Catch of the day!!

[MannyX]

While out shooting the other day, I found this unusual sight (to me, at least) of a good size Banana Spider eating what appears to be a Monarch (I could be wrong on the species). Unfortunately, it started pouring immediately after I set up to take the pictures, so I was not able to get a lot of good shots. Here are a few of my better captures. Comments are always welcome.

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DSC_2464 by Manny M.2010, on Flickr

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DSC_2468 by Manny M.2010, on Flickr

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DSC_2477 by Manny M.2010, on Flickr

 

[Baretoes]

Great catch!...both of you!! Looks like there is someone sneaking around in the first picture, maybe looking for some scraps??

Rob

 

[steve77]

Fascinating and repulsive all at once!

 

[alexf]

Awesome catch. The best I've seen in a while of a Golden silk orb-weaver (aka banana spider). The victim is indeed a Monarch.

 

[olshroom]

Manny

Wow, excellent photo's!! Did you use a tripod??

 

[MannyX]

Great catch!...both of you!! Looks like there is someone sneaking around in the first picture, maybe looking for some scraps??

Rob

Thanks Rob. Yes, there were several smaller ones in the same web and some people at the park were claiming that they were the males. I had my doubts but I do not know anything about spiders to opine. The interesting part is that I took a pic of what I think is the same spider but much younger and I saw the same smaller species all over the web as well. See below. Perhaps someone here could confirm that the male species are really that small.

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DSC_2516 by Manny M.2010, on Flickr

 

[MannyX]

Awesome catch. The best I've seen in a while of a Golden silk orb-weaver (aka banana spider). The victim is indeed a Monarch.

Thanks Alex. I took these pics at the Botanical Gardens where we met (Fairchild Gardens), right by the entrance of the butterfly garden. Thanks for introducing me to the Cafe. Everyone is great here. :smile:

 

[MannyX]

Manny

Wow, excellent photo's!! Did you use a tripod??

Thanks Jim,

Yes, I did. That's probably the reason why I did not get a ton of shots before the rain came. It was a little difficult to set up but I wanted to make sure I did not regret not using a tripod later when I got home.

 

[dossy]

Amazing shots, Manny!

 

[MannyX]

Amazing shots, Manny!

Thank you very much Dossy.

 

[MannyX]

Thanks for the info Garret. Yes, I am very happy with the Sigma. I'm planning to get some tubes soon to get the most out of it.

 

[jomike]

Well, just know that after awhile the weight of the Sigma 150 is going to sag down on the Kenkos causing them to lose their electrical contact with the camera, thus the dreaded F-- in the top LCD. It sucks, but since they are the only ones making AF tubes, that is what we are stuck with. Personally, I'm looking into getting a used Sigma 1.4x TC to use with instead of tubes since my Kenkos are literally annoying the ever living Hell out of me... I may end up breaking down and buying a Nikon tube or two if I can find them for decent price and shoot 100% manual...

Agreed, the Kenkos are a bit flimsy. I had the full set mounted on my Tamron 90 when the tripod it was mounted on toppled over onto the front of the lens. As the tripod was not extended it did not impact very hard and the lens was fine, but the 20mm tube gave a permanent F--. The mounting of the contacts in the tube had fractured.

I now tend to just use the 36mm tube with the Kenko 1.4TC on the Tamron 90. This gives me about 2:1 which is enough for me, and the mount is fairly sturdy.

 

[MannyX]

Thank you very much for the heads up guys. I saw a few reviews of people complaining about this issue but didn't realize it was such problem. I can see how it could eventually bend the contact, as the Sigma is a heavy lens. Having said that, would it make sense for me to get the tube set ( all 3 tubes), or just one tube to start experimenting? The teleconverter seems to be only like $50 more than the tube set so that may be an option; however, it also seems to be giving some reviewers similar problems.

 

[MannyX]

Well, just know that after awhile the weight of the Sigma 150 is going to sag down on the Kenkos causing them to lose their electrical contact with the camera, thus the dreaded F-- in the top LCD. It sucks, but since they are the only ones making AF tubes, that is what we are stuck with. Personally, I'm looking into getting a used Sigma 1.4x TC to use with instead of tubes since my Kenkos are literally annoying the ever living Hell out of me... I may end up breaking down and buying a Nikon tube or two if I can find them for decent price and shoot 100% manual...

Garret,

Amazon seems to have some Zeikos that apparently auto focus on the Nikon body. The price is also half as much as the Kenkos, so I assume the build quality is probably inferior and the sag down issue will be inevitable. Any experience with these?

 

[MannyX]

I haven't tried those as I read the most positive reviews about the Kenkos, which is why I purchased them. On the Sigma 105 2.8 I didn't have near the connection problems as I do with the Sigma 150 2.8, so I am assuming the increased weight is the factor behind the lose of contact. I can't speak for the Zeikos. All I can say is the Kenkos were cheaply made enough, I'd hate to go cheaper.

Got it. Should I get the full set, or should I save my money and just get a single one? Do you find yourself stacking all 3 often? It's like an extra $100 to get the full set.

Thanks in advance for your time.

 

[RWBlue01]

Nice catch