Deeping Lakes Bird Photography With The Sony RX10 iv

Nat offered a morning out at Deeping Lakes; I hadn't heard of it but I googled it and was well up for the short drive to Deeping. It's really out in the middle of nowhere; perfect for the wildlife.

I've said it before I'm no wildlife expert in the slightest but I do enjoy the challenge; watching the animal and trying to get 'the shot'.

I had my trusty Sony R10 iv; it's got to be the best all round camera out there! That's what a lot of reviews said about it and I do have to agree. It's got it's shortcomings but what it does well, it does really well!

A 600mm zoom on a camera no bigger than a DSLR and (maybe) kit lens; it's a beast!

So when we were at the lakes we were on a mission to photograph the Marsh Harriers and what a sight these amazing birds were. Proper birds of prey soaring majestically through the air.

Yep I took a 'few' shots.

The next highlight was the Little Owl's that we had been told about when talking to other people enjoying the lakes. A little hard to spot because they're more than well camouflaged.

Did you spot it?

For a wildlife novice like me everything is fun to photograph.

I love this photo of a Blue Tit.

And yes; I'm still immature enough to find that funny!

The one that got away.

We were walking around the corner to an opening of the trees at the waters edge and Nathaniel said "HERON!" I quickly raised my camera and took this photo with what settings were already dialled in.

The shutter speed is too slow.

It's not focused perfectly.

And it was a tiny bit over exposed.

But considering I just raised my camera and snapped the photo in the split second I had the chance, it's not too bad.

And come on who doesn't like ducks?!

The versatility of the Sony RX10iv has excelled as an 'all in one' tool. It allows you to get the photos that otherwise you'd perhaps need that 'big camera' and that 'big lens'.

I'm sure we'll visit Deeping Lakes again.

Now where's my credit card for that big lens?!

Photographing Deer With The Sony RX10 IV

Wow the Sony RX10 IV is an absolute beast!

It's amazing to carry around on a walk for photographing wildlife.

I've only had it 1 day and used it once for a photowalk along the river and it performs as well as you'd expect the worlds best Bridge camera to. It goes from wide angle to super telephoto; 24mm to 600mm. 

As long as it's bright daylight the camera & images are fantastic. IS0 100 is clean and sharp. As the light levels begin to decrease and the ISO has to be increased to match, then the camera & image quality begins to degrade. It does alright for a 1" sensor but it will never match a full frame sensor 'in the dark'.

On board Steady Shot image stabilisation; I really can't decide if it works or doesn't on my camera? Sometimes at 600mm I feel like the image in the view finder is a bit shaky but then what can you expect? I'd imagine that the steady shot could be working and is probably doing a good job and maybe I'm not holding the camera still enough whilst I expect some kind of image stabilised magic?!

I do alright on my day job though!

I'll keep debating this one.

Is the Sony RX10 IV good for photographing wildlife? I'd say 100% yes!

I'm no wildlife photography expert; maybe I've photographed a few wild dance floors but photographing any animal apart from a dog is totally new to me. But I enjoyed this so much!

Trying to stalk and get as close to these Deer was a great experience. Nat and I kept saying "this is amazing".

Is focusing on the RX10 IV good? Apparently it's the same autofocus system as the Sony A9, which I own and so I'd say the autofocus system is superb!

Now it's time to see some images;

The next 2 images show just how much the RX10 IV can zoom in; it's incredible!

It was around 5.30pm and the sun was starting to go down and the storm clouds were coming in overhead, this was a test for RX10 IV in low light. IS0 2000 and above the images were much more noisy but with a little noise reduction in Lightroom they're still very usable.

We just beat the rain back to the car. The colour in the sky was epic!

Despite being a little bulky and a weight in my bag, I'm really looking forward to taking the RX10 IV out with me again and carrying on documenting what I see each time I go out for a walk.

I wonder what I'll see next time?

He just want's to go fast

It's been a while since ive written a blog post.

Ive been busy recently shooting different things for different people and ive done a couple of jobs for a local paper too, so things keep on ticking over.

Ive also spent a fair stack of money on gear recently too that should start to pop up in posts soon.

So, it was a couple of weeks ago, I was leaving my work car park when I finally noticed a snail travelling accross my windscreen. I know, I know, I should of stopped and got the little guy off but all I could think of was the Turbo film about the snail who wanted to go fast, so I took him along for the ride home.

I took it slow and I found the limits of what he could hold onto.

I have to admit I thought it was hilarious!

Good times!

I thought id take advantage of the 90mm Tamron Macro lens I have sitting gathering dust in my study. Macro is not really my thing as I hate messing around with tripods, I find it all takes too long for my liking.

So this shot was taken hand held and the focus is not quite right but what can you do.

The lens is safely back in its hiding place ready for another outing perhaps in a few months.

And Turbo; he's either living the dream after his 'live fast die young' experience or well I don't know how long a common snail lives for, maybe he died young?

Turbo!