I never knew that folks followed how I worked with gear so closely. I’ve received a number of emails asking if my new rig for working airshows worked at Osh as I hoped. This is what I had with me …
The biggie was not having the Nikkor 180-400VR bouncing off my side. That use to beat me to pieces and make me a nervous wreck. Having it safely in the MP-7 was huge for me! After the first day, the Nikkor 24-70VR was left behind and replaced with the Nikkor 105f1.4 AFS which was perfect. I’m still kicking myself that I had the Nikkor 8-15Fish with every intention to use it for overhead flights and I didn’t do it once! Idiot!!!
Everything stayed dry in the rain which is important. All was easy to access when needed and when I was shooting the airshow, the MP-7 provided a great place to rest the Nikon D5 / Nikkor 180-400VR off the damp ground. It was also nice that our folding Kelty Chair easily strapped to the bottom of the MP-7 and my rain shell to the top, out of the way. So ya, sling bag is gone and the MP-7 is now my standard airshow bag!
I’ve received a bunch of emails in regards to the 180-400VR lens, basically asking is it worth the price? At the same time, is it really versatile? Now that I have shot with it for a month, I can tell you that it is more than worth it. The 180-400VR is truly more than I expected, the quality and versatility with its built-in 1.4x is brilliant! But at that price, can it do more?
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Many have asked what’s it like with the TC-20eIII 2x? You can see my results here and the 24×30″ prints are mind blowing! The image quality is not what I expected, it fas surpasses it. What about operation? The AF operation with the 180-400VR and TC-20eIII which is at f/8 is pretty amazing even in low light.
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With built-in 1.4x engaged and the TC-20eIII connected, you’re now at f/11 and AF operation becomes sluggish. With the AF in the dead center of the frame, it works pretty well but go outside the center and in low light, not operation as you might expect. What you see above are photos taken of a four-inch critter with the 180-400VR locked on a tripod. The focus was not touched after the first image. I then zoomed, activated the internal 1.4x or attached the TC-20eIII for the results you see. Bottomline, I wouldn’t hesitate to a second to recommend this combo and will use it myself over and over again.
Just published is an article about Nikon’s sensor development labs by Pixels for Geeks which is outstanding! It’s very thorough and well done. Some might have to read it twice, I found it fascinating and enjoyable.
I didn’t see it coming, but I’ve fallen in love shooting with the new Nikkor 180-400VR. Its sharpness is what started the affair because this is one sharp puppy! But it’s the versatility of the built-in 1.4x that really makes it for me. Being able to switch to 560mm without even a perceivable move of the finger so even the shiest critter won’t know I’m now closer.
In the video I show a still of my hummingbird rig used for the stills in the video. The gear in that still is:
I set out shooting with two goals: vastly improving my baby Yellow-pine Chipmunk photos and test the new 180-400VR with the 1.4x TC-14eIII attached. In years past I’ve shot with the 800mm, 600mm, 300PF and 200-400 and hands down, the 180-400VR did the best job for a number of reasons. The biggest is its flexibility (its sharpness with the 1.x attached is amazing!). I need to explain that one.
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In order to get the shot, I needed to be flat on the ground. I mean, flat (that’s a challenge for me!) So I grabbed the Platypod Max, RRS BH-55 and headed out alongside the side of the house and laid down with all the critters (the ants up my pants were delightful and the caterpillar on my pant leg, charming!).
While there might be as many as two dozen chipmunks buzzing around, because they are greased lightning, getting glass on one long enough to arrange elements, focus and fire requires gear flexibility. The Platypod Max, RRS BH-55 provides stability and movement but being able to shoot from 252mm 784mm with a flip of a switch, a movement the chipmunks can’t see me make, was huge! That’s because as you see, I’m not in a blind, just lying there and they are 7-9′ away when I’m taking their photos. I can’t make any big movement because that would send them back into the trees. The 180-400VR with the 1.4x TC-14eIII combo performed perfect in this real-world shoot, providing me with my favorite baby chipmunk shots ever. I love when testing goes better than planned, easily multiplying the fun by 1.4x!
The Platypod Max and the Ultra are simply elegant, important tools in our camera kit! We depend on them for our still and video work. Many know of Larry’s great product already, he has sold lots of them and rightly so. The Platypod is incredibly flexible taking the place of a tripod in places where either a tripod won’t work or not allowed. I’ve found that the Platypod does this and so much more so very well. The video tells my story with the Platypod!
