For Sale
Suped Up Super-Fast MacBook Pro M2
Yours truly is offering a used, 100% suped up, 2023 MacBook Pro M2 Max in excellent plus condition that was recently refurbished by Apple with a new Logic Board (motherboard) and a new Touch ID Board (track pad). The screen is also in excellent plus condition. Space Gray. Memory: 96GB. macOS Tahoe 26.4.1. Built in Liquid Retina XDR display. — 16-in (3456 X 2234). 8TB Solid State Hard Drive. Apple M2 Max with 12-core CPU, 38-core GPU (MAX Option). I pay the insured Fed-Ex ground shipping. Price: $3,000 or the best offer by 10 July 2026. $2500 minimum. Buy it today for $3300.00. Pay by Zelle and we will ship it the next day.
You can see all the technical specifications here.
Virtually the same machine is being offered here for $3999.00. Plus the shipping.
Please contact artie via e-mail or by text to 863-221-2372.
Aperture Question Answered
In the Nickerson Afternoon North Wind With the 400-800 at f/8 (?) blog post here, I asked, How is it possible that f/8, the same aperture, can be stopped down 2/3 stop in Image #1, stopped down 1/3 stop in Image #4, and wide open in Images 2, 3, and 5?
Several folks took a stab at answering the question. Some were close but nobody explained it clearly. The answer had nothing to do with exposure. This is the answer to the question: the 400-800 is a variable aperture lens, f/6.3 is wide open at the short end, and f/8 is wide open at the long end. From 400mm to about 475mm you can work at f/6.3. From there to about 600mm you can work at f/7.1. With focal lengths greater than 600mm, f/8 is wide open. When working in Manual mode, proper technique includes always working at f/8 even when you are zoomed out to prevent accidentally toasting the highlights. So, if you are working at f/8 and you zoom out to 400mm you are actually stopped down 2/3 stop. And so on and so forth. This, and the workaround if you always want to shoot this lens wide open, are explained in (more) detail in The BIRDS AS ART SONY 400-800mm f/6.3-9 G Super-telephoto Zoom Lens Guide. Scroll down for details.
What’s Up?
I headed down to the lake early on Thursday morning and was delighted by what I saw. There were four or five Sandhill Crane families, one with one large colts between three and four months old, the others with two. Best of all, I checked out three photographable Osprey nests, each with three large, just-about-ready-to-fledge chicks exercising their wings. I should enjoy some great flight photography with the juvenile birds for the next month or so at least. A pair of Black-necked Stilts — probably nesting — were hanging out north of the pier and two dozen Black-bellied Whistling Ducks loafed in the bay south of the pier.
Today is Friday 12 June 2026. I will be heading down to the lake early. After breakfast, I will be working on a Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM YouTube video. And this afternoon, I need to run into town to do a few errands. Whatever you opt to do, I hope that you too choose to have fun and enjoy life. Please remember that happiness is a choice — Byron Katie, The Work.Com
If an item — a Delkin flash card or reader, a Levered-clamp FlexShooter Pro, or a Wimberley lens plate or low foot — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match or beat any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedford by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.
Gear Questions and Advice
Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BirdPhotographer’s.Net, are — out of ignorance — using the wrong gear, especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads. And the same is true in spades when ordering new camera bodies or lenses. My advice will often save you some serious money and may help you avoid making a seriously bad choice. Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.
B&H Simplified
To ensure that I get credit for your B&H purchases, you can always click here. The tracking is invisible. Using my affiliate links is greatly appreciated. And, with B&H, you can use your PayBoo card. You must use the website to order. You cannot get your free guides if you make a phone order. Once you have an item in your cart, you must complete the order within two hours. Huge thanks!
B&H
Many folks have written recently stating that they purchased a Sony a1 from B&H and would like their free membership in the Sony 1 Info and Updates Group, a $150.00 value. But when I check my affiliate account, their orders have not been there. When I let them know that they get credit for B&H purchases only if they use one of the many B&H affiliate links on the blog or begin their searches with this link, they are always disappointed. If in doubt, please contact me via e-mail and request a BH link. I am always glad to help and to guide you to the right gear.
Bedfords Simplified
Click here to start your search. Choose standard shipping, and when you get to the payment page, enter BIRDSASART in the discount code box and hit apply. You will be upgraded to free second day air Fed-Ex and receive 3% cash back on your credit card once your stuff ships. Using either my affiliate links is greatly appreciated and will often earn you free guides or discounts. To receive a free guide or free entry into a Sony Set-up and Info Notes e-Mail group, you need to shoot me your receipt via e-mail. The B&H receipts need to include the order number.
Bedfords Amazing BAA Discount Policy
Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can always use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase when your product ships. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, or prior purchases.
You can visit the Bedfords website here, shoot Steve Elkins an e-mail, or text him on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592.
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This image was created on 5 June 2026 by yours truly at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Seated by the colony ropes on dry sand, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 420mm) and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera in APS-C Crop Mode. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 500: 1/6400 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:15:51pm on a then mostly sunny afternoon. Tracking Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #1: Common Tern attacking Black Skimmer |
Thank You Dr. Fish
Ichthyologist: A specialized zoologist who studies fish, covering their anatomy, behavior, ecology, and evolutionary history. And fish identification.
Ichthyologist David Policansky is an IPT veteran who comments often on the blog. Whenever I have a photo of a bird carrying a fish and I need an ID, I send it to David. In the Tips on Working With a Bad Wind That Became the Perfect Wind. Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM: A Lightweight Deadly Weapon blog post here, he commented in part:
… As for the tern attacking the skimmer, did you try a very tight framing, say including the skimmer’s body and right wing but cutting off most of the left wing? Including the attacking tern, of course. I think that would be more dramatic.
I think that he was right. What do you think?
Note: considering that the raw file was an APS-C Crop Mode image, the quality of the more tightly cropped version is a testament to the superb image quality of a-1 ii raw files.
The BIRDS AS ART SONY 400-800mm f/6.3-9 G Super-telephoto Zoom Lens Guide
When I borrowed this lens from Sony, I assumed that at 5.45 pounds it was too heavy to handhold for long and that at f/8 at the long end (800mm,) it was too slow for most bird photography applications. In short, I did not want to like the lens. After a month of using it, I could not live without it. After returning the loaner, I was miraculously able to get my own from Bedfords on 16 April 2025. In this guide I share everything that I have learned about using the 400-800. For best results, you need to know exactly what you are doing to get the most out of this zoom lens. It would be best, therefore, to consider and study the material in the guide so that you can begin making great images with your new lens.
You will learn how to deal with the relatively show apertures: f/6.3, f/7.1, and f/8 when working in Manual mode.
You will learn how to ensure that you are working at the widest aperture by working in Shutter Priority mode with AUTO ISO.
If you are able to hand hold the lens, you will learn proper hand holding techniques.
If you can’t, you will learn when, why, and how to employ other options. Those include:
1- The knee-pod, heel-pod, and toe-pod techniques
2- Using the lens on a monopod.
3- The best lens plate and low foot for your 4-8.
4- The best tripod and head for the 4-8 and how best to utilize them.
5- How to use the lens from your vehicle while supporting it on a BLUBB (or not and why not).
6- Detailed instructions on how to set and use the lens controls and buttons:
a- AF/MF
b- DMF Switch
c- Limit Range Switch
d- OSS (Optical Steady Shot) Switch
e- OSS Mode Switch
f- Focus Hold Buttons
The guide also includes a Hand Holding Shutter Speed Primer and an illustrative, educational, and inspiring 67-image gallery.
This guide is free to folks who use one of my two affiliate links to purchase their Sony 400-800 G lens. Otherwise, please send a PayPal for $115.43 to birdsasart@verizon.net. and include the words “400-800 Lens Guide” in your e-mail.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
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