Osprey showing off Fish for Breakfast in Golden Light

Being out on the boat on Lake Blue Cypress and in position at sunrise is one of my favourite ways to start a morning. Add the melody of calling Ospreys proudly announcing their arrival with breakfast and the first drops of golden light….with an Osprey showing off its fresh fish; it doesn’t get any better!

Due to a medical accident, one spot is still available from April 5-7. You can learn more or sign up for my Ospreys Galore Workshop on Lake Blue Cypress HERE.

OSPREY Showing off a Fish for breakfast in golden light (Pandion haliaetus, Balbuzard pêcheur, OSPR) from my Ospreys Galore Workshop Lake Blue Cypress near Vero Beach, Florida, USA. Image copyright ©Christopher Dodds Sony Alpha a1 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony 1.4X Teleconverter @840mm ISO 4,000, f/5.6 @ 1/5,000s. Manual Exposure mode. Full-frame image. Join me for my Ospreys Galore workshop every April. To learn more, CLICK HERE.

“I had the pleasure of meeting Chris Dodds a few weeks ago in Florida when I signed up for his Osprey workshop. The sign up process and pre workshop communication was excellent and concise. I must admit that as I drove over from Tampa to the hotel I was a bit uneasy after looking at Chris’s images wondering if he was approachable, patient, and a good teacher with someone like me who didn’t have a lot of experience shooting wildlife before. We met in the hotel lobby , chatted for 30 minutes or so and thankfully Chris put my concerns to rest. I went to bed that night knowing that the next few days would be an adventure.

I can honestly say that Chris Dodd’s workshop for Ospreys far exceeded my expectations. Chris is a great guy, very happy to answer your questions and the best thing of all, fun to shoot with. I learned a lot, met a new friend and best of all was blown away at the quality of my images because of Chris’s help/techniques. I cannot wait to meet Chris somewhere else in the wild and experience another awesome outdoor shooting experience. Thank you Chris, I hope to see you again soon!”

— Mark Weaver Tampa, Florida, USA

Coastal Brown Grizzly Bear female yearling cub in fog

Here is another image from my Ultimate Brown Bear Photo Adventure last June. We had countless hours with this curious Coastal Brown Bear Yearling (1-year-old cub). I chose my Sony Alpha a1 camera body paired with the ultra-portable Sony 200 to 600mm zoom lens set at 378mm.

Coastal Brown Grizzly Bear female yearling cub in fog (Coastal brown bear, Grizzly bear, Ursus arctos, ours brun) from my June Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai workshop in Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony 200-600mm Lens (@378mm) ISO 5,000, f/6.3 @ 1/1,250s Manual exposure. Full frame image top to bottom; cropped a little off the sides to make a 4x5 aspect ratio.

Join me in Alaska for the Ultimate Brown Bear adventure of a lifetime

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Join me in Alaska for the Ultimate Brown Bear adventure of a lifetime 🐻

Coastal Brown (Grizzly) Bear in fog

Here is a Coastal Brown Bear (Grizzly Bear) strolling along the beach looking for clams during my June 2023 Ultimate Brown Bears of Alaska Adventure. I chose the ultimate portable combination of the Sony Alpha 1 camera and the versatile Sony 200-600mm zoom lens. I rotated the lens foot to the top of the lens so I could use it as a handle to hold the camera just above the ground to get this low perspective.

Coastal Brown (Grizzly) Bear in fog (Ursus arctos, ours brun) from my Ultimate Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai adventure workshop in Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony 200-600mm Lens (@600mm) ISO 6,400, f/6.3 @ 1/2,500s Manual exposure. Full frame image.

Atlantic puffin in flight with fish at 20,000 ISO

Q&A: High ISO

Q: Hey Chris, There's a lot of hype on the internet about buying the latest Sony a1 for its high ISO capability which is particularly important to me as a bird photographer. My question is more about the financial side of things: I remember several posts where you claimed the a9 was a great performer and wondered since I don't have the money but value your opinion if you would go into debt to buy the a1, or continue to work with the a9 that I have and stay out of debt. - Marc Lejeune

A: Hi Marc, Here's an image of a Puffin flying with fish that was made with the Sony a9, Sony 100-400, and Sony 1.4X teleconverter. I used 20,000 ISO and the results are remarkable in my opinion.

The key to making great images at high ISO with any camera is simple: Use a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action, be sure to expose the image correctly, and try your best to shoot full-frame and not to crop.

I would never go into debt to buy a camera. In today’s electronic and disposable world, cameras lose value much more quickly than ever before. Look at it this way: by the time you save your money for it; something better with more features will be available :)

Sony A1 missing features and am I really full of Sh1t?

“Chris, I hate to say it, but you are full of shit! You wrote a great review of the new Sony a1 but skipped over anything that might be missing or any weaknesses - just like the Sony fanboy that you are. How much money has Sony thrown at you for a 5-star review? Shameful! I dare you to post this and include missing features and product weaknesses. Looking back through this blog, you used to be able to capture some of the best birds in flight shots in the world! Why did you need to bother upgrading from your beloved a9? Better yet: a full comparison to Canon and Nikon offerings” - James Laporte

James,

While I appreciate your thoughts, you sure do have a funny way of asking nicely! I dunno why, but I am accepting your dare!

First off, I didn't skip over the single most important weakness to me as a bird photographer. I clearly stated that in my limited time with limited opportunity, I had indeed experienced bird eye auto-focus failure when the camera kept locking onto the shoulder of a small dark bird.

Now that is out of the way, I can't think of anything else that I would like to see on the new a1, other than a top LCD. Not for me: I never used it when I shot with Canon or before that when I used Nikon. It is a great way to see what photographers in my workshops are doing, and a great tool to help direct my teaching toward them or alert them that there may be an exposure or shutter speed problem.

What I know others want: I know there is a high percentage of photographers who use built-in GPS to geotag their images, and I don't understand why Sony seems oblivious to this. Perhaps they are so determined to win over the press that they are blind to every other genre that drives their sales? If I were still a working photojournalist, I would want to have the image location embedded in the EXIF data for better image/event management.

While I prefer to review my images and change the menu through the electronic viewfinder, there is a significant number of Sony shooters who are screaming for a newer, higher-resolution, and fully articulated rear monitor. That's it.

Videographers complain that their favorite codec is not supported out of the camera.

That is honestly all that comes to mind.

As the image above demonstrates, the Sony a9 was an awesome camera. Why did I need to upgrade from my a9? Image file size, 30 FPS, better and faster auto-focus, and more dynamic range. Yes, the Sony a9 was the best in class at the time, but getting 30 images per second gives me an edge when it comes to the exact wing/head/eye/body position. The better dynamic range makes for a richer and truer image, while the bigger files allow more options for bigger images and cropping.

As for a real-world comparison with Canon and Nikon flagship camera bodies, although I have used both systems extensively, I don't own three systems to make that an option.

How much money did Sony throw at me for the review? The answer may surprise you: $0.00. I did get my hands on the first a1 in the country, and I am paid for my public appearances/presentations that Sony sponsors, but I got a great big fat nothing for the review. Many influencers raise funds with various degrees of begging campaigns to motivate you to place your order via affiliate links carefully placed throughout their reviews, but I choose not to do that (for now, at least).

So, full of shit? I guess the jury is out, but you can at least thank me for my honesty! The time I took to write and share my thoughts. That review yielded absolutely nothing towards my bottom line, it was a public service and an act of charity for those wanting to hear my thoughts about the newly announced/released camera :)

Bird Photography Intentional Blur and Q&A

Q:

Christopher,

I am constantly gobsmacked by your exceptional images. The details are captivating to me. I do wonder if you ever slow down your shutter and create artistic blurs? - Peter Wentworth

Hi Peter,

Thank you. Yes, I am not typically a fan of intentional blurs, but I do occasionally play around and slow my shutter speed down. Here is a Great Gray Owl I recently photographed at 1/40s with the new Sony a1 and 200-600mm lens. I find the key to my liking an intentional or artistic blur is having the eye(s) relatively sharp.

Q:

Hello Christopher, I liked your comments on the new alpha 1. How did you find it with the 200-600 zoom. I use this lens with the a7r3. The combo I found a bit slow to focus with wildlife. Where you happy with it on the a1. I have preordered the a1 and hoping to not have to upgrade the lens. Best, - Steve Aidelbaum

Hi Steve,

I think you will notice a significant autofocus performance boost with the focus acquisition speed and AF responsiveness of the 200-600 with the a1 vs. the a7RIII.

Q:

Thank you for responding to my query (Antman) in the comments. I would value your opinion on the following.

If you could buy either the 600MM f4 or A1 what would you go for based on the pairing

A9 + 600mmF4 or A1 + 200-600MM.

I own the A9 + a7R4 and 200-600mm and am wondering what makes more sense. My gut feel says go for the 600mm f4. However, I have never used either and I cannot get to see or feel the 600mm f4 in Australia. Both options have advantages. - Thanks, Anthony Heuver

Hi Anthony,

The most practical and financially sensible direction here is to invest in glass and buy the 600mm f/4 GM lens that you will have for the rest of your life. Camera bodies are refreshed at a staggering pace and the used value of them seems to be diminishing at a faster and faster pace with each new release. You can get a great deal on a new a9 (the version I), or take advantage of the "depressed" market and get a lightly used one: remember the shutter count is much less relevant for a mirrorless camera body and if you use the electronic shutter to achieve the fastest capture rate of 20 fps, there are no moving parts. The a9II has better ergonomics and connectivity, but I see little reason to spend the extra cash at this time. Holding off on the newly released a1 until we see promotional discounts or used bodies on the market will give you time to save money toward the purchase and save on the initial investment.

Sony 200-600 with Sony A1 Image Quality

There has been a lot of chatter about the image quality of the Sony 200-600mm zoom lens when used with the new high-resolution Sony a1 camera body. My observations were limited in time and opportunity, but I don't see any issues with the incredible level of detail in this full-frame image of a Great Gray Owl in a snowstorm. I purposely tested the camera in the field as I typically use my equipment to produce the kind of images that excite me.

What I can tell you is that this may not be the best example to clearly define any issues that the lens may have when paired with an ultra-high-resolution camera. If I were to try to find a weakness, then I would test it for edge-to-edge sharpness, chromatic aberration, image degradation, and barrel distortion on something as simple as a black and white chessboard; an image with lots of contrast and linear lines. To test that most accurately and rule out any interference from traffic or ground tremor vibrations I would have to use one of only a very few seismically stable platforms that are typically used to test/measure helicopter or jet engine vibrations.

My advice is to completely ignore the critics who are photographing outside of their usual genre and posting bird pictures that most of us would throw in the trash: always to test equipment under the conditions that you would normally use it - smile.

Sony a1 Bird Eye AF The Real Test

To truly test the bird eye AF of the newly launched Sony a1, I needed to find a moving bird against a distracting background that would normally confuse the camera's AF system into focusing on the background. Sounds easier than it was, as I first had to overcome my natural reflex of finding birds and animals against nice clean out-of-focus backgrounds. This image is perfect to demonstrate the ridiculous accuracy of the bird eye autofocus of the Sony a1: Not only is the background close and cluttered (photographing the subject further from the background would have made the background more out of focus and made the whole test easier for the camera), but the subject is relatively low contrast against it. The random scattering of snow covered branches is harder for most autofocus systems to negate when compared to the predictable vertical tree trunks on the edge of a deciduous forest. It was remarkable to see the camera lock onto the eye and follow it through a sequence of 40 images that were all razor-sharp.

Sony a1 Bird Eye Autofocus ROCKS

I have been lucky to have had several shoots with this beautiful Great Gray Owl relatively close to home in Southwestern Quebec. It was the perfect model for my recent test of the Sony Alpha A1 for Sony of Canada. It is amazing to think back on all of the owls I have photographed over the years and I can’t remember the last time I got to photograph one completely alone without a group of eager winter owl workshop participants, so this is one silver lining of the Covid-19 pandemic that has wreaked havoc across the travel/workshop industry.

In truth, this is a big and relatively slow moving owl. I would have loved to test the camera and it’s built-in and industry leading bird eye auto-focus on some small and fast moving Auklets in The Pribilofs or Atlantic Puffins in Quebec.

The a1 locked onto the owls eye instantly and stayed locked-on to the eye until the owl’s head turned away from the camera; that is when a larger focus target locked-onto it’s head, and quickly regained it’s lock on the eye as soon as it looked back towards me. The bird eye autofocus in extremely impressive and when combined with the camera’s ability to verify focus 120 per second (twice as often than the a9 & a9II) it truly is a game changer! Does it work every time? Almost; the only time it had a little trouble so far was when pointed at a dark bird in low contract light when it tried hard, but ended-up choosing the bird’s shoulder instead of it’s dark eye.

Sony a1 high ISO performance and how to minimize noise in any digital capture

After quickly assembling and setting-up the Sony a1, I headed outside to what turned out to be the quietest feeder in town. This Eastern Gray Squirrel didn’t even stay for long. This image was made with the Sony a1 set to APS-C mode and the Sony 600mm f/4 with the 2X teleconverter making a staggering effective focal length of 1,800 mm. I was at just about minimum focusing distance.

This image shows almost no noise at 10,000 ISO, but it is important to observe that the image is mostly midtones through highlights with almost no dark shadows except the eyes, so one could argue that this is a calculated attempt to cover-up any weakness of the new Sony a1. I would argue that this is a full-frame capture, but since the camera was set to APS-C mode and I was set to compressed RAW to achieve the full 30FPS capture rate, the noise performance is quite remarkable. Add to that that I know I have always got more detail, color accuracy, and less noise when converting RAW images with Adobe Camera Raw which has not yet released an update for the new camera just yet (as mentioned in my Sony a1 review HERE, this may simply be user error while trying to get the most from Sony’s Imaging Edge Software).

To minimize noise with any digital camera be sure to understand and use the histogram to make sure your image is exposed correctly: the whites should reside at the right-hand side of the histogram, but should not be touching the edge to avoid over-exposing them and losing details. Since the camera sees and records light like our eyes, it can’t see or record darkness: it is imperative to remember this! Most vocal armchair warrior critics online consistently underexpose and use one of many available techniques to brighten their images after capture: every one of them will introduce noise into the image (particularly in the darkest areas or the shadows).

Since noise is magnified by cropping an image, it is best practice to avoid cropping much from the original capture. Again, this is something I have seen consistently from those vocal interweb armchair critics.

Sony a1 review

I have spent a week immersing myself in the wonder of the new Sony Alpha 1 digital mirrorless camera from the perspective of a bird/wildlife/nature photographer. If you want the quick and easy answer from the end of the review: This is the best action, birds-in-flight, and all-around digital camera that I have ever used. Amazing image files, blazing-fast auto-focus, and capture rate: it is the new King of the digital camera world. There is no more need for a separate high-speed and high-resolution camera body: this is the all-in-one professional camera body we have all been waiting for and Sony has delivered..... and I haven't even mentioned the 8K video yet ;)

I'll skip copy & pasting all of the camera's specifications that can easily be found on the Sony A1 product page, so click HERE to see them all. What I will do is talk about the things that are important to me and what I do.

Like the a9II, the A1 feels light and comfortable in my hand. I have grown to love the small form factor, and intuitive dial and button placement. The new color touch menu has carried over from the Sony a7SIII, and I find it easy to navigate and in a logical order.

The new Electronic View Finder (EVF) is better than anything I have ever seen in a camera with 9 million dots and .9X magnification; it is big, bright, and fast. The high-quality mode is spectacular.

The new bird eye auto-focus is exclusive to the a1, and works remarkably well. I programmed a button to instantly switch between bird and animal eye auto-focus. I would have loved to test it on small and fast birds in flight, but seasonal variations in available species and local COVID-19 restrictions made that impossible. I was impressed with the bird eye AF on the larger owls and raptors that I was able to find, but they are large and fly relatively slowly. The a9 and a9II both excelled here, so I expect that the a1 will be just that much better. I was able to verify the autofocus acquisition speed is greatly improved over the a9 and a9II, which was already extremely impressive. Sony states that the camera can confirm sharp focus 120 times per second (twice as fast as the Sony a9 and a9II). This not only helps the camera snap into focus quickly but ensures AF accuracy between frames when shooting at 30 FPS: truly mind-blowing performance! I have seen a few reviews that mention the camera sometimes jumps between the bird's eye and shoulder when pointed at a static bird on a perch, and I did experience a little of this particularly when photographing a dark bird with dark eyes and especially while using extreme focal length (particularly the 200-600 with the 2X installed), but the overall performance is what is important to me, and it is exceptional: noticeably better than the already impressive a9 and a9II. I do expect that there will be a fair number of people complaining about this feature (bird eye auto-focus), as we should have reasonable expectations: if a crow or raven is gliding towards me at a high altitude, I wouldn't expect the camera to be able to see, let alone lock onto its eyes - smile.

I immediately set the camera to compressed RAW to be able to achieve the full 30 FPS capture rate and the resulting +/- 57MB files are better than anything that I have seen: More details, less noise, richer color, and more dynamic range. I was unable to see any difference between images made using the electronic shutter and those made using the mechanical shutter. I want to be crystal clear that I won't be able to extract the most out of the RAW files until Adobe or Capture One releases an update to their RAW conversion software. Sony's Imaging Edge Software is the only way I can see the files, and I have always been able to squeeze so much more from either Adobe or Capture One (perhaps due to my lack of understanding of the software, rather than software shortfall, I dunno). So I do expect to be even more impressed as these software updates are released.

I had planned to release my mini-review earlier this week but wanted to hold out and see if anyone found any weaknesses that I could debunk here. I am glad I waited because a lot of attention went to a review video that states that the camera is not capable of shooting 30FPS. It turns out that they used the Sony 70-200 f/2.8 GM lens which needs a firmware update to achieve the full 30FPS that will be released sometime soon. I tested the a1 with my workhorse lenses (and teleconverters) and can confirm that the following lenses and teleconverters are all capable of capturing 30FPS in COMPRESSED RAW (The capture rate is slower using uncompressed RAW):

Sony 600/4 GM

Sony 600/4 GM with 1.4X

Sony 600/4 with 2X

Sony 200-600

Sony 200-600 with 1.4X

Sony 200-600 with 2X

An interesting find was how well the affordable 200-600mm worked with both the 1.4X and 2X, and it was able to maintain the 30FPS capture rate with the 2X in APS-C mode which resulted in a 23-24MB file during my tests. The 200-600 is a great and affordable lens that costs about 20% of the prime 600/4 GM, so there are trade-offs. The AF acquisition and tracking speed are slowed down and the image quality is slightly degraded when the 2X is used, but it still offers remarkably good results. It is not likely I would use the 1,800mm for birds in flight because there would be too much atmospheric compression degrading the image quality, but I do see using this combination extremely close for incredible close-up details at the minimum focusing distance of the combination.

I am grateful that the two card slots accept both CFexpress type A or SD memory cards. While I used the CFexpress type A card that came with the loaner unit for most of my testing, I did test my 128GB Sony SDXC SD Type G memory cards to see if I needed to invest in new cards. There was little to no difference in capture rate, but an obvious difference in write speed. The camera has an impressive buffer, and I don't typically hold down the trigger for more than a short burst, so I don't expect to be buying new memory cards anytime soon. I can confirm that you can now change menu settings and review images while the camera writes to the memory card to clear the buffer.

Another bonus is the a1 used the same NP-FZ100 battery as the a9 and a9II, so I was pleased that my extra batteries will still be useful.

In closing, this is the best action, birds-in-flight, and all-around digital camera that I have ever used. Amazing image files, blazing-fast auto-focus, and capture rate: it is the new King of the digital camera world. There is no more need for a separate high-speed and high-resolution camera body: this is the all-in-one professional camera body we have all been waiting for and Sony has delivered..... and I haven't even mentioned the 8K video yet ;)

Stay tuned to this blog for images made with the Sony a1.

Canadian Nature Photographer Christopher Dodds with the new Sony a1 camera, Sony 600mm f/4 GM lens and Sony 2X extender.