I think Con makes some good points. I have some second hand gear, which I bought for a good price because the owner had stopped using it. The Birdlife competition image requirements are not that difficult to achieve, compared to the large
file sizes other competitions require.
It is definitely time in the field which is the key. My success rate has certainly dropped since moving here from S.A. To start with I was in an unfamiliar area, then bushfires, a serious injury, then covid restrictions. All of these events
have all prevented me from venturing out as much as I would like. Therefore I have very few ‘decent’ images in recent years.
I encourage those who are interested to get out there and have a go at recording the fabulous birdlife Canberra has on offer. Competitions aside, it’s great fun.
Danny
From: Canberrabirds <>
On Behalf Of Con
Sent: Saturday, October 16, 2021 1:59 PM
To:
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Bird photo comp - shortlisted entries
Martin
IMO, $20k is not necessary. Most of the shortlisted Birdlife images could have been captured by second hand equipment costing less than two thirds of new. Quite a few cameras/lens combos get purchased and then spend most of their lives in a cupboard. The
very latest bells and whistles might lead to a higher success rate per capture, and might confer some advantage in specific conditions (say birds in flight, or rainforest birds in dull light), but most of the Birdlife images could well have been captured with
equipment with a market value of well less than $10,000. I know several of the photographers who are shortlisted and the main answers to their success are time in the field at all hours of the day and night, becoming adept at post processing, and seeking constant
improvement.
kind regards
Con
On 10/16/2021 1:35 PM, Martin Butterfield via Canberrabirds wrote:
I think at the first COG Meeting I attended - mid 1983 - Graeme Chapman presented hints on taking bird photos, illustrated with some of his best images. From memory the cost of the kit he put
up was something tripod $1000, camera body $3000 and telephoto lens $3000. Allowing for inflation (about 3.5 x ) that would cost $25,000 these days. So $20k is good value!
On Sat, 16 Oct 2021 at 11:02, David Rees via Canberrabirds <> wrote:
Thanks for that, some glorious images, however from inspection, most of them needed about $20K plus worth of gear to take.
On 15/10/2021 7:00 pm, tlawson wrote:
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