MattK
-
Posts
122 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Events
Articles
Downloads
Gallery
Store
Posts posted by MattK
-
-
It sound a little greedy but I like making money, so paid wins all day for me š
That money then gives me the freedom to pursue other things and activities that I enjoy more.
-
1
-
-
Iām with @devofieldsĀ above. If you can get the a1 do it. If thatās not in the budget, the a9 series will give you a great frame rate and auto focus. Plus, you typically donāt need huge megapixels so it fits in perfect. And the 70-200 and 200-600 are two of my favorite lenses.Ā
-
My ballheadā¦ Flexshooter Pro. Takes the place of a gimbal for wildlife photography, and a ballhead for landscapes.Ā
-
Iām not saying it wonāt happen, but generally when a new camera or software is released, you donāt typically see companies do much with older versions. The r4 came out almost 4 years ago (which is a LONG time in the camera world), so I wouldnāt hold my breath. But I hope Iām wrong and they issue a great firmware update as I have one too š
-
Very cool Tony. I always hear about a 50mm being a great āportraitā lens. But if itās not a full length or at least waist up portrait, it looks like it stretches a personās face. To me, your longer focal length photos of him look more natural and face less stretched which is interesting to be able to compare. Thanks!
-
For me, my business was about 80% online teaching and 20% in person. Covid forced me to 100% online and honestly, it solidified my business that way. Made me realize that the in person stuff was taking away from me really putting full effort online. Post covid, the business is now 100% online.Ā
-
Welcome! Sounds like youāre going to be in a great spot for photos at the Grand Canyon. Looking forward to seeing what you have to share!Ā
-
Glad to have you aboard and thanks for sharing some photos! Great work!
-
Definitely agree with everything Don said. 70-200mm all the way!
-
Wow - you need a caddie? I've played the Old Course with my sons - that along with playing Pebble Beach was the Holy Grail for me Matt. Still want to see Augusta National. Have a fantastic trip!!!
Ā
Thanks Don. I canāt wait. 8 days and 6 courses. Itās going to be a lot of fun. What a great experience to be able to play the Old course with your kids. Mine are in college now and we play when theyāre home. Looking forward to getting to bring them some places as time goes on.Ā
-
Black and White has a certain feel to a photo that lends itself to certain genres. Nature and wildlife are in color and those colors are beautiful. For me, Iād just never want to take that beauty away.Ā
-
Iām heading to Ireland for a Golf Trip in august but will bring the camera along as well š Really looking forward to that one!
-
Iāve used the 2.0x on the 70-200 GM II and the 200-600mm and in both cases the photos were soft and auto focus lagged a little more than I wanted. I did some tests where I used the 2x and then some where I cropped instead, and the cropped photos were always better.Ā
-
Like Razak recommended, the 200-600mm G is an excellent choice for the wildlife photography. It's got a good balance between image quality, speed, and price point.
The other possible option you could go if you don't want to spend that much money right off the bat, you can consider a 2.0x TC to pair with your 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS 2 this will extend your focal length effectively up to 400mm except at a cost of 2-stops light loss.
If you combine the 200-600mm with 2.0x TC you can get up to 1200mm focal length at f/13.
I have no problem putting teleconverters on, but Iād consider not using a 2X with the 70-200 or the 200-600mm. The auto focus and quality loss just wasnāt worth it. I tried on both of those lenses and decided that cropping produced better results. Now, Iāll put a 1.4X on a 600mm all day long and the results look great.Ā
-
Hands down get the 200-600mm. I have the 600mm and itās fast to focus but youāre talking milliseconds. Itās not any sharper, and you get a stop or so of added light with the 600mm. If money is no object, get the 600mm. But I often post photos taken with the 200-600mm and people think they were taken with the 600mm. Itās a great, light and versatile lens.Ā
-
I think itās great and a few years ago I would have been excited. But Iāve learned something for my bird and wildlife photography that I can never get close enough. 600mm stills doesnāt get me there š
But for sports and some other areas I can definitely see it and Iām glad theyāre making one.Ā
-
Nice photos. I agree on the a9. The first time I held it, there was a big smile on my face. I couldnāt believe the auto focus and keeper rate! Thanks for sharing.Ā
-
First off, Reddit is full of people like that. Heck the internet is full of them and it doesnāt have anything to do with photography. Every single industry has it. Iām part of golf groups and Iām amazed at some of the things people say to others. Chances are that person who wrote that mean comment to you is most likely not a good photographer either. Almost without question when I see a mean comment, I look at a portfolio and realize why theyāre mean - theyāre just not good and angry about it. Like you said, the internet professionals which translates to ānot a professionalā.Ā
Next, Iāll throw a very different opinion out there about topic title āif photography is an art whyā¦ā. I personally donāt see photography as an art - I see it as a craft. One like painting a house, carpentry, etcā¦ And like any craft, some of it is good and some of it is bad. And, again, like any craft tastes differ. Some people like the way one person painted their house and the colors they chose and the trim. And other people do not. But I donāt believe photography is some mythical act, that we can do and not be bad at because we can just say āWell, it speaks to me so it must be goodā. Saying there are no bad photos doesnāt really help anyone. There are bad photos and Iād rather see people constructively be told that and hopefully be helped to take better ones.Ā
Anyway, my best advice would be to try to develop a group of people you trust and that WANT to see you get better - not everyone in those online groups wants you to get better. Develop that group (which can take some time), and reach out to them when you share a photo and ask for a critique. But I would never post a photo to a group of people I donāt know, and ask for advice. Giving a critique is a skill - and 90% of people in those groups donāt possess that skill, so be very picky about who you ask.Ā
Hope that helps š
Ā
-
Hi. I donāt think youāre going to get many answers to this question because I donāt think we really know how to answer it. There isnāt anything any of us can say about becoming an ambassador, because I donāt think anyone actually set out to become one.Ā
But here are some thoughtsā¦
- Post photos, and tag #SonyAlpha. Sony will see them and if they are outstanding maybe some one will take notice. But there are tens of thousands of great photographers out there. Great doesnāt cut it anymore. Youāve got to be exceptional, unique, and have something (besides just photos) to offer.Ā
- Write about your experiences on your website or other places online. Develop an audience and be ready to back that up with statistics. Having an audience for the brand to want to invest in you is an important part.Ā
Good luck!
-
Hey Caroline! Thatās a tough one. I have it, but I much prefer the 200-600mm for bird photography. Itās easier to carry around, hold and versatile. I donāt care for putting a TC on it so 600mm is as far as that one is going to go and it does the trick for most of what I shoot. Plenty fast shutter speeds and with noise reduction software so good these days I donāt worry much about high ISO. That said, there are times where I want more reach. Thatās when I put the 600mm with the 1.4 TC on. If I think I need the 840mm and/or Iām going to be in lower light, then Iāll use it. But the 200-600mm is just amazing and the AF is really fast, ISO on the A1 is great so I donāt have a noise issue, and people often see the blurry backgrounds and think I shot with the 600 f/4 when I shot with the 200-600. If you could sell the 400 and get the 600 then Iād go for it. But not sure I would invest in it. Hope that helps! Feel free to call or text if you have any questions about it.Ā
-
I thought I'd share an exercise I try to do every year around this time and that's gather my favorite photos of 2022. I know that some social platforms do this for you, but I honesty don't post to social media very often so it typically doesn't have all of my photos or even a large collection of my best ones.Ā
One of the reasons I like to do this is because it forces me to go through my photo library from the past year and find things. Photos I may have forgotten about or just not had the time to fully go through. I forces me to clean things up and most important... delete A LOT of photos that just don't need to be there. And finally, it's a good recap of what I did well and maybe where I could use some work.Ā
Anyway here's a link to mine if you're interested:Ā https://mattk.com/my-favorite-photos-of-2022/
Even if you don't post them anywhere, I still think it's a good exercise to at least gather them in a common and easy-to-get-to place. Thanks!
-
I would say that the medium in which you show it off should dictate how much. And donāt let the ISO level in camera dictated it because every shot is different. 6400 ISO in a dark shadowy photo will show up and look worse than a photo in brighter light where you maybe needed a higher shutter speed so the ISO crept higher.Ā
If Iām printing I donāt worry about it too much. Printing inherently smooths noise and viewing distances mean most people wouldnāt be able to see it anyway.Ā
If youāre posting a wider view on social media, you donāt need much noise reduction because people canāt zoom in (even though you can while editing).Ā
For me, I post a lot of wildlife photos where I like to crop in. While cropping doesnāt change the amount of noise in a photo, it has the appearance of pixel peeping because youāre showing a zoomed in version of the photo. In those cases, noise is an issue and Iāll use Topaz DeNoise on it (which I love by the way and find it actually enhances detail in most cases).Ā
Hope that helps!
-
Pretty simple one hereā¦ just get out and shoot more. I usually try to get out once a week. If I skip one, then itās easy to skip 2 and it gets worse from there. Just need to pick a day and say Iām getting up early that day each week to go shoot.Ā
-
Such a great lesson and point. Not everything is a winner and sometimes you need those ones that fall flat to help you with the next idea. And as you pointed out, even if the project you had in mind as a whole didnāt come together, there is almost always something in there thatās a takeaway from it.Ā
Iāve always thought the sign of a good content creator isnāt some one who constantly makes amazing content every single time (nobody does this by the way). But more about some one who could find the content around them, and translate it to the audience. Itās not some mythical forceā¦ As you demonstrated, itās work. Sometimes it happens perfectly and some times it doesnāt. And the more you work at it the better you get. Thanks for sharing!Ā
Universe
telephoto lens
in Photography
Posted
I agree with Tony above. Do you need the extra reach of 400mm. Many nature photographers tend to like wildlife or may eventually get into wildlife and the 100-400mm will serve you better. I personally don't see much of a reason to get a f/2.8 lens if you're taking photos of landscapes and will never shoot it at f/2.8. At that point, you're spending a lot of money on a feature you won't use. Hope that helps!