O.K., I'm not serious about the R1 as a wildlife camera, but sometimes when conditions are just right the limited focal length can get you some decent wildlife frames.

I was hunting coyotes (with my cameras) in Rocky Mountain National Park and I happened to be downwind of an interesting scenario. A young, mature female had gone after a ground squirrel which had taken refuge in its hole in the ground. She was so preoccupied with trying to dig out the rodent that being downwind I was able to get close enough to get some decent crops with my R1. I took about 30 frames with my Sigma SD10 with an 80-400mm OS lens as well, but the interesting thing in the series below is the interaction between the coyote, a magpie and a second younger female coyote.

The series begins just after I saw the ground squirrel escape into the hole. The first frame she is peering into the small hole after the squirrel. In the second frame she look away at a magpie which is just out of sight in the frame. The third she begins to dig. In the fourth frame she has dug enough to stick her muzzle into the hole and in the fifth frame she appearers to be looking into the camera but is actually looking at the magpie just out of the frame. In the sixth frame the magpie is teasing her but she is distracted by another younger coyote female approaching from upwind. In the seventh and eighth frame she has decided that the younger coyote is no threat and digs furiously for the rodent while the magpie continues to taunt her. In frame nine, having been unsuccessful she has tired of the quest and rests. Frame 10 was taken with my SD10 and the 400mm stabilized lens where she is joined by the younger female.

After a brief greeting ritual, the mature female left the area for "greener pastures" I suppose, and the younger female continued the "dig" but also was unsuccessful. The squirrel came popping back up after the young female left the area, apparently confident in its ability to escape and live another day. LOL

Magpies are amazing birds and very helpful to the photographer because they tend to "tattle" on coyotes and other predators and betray their locations in dense aspen or pine groves. I generally find coyotes by listening for the magpies "chatter". I suspect the ground squirrels use them as early warning devices - HA!

Best regards,

Lin

http://www.lin-evans.net/r1yotes/ry1.jpg
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http://www.lin-evans.net/r1yotes/ry6.jpg
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I purchased the R1 for a recent trip to Utah (as a backup handheld quick shooter)

My friend brought his Canon gear with a d5 and small zoom lens.

The R1 was almost the same size as his outfit but the responsiveness of his DSLR was so superior to the R1 I am now sorry i purchased it.

I previously had (gave it to my wife) the Minolta A2 That was a more compact camera that could easily be added for a handheld.

My main system is mf


The R1 images are very good quality and probably could serve as a primary camera for many.

As for shooting critters, I think there are many systems much more responsive.

There is a review on LL about this camera and its capabilities & limitations

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/...s/sony-r1.shtml

LOL - I have about every major dSLR system available (Canon D30, 10D, 1D, 1DS, 1D Mark II - Nikon D2X - Kodak DCS-760 - Sigma SD10) and a large collection of top-notch glass for each, but I never leave on a photograhic expedition without my R1 in the bag beside whatever primary tool I need for the job.

Of course there are many systems including about any dSLR and a number of fixed lens digicams which are more appropriate for wildlife use. That was the point of the post - a sattire on using a non-wildlife suitable instrument for shooting wildlife. Notice I said I also took about 30 frames with my SD10 an 80-400OS :-)

The R1 is superb for what it does best - gives you more resolution than any affordable dSLR (by that I mean more than anything under a Canon 5D, Nikon 200D, or pro body such as a 1DS/1DS Mark II. It's a tremendous amount of sensor and lens for a small amount of capital. I find it to be a great little tool but not designed for action photography or anything requiring longer focal lengths unless you happen to be able to get close as I did in this example.

Best regards,


Lin

Nice shots Lin, good to see another Colorado photographer on here. I almost bought the R1 ...came close but went with a 5D (Minolta) How are you liking it so far?

I encountered the same "problem" when shooting wildlife. I own a mf tele 400/4.5 with a 2x teleconverter and since it has a weight of nearly 3kg ( aprox 6 lbs) I cannot carry it with me everywhere i go. I decided to buy a megazoom camera hoping that would end my problems.
I went for the Panasonic fz-20 almost 2 years ago and can say that at 420mm/f2.8 the rezults are quite acceptable given the circumstances (although a little bit soft). Compared to the R-1 the fz-20 has a far better price/capability ratio.