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I had the D300, also -- a terrific camera and the one which I used for shooting eagles and other wildlife with a 300mm f/2.8 lens; they made a great combo. Ray, that shot of the American Avocet is a beauty! I never got to the point of purchasing a 500mm lens, as at that time they were quite heavy and large and I would've had difficulties handling it. Now Nikon has their PF lenses which are significantly lighter and easier to handle (albeit a slowish f/5.6); if I were still a Nikon user I'd definitely be interested!
You’d probably have the same availability problems though!
 
I think things won’t be getting dated as fast, TBH. What we have now and what we had for quite a few years have so much more power, DR, AF speed, etc than early digital. Yes, it all keeps getting better, but it’s only in really specific instances at this point.

In terms of cropping, yes, it offers more image to work with, but it won’t provide the DOF like more zoom would. There’s a smartphone out there with a 108MP sensor. It picks up detail from far away, but DOF is still wide, so shooting a bird at 50 feet might get you enough detail to crop, but the bird isn’t going to have any real separation from the background. It works, but it’s not going to provide the results you might be hoping for.

Just my 2 cents.

I agree that these days things aren't going to be getting dated as fast and the technology, while still bringing out new features and functionality isn't moving at quite such a seemingly dizzying pace as in the early days of DSLRs. It felt as though we went rather quickly from the D70 to the D200 followed by the D2 and D3 and D300 in fairly rapid succession. It seemed as though in the early days there was a lot of talk about gear because, well, manufacturers were bringing out so much new stuff for us to think about and to contemplate purchasing and using.

Cropping definitely is useful in many cases but indeed the ideal is to have as much image as possible -- filling the frame, so to speak -- with the actual subject (easier to attain with a long lens, either a prime or a zoom) rather than trying to shoot a bird high up in the sky with a too-short lens and then cropping the bejeezus out of the image, eliminating much of that pesky sky in an effort to show the bird in detail, as there just isn't going to be any detail.

I find that when I shoot the birds out on the lake that there are times when I need to gently remove (i.e., crop out) part of a goose or hooded merganser or duck that wandered half-in, half-out of the scene just as I was focusing on my primary subject. THAT's when higher resolution can be useful in shooting wildlife.

The longer the lens, the greater chances one has of getting "closer" to the subject and also having a really nice DOF and nice background as well. Long prime lenses such as Sony's 600mm f/4 GM, at nearly $13,000 before (US) tax, are wonderful for shooting sports and wildlife, and with that f/4 aperture it works well with either a 1.4x TC or a 2.0x TC as well, extending the distance and reach without much penalty. The thing is heavy, though -- over 6.5 pounds, which can be a bit problematic for toting around! If one spends a lot of time out in the areas where they'll find wildlife and has the physical ability to carry the gear to the site, or is regularly shooting local or national sports events, then the 600mm would be an ideal purchase, well worth the expenditure.
 
You’d probably have the same availability problems though!
No idea as I haven't looked at them, but I wouldn't be surprised, as from posts I have seen on Nikon Cafe the PF lenses are very popular, especially the 500mm one. With the current chip shortage situation now, too, chances are that they, along with many other lenses, are presently on backorder in many camera shops.
 
No idea as I haven't looked at them, but I wouldn't be surprised, as from posts I have seen on Nikon Cafe the PF lenses are very popular, especially the 500mm one. With the current chip shortage situation now, too, chances are that they, along with many other lenses, are presently on backorder in many camera shops.
Actually I think Nikon stopped taking anymore back orders. That’s how bad it is.
 
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I had the D300, also -- a terrific camera and the one which I used for shooting eagles and other wildlife with a 300mm f/2.8 lens; they made a great combo. Ray, that shot of the American Avocet is a beauty! I never got to the point of purchasing a 500mm lens, as at that time they were quite heavy and large and I would've had difficulties handling it. Now Nikon has their PF lenses which are significantly lighter and easier to handle (albeit a slowish f/5.6); if I were still a Nikon user I'd definitely be interested!
Yes indeed, the PF lenses are lovely (and lighter). The manual focus 500mm is like carrying around a boulder :). I bet that 300 f/2.8 was fantastic!
 
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Sigma just announced a 150-600 f/5-6.3 for E and L mounts. $1500, which is not bad at all if it holds up. Still more heft than I care for, but that's unavoidable in FF long lenses. If weight wasn't a concern, I could see myself liking this plus an S5.
 
For some reason I have never been all that fond of Sigma lenses. I tried various ones through the years and always ended up selling them or trading them in on something else. They just felt bulky and awkward to me and I wasn't terribly pleased with the results I was getting, either. Now, that was some years ago and maybe (probably) things have changed, but I still tend to stay away from Sigma.....

In any event, in this situation I am perfectly happy with my native Sony lens 200-600mm!
 
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Oh, I know I don't need an A1!!! I quite agree that it is rather clear that this is one of those situations where "want" seems to have the edge over "need." LOL! I agree that the price on that camera is definitely a bit steep -- whew! I would've been more comfortable had it been more in the $4000 range. Unlike the time nearly two years ago now when I made the switch between systems, since I am planning to keep the A7R IV as a second MILC body and of course the lenses I've thoughtfully added over the last two years, I don't have anything to trade in to help soften the financial blow of purchasing an A1.

As for those lenses, I've pretty much got most of what I initially started out planning to eventually obtain, and yes, I do have some fast glass already, but there's always room for more! I've been adding lenses as I've found a specific purpose for them, and kind of monitoring how often each lens has been receiving use. As for tracking focus and panning, I tend to do things the way that I learned lo these many, many moons ago, rather than depending upon the camera system to do it. That said, I definitely would at least try the function out a few times on the A1 anyway!

At the moment it all seems rather moot, as the A1 is definitely scarce right now, on back-order in most places, so in the meantime I shall indeed continue to happily enjoy my beloved A7R IV and the lenses I've chosen......

Understand my comment was a little tongue in cheek or pot calling the kettle black… Remember want and need are synonyms to my brain.

What if for the A1, it is that the A1ii is likely about to pop out of the R&D pipe and should supply chain recover, then Sony will be chomping at the bit shifting A1 inventory waiting an “acceptable” amount of time to release the new one? Having said that I think the A7Rxx is next most likely for refresh isn’t it? Not sure how they can step up from the A7RIV mind you.
 
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Understand my comment was a little tongue in cheek or pot calling the kettle black… Remember want and need are synonyms to my brain.

What if for the A1, it is that the A1ii is likely about to pop out of the R&D pipe and should supply chain recover, then Sony will be chomping at the bit shifting A1 inventory waiting an “acceptable” amount of time to release the new one? Having said that I think the A7Rxx is next most likely for refresh isn’t it? Not sure how they can step up from the A7RIV mind you.

I'll bet there is indeed already an A1 II or an A2 in the pipeline even as Sony is busily still trying to meet the demand for the A1! Rumors have been around for a while about the A7III going to be updated with an A7IV and yet there's still no sign of an actual camera arriving on the scene. A lot of people have been waiting for that one! Yes, A7R IV has already had a minor "update" in that they refreshed the LCD screen or the EVF, something, and are charging another $500.00 for that on top of whatever the current pricing is for the A7R IV. Needless to say I'm not going to be bothering with that!
 
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