Well, once you start me going, it's difficult to pull me up. Best just stand aside, let me run myself into the ditch and then turn over.
In this case, it is searching the Camera Electronic shelves for lenses that bird photographers can make use of. I've been reading further into the schedule of the BirdLife Bird Photography Conference in Fremantle on the 21st and 22nd of September and it's actually pretty exciting. I count ten Australian presenters and one chap from Canada - the keynote speaker, I daresay. They are all award winners, published authors, or recognised experts in the field and they are all there for you to listen to and ask questions.
And the wonderful thing about the digital era is that they can bring their images and results with them so readily - and show them with such brilliance. I remember that a travelling show by the CR Kennedy company back in the 1980's on the Hasselblad film camera system used the best slide projectors of the time - they were a licensed product that Hasselblad made - and a professionally-produced slide show to sell the idea of their product. And boy, was it ever worthwhile. It was gorgeous - and the bird photography presentations on digital projection will be even better. Life is good in the trade.
https://www.birdlifephotoconference.org is the way to see what's going to happen and to get yourself booked in to be there.
Right - what's the next lens? This one for the Fujifilm user - and for the shooter who wants to bring in distant subjects but cannot be sure how much magnification might be needed. A bird photographer who may be able to get closer to the subject some times. This is the Fujinon XF 10o-400mm
f:4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens. It is marginally longer than its name...
Not as wide an aperture as the Panasonic lens we saw before, and the variable -maximum aperture thing that some zooms do, but imminently suited to avian photography. The Fujifilm X-T2,
X-T3, X-H1, and the X-T10-30 series should suit this nicely with their ability to run to a high ISO with their X-trans processors. Remember that this is going to imprint upon an APS-C sensor so you are looking at a 150mm to 600mm angle of view in the old 35 filmspeak. More than enough focal range to work on distant birds.
The OIS in the title indicates that, even if you do not have a camera with IBIS like the X-H1, you are still going to get stabilisation. If you need a steadier shot there is a tripod foot under the balance point of a camera/lens combination. Anyone who needs bits of foam core can come to my shop and go through the scrap bin...
Note also that, Like Panasonic and some of the other major makers, Fujifilm produces a
1.4x teleconverter that fits this lens and boosts the 35 filmspeak equivalence out to 840mm. There's the tripod foot...
And if your interest in flying creatures concentrates on the ones with ailerons and landing lights, this is also one of the ultimate Fujifilm lenses to think about - it is surprisingly well-priced. I have already decided to go to the casino and win enough money for one.
