
preference, and it may be convenient for
your usage, but to call it 'higher quality' is in err of reality.
(Doesn't mean it can't produce beautiful images though ... which is a different subject.)
So the 70mm macro is not "bad" for me, and I do not need 105mm macro, or anything else.
I didn't say the 70mm macro is bad "for you"; I said it is pretty useless
for wildlife. There is no wildlife photographer on earth whose mainstay is a 70mm lens.
Be logical, please! Thank you! LZ
With a degree in Philosophy from UCLA, of which logic is
the major component, I am quite sure I have a handle on that
That said, good shooting
