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Had a ball up at O'Reilly's today with the Bowers experimenting with a few different settings and lenses:D

Male Regent Bower Bird - Nikkor 50mm f/1.4
1/2000s @ f/1.4 ISO 400


Couple of Regents - Nikkor 85mm f/1.4
1/1250s @ f/1.4 ISO 100


Male Satin Bowerbird - Nikkor 85mm f/1.4
1/1600s @ f/1.4 ISO 100

nice work Mark....... first one is a ripper

yeah all really great shots but the first won is a winner

The pick for me is the last shot. I would have preferred the first one if not for the spectacularly bad bokeh. I can't believe this was shot with the 50/1.4, it almost looks like taken with a mirror lens. Colour me puzzled...

Cheers
Steffen

Thanks for the comments Folks

Can't explain the bokeh Steffen Might have been some movement in the tree in the background.

Mark, I feel bad about my comment now, believe me, I didn't want to take anything away from your pictures. They're all grrreat.

Those technical things intrigue me, though. To mis-quote Bones, "I'm a mechanic, not a doctor..."

Not wanting to worry you, I think the lens might be defective/mis-aligned/whatever. I've never owned the 50/1.4 AF because I got by with the 50/1.2 AiS - until I sold it in a fit of insanity. I'm thinking of getting the 50/1.4 AF now from Poon, but your image put a spanner in the works, sort of...

Cheers
Steffen.

Steffen, don't feel bad. The point of this area of the forum is to seek honest feedback, not just pat each other on the back

I wouldn't worry too much about the bokeh as the shot in question is around a 50% crop which will obviously have an effect. Here are another couple with the same lens under different conditions. I had the lens on loan but will definitely be ordering one.

first one is tops! Love the movement and eye contact from the bird

Yep, #1 and #3 are tops. #1 reminds me of a parachutist coming in to land.

I think that Mark is probably right, and the "donuts" are caused by specular highlights on moving leaves.

I don't think that it is a major issue, however.