{"id":63749,"date":"2019-09-29T06:34:55","date_gmt":"2019-09-29T10:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/?p=63749"},"modified":"2019-09-29T06:34:55","modified_gmt":"2019-09-29T10:34:55","slug":"sony-a7r-iii-for-flight-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2019\/09\/29\/sony-a7r-iii-for-flight-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"SONY a7r iii for Flight Photography?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What’s Up?<\/h3>\n

The Sandbar really rocked late on Saturday afternoon. We had lots of great bathing and flight photography, mostly with Sandwich and Royal Terns along with a flock of about 500 Red Knots and a tame American Avocet, only the second one I have ever seen at Fort DeSoto. Photographing on the sandbar is like being at a wild remote location rife with tame birds; it is hard to believe that you are only 20 minutes from downtown St. Pete. The group is both fabulous and appreciative and there is a ton of learning going on. The food at the Neptune Grill in our home base at Gulfport has been great as usual,. <\/p>\n

Galapagos 2020?<\/h3>\n

If you are interested in learning about a possible Galapagos Photo-Cruise of a Lifetime, September 29-October 13 on the boat (travel dates: 27 SEPT to Guayaquil and fly home on 14 OCT) please get in touch via e-mail<\/a>. I will need at least eight deposits by December 1, 2019. <\/p>\n

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART<\/h3>\n

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here<\/a> or shoot us an e-mail<\/a><\/center> with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D, and the 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. Most recently the price of used Canon 600mm f\/L IS II lenses have been dropping like a rock with the introduction of the 600 III. You can always see the current listings by clicking here<\/a> or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.<\/p>\n

As used gear sales have slowed a bit in recent months — especially with dSLR bodies, there are lots of great buys right now on the Used Gear Page<\/a> <\/p>\n

New Listings<\/h3>\n

Canon EF 800mm f\/5.6L IS USM Lens <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Jim McCormac is offering a Canon EF 800mm f\/5.6L IS USM lens in excellent condition for only $7,199.00. There are a very few very minor scuffs and paint nicks, mostly on the tripod foot. The lens has been protected by a LensCoat for much of its life. The sale includes the lens trunk, the hood, both original feet, the LensCoat, the front lens cover, the rear lens cap, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made. This lens is optically perfect and performs incredibly with the Canon 1.4x teleconverters (for a reach of 1120mm on full-frame lenses). Please contact Jim via e-mail<\/a> or by phone at 1-614-517-0258 (Eastern time zone).<\/p>\n

I owned and used the super-sharp 800mm f\/5.6, often with a 1.4X TC, as my go-to super-telephoto lens for almost five years. If you work with birds that are tough to approach and have trouble making sharp images with the 2X III TC, this lens should have your name on it. The 800\/5.6 is great from the car or from a blind. I was astounded when I counted to learn that 15 of the 67 images in my San Diego exhibit were created with my 800. Note that the 800 and a 7D Mark II get you out to 1280mm. Add the 1.4X III TC and you wind up at 1792mm, almost 36X! The 800s \u2014 still in production \u2014 sell new right now for $12,999 from B&H. Thus, you can save a nifty $5800 by grabbing Jim’s lens right now. <\/em> artie<\/p>\n

Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM Lens <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Jim McCormac is offering a Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM lens in excellent condition for only $6,599.00. There are only a very few minor scuffs and paint nicks, mostly on the tripod foot. The lens has been protected by a camo LensCoat for most of its life. The sale includes the lens trunk, the hood, both feet, the LensCoat, the front lens cover, the rear lens cap, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made. This lens is optically perfect and performs incredibly well with the Canon 1.4x teleconverter (for a reach of 700mm on full-frame lenses). Please contact Jim via e-mail<\/a> or by phone at 1-614-517-0258 (Eastern time zone).<\/p>\n

The 500 f\/4 super-telephoto lenses have long been the world\u2019s most popular for birds, nature, wildlife, and sports for many decades. Canon\u2019s Series II version is light, fast, super-sharp, and produces amazing images with both the 1.4X and 2X III TCs. The 500 II is relatively small, easily hand-holdable for some folks, and is much easier to travel with, focuses closer than, and costs a lot less than the 600 II. Lastly, and you might find this amazing, the magnification for the 500 II is the same as it is for the 600 II: .15X. How is that possible? Magnification is calculated at the minimum focusing distance of the lens — 12.14 feet (3.7 meters) for the 500 II and 14.77 feet (4.5 meters) for the 600 II. Simply put, the 500 II focuses more than two feet closer than the 600 II. The seller for the last one that sold here had five calls the first day; the first four folks quibbled on price. The fifth one jumped right on it … Please do not tarry if you are seriously interested in Jim’s lens as it too should sell almost instantly. As the 500 II goes for $8999 new you will be getting a great lens while saving $2400.00. I loved my 500 II \ud83d\ude42<\/em> artie<\/p>\n

Price Drops!<\/h3>\n

Sigma Contemporary 150-600mm f\/5-6.3 DG Lens for Canon <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Price Reduced $50.00 on 9-24-2019<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n

Sheldon Goldstein, multiple IPT participant, is offering a Sigma Contemporary 150-600mm f\/5-6.3 DG Lens for Canon in like-new condition for $675.00 (was $725.00). The sale includes a Wimberley P-30 plate, the lens cap, the rear cap, the protective case, carrying straps for the lens and case, the Sigma USB Dock UD-2 for firmware updates, and insured Fed-Ex Ground shipping to lower 48 US addresses. Your lens will ship after your check clears unless another payment method is used.<\/p>\n

Please contact Shelly via e-mail<\/a> or by phone at 1-646-423-0392 (Eastern time).<\/p>\n

I have seen many sharp and wonderful images created with this versatile lens on several IPTs.<\/em> artie<\/p>\n

Sigma 12-24mm f\/4.5-5.6 DG HSM Lens for Canon<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Price Reduced $51.00 on 9-24-2019<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n

Sheldon Goldstein, multiple IPT participant, is offering a Sigma 12-24mm f\/4.5-5.6 DG HSM lens for Canon in like-new condition for $799.00 (was $850.00). The sale includes the lens cover, the rear cap, the protective carrying case, and insured Fed-Ex Ground shipping to lower 48 US addresses. Your lens will ship after your check clears unless another payment method is used.<\/p>\n

Please contact Shelly via e-mail<\/a> or by phone at 1-646-423-0392 (Eastern time).<\/p>\n

This lens is designed for use with full-frame Canon digital cameras; it offers a dramatically ultra-wide coverage with field-of-views ranging from 122\u00b0 to 84.1\u00b0 making it ideal for dramatic landscape photography. It is a superb architectural lens that is great for creating images of the tightest of interiors. Using Canon bodies with APS-C sensors (like the 7D Mark II) will give you an effective zoom range of 17-35mm.<\/em> B&H<\/p>\n

IPT Updates <\/h3>\n