zaktakespictures

@KevinFRK Swifts are aptly named. I took over 2000 pictures (often of empty sky that contained a swift a fraction of a second earlier) to get a few I'm happy with.

They look like a cross between a heron and a cormorant to me.

@moodymellodrone @birding

@streetfestival They take in some water then raise their heads to swallow it.

@sxan Hybrids grow up to be very obviously hybrids. I think they usually can't reproduce, or at least have low enough fertility that it rarely happens.

@aeronmelon While I'm sure it appreciates the enthusiasm, the sun is just one star.

@urbandinosaurs @birding Northeast Florida in a state park. They're not rare in that region.

@IMALlama I haven't used an A7 III to compare, but it's my understanding the Sony's autofocus is more likely to do what you want when using a wide area, and better at tracking.

I wouldn't bet on it being a better fit for your use case than your Sony but the loaner program is a great way to find out. I bought my E-M1 II after testing the E-M1 III that way.

@NataliePortland That's a good looking bird.

@IMALlama I think the E-M1 II really excels at features for the money, being about 500 USD/EUR on the used market right now. If you value high burst rates, a pre-burst mode and outstanding stabilization along with a used lens market that favors buyers then I recommend it.

I've also used the Mk. III and the OM-1. The III adds a joystick, USB charging, handheld pixel-shift high-res, and live-ND (in-camera frame averaging to do long exposures in bright light). I didn't find any of those worth another $350 when I bought it, but the difference may be less now.

The OM-1 is definitely an upgrade but it's priced like it. I like that it no longer restricts continuous autofocus pre-burst to Olympus lenses and has fairly effective bird detection, but it does limit burst rates with third-party lenses and the 90 image buffer is a bit small for the higher burst rates it can achieve. I think the Panasonic G9 II may be the better camera but I have yet to use one.

Olympus does have a free trial program if you're near one of the US cities with participating dealers: https://testandwow.getolympus.com/

@AFKBRBChocolate It is indeed a reflection in water.

@MyOtherUsername It's all of 1/400s.