Natural Art: The Photography of Brad Hill

 
Munching - Young Bighorn Ram

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In the Field

Munching - Young Bighorn Ram. Columbia Lake, British Columbia, Canada. November 23, 2023.

I captured this shot of very young Bighorn Sheep ram in the autumn of 2023 while doing some field testing of an "about to be released" lens. While young rams like this lack the majestic look of a the big full-curl mature rams, they certainly have a higher cute factor!

In the autumn of 2023 I ended up being very busy testing a wide array of Nikon Z lenses. While I was in the middle of this Tamron sent me a copy of their new Z-mount 150-500mm "ultra zoom" lens (i.e., the 150-500mm F/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD) for testing. The timing was perfect - at the time I had virtually EVERY Z-mount lens Nikon makes that overlap the focal range of the Tamron 150-500mm - so I was in a position to very thoroughly test the Tamron.

If I'm being honest I began the testing with very low expectations of the Tamron 150-500mm. But as I tested the lens at various distances and various focal lengths against a wide range of Nikkor Z lenses, I became more and more impressed. To make a long story short, the end result was that after a lot of thought (and assessing a LOT of test images) I decided to sell BOTH of my variable-aperture Nikkor super-telephoto zooms (i.e., the Z 100-400mm f4.5-5.6S and the Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3) and purchase my own copy of the Tamron Z 150-500mm. Based on emails I received after I went public with this decision it seems like it left a lot of folks scratching their heads (and possibly wondering things like "Is this guy nuts?").

To understand why I went with the Tamron Z 150-500 over the Nikon options it's critical to know a few things. First, a super-zoom or ultra-zoom is NOT a critical wildlife lens for me. The MOST essential wildlife lens for me is the Nikkor Z 400mm f2.8 TC VR S, followed by a few other primes. For me an ultra-zoom is primarily a backup lens I take on photo tours "just in case" and a lens I occasionally carry around as a "walkaround" wildlife lens. Second, for the wildlife I shoot (and where I shoot it), the most critical focal range for me is between 400mm and 500mm.

Collectively, these two facts reduce my needs in a super- or ultra-zoom down to two things: It must be compact and it must be quite strong optically in the 400-500mm range. And the Tamron fit those needs the best.

When I compared and tested the Tamron against the Nikkor Z 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 it was instantly obvious the two lenses were almost identical in length (with the Tamron being about 1 cm shorter), but the Tamron was a bit heavier. So in the "must be compact" category it was close to a trade-off. What about image quality? Over MOST of the overlapping portion of their respective focal ranges there was VERY LITTLE difference in sharpness or the quality of the out-of-focus zones. However, between about 350mm and 400mm the Nikkor Z 100-400mm softens up (in central region sharpness AND edge sharpness). But, the Tamron doesn't - at 400mm it is definitely sharper than the Z 100-400mm. Clear decision goes to the Tamron.

Then, when I compared and tested the Tamron against the Nikkor Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 it was instantly obvious that the Tamron was a LOT more compact and lighter than the 180-600mm. Like a LOT...no one could reasonably say that these two lenses are even close in the "must be compact" category!

What about image quality? Well...if you look at ALL overlapping focal lengths and both central region AND edge sharpness and the quality of the OOF zones the Nikkor Z 180-600mm clearly wins. It IS stronger optically, especially in edge sharpness. However, if you look at the 400mm to 500mm range, you'll find the two lenses are very, very close in optical performance...with the Z 180-600mm being slightly sharper at 400mm and the Tamron being very slightly sharper in the central region and the "half way to edge" region (in fairness, even at 500mm the 180-600mm is sharper at the extreme edge of the frame).

SO...the Tamron Z 150-600mm kicks the butt of the Z 180-600mm in "compactness" and is very close optically to the 180-600mm in the 400mm to 500mm range that is most important to me. Decision again to the Tamron.

A few final comments. First, the usefulness of a lens isn't all about compactness and image quality. Autofocus (AF) and image-stabilization (VR in Nikon-speak) performance play a role too. And...in my field testing, I couldn't find an obvious difference in AF performance between the Tamron and the two Nikkors. VR performance? Interestingly, the relative performance of the lenses differed depending on the VR mode you used. To be honest, the Tamron didn't perform well when using VR Normal mode - both the the Nikkors were considerably better. However, the difference in VR performance between the lenses when using VR Sport mode (which happens to be my preferred mode) was much less significant, with the Tamron performing ALMOST as well as the Nikkors.

Second, my situation is very different than many wildlife photographers. IF another photographer is considering an ultra-zoom to be their most important wildlife lens and they don't have to lug it around while also carrying some other big lenses I'd say they'd be best served by the Nikkor Z 180-600mm. It's a REALLY good lens overall...and just a great lens "for the price".

Anyway...Here's a larger version (4800 pixel) of this cute little Bighorn:

Munching - Young Bighorn Ram: Download 4800 pixel image (JPEG: 6 MB)

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

1. These images - in all resolutions - are protected by copyright. I'm fine with personal uses of them (including use as desktop backgrounds or screensavers on your own computer), but unauthorized commercial use of the image is prohibited by law. Thanks in advance for respecting my copyright!

2. Like all photographs on this website, these images were captured following the strict ethical guidelines described in The Wildlife FIRST! Principles of Photographer Conduct. I encourage all wildlife photographers to always put the welfare of their subjects above the value of their photographs.

Behind the Camera

Munching - Young Bighorn Ram. Columbia Lake, British Columbia, Canada. November 23, 2023.

High Efficiency* Compressed RAW (NEF) format; ISO 2000.

Nikon Z 9 paired with Tamron Z 150-500mm f5-6.7 @ 443mm. Hand-held. VR on in Sport mode. 3D-tracking AF area mode with subject detection on "Animal".

1/400s @ f7.1; -0.7 stop compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.

At the Computer

Munching - Young Bighorn Ram. Columbia Lake, British Columbia, Canada. November 23, 2023.

Initial noise reduction and capture sharpening on the .nef (raw) file using the DeepPRIME XD algorithm of DXO PhotoLab 7 Elite.

Subsequent adjustments to the adjusted linear DNG file (exported from PhotoLab 7) and conversion to 16-bit TIFF file (and JPEG files for web use) - including all global and selective adjustments - made using Phase One's Capture One Pro 23. In the case of this image the only global adjustment was a tweak to the overall contrast (a Levels adjustment). Selective local adjustments performed using Capture One Pro's layers and masking tools. In this case small adjustments were made on 4 separate layers, with one or more highly targeted and selective tweaks to brightness (mid-tone exposure), clarity (mid-tone contrast), shadows, and the blacks. There were no enhancements to the colour saturation of this image during post-processing.

Photoshop modifications were limited to the insertion of the watermark and/or text.

Conservation

Munching - Young Bighorn Ram. Columbia Lake, British Columbia, Canada. November 23, 2023.

Species Status in Canada*: This species is not designated as at risk.

Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) are considered by many to be a symbol of mountain wilderness. They are distributed throughout much of the mountainous areas of western North America from central British Columbia south to northern Mexico. Local distribution of Bighorns appears to be limited by the availability of suitable foraging areas near "escape" terrain (cliffs or very steep terrain where they can escape predators).

*as determined by COSEWIC: The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada