A few wildlife photos from this year.

[Marke]

I go up to Daintree once or twice a year to chase wildlife
here are a few from this year. All are wild and mainly taken
from a runabout on Daintree river.

Mark

[dpastern]

Another wonderful set Mark. How do you find camera shake issues when taking shots from a runabout?

Dave

[Marke]

Thanks Dave
It can be a problem, the Nikon 80-400VR has very basic image stabilizing
but if you just quietly drift and take a lot of shots in fast succession
you can do quite well.

[gary]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for posting these and they are absolutely breathtaking!

It is one of our favorite parts of Australia and last time we were up there
we paddled a sea kayak across to the uninhabited Snapper Island and
spent the night there which was a lot of fun.

I would imagine you would have got some nice croc shots by now?

Look forward to any other shots you may have as these are fantastic.

Best regards

Gary

[Liz]

Supherb pics Mark, love the Kingfisher (now my wallpaper) and the froggy :)

[dpastern]

That 80-400 is a nice lens. I had the chance to use a 200-400 VR on a D2x at the 2008 Aussie photo show in Brissie and it was damn well awesome!

Dave

[telecasterguru]

Mark,

Beautiful images.

Frank

[Marke]

Thanks for the comment guys
Dave, I have used a 200-400 and its in another league altogether
over my old 80-400 but just a bit too big and pricey :(
Here is a hand held shot of the moon with the 80-400 as well

[troypiggo]

Fantastic set there. The first 2 are my favs.

[Waxing_Gibbous]

Love these. I tried the same thing and wound up with some very nice abstract expressionist snaps!
No. 1 & No. 5 are absolute postcards - spot on!!!!

[dpastern]

Yeah, it is big and pricey, but it's still awesome. I wish Canon had something like that (and no, the 100-400 IS doesn't even come close imho).

From memory, you're using a D2X - are you considering moving to a D3/D3s?

Dave

[Marke]

Yes its the top of the tree for a zoom in that range and maybe one day.
There is a solid rumor that Nikon will release a 100-500 f5.6 next yr
and I would prefer that range if it appears.

I have a D2x but recently bought a D700 and 14-24mm as a second body.
My logical upgrade from the D2 would be a D3x for the resolution but its way out of my price range for now :( The 700 is a cut down D3 anyway with same sensor and so far its been a great little camera.

[dpastern]

True, the D700 is nice, but it does lack the build and weather sealing of a D3. ;-) Apparently, the D3s is at *least* a stop better at high ISO too, and the D3 was no slouch I might add. I had a play with a D3 at that Brissie photography show and I must say it's the *best* camera I've EVER used. The only things keeping me @ Canon are the cost of swapping is prohibitive, and the mpe-65, and the latter isn't really an issue since I can get a Canon to Nikon adaptor and use it anyways.

Dave

[Marke]

I really wanted a smaller body to carry around with good high iso performance so the D700 was great for that.
I still use the D2X where light is good and the going is really tough
but I agree the D3s is probably the best all round pro camera today.
I would really like to have the extra spacial res of a D3X so that would still be my D2 replacement choice until the D4 that is :)

[dpastern]

I'd be happy with the D3s, I'd rather go with high ISO performance than extra mp, but that's just me. Not saying the D3x is bad, but it can't compete with the D3/D3s imho. I'm looking forward to the Mark IV though - 16mp should give me plenty of cropping ability for my macros (where needed) and I hopefuly will be able to shoot natural light macros now and forgoe flash. Car first, then Mark IV methinks.

Dave