Nikon Showcase Birding with the V1

Is doable :) More or less. Must look into the adapter and a long Nikon lens :)

First, a video of a dear wee grass parrot who was having his lunch as I happened by. I am no video maker so please excuse flaws of which there are many.
[video=youtube_share;hPg0wOHvOkU]

Then, a couple of stills. One of the parrot (aka Red Rumped Grass Parrot, Red Rumped Lorikeet, amongst others.) The bird is just a little larger than the average budgie.
9617463399_5eedb9de41_c.jpg

Red Rumped Parrot by kyte50, on Flickr

And another bird I've not identified. Its small, it feeds on the wing, and has a high pitched chirrup. I'll have to check Pizzey. It looks a bit like a Double Barred Finch on its face and chest, but it has a very long tail like a Willie Wagtail, and its flying flittering behaviour is like a Welcome Swallow. Go figure.
9620702624_f9873c487d_c.jpg

Small Bird by kyte50, on Flickr
 
That last one looks pretty good, Sue! A long native lens for the Nikon 1 series would be awesome for birding & other wildlife.

My little Abigail came running up when she heard the grass parrot in your video. :D
 
Very nice captures Sue, you are definitely giving the V1 a workout.

Thanks, Michael. I think its probably become my go-to camera but now I am feeling guilty about the others, all that Pentax gear, the wonderful XZ-1 and new VF-2, the Ricoh GRD, and my X100. They are all great cameras, but when I go out I never usually go these days with any particular intent, so the V1/J1 combo is what I take with me. Sighh. I'll get over it soon enough but the good thing is, I don't feel the need to buy any more cameras. yet.
 
Small bird resemblance

Is doable :) More or less. Must look into the adapter and a long Nikon lens :)

And another bird I've not identified. Its small, it feeds on the wing, and has a high pitched chirrup. I'll have to check Pizzey. It looks a bit like a Double Barred Finch on its face and chest, but it has a very long tail like a Willie Wagtail, and its flying flittering behaviour is like a Welcome Swallow. Go figure.
9620702624_f9873c487d_c.jpg

Small Bird by kyte50, on Flickr

Spooky resemblance from your pics and your other details to the bird in my pics which is known locally as a Fantail and I"m in New Zealand!

P6020187sml.jpg


P6020151sml.jpg
 
I keep thinking the V1/V2 (EVF) with the new 80-400mm would be a ridiculously fun combination. However I really like the 400mm old MF prime I'm using (not to mention being $2300 cheaper than said zoom) and never bonded with the V1 I had for manual focus. Great pics btw :)
 
Sue

I have never had much luck with the V1 and bird images.
I always use the V1 with the FT-1 adapter and good Nikon glass and most of the time on a tripod
If you want to use it in this way you may as well buy a DSLR body

I have taken lots of shots - very few "keepers" and usually "hit and miss" for me - whereas with my D300 or D7100 I get lots of good "keepers"

The following are the BEST that I could manage

V1 plus FT-1 plus Nikon 300mm f4 and Nikon TC x 1.4 at ISO 200 - 1/2000th at f4
300mm, effective 810mm

bird_1.jpg


V1 plus FT-1 plus Nikon 70mm - 200mm f2.8 VR and TC x1.4.......ISO 400 - 1/60th at f8
= 280mm effective 756mm

bird_2.jpg


70mm - 200mm f2.8 VR - Nikon TC x 1.4 at 1/80th f8 and ISO 200
= 280mm effective 756mm

bird_3.jpg


with the 70mm 200mm VR f2.8 I find that with the TC x 1.4 anything less than f8 is a little soft
Remember with the TC you loose a stop i.e. f2.8 becomes a f5.6 minimum
all the above are of course 100% crops

I suppose I am quite disappointed with the V1 and any lens
 
Sue

I have never had much luck with the V1 and bird images.
I always use the V1 with the FT-1 adapter and good Nikon glass and most of the time on a tripod
If you want to use it in this way you may as well buy a DSLR body

I have taken lots of shots - very few "keepers" and usually "hit and miss" for me - whereas with my D300 or D7100 I get lots of good "keepers"

The following are the BEST that I could manage

V1 plus FT-1 plus Nikon 300mm f4 and Nikon TC x 1.4 at ISO 200 - 1/2000th at f4
300mm, effective 810mm

bird_1.jpg


V1 plus FT-1 plus Nikon 70mm - 200mm f2.8 VR and TC x1.4.......ISO 400 - 1/60th at f8
= 280mm effective 756mm

bird_2.jpg


70mm - 200mm f2.8 VR - Nikon TC x 1.4 at 1/80th f8 and ISO 200
= 280mm effective 756mm

bird_3.jpg


with the 70mm 200mm VR f2.8 I find that with the TC x 1.4 anything less than f8 is a little soft
Remember with the TC you loose a stop i.e. f2.8 becomes a f5.6 minimum
all the above are of course 100% crops

I suppose I am quite disappointed with the V1 and any lens

Interesting...is it soft without the TC? You're right, with the setups you describe the camera is the smallest part of the kit, so you are not gaining too much by going to a smaller camera.
 
thanks John

the 70 200 VR f2.8 (zoom) is not as reliable as say the 300mm f4 - the 300mm f4 is a classic lens and amazing

The Nikon TC x 1.4 does degrade the IQ a little but remember that bird images are usually small centre crops which even from a 24 meg D7100 the images suffer a little

If you are serious about bird photography it is DSLR, Nikon or Canon with minimum of a 300mm or 400mm or + lens, and that means - good tripod, good head etc., and as you know such a set up is not cheap.
To get good detail from a distance you need good equipment and sticking a V1 on the end of a US$ 3,000+ Nikon prime lens is just pointless, IMHO of course
 
Bill, I'm not a "serious" birder, otherwise I would long ago have switched to Nikon with a massive lens. I have a K-5, I've often considered going to their 300mm prime or the newer 560mm but really, I want to hand hold, I don't have the patience to sit in a hide all day, so if I can't get it on the hop, whilst just walking, I wont do it. All the birds I shot in this thread have been shot at relatively close quarters, and they were photographed with a great deal of serendipity and absolutely no planning. The grass parrots let me get to about 10 feet away, and the fantail was at about 6 feet. The swallow was at maybe 10 feet too. Very distant birds I dont even try to shoot, not only not with the V1, but also not with the K-5.

However, I think that this setup is just fine for casual birding. I certainly was not suggesting it was in any way better than anything else. Its just better for me.
 
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