New Nikon macro - the 300/4.....

[Gordon Large]

I was out with Mike Mac and Tony (aka Anthony) in a small park near Sandy Hook looking for birds, with the 300/4 on my D2x. We struck out on birds, but when we passed a flower garden I took these shots. If you have enough working room, the 300/4 works pretty well as a macro.

These two are only have minor crops -

#1

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#2

View attachment 13091

This one is heavily cropped, using only 1MB of the D2x's 12+. Says a lot about the camera's sensor!

#3

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Gordon

 

[mrtac2man]

Dang you guys and your D2x's.. going to cost me a bundle at Christmas time this year..

Great stuff...

Tim

 

[eng45ine]

Great captures, Gordon. That lens and camera make quite a couple. The colors and sharpness are remarkable.

 

[Gordon Large]

Dang you guys and your D2x's.. going to cost me a bundle at Christmas time this year..

Great stuff...

Tim

Hey Tim -
Thanks for the nice comment about the images. Sorry about the D2x. You already knew that you were going to get one, though. Might as well get it over with! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Gordon

 

[Flew]

Gorgeous images Gordon. Your last several posts seem to indicate that you are becoming one with the D2X. 8)

 

[Gordon Large]

Great captures, Gordon. That lens and camera make quite a couple. The colors and sharpness are remarkable.

Thanks Frank. The lens/camera combination is great, but I never would have expected that it can be used as a macro. And the detail in the 90%+ crop bee image just amazes me.

Gordon

 

[Kevin Scott]

Gordon, I really like shot #1! The yellows in it just glow!! The crop sample is incredible. Great camera, great glass!

 

[Gordon Large]

Gorgeous images Gordon. Your last several posts seem to indicate that you are becoming one with the D2X. 8)

Thanks Frank. Yup, I'm beginning to get the beast under control. It's funny that Mike Mac and I were talking last weekend about how much steeper the learning curve is for the D2x than it was for the D2h because there is sooo much you can do with the camera. Well worth the effort because of the results.

Gordon

 

[Gordon Large]

Gordon, I really like shot #1! The yellows in it just glow!! The crop sample is incredible. Great camera, great glass!

Hey Kevin -
I expecially like #1 too. The combination of colors and shapes works just right for me. It may be my all-time flower image. As for the crop, it just blows me away. I have a hard time believing that a crop that big is possible even with great glass and camera.
Gordon

 

[Harry S.]

If you have enough working room, the 300/4 works pretty well as a macro.

Well, it does, indeed!
Cheers

 

[Gordon Large]

If you have enough working room, the 300/4 works pretty well as a macro.

Well, it does, indeed!
Cheers

Hi Harry -

But I never would have guessed that it does! I've got to ask - what the heck is your avatar?

Gordon

 

[Harry S.]

But I never would have guessed that it does! I've got to ask - what the heck is your avatar?

A male of Onthophagus taurus - a dung beetle. The females usually have simple heads but there are other species with much more bizarre head armatures.
If you want to see the big version (I know I could have cleaned it more thoroughly):

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Cheers

 

[greyflash]

Beautiful images Gordon. The lens seems to be doing right by you.

 

[kramp]

What a great combo, beautiful pictures, that narrow field of view is great for isolating the flowers, have you tried it with a 1.4 tc for close-ups, I bet you wouldn't have to crop.

Martin

 

[Gordon Large]

But I never would have guessed that it does! I've got to ask - what the heck is your avatar?

A male of Onthophagus taurus - a dung beetle.
Cheers

The big image was, well, big. :lol: Very good macro! But now I have to ask another question. Why a dung beetle for your avatar?

Gordon

 

[Gordon Large]

Beautiful images Gordon. The lens seems to be doing right by you.

Hi Gordon -

The 300/4 is a wonderful all-purpose lens and also light-weight. Perfect, except that I wish it was faster (say 2.8) and had VR. Sounds a bit like your 300/2.8, doesn't it? The price of the 300/2.8 would be a hurdle, but so would the weight. Can you hand-hold the lens? Can you hand-hold and track birds? Half of me is hoping you say "yes", and the other half "no".
:? :? :?

Gordon

 

[Gordon Large]

What a great combo, beautiful pictures, that narrow field of view is great for isolating the flowers, have you tried it with a 1.4 tc for close-ups, I bet you wouldn't have to crop.

Martin

Thanks Martin. I haven't tried it with a 1.4 tc but I'm going to. Either this weekend or early next week a friend and I are going after wild flowers and butterflies, and I hope to try this combo. Hopefully you will see results next week!

Gordon

 

[Harry S.]

But now I have to ask another question. Why a dung beetle for your avatar?Gordon

:lol: :lol: That is not an indication that I preferably dig in dung (although sometimes I do to catch beetles) but should refer to my primary interest as an entomologist - beetles. Dung beetles are not my study objects though. I specialized on Shortwinged Rovebeetles (which may also be found in dung very often because they feed on fly maggots). I just happened to like the dung beetle image.

Cheers

 

[sbuttrick]

Beautiful light on the first two. Excellent images.