Ya, really it’s good and amazing picture. Angle is the main concern in photography; angle gives the reality in picture, which has given in this picture.
I rented a 80-400 VR from Lensprotogo.com. I figure to rent a few lenses before I buy my next one.
Below are the two best shots I could get with it. I am going out again this weekend to try and get better shots.
It's hard getting close enough to a bird to take good pictures. I had the camera on the tripod, used remote shutter release, played with different exposures, and still only got two decent pictures out of 60. Of course birds were completely out of my range with my old 995, so I'm not complaining.
Getting birds in focus, with a clear eye is the hard part, not the exposure.
They do seem a bit soft for some reason. I'm amazed with the 400 and VR, you couldn't get closer and sharper. I was planning to pick up the 70-300VR for my trip in case wildlife came along. How much did they rent it to ya for?
The shouldn't look soft. The eye should really stand out. These two pictures aren't bad, but there a long way from being National Geographic material. My wife reminded me that I am an amateur. But I still want to get better. I guess practice makes perfect. And maybe this isn't the lens for me.
So if they were only 50 feet away, I take it you were not at full zoom (400mm)?
The head shot was at 400MM. The whole bird shot shot was backed off that a little bit, but not much.
One professional birder told me that I would need to be within 30' at 500MM to get a good clear, frame filling head shot. But that is just one man's opinion. But based on the photo's he posted, I'd say he knows what he's talking about. This was over at the Nikon forum at photo.net.