Mike is the name Birding is the game ( Birding in Malaysia - Malaysian birds in photos ): Avian Photo Gear July 2020

MikeBirder - Malaysian Birds

Hi

Welcome to my Malaysian Birding Blog. I migrated to blogspot.com as my blog at multiply.com closed shop in 2012. I wish to showcase all Malaysian birds that I have photographed whether here or overseas. My countdown of lifers started in 2005. Coming to Oct 2022 my countdown of lifers photograph has reached

559/688 species of birds of Malaysia in photos.

My shooting gear was a EF400mm f4 DO lens and Canon 7D body which to me is the ideal setup for mobility and bird chasing at that time. Eventhen the weight over my shoulder is more that 5.5 kg. As of June 2016 I have also acquired a Fuji XF 100-400mm OIS lens to complement my travelling cum birding trip overseas. My Fuji X-T2 went kaput recently and I upgraded to the X-T5 in 2023 ; the weight over my shoulder is much lighter now by 30%. In December 2018 I acquired the Nikon Coolpix P1000 as supplementary camera for distance shooting of 3000mm.

Fuji have finally made available their new XF 200-600mm lens which I yet to decide to spend another RM10,000. As for Fuji body I will stop with X-T5 36megapixel ..........

I am a weekend birder. Do feel free to drop me a line at mikebirding@gmail.com and I see whether you can tag along in my outings. My usual day trip is just an hour ride away to Hulu Langat, Lancang, Kemensah, Krau, Awana, Hulu Kali, Gombak Ole Road, Fraser's Hill , Bukit Tinggi and KSNP & Coastal Sg Janggut Jeram side of the coast . Overnite trip to Merapoh & Cameron, Air Hitam and further north to Kuala Sidim is a seldom affair but for lifer we travel. Panti in Johor is another good birding site that I yet to go. Then there are the Borneo birds of Sabah and Sarawak of Malaysia which I seriously much go to chalk up more lifers. This I did in 2018 to Sepilok Sandakan and Kinabalu Park. Next Danum and LahatDatu.......

WARNING Birding is an addiction once you started its hard to stop. The wifey and children are now birding widow and orphan.

ALL PHOTOS IN THIS BLOG ARE COPYRIGHT OF MIKEBIRDER. KINDLY SEEK PERMISSION FROM THE OWNER IF YOU want to use them for commercial purposes.

Thursday 2 July 2020

Avian Photo Gear July 2020 - WHO SAYS OLYMPUS IS DEAD

JULY 2020 - GOOD NEWS FOR OLYMPUS BIRDERs

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm F4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO lens, which was announced in January 2019, is expected to be released this year end 2020. This is the first Olympus® interchangeable lens with a built-in 1.25x teleconverter, extending the maximum focal length to 1000mm (35mm equivalent) at F5.6 which is not bad at all.

Next question, of course, is whether it will be affordable. I would reckon many birders may jump ship if the price is below RM15,000. Very unlikely you would say but keeping my finger cross. With its potent OMD E-M1X body's state of the art Image Stabilising System and the setup's "weightlessness" shooting from your hip...handheld it is a sure winner.

Wish FUJI can come out with something equivalent if not I jumping ship liao!!!!!

Furthermore, to make the super telephoto shooting more convenient and to fulfill the growing needs of birding and wildlife photographers, development is underway to add "Bird Detection" capability to Olympus’ Intelligent Subject Detection Autofocus on the OM-D E-M1X camera. This new feature will be available for the E-M1X via a firmware update that is scheduled for release together in Winter 2020.

WHO SAYS OLYMPUS IS DEAD.......................

LATEST ! SEPTEMBER 2020 is being confirm that the new telezoom lens is arriving. So far the photo testing & review was not impressive enough until I get to do a first-hand shootout myself. Below is the picture totally different?