D2X 300/4 focus flight shots

[hillrg]

There has been quite a bit of discussion about the D2X focus aquisition compared tothe D2H. I have found the D2X a little tougher to focus than the D2H, but only a small amount.

I took these photos with the 300/4 AF-S and TC14EII at 1/100s f/13 with fill flash at +2/3 EV.

I would judge dragonflies to be a tougher subject to nail the focus than a bird flight shot. My success ratio was about 25%. I would have done better with the 70-200 + TC14 I think.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

View attachment 12300

View attachment 12301

 

[Gilles]

I really like the last one, that should quite difficult to catch, that's not very big.

 

[Flew]

Well made point Rory (and excellent captures). 8)

 

[daodang]

Surely difficult to nail focus on such small insect in flight but you done it. Great work Rory.

 

[sbuttrick]

WOW.......how do you do that? Good eye and a steady hand.

 

[cknight]

How do you track these suckers?
Good captures. Are they full frame or crops?

 

[kramp]

Those are pretty cool Rory, not the easiest to capture.

Martin

 

[hillrg]

How do you track these suckers?
Good captures. Are they full frame or crops?

They are minor crops - maybe 70-80% of the original.

As to how - I try to anticipate where the dragonflies will hover and prefocus slightly farther away. The focus first tries to focus closer. If you start with too close focus, on such a small subject, the camera will usually go into hunt mode.

Also, you need to practise centering the subject very quickly. I usually photograph with both eyes open, which helps to quickly locate the subject in the frame.