Azure Kingfisher with Better Beamer

[Ironwood]

I bought a Better Beamer in the hope of getting better images when the lighting is low, which seems like most of the time at my place.

I had a play with it on the tripod on the verandah yesterday, but nothing came close enough for any hopeful shots.

Today I took it for a walk along my creek, the set-up is Nikon D7100, Tamron 150-600, Yongnou YN568EX flash and Better Beamer.
I used it handheld today, no doubt on a tripod would have been better, but more difficult due to the terrain.
Camera settings were for the first shots , 600mm, f6.7, 125th, iso800. Flash at 50mm full power.

The beamer is aiming too high, I will have to work out how to override the detents on the flash head, if I tilt it down to the next detent it is aimed too low.
The eyes look a bit artificial, not sure if there is any way around this. ( PP I guess )

#1- uncropped


#2- cropped



#3- cropped


#4- cropped, 600mm, f6.7, 125th, iso640


#5- uncropped @300mm, you can see here that the Beamer is aiming a bit high.

[Toddyh]

Nice effort Brad. Stunning birds these ones.
I tried to catch one it Kakadu recently but found it very difficult from a boat in low light.

[Ironwood]

Nice effort Brad. Stunning birds these ones.
I tried to catch one it Kakadu recently but found it very difficult from a boat in low light.

Yes they are very stunning Todd, pity they always seem to be in the very shaded sections of the creek.
I am hoping to get better shots than these when I get better with this Better Beamer, still very much in the testing phase.
I might have to clear a few spots along the creek so I can set the tripod up more easily as well.

Did you happen to catch up with Scott Murray while you were up Kakadu way ?

[Ironwood]

There were a couple of Topknot Pigeons in the Palmtrees near my house, so I set the Beamer rig up again and went outside. The Topknots were gone so I walked down to the creek and found an Azure Kingfisher. It was in a better spot than yesterday, I wish I took the tripod today.
I have the beamer aligned up a bit better today but its still aiming a bit low. I have wedged a piece of cardboard in the flash head to hold it between the detents ( need to find a better more reliable way )
I think these shots are a bit better than yesterdays efforts, but still could be improved upon.

My lens might be slightly front-focusing I think.

Handheld, @600mm, f8, 1/350th, iso500, cropped approx 50%


Handheld @600mm, f6.7, 1/180th, iso200, cropped approx 50%

[Toddyh]

Yes they are very stunning Todd, pity they always seem to be in the very shaded sections of the creek.
I am hoping to get better shots than these when I get better with this Better Beamer, still very much in the testing phase.
I might have to clear a few spots along the creek so I can set the tripod up more easily as well.

Did you happen to catch up with Scott Murray while you were up Kakadu way ?

No I didn't catch Scott but he gave me some advice and tips before I went. Super helpful guy.

[Ironwood]

No I didn't catch Scott but he gave me some advice and tips before I went. Super helpful guy.

I saw you had commented on one of his blogs a while back, so I guessed you might know he is up there.
I know Scott from another forum, I invited him to join up here a few months ago, but he wasn't keen to join another forum, as I think he wants to cut back his online stuff.

[avkomp]

beamer looks to be firing high to me. did you do some test pix on a wall or tree etc to get a feel for where it points? looks a credible first effort considering the range though

[Ironwood]

Yesterday I shot a few pics at the wall, it was still daylight and it didn't look too bad, but when I shot it at the bird you can see it was definitely aimed too high. Today when I put it back on the camera, I just grabbed a piece of cardboard as I was going out the door to try and catch the Topknots. I wedged it under the tilting head to make it sit halfway between the detents, but it was aiming slightly low, better than yesterday though. I will have to come up with something a bit more permanent, and repeatable when I get the chance. The red or white eyes are something I wasn't expecting after seeing your fantastic Owl shots. Is there anything I can do to reduce this ?

[Phoenix]

The animals look like they are popping off the background.
It will be interesting to see what happens when you are mastering the Beemer.