Hi Mike, IMO hand holding that lens especially with a 2X is not for the faint of heart. Fast shutter speeds are going to be a must, like 1/4000 to 1/5000, especially in the wind. Under windy conditions I heard that a lot of folks will take off the lens hood to help. But I also found that I never hesitate putting the 2x on this lens because IQ is not impacted much at all IMO. These images are not bad, but IMO with the right techniques, you are going to see some amazingly sharp images. Have fun!

On Monday I went to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge to see if migratory birds had arrived and if the resident birds were out. It was a sunny day in the low 40s F and a low wind. For all of the birds shots I used my new (to me) Sony 600f/4 GM with a 2xtc. I found that this configuration of the lens is very sharp, but very sensitive to movement. Except for a few later shots of small birds on a rail for which I used a monopod, all shots were handheld. The best results were using the car windows and leaning against the car. Only a few free hand shots were useful. Another thing I learned was the 1200mm focal length made obtaining focus on flying birds difficult with the narrow field of view. Any future BIF pursuits will probably be without a tc.

The first 6 shots were taken in the area before the auto tour route. Usually dry fields were flooded. I used auto ISO and had a wide variance (e.g, #1 is 5000; #3 is 1250 and #4 is 6400). I adjusted the next few shots to 100 and 160, but I had to lighten the results in post-processing.

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

On Monday I went to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge to see if migratory birds had arrived and if the resident birds were out. It was a sunny day in the low 40s F and a low wind. For all of the birds shots I used my new (to me) Sony 600f/4 GM with a 2xtc. I found that this configuration of the lens is very sharp, but very sensitive to movement. Except for a few later shots of small birds on a rail for which I used a monopod, all shots were handheld. The best results were using the car windows and leaning against the car. Only a few free hand shots were useful. Another thing I learned was the 1200mm focal length made obtaining focus on flying birds difficult with the narrow field of view. Any future BIF pursuits will probably be without a tc.

The first 6 shots were taken in the area before the auto tour route. Usually dry fields were flooded. I used auto ISO and had a wide variance (e.g, #1 is 5000; #3 is 1250 and #4 is 6400). I adjusted the next few shots to 100 and 160, but I had to lighten the results in post-processing.

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Superb shots I started up shooting with the good weather here. My camera was on a table all winter. I changed no switches on the lens or the camera, and from a hundred feet or so, I am getting subject blur (1/2500, f/8, bright sun), like I never picked up a camera before. I checked everything...