I went to FA Sieberling Nature Realm Metropark to test out the new Sony 600mm f/6.3 lens (my new toy). Here's the photos, and my first thoughts about the lens.
Sony 600mm f/6.3 first thoughts
I got my preordered Sony 600mm f/6.3 yesterday, so I took it out for a test run with bird photography at my local park, FA Sieberling Nature Realm Metropark in Akron.
The 600/6.3 is SO light and SO compact - it feels like it weighs nothing. I'm looking forward to using it next year during Warbler migration - it will save my arms during the all-day handholding I have to do. Also, it gives me a touch more reach with the 1.4x teleconverter - 840mm to the 800mm on my 400-800mm lens. Unfortunately, I also lose ⅓ of a stop with the teleconverter - the 600/6.3 becomes an 800mm/9, vs the 400-800/8 zoom. I don't think that third of a stop will matter much, but I could always use extra light. That said, I'm trading light(weight) for light(⅓ stop exposure), and I think the tradeoff is well worth it.
There were two other gotchas with the lens. The first was entirely my fault - I didn't have image stabilization turned on. I didn't notice the switch on the lens set IS to off until I was on my way home. Most of my shots were at 1/2000 shutter, so it didn't matter, but I was wondering why I was wobbling all over the place in the viewfinder...
The second gotcha is...it's not a zoom. Since I shoot most of my bird photos at 800mm anyhow, that's not a big deal ... most of the time. (I'm usually cropping in to get the bird bigger in the frame.) Except, I had to shoot in portrait orientation for the cardinal picture above - the cardinal was so close it overflowed the frame in portrait mode.
Nemesis Bird - Pileated Woodpecker
I could hear a couple of pileated woodpeckers calling (and hammering away at trees - they sound like a roofer laying shingles.) I tried to find them, but the one I could get closest to was outside the bounds of NatureRealm - I think it was down in Sand Run Metropark somewhere, but I could not get eyes on it.
Photo Gallery
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