Hay there!

[Guest]

Today - Hay stacks beneath a high blue sky at Benalla, Northeastern Victoria.
1. - E-3 @ 108mm @ 1/1600 @ f/5.6 @ iso100 @ EV -0.7 (dynamic focus mode)

It is 36'C in the shade and hayfields shimmer beneath the hot summer sun.
2. - E-3 @ 54mm @ 1/1250 @ f/5.6 @ iso100 @ EV -0.7 (dynamic focus mode)

There is something wholesome about this wide flat landscape with its fields of green and gold.
3. - E-3 @ 108mm @ 1/1600 @ f/5.6@ iso100 @ EV -0.3 (dynamic focus mode)

[Floribunda]

Re: Hay there!

Hay yourself!
These are lovely Mark - I never tire of seeing our golden paddocks and blue skies.
Were these taken with the new lens?

[Guest]

Re: Hay there!

Yes Lyn - all shot with the 50-200mm with which I am a little disappointed ... I have to say that in spite of all the hoo ha about SWD being the fastest focusing lenses on earth, my experience so far is that for sloth it is on a par with the 70-300 and often struggles to find the target.

[OlyPaul]

Re: Hay there!

Nice pics Mark and they make me look forward to the summer (if we have one this year in the UK) and better days.

I have to admit though I do prefer the round hay bales we get here in the UK to the square ones.

[Guest]

Re: Hay there!

Nice pics Mark and they make me look forward to the summer (if we have one this year in the UK) and better days.

I have to admit though I do prefer the round hay bales we get here in the UK to the square ones.

Funny that you should be looking forward to summer as much as we look forward to winter!

What a relief it will be to be walk by the river without spitting bush flies and being eaten alive by mosquitoes!

Sunrise and sunset being closer together means more shooting time during the "golden hours" and soft photographic light.

[Guest]

Re: Hay there!

Sorry Paul ... forgot to comment on those square hay bales that are an exception more than the rule.

About 90% of our hay is rolled like yours.

[stevednp3]

Re: Hay there!

Yes Lyn - all shot with the 50-200mm with which I am a little disappointed ... I have to say that in spite of all the hoo ha about SWD being the fastest focusing lenses on earth, my experience so far is that for sloth it is on a par with the 70-300 and often struggles to find the target.

Wow im surprised to hear that, as I find my 50-200 miles better focusing than the 70-300. I was never able to take indoor low light shots with my 70-300, but I have no problem with the 50-200.

What sort of f-stops are you using ?

[Guest]

Re: Hay there!

Wow im surprised to hear that, as I find my 50-200 miles better focusing than the 70-300. I was never able to take indoor low light shots with my 70-300, but I have no problem with the 50-200.

What sort of f-stops are you using ?

Hi Steve - I have edited in the camera settings. As you see, all were at f/5.6 - with regard to auto focusing is there something I should know about A/F and f/stop? Presumably *small f/stops may cause problems?

*Note: Oh, when I of the old school say "small" I refer to aperture size. I note with some dismay that when gen x and gen y say "small" they refer to an aperture's numerical value, not its size.

The problem lay with this shot during which focusing was all over the place hunting the target. Glider at approx. 4,000ft.
E-3 @ 200mm @ 1/320 @ f/10 @ ISO100 @ EV -0.3 @ Focusing area was set to "All"

[Cathrine Stephansen]

Re: Hay there!

I allways use just one focus point, mostly in the center for fast shooting, but only because I can't get used to having the camera think for me

[stevednp3]

Re: Hay there!

Hi Mark

Im no expert and there are far more experienced people here who can help you, but in my experience I find AF better in lower f-stops (depending on light of course, then higher should also be ok) and using a single focus point, rather than using ALL or dynamic modes.

I find it hit and miss a lot when using the ALL focus points, but when I use a single focus point then you really see the differance, I also like controlling my focus points as it helps me frame and compose the photo better.

Hope this helps

[Ross the fiddler]

Re: Hay there!

Yep, that's hay. I remember driving the truck for picking up the bales (in Victoria as holidays during my apprentice working days) & not quite lining up the guide rails of the pick up conveyer & hearing the yell's from the guys on the back stacking them. They get a little unhappy for each scruntched bale. I can't think why. It also reminds me when I was raking the hay on the steep banks & wondering if the tractor was going to roll sideways.

Nice photos Mark.
With reguard to focusing & apertures (& all ZD lenses), focusing is done with fully open apertures & that's the advantage of the ZD 50-200 SWD over the ZD 70-300 (apart from sharper lens too) being a brighter lens. Add the converters to it & you start to lose that advantage.

I'm surprised Mark, that you are finding this new lens slow for focusing being an SWD lens, but at least it should focus better (than the 70-300) in lower light. It's still on my wish list.

[Ross the fiddler]

Re: Hay there!

Sorry Paul ... forgot to comment on those square hay bales that are an exception more than the rule.

About 90% of our hay is rolled like yours.

We still need the small bales for domestic use, that is, it's a bit hard to go & buy a bale or two for your horse to put in the back of your car if it is one of those large rolls of hay (or straw).

[Guest]

Re: Hay there!

I allways use just one focus point, mostly in the center for fast shooting, but only because I can't get used to having the camera think for me

I use all three focus area modes. In this general landscape I used "All" because the camera chooses the closest object to focus on.

Thanks Cathrine.

[Guest]

Re: Hay there!

Yep, that's hay. I remember driving the truck for picking up the bales (in Victoria as holidays during my apprentice working days) & not quite lining up the guide rails of the pick up conveyer & hearing the yell's from the guys on the back stacking them. They get a little unhappy for each scruntched bale. I can't think why. It also reminds me when I was raking the hay on the steep banks & wondering if the tractor was going to roll sideways.

Nice photos Mark.
With reguard to focusing & apertures (& all ZD lenses), focusing is done with fully open apertures & that's the advantage of the ZD 50-200 SWD over the ZD 70-300 (apart from sharper lens too) being a brighter lens. Add the converters to it & you start to lose that advantage.

I'm surprised Mark, that you are finding this new lens slow for focusing being an SWD lens, but at least it should focus better (than the 70-300) in lower light. It's still on my wish list.

It does focus better in low light, Ross. I find that problems arise with "All" points focus mode although I confess that I am new to this lens and may be doing something wrong. So far I am not overly impressed and cannot see that much IQ difference between it and the 40-150 kit lens.