Pied-billed Grebe and chick.

[dankearl]

My first ever sighting and photo of a chick on a Pied-billed Grebe even though they are extremely
common at my pond.
D500, 700mm (500pf +1.4 tc), f8, 1/800, iso560

Just got this nice light new lens although my personal review is that
it is not as sharp and fast as my 300 f2.8 w/ 1.4 & 1.7 extenders.
Still nice to have one to travel with but it is not as great as the reviews I read...
DSC_8282bp.jpg

[annmpacheco]

A plus adorable Dan... Wow, so neatly tucked under that wing and oh so tiny. nice dof terrific grebe positioning! Well done

[Alex Becker]

Sweet pose and low angle. Love the chick on the back. Looks like some heat shimmer which was hurt the detail a bit. Might reduce the contrast a couple points. Great sighting. TFS

[Doug Brown]

Perfect pose from both parent and baby! As stated above, it looks like heat shimmer took a toll on your sharpness. I personally love the 500 PF, but it doesn't do well when you add an extender into the equation. I would try to add a little more life to the baby's eye, but overall really like the image a lot!

[Aditya Sridhar]

Great shot Dan! Love that chick. I would personally like a looser crop as this is too tight for my taste. The lighting is slightly harsh as well. Agree with the comments on the heat shimmer. What I'd give to have the 500mm PF :(

[Moe Richard]

Yeah, I could see a looser crop on this but I think this is a wonderful behavioral image as is. Good job on the lighting and detail. I agree that the lighting is a little harsh but that is when you were there.

With respect to the 500 PF, some of them are incredibly sharp. I think part of it has to do with the contrast created by the Fresnel lens. It is about half the weight of your 300.
For a full frame shot at iso-560 I agree that this could be a little sharper. Since mine appears to be sharper than yours you might wish to contact Nikon for an evaluation. And you might want to reevaluate after shooting and better light. There is a learning curve with this lens. And Doug Brown is correct that the extender definitely plays with image quality.

[Bill Dix]

What a sweet pose. I'd love to have this. I could also see a slightly looser crop. Congrats on getting your hands on the 500PF. Ditto Doug's comments: I've found mine to be very sharp without the TC; less so when the TC is added.

[Dorian Anderson]

Great look at the pair! Little guy is super cute. Sun angle looks a bit steep with under-chin shadows, but that's minor. Agree with wider crop.

[John Mack]

Nice view of this chick and adult. The light is what it is. More room would be nice.