600mm setup… only ~1.4KG ! Fujifilm XF70-300 | liewwk Nature

I am glad to be given a chance to be tried on the Fujifilm XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR. Even though we don’t have that many opportunities to do more tests on this setup because of the Covid-19 lockdown.

for quick sharing from Fujifilm XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR Liew WK – Lens Stories

For birding Photography, we always concern about on few camera and lens specifications

1. Image Quality

– how sharp and how’s the ISO performance

– with Teleconverter Image quality

2. Autofocus performance

– how fast the autofocus, how accurate autofocus, and how good is the tracking capability

3. Weather-resistant, Weight and Size

– no one can deny bigger lens (longer and bigger aperture) will give you better image quality but we need to know how much we can tolerate with Image quality drop with the size and weight reduce.

– most of the bird photography here (Tropical rainforest – Malaysia) involves a lot of tracking, walking, hiking so it is not really a good choice to carry heavy equipment to long hours to do bird photography here.

Some Extra Features

4. Minimum Focus Distance

– most of the Bird photographers also a nature lover who may also capture many other creatures (butterfly, snake, etc

– minimum focus distance of 0.83 which give magnification 0.33

5. Image stabilization

– I can’t comment much as not really do a lot of testing on this but some of the dark conditions where I shoot ~600mm at 1/10-1/30s also give a very good success rate but for my comfort. 1/100 is a base shutter speed to get a very high success rate for myself.

I also captured some videos handheld

 

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Very low light condition

ISO1600, F8.0, 1/30

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1. Image Quality

– with previous testing on the Fujifilm equipments

Fujifilm X-T4 | Shadow & Highlight recovery Test | liewwk Nature

Birding Photography with Fujifilm X-T4 | liewwk Nature

– both

 

A. FUJINON XF200mmF2 R LM OIS WR

B. FUJINON XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR

do provide good quality of image quality with good Autofocus performance (for both still together with Fujifilm X-T4

For this small lens that provides 107mm to 457mm (35mm equivalent), it is just
580gram 
&
Ø75mm x 132.5mm(Wide)
Ø75mm x 205.5mm(Telephoto)
and this lens compatible with both 1.4x and 2.0x Teleconverter (TC) which may give you
149.8mm to 639.8mm
214mm to 914mm
(35mm equivalent)
but for everyone know the use of TC most probably lower the Image quality and autofocus performance.
here is some pictures sample I captured 3-4 days before Covid=19 MCO 2.0 lockdown..
[click the pictures for the original size]
NORMAL condition

update 202103

– another good moment with this active bird

– 非常活躍的鳥。他在看我在做什麼。

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update 202102
– very active bird that keeps moving nonstop
– same location last month where I meet the handsome male but I met only 2 beautiful female now

– 非常活躍的鳥,總是動不停。

– 上個月,同個地方遇上雄鳥。今天遇上了2只母鳥。

202102, Selangor, Malaysia

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– lucky to have this while we looking for our target bird close

– another close encounter

202102, Selangor, Malaysia
#- a good moment to see this owl making some call
– shooting this with car body as support
幸運的見到這鴞在叫。 這攝頻沒用腳架,只是靠在車拍的。

 

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Long-tailed Parakeet, 长尾鹦鹉, 長尾鸚鵡, Psittacula longicauda, オナガダルマインコ, BAYAN MELAYU
Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF70300, TC 1.4x: 630.0 mm, ISO500 F.9.0 1/250]
Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF70300, TC 1.4x: 434.0 mm, ISO500 F.9.0 1/90]
Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF70300, TC 1.4x [600mm, ISO500 F.9.0 1/40]
Lowlight Condition
update 202102

- very lowlight condition,

- misty
Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF70300 [267mm ISO2000 F.7.1 1/7]

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Blue-winged pitta, 马来八色鸫, 馬來八色鶇, Pitta moluccensis, ミナミヤイロチョウ, BURUNG-PACAT SAYAP BIRU
Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF70300 [300mm ISO1250 F.5.6 1/10]
Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF70300 [300mm ISO1250 F.5.6 1/30]
Cloudy, Raining Condition
Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF70300, TC 1.4x [600mm, ISO500, F9.0, 1/40]
Quality with 2x TC
Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF70300, TC 2.0x [900mm, ISO800 F.13.0 1/30]
Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF70300, TC 2.0x [900mm, ISO1600 F.11.0 1/1600]
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2. Autofocus performance
– as previous testing share, the X-T4 AF performance FAST, accurate and tracking is good too. 
– I won’t share any single point AF here as all others above are using AFS or single focus but here I am sharing what I am concern about continuous focus for both lock focus & tracking capability
– Both above Loglight Condition sharing pictures were captured in very low light condition and AF is still fast and accurate for AFS
All pictures below captured with AFC – continuous focus and Zone (almost full screen). [I let the camera and lens decide to lock the object and track without any additional setting change]
i. Terns
– many of them flying far and near with moderate speed but in any direction under the hot sun
– most of the focus can lock fast and continuous tracking the bird by the next 1-2 s as the tern fly out from the frame
– it is almost no fail to lock focus when the birds flying with blue/white sky and sea background which has enough contrast
– it is getting difficult to lock focus when a bird flies into the frame where the background is green
Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF70300, TC 1.4x [607mm, ISO800 F.8.0 1/1600]
ii. Owl
– this owl all of a sudden fly out from the small palm oil plantation- the focus lock fast but the tracking miss 50% intermittent as it is flying toward me fast and close (some of the focus frame lock on the wing but not the head).*** the tracking may able to improve by some AF setting. as the focus locking is fast enough to focus again after miss out of focus within 1-2s flying toward me series
Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF70300, TC 1.4x [434mm, ISO800 F.8.0 1/1250]

 

Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF70300, TC 1.4x [434mm, ISO800 F.8.0 1/2220]

 

– This is a special case where this hornbill standing on a building wall. So make use of the continuous focus & tracking mode. Even the bird is near the tracking work since the bird begins flying until it missing into a tree.
– the moment happens just ~2s, while I am shooting 7fps. and the focus just miss 2 frame

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Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF70300, TC 1.4x [322mm, ISO800 F.7.1 1/640]
iv. Swift
– it is very difficult to capture swift picture due to normally they are flying fast, all different direction
– success rate is not very high due to the flying speed very fast and accelerates in any direction for feeding. But the camera and lens still able to lock the focus as long as my position is at the right position.
Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF70300, [450mm, ISO1600 F.5.6 1/1600]
Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF70300, [450mm, ISO1600 F.5.6 1/1600]
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3. Weather-resistant, Weight and Size
– due to the APS-C sensor size the lens design in a smaller size compared to an equivalent 35mm equivalent lens (100-400mm)
– the lens with X-T4 which is 607g (including battery and SD memory card)
– 1.4x TC
with such focal length 107mm to 457mm or (107mm to 457mm)x1.4 or x2)
look at the size
4. Minimum Focus Distance

– this lens can take a photo at a minimum focus distance of 0.83 which give magnification 0.33 think this is also good for some butterfly, big object macro

Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF70300, TC 1.4x [213mm, ISO1000 F.8.0 1/30]
Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF70300, TC 1.4x [563mm, ISO500 F.8.0 1/18]

 

5. Image stabilization

– testing mostly dark environment for either still or video (all handheld)

update 202103

– another beautiful winter visitor flycatcher of Malaysia

– another Fujifilm new XF70-300 test and this also another #handheldvideo

– I am shooting this video handheld

– 馬來西亞漂亮的過冬姬鶲 – 另一富士 XF70-300 的測試。 – 手持拍的視頻。

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update 202102

– another handheld video captured with X-T4 and XF70300

– very low light situation ~ISO1600, 1/24 & F6.4

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More pictures captured with Fujifilm X-T4

Fujifilm Xt4, 100400mm, 1.4 tc Test

More videos captured with Fujifilm X-T4

 

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liewwk Nature Pictures collection

liewwk Nature Youtube collection

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观鸟或拍鸟团  您可

联络我

or

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How I correct WB

Even I trust my 5d very much where I could say the AWB (Auto White Balance) accuracy is much better than what other body I use before … but in certain light condition, filter effect, and to have much perfect WB… I still correct my WB using 2 method below

*** before I start, I only shoot raw so these methods only apply with RAW and Photoshop , lightroom … (other software should be same concept but different interface)

A. look for white point

1at some case, I do not have time to shoot 2 picture (1 with grey card and the other without) .. then I will try my best to look for white spot in the picture

Blue cast due to filter

 

2. click on the WB tool on top

WB Tool button

 

3. simply use the pen point to the white point

WB after simple correction

the color seem more normal but still need little more work to bring back original e.g. contrast, saturation, ….

sample of coversion

simple white WB correction

 

B. Grey card, look for grey

I prefer this method where this can be useful to correct WB and even correct most of the color cast … but this need shoot additional picture with the grey card or sypder cube (come with white, grey and total dark)

picture with the sypder cube

2. use the same WB tool as A2 above, but this time point to the Grey card or gray part of the spyder cube

– remember the temperature and tint value to apply on the actual picture

where to point and remember

3. the correction

final WB

.. again, due to the blue cast…. we need little more work to bring back the other colors .. e.g. contrast, saturation …..

 

do drop me a message if any part of this not clear ….

*** again the final output still need further tune up due to the bad blue cast …

 

Exposures Blending

While we shoot landscape, to get right exposures for both foreground and background (sky) .. it is just not too simple … as discussed previously , we can either

1. GND filter

2. black card method

3. HDR

4. Exposures blending (where we will discuss here)

 

e.g. of 2 pictures

exposures blending1
exposures blending2

– normally we refer same sky but just different exposures but for this example … I got same position but the cloud actually cover the Starry sky

– how I do Exposures Blending

i. normally I will shoot one foreground 1st with right iso, exposure and sometime with light painting

ii. continue shooting the sky or background

iii. use software masking or blending both picture together

Manual masking - exposures blending

***for how I mask the 2 pictures click old link here

another test used Photomatix “Exposures Fusion” option

Photomatix Blending

 

*** not much editing done on the post blending picture