DesertRat71 Loc: Arizona

I wanted a valid excuse to use the 1/8000 shutter speed capability of my D810. What better reason than to freeze the wings of a hummingbird? Unfortunately, even in the bright, midday sunlight of Arizona, that speed demands a high ISO, even with a wide aperture. Turns out the D810 is pretty good at high ISO.

I managed to catch this shot at 1/3200 and F5.6, letting the camera handle the ISO which it duly cranked to 1800:
http://outrider.darrows.org/hummingbirds/h4980782e#h4980782e

The difficult part here was successfully focusing on a rapidly departing Hummingbird and the Nikon 80-400 did an admirable job. The wings were slowed considerably as well.

1/4000 did a nice job with only a slight blur at the tips:
http://outrider.darrows.org/hummingbirds/h499392c3#h499394d3

I had the F-Stop at 5.7 and the camera settled on 900 for the ISO.

Then this male Ruby-Throated buzz bomb made his approach and 1/8000 froze him. The AF worked perfectly, the camera cranked the ISO to 1800 at F5.7 and I squeezed the shutter release:
http://outrider.darrows.org/hummingbirds/h499392c3#h4b9d5de5

The whole album:
http://outrider.darrows.org/hummingbirds

- or -

http://outrider.darrows.org/arizona-birds
http://outrider.darrows.org/arizonabirds

Db7423 Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Nice job with this, DesertRat71. My 610 only goes to 1/4000 and I've rarely needed anything greater but having that extra speed is certainly useful and your series showed why. Thanks. ;)

BboH Loc: s of 2/21, Ellicott City, MD

Beautiful shots!

jack schade Loc: La Pine Oregon

Very nicely done.
Jack

Franku Loc: Wallingford, PA and Parrish, Fl

YOU HAVE MADE MY DAY!
I have a Nikon D810 and the Nikkor 24-70 Lens being delivered tomorrow. I bought them from B&H on Monday.
I am excited to see results like yours.
I have a D7100 and a D90 and I love them both but I had read about the D810 and could not resist.
I am not a Professional Photographer.
I am retired and we have homes in Florida and the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania where I keep each camera.
The D810 will stay with me.
Thanks for posting your pics.
Franku

DesertRat71 Loc: Arizona

You've made a good purchase! Your camera will do you proud. Be sure to let us see some of your work!

Thanks everyone for your kind words.