Sony a6600 + Sony 200-600mm Lens | 5 Tips To Get Ultimate Sharpness With Wildlife

[@KurtisPape]

Hey! Great video, finally someone that shows the crop on a KZbin video! This has to be done because KZbin doesn't show full quality so cropping gives the viewer an idea of the sharpness but not many youtubers show this.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Kurtis, Yeah, I shoot my photos in a 2:3 ratio and then normally crop them to a 9:16 ratio for my KZbin channel videos. This isn't always possible if I didn't leave room while shooting but most of the time it works. Thanks for watching.

[@SaitenTor]

Nice video and cool pics! Keep up the great work! :)

[@timoohlsen]

Really helpful and fantastic images- I watched it twice! Thank you.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Tim, Glad you enjoyed the video and I do appreciate you taking the time to watch and to comment. Hope your light is magic!

[@TJackSurvival]

This video was super valuable thank you. I’d love to see this with the Sony A7SIII

[@SGTFlamatt]

Wow, what great pics! Thank you for this Video and Infos!

[@sanjayhulagur6009]

The shots are amazing

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Thanks, I appreciate your comment.

[@chrisbrown6432]

Wonderful. Thanks very much. Very helpful.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Chris, You are welcome, glad I could help. I appreciate the comments.

[@jordanlouie4038]

Great video, explanation and photos. This is the best video I have seen for the aps-c/lens combination yet.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey Jordan, thanks. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jamesseward9263]

Beautiful pictures and excellent tips!! 💕 Thank you! 😊

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

hi James, thanks for watching. I enjoy hearing from people who enjoy my videos.

[@martinblume4775]

I have the same Combo....and I love it ! Wonderful pictures that you show us here.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Martin, Thanks for taking the time to watch...yeah, the Sony gear is fun huh?

[@marvinspates924]

Fantastic photos 📷!!!

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Marvin, Thank you so much. Appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment.

[@tomaszgajos80]

Thank you!

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

You are welcome. I appreciate you watching. Stay tuned for more.

[@edselharrison]

Excellent video!!! Why do you turn off image stabization at high shutter speeds?

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Ed, thanks for watching, I appreciate it. I have found that the camera AF speed is a little bit quicker when the OSS is off at faster shutter speeds over about 1/1000 sec.

[@abhijitdhara3843]

Great sir, Pls test a6400+200_600mm

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi, thanks for viewing my video. Not sure I can get to your request as I currently only have the a6600 and the A9II. I think other than faster AF the a6600 would be quite comparable to the a6400.

[@gbhy2224]

Great tips Don! Keep up the good work!

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey Gordon, thanks so much for taking the time to watch and comment. Appreciated!

[@driveintonaturewithjoy]

great shots 😊

[@geemarsh.7766]

I just bought this lens for my a6400. I'll be very happy to get results like yours. I have a photographer friend in Denver, so I recognised some of the places you were shooting.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey, thanks for watching. I like the lens and camera combo. Hope you do too. Good luck and may all your light be great.

[@subramanianb]

Great and most useful video. Kindly share if you have done same type of Bird photography with a7iii

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi, thanks for watching. No, sorry but I have no experience with the a7iii camera.

[@kbruff2010]

Thank you ❤️ for this video

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

You are welcome Kevin. Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment.

[@malek2900]

Thank you for your videos about this lens and this camera , i will buy both of them soon and you really help me with my choice.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi, You are so welcome, glad I could help just a bit. You'll love the camera and lens. Great choice!

[@NinjaMasterFong]

Thank you for the video! I'm wondering whereabouts you're at such that you've got such diversity of landscapes and wildlife around?

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi, I appreciate you watching. I'm in the Denver, Colorado area and I've found that even small city parks that I never knew had wildlife, have a lot of it if you take the time to visit often and really look. When Covid hit I started visiting even tiny ponds near my area and found all sorts of animals. Great world we live in huh!

[@vitorazinheira2195]

Great video, just got this lens to pair with A7III

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for watching.

[@daviddavis6819]

Thank you very much for this video. I hope someday I can be half as good as you are taking pictures.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey David, Thanks for the kind words but truly we are all good in our own ways.

[@sosomelodies659]

Beautiful pictures!

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi there and thank you! I appreciate you taking the time.

[@shannondrew1955]

Such an awesome video, and great job capturing those shots. This video was really helpful as I'm about to get this lens to take photos of birds with my a6400.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Shannon, thanks for watching. Glad I could help. Enjoy the lens and the Sony camera. It's a blast to photograph wildlife with that combo.

[@FollowThomas]

Good tips. Your pics are absolutely sharp.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Thanks Thomas, really appreciate you watching!

[@NurIsmailMohammed]

Great sharing, Don!

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey, thanks for watching.

[@highwayman1224]

I live on the outskirts of Phoenix Arizona and we have burrowing owls all over the place by the crops. I take lot's of pictures of them.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey Martin, sounds cool, maybe I'd like to come out there sometime and spend a bit of time photographing those owls. I'll keep it in mind.

[@highwayman1224]

@@DonMammoserPhoto I think you'd like it. Lot's of waterfowl like blue herons, egrets and so on as well.

[@iShootWild]

Awesome test! This is the best way to show the image quality produced by this combo. Question regarding OSS. I believe both the body and lens have OSS. When you say turn off OSS over 1/2000, does that mean on both lens and camera or just the lens? Do you use monopod? Do you turn off OSS on monopod?

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi and thanks for watching. I only turn off the OSS on the lens itself. When you use a lens that has OSS built into it, the camera knows this and disables the in-camera OSS anyway. I don't often use a monopod but when I do I leave the OSS on no matter the shutter speed as a monopod actually leaves a lot of room for shaking and camera movement whether you like it or not.

[@Hvitkinn]

Thanks again Don !! Very nice images and nicely explained😀👍 Thank you for posting all this and the time and efforts you do for people like me…priceless👏👏…kind regards Ron.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey Ron, Once more, thanks for watching and for all the kind comments. So nice to have you as a subscriber.

[@longrider9551]

I use the same combo and just picked up the apsc 70-350, it is also a killer lens and much lighter for walking around. The apsc lens actually has the linear focusing motor like more expensive glass

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi, thanks for checking out my video and the lens recommendation. I may need to check it out.

[@atropicali]

Great information about this combination, the noise are in low level in cropping process Thanks

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Ali, Thanks a lot for taking the time to watch. The a6600 has manageable noise up to around ISO 2000 I have found.

[@TomatenDK]

Those deer are so beautiful ! What focus mode do you use ? Tracking ? Zone ? Wide ? Expandable spot ? For a deer f.ex. ? And for the small static birds f ex ?

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi, thanks for watching. For static subjects I use "Tracking flexible spot M" for birds in flight and fast moving critters I simply use the "zone" - not tracking zone, just zone.

[@TomatenDK]

@@DonMammoserPhoto NOT tracking with birds in flight ? Ehm okay.... interesting... So, trust Sonys focus system I guess :) Thanks a lot for replying. Defo gonna try your tips 💪

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

@@TomatenDK That's correct. I use the "zone" for BIF and it works very, very well. Hope you have great luck with your wildlife!

[@BenjaminAdamsVu]

Great tips, thank you for sharing this!

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey, No problem and I'm glad you took the time to watch and comment!

[@donaldkelley5785]

Well Done, Sir !!

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Thanks Donald, I appreciate you taking the time.

[@c6dl-877]

Does this also works with fishes when posing from one side? Only one eye is visibls then

[@PereiraCedric]

Wonderfully informative videos. May I suggest a video on the associated equipment like tripods and heads? Thank you.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Cedric, thanks for taking the time to watch and comment. So far I do have 1 video about a tripod head. That is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJXTp2yEZ8qji6s I'll try and get to one about my tripod recommendations. Stay tuned.

[@PereiraCedric]

@@DonMammoserPhoto Thank you. I checked it out.

[@p4ul.f708]

excellent review ! Are you goint to do one for the Tamron 150-500, too ? Would really love to hear yoyur thoughts on this lens in combination with your a6600

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi, Thanks for watching. Yes, I have that on my list and I'll be doing that review here very soon. Stay tuned.

[@p4ul.f708]

@@DonMammoserPhoto Ouuuh very nice to hear !👌 Im looking forward to it :D Have you ever had experience with the Sony 70-350 ? I won this lens and is really good, however I feel like it hasnt enough reach for me, which is why I would like to know if it is worth it to carry a lens around me which is almost 3 tomes as heavy 😅 So I would be really thankful if you would be able to do a conparison shot for me @350mm vs one @500mm

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

@@p4ul.f708 Hey, Sure I'll do that as soon as I get my hands on the Tamron lens. I have several other Tamron lenses and they have always impressed me.

[@p4ul.f708]

@@DonMammoserPhoto Thats really nice to hear ! Actually Im planning on buying several Tamron Lenses in the future. They just completly rocked the sony apsc zoom lens market this year and there is no competition. I will buy the Tamron 11-20 for architecture, city, street and landscapephotography, the Tamron 18-300 or the 17-70 f2.8 as a general purpose lens and the Tamron 150-500 as my birding and wildlife lens. At least this is my plan. Im not to sure about it, because - well it is pretty pricey 😅 For now I actually will wait for your review of the Tamron 150-500, and if what other people have said about it performing on full frame, hold true on apsc too, I will buy it. Thanks again for being so helpful !👍 Have a nice day! 👌

[@networm64]

Very good job Don! I hope Sony sees the potential of crop bodies for wildlife and bring us an a77 mirrorless version someday soon! A6xxx series are great for wild life but the lack of front dial really really hurts so bad....and the body needs a little more bulk(hopefully not much more weight!) to pair with big lenes balanced. Just curious to ask you how much sharpness did you add at post and if used topaz denoise or something like that or not

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi, Shahab, Thanks for checking out the video. I agree and hope Sony keeps making crop sensor cameras. As for added sharpness in post...none at all except for the American Robin that shows up at 8:43 in the video. That image was put through Topaz denoise only because I had already done it and didn't want to undo it. All other images are pretty much jpegs right from the camera. I have my high ISO noise reduction in the camera turned to 'low' and admittedly a few others need the Topaz denoise but I wanted to show the capabilities of the camera/lens combo before running all images through that program.

[@networm64]

@@DonMammoserPhoto Wow! That's an impressive result then! Thank you👍

[@Bubak777]

I have a similar feeling. Anyway, I see the solution quite simply: If the A6600 was in the body of the A7 III with all that dials etc, I will have no objections. Hope that there will be some version, or better to say A9,A1 version (flicker free APS-C up to 2000 Bucks/Euros), I definitely buy it. :) But at least just like Sony presents their A1 that FF camera have "amazing cropping APS-C feature", well... I do not understand that. Quite sad. I liked styled A77 body. Well, hope in the future...

[@networm64]

@@Bubak777 Exactly, not so hopeful to see a stacked sensor on that price point though but why not at least an apsc version of a7s3 at least? Sony always claims super35 sensors are great for videography....but all a6xxx series are almost the same in video quality except for the original a6000.

[@julianlo2635]

Fantastic explanation. I was looking for a super tele and a desent camera body, as an alternative to Canon EOSR50+rf100-500 which is unreasonably priced.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Julian, thanks for watching. Yeah, I don't think you can go wrong with the a6600 and 200-600mm combo. Awesome for wildlife! If you end up buying it on Amazon and use my affiliate link you won't pay extra but I get a small percentage: amzn.to/314riym Thanks. amzn.to/3Gz4veA

[@bjarnejohannsen573]

Awesome!

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Thank you for watching.

[@augusto_alves]

Great images!

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Thanks Jose, glad you enjoyed it.

[@michellet.3530]

Hi Don are you shooting in Shutter priority? are you also auto ISO ? if not could you please elaborate ? thank you!

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi, for most of the shots in that video I used Aperture Priority mode and I'd choose a specific ISO to give me enough shutter speed. I have since moved to Shutter Priority mode for most of my wildlife work with auto ISO but I go into my ISO settings first and limit the max ISO to 6400 on this camera. Other cameras I have such as my full frame A9III I'll set the upper limit to 25,600. Noise has become manageable in PP but of course blurry images can't be fixed. Thanks for watching my videos.

[@artbyhaitham]

Wonderful informations

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey, thank you and stay tuned for more videos coming soon.

[@artbyhaitham]

Absolutely 💯...but why did you choose Sony a6600 for wild photography...is Sony a7iii are better?...what do you think..I need advice to buy between the two cameras.....thanks

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

@@artbyhaitham Hi, I chose the a6600 for these reasons: I am a professional nature/wildlife photographer and shot Canon and Nikon systems for over 20 years. When the Sony cameras became well known for better AF and other features I decided to give them a try and chose the a6600 because it was easier on the budget since I wasn't sure I'd like it. I loved it and now also have the A9II. The combination of the 2 bodies works perfectly for me. I don't own a Sony a7xxx model so can't comment on those but have heard some good things about it.

[@artbyhaitham]

Thank you very much for beautiful review... we wait more beautiful vedios good luck 👍✌

[@davidGrainger]

I rented this camera and lens after watching this video - thank you! The whole video is great, and the last chapter on double checking autofocus is outstanding, as are the zoom ins. 🙂I was wondering what tripod and head you're using. Have you spent any time with the new a6700? Any inside info you can share on when it's going to be available?

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi davidgrainger, First, thanks for watching and for taking the time to comment, I do appreciate it. Here are my preferred tripod and ballhead: My preferred tripod: amzn.to/3qbqHUA The Ballhead I use: amzn.to/3PHcInh The tripod is about a third of the cost of a new Gitzo and equal in quality. The ballhead is the best you can get. (those are affiliate links). As for the a6700 - Man, I can't wait to get one! Everything I read about it is great. It may end up being my go-to wildlife camera but I don't have any clout with Sony so I'm in the same boat as most - backordered! I'll post when I get it. Thanks again.

[@AUDACITY4Uphotographer]

Great images and presentation. With the A6600 whats the max ISO you feel comfortable with? I'm guessing ISO 6400 is close to the limit.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey James, thanks for watching. Yeah, the limiting factor with that camera body is noise at high ISO's. I don't like pushing mine past about ISO 2000 as it gets pretty noisy from there on. I'll go higher in a pinch but not if I can help it.

[@SidBIM89]

Amazing Video.. Before I am buying the combo I just need to know how it is holding up when it comes to low light ?

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Sidath, Thank you for taking the time to watch. The a6600 has manageable noise up to around ISO 2000 I have found.

[@sidehustlers336]

Great video. I have the 200-600 with an A7IV. I also have a a6400. I now am convinced that the a6400 would be better for wildlife due to pixel density

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey, Thanks for watching. Yeah, I have my full frame A9II and the a6600. Both have their uses but that extra reach with the a6600 is hard to beat.

[@attila1899]

Hi. What was the max distance from the subject to make a sharp images? I have a problem make a sharp photo from bigger distance 50m and more

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi, I don't know as I didn't keep notes on that, but sure when a subject is a great distance away atmospheric effects like rising heat can certainly make your photos blurry. Getting closer always helps.

[@billtomlin6176]

I have enjoyed your videos Don. I wonder if you would consider doing a video where you crop and then zoom in on your a9 shots. I have been thinking about buying an A9 but I worry about how sharp the cropped images are compared to my higher pixel density a6100 camera.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Bill, Thanks for the comment. I'll add your request to my next video file. Seems like a good idea and lots of folks could benefit from the knowledge. Thanks.

[@lijp24]

do you shoot at the Rocky Mountain arsenal?

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey, thanks for watching, yes, some of the shots were taken at the arsenal. It's a good place for deer and other wildlife.

[@ralphporter7492]

Don, I'm happy I ran across this review! I'm also a Denver area photographer and I was using the A6600 and a 70-300mm to shoot some Sandhill Cranes in New Mexico last week and while it worked well on close in birds I left the refuge with a desire for more reach and have been wondering how this combination would work. Terrific real world review, it's helped me make the decision to buy the lens. Thanks.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi again Ralph, Glad to have you watching my videos. Yeah I always say with birds the more power the better. You'll LOVE having the 200-600mm lens on your a6600. Maybe I'll see you in the field someday.

[@crustydog1666]

In some cases, with sandhill cranes, you don't even need a telephoto lens or any type of blind. The sandhill cranes that I've encountered walked very close by.

[@DebCamPhoto]

enjoy your videos. great information, photos and examples. When you suggest to turn off OSS above 1/2000, do you mean on the lens and in camera? also. which focus area setting do you typically use for birds and wildlife? thanks

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Deb, thanks for watching. When you attach a lens with an OSS setting, the IBIS inside the camera recognizes this and becomes disabled by default so you only need to turn it off on the lens barrel. Here is an in-depth video about settings for the a6600 and 200-600mm lens: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIenhnipgdaAftE In that one I talk about the focus areas but typically I use the wide and zone with continuous focus on and I have great luck with both of those.

[@reggio565]

You have a new subscriber

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi and welcome....thanks for taking the time to watch.

[@dtre8786]

What an incredible set of images!! Seeing these it's so tempting to go out and buy that exact setup...except I know I don't have your skill hahahaha. Can I ask what that setup is like low light?

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Darran, Thanks for the positive feedback and glad I could help maybe a bit. I'll be honest and say that in lower light situations the a6600 does get pretty noisy. I try not to push my ISO past about 2000 with that camera. The lens performs beautifully though and AF works wonders even in very low light.

[@philipgowdy]

Hi Don agree with all you say here and super images. Having had the A7 111 and using it with 100-400 on birds in flight I am now thinking on an A9....or the A6600. Having looked through a lot of my past images it seems in fact I have often used the crop apsc mode, to get what I wanted. However I have found great difficulty in the Blackout when tracking birds with a7. So my question to you...in your experience is the Blackout a problem on the 66 or is it as good as the A9. Yes it would be great to end up in apsc with more pixels count, if using the 66 but not if the object can't be followed........or just go with the A9 and crop into the shot.....Your experience in this would be greatly appreciated. Please keep up the super work..

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey Philip, thanks for taking the time to watch and comment. There is a very, very slight bit of blackout with the a6600. There is absolutely none with the A9II. The AF on both bodies is pretty comparable and of course you get the extra reach with the aps-c camera. Still I find myself using the A9II more often than not, just because it feels better (a bit bigger etc.) in my hands and I love the 20 frames per second. No problem cropping in on the A9II images (up to a point of course). You'll enjoy whichever camera you get...and I highly recommend the 200-600mm lens if your primary subject is birds.

[@philipgowdy]

@@DonMammoserPhoto Many thanks for that, its an A9 then. I did have the 200-600 but in the end it was too heavy for my style of walking many miles around reserves and mountains. The A6600 was a way in my mind to lighten the load but not at a lower standard of blackout. Regards.

[@DAVE_WHITE]

So I have the a6000 on the 200-600 getting a lot of missed out of focus is the a6600 that much better focus???

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi, Yes it is, and the a6700 is heads and tails better than the a6600. The new AI AF on all Sony bodies is incredibly accurate. Thanks for watching.

[@PhotoTrekr]

I like this combination. Another combination I like is to use my 135mm GM with my a6600. That gives me a really fast 200mm lens.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey, thanks for watching. Yeah, the combo is really nice and 900mm is lots of good power for far away birds. Sounds like your 135mm is good too. I'll have to try and get one of those.

[@robertbohnaker9898]

Hi Don. Beautiful photos. When you say turn off the OSS under certain situations, do you mean turn off the lenses’ OSS and cameras IBIS ? Thanks. Read enough now to know the IBIS works well for stills/telephoto lens work . That’s all I care about. 😀👍🌈👏🏻

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Robert, I mean turn off the OSS on the lens. With most Sony camera bodies that have the IBIS, the camera IBIS will be deactivated when you attach a lens that has its own OSS (such as my combination of the A9II and the Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3). Thanks for taking the time to watch. Stay tuned for more.

[@robertbohnaker9898]

Thanks Don. So the argument that the Sony IBIS/OSS combo work together is false ? That makes the 6400 look a lot more attractive...as long as you work with OSS lenses. Really love your wildlife photos. Do you do a lot of post processing ? Whatever you’re doing , it’s working !😊👏🏻🌈

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

@@robertbohnaker9898 Hi Robert, Thanks for kind comments. Regarding post processing, I try to get all my photos "correct" in the camera before I push the shutter. I shot film (remember that?) for more than 10 years professionally and that was a requirement then. I try to maintain that same standard. I shoot jpegs and will crop and do some noise reduction but mostly what you see is how the subject looked as I shot it.

[@robertbohnaker9898]

Thanks Don. Regarding your comments on the IBIS/OSS canceling each other when both on, do you think I can get away with the Sony a6400 for stills photography of wildlife ( with an OSS equipped lens) ? I value your opinion as I know you’re a Sony Shooter and are achieving splendid results. The Sony a6400 and 6600 are pretty similar (minus bigger battery and IBIS; and Dxo Mark rates the 6600 a little better with noise/low light, and negligible less with color, etc. ratings. Thanks. Sorry to bother you so much but I really do appreciate it.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

@@robertbohnaker9898 Hi Robert, I'd say that the 2 cameras are pretty comparable though I only have experience with the 6600 not the 6400. Given that the AF should be about the same, which is very good, the 6400 paired with the 200-600mm lens (with its own OSS) should yield nice results. Remember that proper technique contributes a lot towards success...that and practice, practice, practice...which is the fun part!

[@Stefan_Krauter]

Very good. I saw that all you pictures had been shot at 600 mm, so do you really need a zoom-lens then? Wouldn't a 600 mm prime lens be better & lighter?

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Stefan, Good question but I'd still answer no. Reason is that yes, I use the 200-600mm MOST of the time at 600mm but not ALL the time. I do like the ability to zoom out a bit if I need to. Also, Sony only makes the 600mm f/4 prime and this lens costs almost $12000 vs. about $2000 for the zoom.

[@Stefan_Krauter]

@@DonMammoserPhoto Thanks, but a prime lens should be cheaper, this is an artificially high price. Hopefully Sigma/Tamron/Samyang can do the job.

[@letni9506]

@@Stefan_Krauter is it not more expensive because its a constant f4?

[@jimrobinson-bohnslav2870]

Did you shoot these RAW, or in JPG? I saw some noise that looked more like compression artifacts than shot noise in the sensor

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Jim, I shoot all my images as jpegs. Reason is that I shot slide film professionally before digital and back then you got it right in the camera or threw it away. I still try to adhere to that principal today. Trust me, I know what all the "experts" say but I don't care, jpegs work for me.

[@lewiss66]

Hello, I'm about to buy the same lens. I've got a A6000. Would you recommend to buy the A6600 or wait until they issue a new APSC like the A6700 or A7000 which should come any time soon? Thanks PS: Subscribed

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Lewis, I recommend getting the a6600. If you play the waiting game sometimes you miss out on a good product that already exists. The a6600 is a great product.

[@bigDIEter1212]

Great video! I just purchased this lens and am very much looking forward to using it. Do you think I will get good enough results using a Sony A6400 with it or would you recommend upgrading?

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi, I always say to try out what you have first and try to make it work. I have no experience with the A6400 but your results should be similar to mine with my A6600. If there's something really lacking or that you just can't live with, then consider the upgrade. Best of luck!

[@bigDIEter1212]

@@DonMammoserPhoto Thanks! I'll give it a go soon. I currently have a basic tripod with a cheaper ball head and am looking at upgrades or trying to figure out my best set up. Would I be able to use that with this lens or do I need to buy a new foot attachment and something else to go with it?

[@thorstenwidmer7275]

that's crazy - wow

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Thanks for viewing!

[@Zhorellski]

What’s the max ISO setting you’d recommend using A6600?

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey, I try not to go above ISO3200 on that camera and even then you'll need lots of noise reduction in post processing. I'm working on a new video where I really push the limits on ISO and show what can be done. Thanks for watching and stay tuned.

[@Thomasjcolbert82]

Excellent video! I’m going to invest in this combo. I currently have a canon R5 and RF800MM. It’s a great lens but it is limiting. I also want a dedicated camera for wildlife. I use my R5 for portraits ect…. I could get the RF100 to 500 but with this Sony combo it’s an effective 900MM and your images look very good!

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey Tom, Thanks for watching, Yeah the combo is really nice and great for fast action too. You'll be happy with it and it would work perfectly as a dedicated wildlife setup. Enjoy!

[@biogons14]

I have used my A6500 with the 70-350 and the 200-600 for a year. I have reached the same conclusions with them; do not use UV filter and disconnect the OSS stabilizer from the lens with shutter speeds higher than 1/1500 ", otherwise the results are unpredictable. I also use continuous AF mode and priority to focus before shooting. In tests the A6500 sensor seems better compared to the A6600, but not the AF. I must also say that cropping aps in an A7RIV you would have similar resolution, noise and dynamics, but at double or triple the cost ...

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Jose, glad to know our conclusions are similar. It's good to hear from other photographers. Thanks for taking the time to watch and to comment. May all your light be great.

[@milosie]

What stabilization mode do you use in the Sony 200-600 lens - whether mode 1 or maybe 3 - because I don't know which one to use better

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi, thanks for taking the time to watch. Here is my video about the OSS modes: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHzUZH59idybsJY I use mode 3 most of the time.

[@milosie]

@@DonMammoserPhoto thank you very much

[@tcchen6885]

Does the manual focusing of 200-600 mm work with a6300?

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Yes it does. same setup that I explain above.

[@pracquet]

Thanks for the video. However, the 200% crop was just too much on my 55 inch 4k TV!

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Paul, Ha, no doubt! Blow any image up large enough and eventually it will fall apart. Thanks for watching.

[@philipgowdy]

Hi Don, I use the A9 with the 200-600. I want a apsc to go with my setup but the 6600 is a step to far on cost, which would you think is better the 6500 or 6400? regards..

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Philip, Thanks for watching. The a6600 is a really nice camera and has the much better battery, and AF. Maybe go to KEH.com or MPB.com and see if you can pick up a used a6600? Otherwise I guess I'd look for the a6400 - it's much newer and better than the a6500.

[@philipgowdy]

@@DonMammoserPhoto Thanks for the fast reply, I am in England Uk and even used ones go for more than £1000 I guess its the 6400 then..Cheers.

[@donaldkelley5785]

Don, I have an a9II and was wondering what your thoughts are on getting the a6600 for extra reach when using the 100-400 and 200-600 Lenses. I currently have the TC 1.4 which I utilize, which is an excellent addition to both lenses. Any guidance is appreciated. Don Kelley

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey Don, I have all the equipment you listed above except I don't have the 100-400mm lens, just the 200-600mm. For maximum reach as you know it would be 2-600 lens plus 1.4TC on the a6600 - this would be 1260mm of power at the long end. I do find that I normally reach for my A9II lately though and just crop in post a bit if needed. For further away wildlife I need to do some more testing of the crop sensor a6600 plus TC on the 2-600mm. I'll see if I can get to a real world test of this and post a video when it's done.

[@donaldkelley5785]

@@DonMammoserPhoto ... Thanks for getting back to me. Much Appreciated.

[@Rascallucci]

Don, what I am interested in is how the real-time tracking does on BIF shots?

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Alex, my experience is that it does excellent with BIF. Almost as good as the A9II, which I also own. I've got several examples of this in my video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIenhnipgdaAftE

[@TomatenDK]

How do you get sharp photos with heat from ground etc ? Im struggling with my a7iv and 200-600 even early(ish) in the mornings atm here in Denmark ;(

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi TomatenDK, I struggle with this as well, but this phenomenon isn't always present. If the subject is close of course things are much better. Cold weather is nice too! I hope all your light is great, thanks for watching.

[@TomatenDK]

@@DonMammoserPhoto Thank for replying. Appreciated! Glad to hear you pros also have challenges. Cheers 👍

[@twintorties]

Hi Don! Would this lens be okay with the Sony A5100? Considering renting the lens for an upcoming trip to Yellowstone (in high hopes of seeing wildlife) but that's the camera body I own. Thanks!

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi, Of course this lens would work. I highly recommend it, the focal length and focus speed are great. Other than fast moving birds you'll be able to focus fine on the slower and larger wildlife of Yellowstone. Good luck.

[@chriswilcox3675]

In some of the shots your settings at the bottom show an F/8 or F/9, but this lens is 5.6-6.3. Am I missing something or was this just a typo?

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Chris, not a typo. Any given lens can open up to the maximum aperture (on this lens that is f/5.6 at the 200mm mark and f/6.3 at the 600mm mark) but any lens can also be stopped down to a smaller aperture as well...such as f/7.1, f/8, f/9, f/11, f/16 etc. Stopping down a lens gives more depth of field. If you'd like to learn more about photography techniques and photography principles I encourage you to take one of my photo tours. www.donmammoserphoto.com/photography-tours.html

[@chriswilcox490]

@@DonMammoserPhoto thanks, I’ll check it out.

[@ronaldkristjuhan2688]

You have to do something about that bird singing in the intro, it's just so loud that my ears fell off... but amazing video and great photos mate, love your work.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey Ronald, That is a Western Meadowlark - the sound of springtime here in Colorado. Thanks for the comment.

[@ESCLOROPENDOLA]

the sony a7r4 and the sony 200-600 and in several years that I have been taking photos, a bird in flight has hardly ever focused clearly on me. I sent my entire team to sony Spain on 3 occasions and they told me Everything is ok. Even now I sold the sony 200-600 and bought another new 200-600 and it always fails in bursts. .I think that this camera and this lens are never compatible in burst photos with moving objects and animals. My approximate configuration is: ISO 800 speed 1/1600 or more f10 always because in f6.3 the static or moving photos come out very little sharp I don't know why central focus with tracking which is the last option on the menu. 60mpx extra sharp +5

[@markrigg6623]

I've seen this recommendation to disable stabilisation at high shutter speeds with all sorts of camera and lens combinations but I've always left mine on and got results I'm very happy with. I've just spent an hour in the backyard testing with my 6300 and my A7riii in mode 1 and its either the same or sharper with stabiliser on. I can quite clearly see the image stabilising in the viewfinder and as such there's no real way to get a softer image in my opinion. This is why I don't use mode 3. Seeing the stabilisation makes it harder for me to convince myself that it's making things worse.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Mark, Thanks for commenting. Sounds like you get nice results and if so, keep doing what you are doing. As always there is no absolute way of doing things. Lots of ways to have fun and get good photos.

[@markrigg6623]

@@DonMammoserPhoto Thanks Don.

[@patorico_8879]

RIP headphone users

[@KurtisPape]

Are they Raw or JPEG files? I've currently got a Nikon P1000 only 18 megapixels, I feel confident to crop to 9 megapixels for social media posts (raw file) but with JPEG there is no room to crop the poor quality shows straight away. I would love to go Sony with this lens, idea being my images no crop will be much higher quality, but have the ability to crop in post.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Kurtis, I shoot jpegs and try to get it right in the camera. I was a professional for more than 10 years when film still existed...back then it was get it right in camera or throw it away. I still find the jpegs work for me.

[@KurtisPape]

@@DonMammoserPhoto awesome thanks for your reply. That's awesome the JPEGs look that good! Saves lots of time. With my cheap camera I have no choice but to use raw because the Nikon software destroys quality of image for me.

[@TreyyDaMenaceFan]

Thanks, excellent video. I'm hoping to upgrade from my FE 70-300 to this 200-600. I'm primarily a birder so the 300mm (450 with the 6300) always left me feeling like I need more.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey, thanks for watching. Yeah, I feel the same way when birds are in the frame...I need to get closer! But the 200-600mm is a great lens...also though on your 6300 you might want to look at the Tamron 150-500mm which gives the equivalent focal length of 750mm. It's quite a bit less money. I'm currently testing this lens out and it's impressive - first look here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/amXcp557Zsytjrc

[@TreyyDaMenaceFan]

@@DonMammoserPhoto thanks i will look into that lens!

[@EmberSkyMedia]

OMG Tip #1 needs to be told to every Safari Driver in Africa... I can't tell you how many times we had to remind them the car needed to be off so we could take the photos (especially the first week, the second week was better as our new driver was a professional bird guide and knew that we were there to get the best images possible).

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey, thanks for taking the time to watch. Yeah I've also been on safari and needed to remind our driver to turn off the vehicle every time. It makes a huge difference. Stay tuned for more videos.

[@EmberSkyMedia]

@@DonMammoserPhoto Any shooting style tips you have for the 200-600mm lens would be useful, I'm getting that lens once its restocked at my favorite camera store.

[@eggarryanmalacad86]

I have almost the same setup as yours.. I'm using the A6400 in combo with the 200-600G and I love the reach and image quality. What focusing modes you use most of the time like in this shoots? Thank you 🍻

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi Eggar, Thanks for checking out the video. I always keep the camera on 'continuous' focus mode, but I think you are probably asking about which focus area I use...I usually use the normal (not tracking) 'wide' or 'zone' for anything moving and I have a custom button set up to switch this to tracking 'expand flexible spot' for when I shoot static subjects. I'll try and get a video out that explains all the different focus areas.

[@robertbohnaker9898]

👍👍👍

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Thanks Robert, hope the video helps a bit.

[@geemarsh.7766]

Nice to see results with an APS-c camera. Thanks for that. I have the a6400 (and a6000) and am looking at this lens or the Sigma 150-600 DG DN Sport. $500 difference might swing it at new price unless I can get a good, used Sony.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey, thanks for taking the time to watch and comment. The a6400 plus a lens that goes to 600mm will allow you some amazing photos. Just remember that good technique matters quite a bit when you have that much power (equivalent to 900mm).

[@peterdyer2706]

I dont understand why some stills are 2000 shutter speed 1600 or 200 like a static squirrel..why are they different if they're not moving..with a 600m you wouldn't go less than 600 shutter speed

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Shutter speeds vary depending on many factors such as ambient light, aperture, ISO chosen, how fast the subject is (or isn't) moving etc. etc. There are certainly some guidelines such as what you wrote "with a 600mm you wouldn't go less than 600 shutter speed" but in the real world a real world photographer will adjust to suit the situation and to make the best possible image from what nature gives us. I think you could really use a week long photo tour led by a working pro who can teach you all about wildlife photography. Check mine out here: donmammoserphoto.com/photo-tours/

[@peterdyer2706]

@@DonMammoserPhoto i use auto iso and use this lens with an a9ii i never shoot stills at less than 1600 in bright light and never under 500

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

@@peterdyer2706 Hi Peter, I don't believe you should stick to such absolutes. I do think you could really use an instructional course in photography. Here are my upcoming ones: donmammoserphoto.com/photo-tours/

[@TJackSurvival]

That burrowing owl made me yawn

[@newlifeeveryday1821]

Question from a newbie: I want to create bird videos similar to this youtube video ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpPWaHmKbMmLj8U ) in which the camera is on a tripod recording birds at they land on a food source or bird feeder then fly away. Do you think the Sony a6600 is an excellent camera for this project or should I buy something like the Sony A7Siii which is much more expensive. I am considering using the Sony 16-55 F2.8 G for the lens. Do you think this lens is a good choice ? I would appreciate any input, advice or suggestions. Thank you very much.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hi, Yes the a6600 would work just fine for this and the lens you listed is a good choice too because in those videos you mentioned the camera is sitting very close to the bird feed and the photographer is remote. You need a lens that focuses close, which that one does and a camera that will follow focus, which the a6600 would. Thanks for watching my video. Hope I helped.

[@garysanchezphotography]

Or, drive electric.

[@pf4773]

This enormous lens is great if the photographer has no need to worry about compact size or weight. However, for me as an international traveler (who also loves zoom lenses), the Sony a6600 and the Sony 78-350mm g is a great compromise. But obviously, for the biggest reach, the 200-600mm is the best. Again, I just find that such a large lens is not practical for my particular needs.

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

Hey, Thanks for watching and for the comment and I agree that the 70-350mm lens is awesome for travel. I also do a lot of international travel and will seriously consider this lens.

[@lewiss66]

@@DonMammoserPhoto maybe as a compromise there is the Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS. or the Sigma 100-400mm

[@DonMammoserPhoto]

@@lewiss66 Sure, that lens is very nice but when you photograph birds all day long the more zoom power you have the better.