Sony A1 & Sony 200-600 First Impressions Part 1 - Alpha One 4k 120fps Footage

i've had the sony a1 now for about three weeks and for the past two weeks i've taken it along with the sony 200 to 600 to a really favorite place of mine called the stick marsh it's springtime right now in florida and there's a lot of bird activity and they're doing some fun stuff so everything that you see in this video from this point going forward was shot with the sony a1 and the 200 to 600 all of the stills and all of the video that you're gonna see so i have a lot of people ask me you know how this camera performs well i'm about to show you come on let's go [Music] florida and spring the perfect time to photograph birds and due west of that magical sunrise this bird the anhinga is ready to start the day locals call them snake birds and it's easy to see why as it slinks right along the surface of the water that perfectly pointed beak has a piercing purpose and we'll find out what that purpose is soon enough but there's something a little more colorful lurking in the rocks and apparently it's a little bashful too but that's okay because our anhinga has already wrangled up some breakfast now we know what that pointy beak is for anhingas will spear their prey underwater bring them to the surface and then they'll try and flip the fish off their beak and catch it in midair just like that back over at the rocks and our spoon bill is still being a little bashful and that's just fine because our anhinga has speared yet another fish and this one is skewered onto its bottom beak really good but this anhinga knows exactly what to do down the hatch all of this action has gathered the attention of a cormorant who flies in to see what all of the commotion is about and the beautiful early morning light illuminates just tiny little water droplets that cover this bird's chest and what do you know it looks like our spoonbills are no longer being bashful these birds are simply out of this world in the early morning light and that vibrant color that appears so unreal is part of this bird's beautiful breeding plumage the stick in its beak can only mean one thing it's nest building time let's see if we can capture some shots of these beauties in flight what a breathtaking specimen of a bird these birds were almost hunted to extinction back in the early 1900s people killed them and pulled their feathers and used them to decorate their hats thankfully that was stopped quickly catching them in flight in early morning light is awesome but their landings are incredible even when it's one of the lighter colored ones like this one not only is the lighting pretty much perfect for these birds but it also makes the background colors really pop when they come in for a landing you get all of these amazing wing positions too and where there is one spoon bill there will almost always be another and this one is an adult in full breeding plumage again it's kind of hard to believe just how colorful these birds are at the right time of year and in the right light these birds transform into living works of art where no level of color saturation is spared and just like the lighter colored spoonie this adult and full breeding plumage gives me plenty of great opportunities to capture some breathtaking wing positions once one of these birds lands and starts finding nesting material a few more always follow and it isn't unusual to get shots of them with their eyes shut like this one and if you're lucky you can grab a shot or two where the shadow of the head is cast right onto their wings landing shots are awesome but so are takeoffs and this bird is in the perfect place for liftoff and once again that early morning light really makes the entire scene shine with amazing vibrant colors spectacular birds in the perfect environment for photography let's check in on our efficient hunting anhinga and it looks like she has managed to spear another fish and this one goes down pretty easy it looks like our cormorant was successful as well it has managed to wrangle up a huge needle fish which is very interesting because this is fresh water and this species of fish is usually found in salt water the atlantic ocean is about 15 miles to the east so that fish did some serious traveling and just like the anhinga this cormorant caught the fish underwater but has to eat the fish out of water which makes for a very interesting struggle how in the world is that bird going to swallow this fish let's come back to this bird a little later because a few of the spoonbills have decided to fly right towards me and who could pass up an opportunity to photograph these birds when they are coming in right at you talk about perfect shooting conditions this is about as good as it gets for spoonbills not only do you have the amazing early morning light shining in on these beautiful birds but the sky was a clear blue and it gets reflected on the surface of the water making for some out of this world images and shooting 30 frames per second really opens the door to new possibilities it gives you the ability to pick the images that look best to you not only from an exposure standpoint but also from a composition standpoint as well i'm only showcasing the images that have the exact wing positions i find the most appealing and when a spoonbill completely unfurls its massive wingspan like this you have to capture it for the whole world to see let's see if our anhinga is still fishing well of course this bird has another fish the only thing that seems to outmatch its whoa skill is its hunger that one isn't getting away it looks like our cormorant has bitten off more than it can chew it needs to take a few lessons from the anhinga i'm not sure this bird is going to be able to eat that fish let's check back on our spoonies they're still flying in but this one has decided to land in the grass the added color of the grass and the tiny wildflowers just add to the whole scene giving it a different color palette and of course you have this bright pink bird landing right in the middle incredible our anhinga is back at it and this time it seems to be having a little trouble unsparing its catch is that even a word unspearing well i i guess it is now i think you know this bird isn't going to let anything go to waste and its catch swims right down his throat whoa our spoonbills are still at it and this one came in so close i could feel the breeze from its wings as it came in for a landing these birds sure are busy they are all coming into this area of land in search of nesting materials so hopefully we will have some spoonbills flying with sticks in a bit but let's check back with our cormorant and see how it's doing and it looks like the cormorant has successfully killed its fish now it just has to figure out how to swallow it and i think it knows exactly what to do down the hatch it is i never thought that would happen let's check back in with our spoonbills every once in a while you get lucky enough to catch a couple of spoonbills flying in together like this now that's not something you see every day and neither is this a gray blue heron silently stalking some prey in the middle of a blooming patch of water hyacinth wow that's just beautiful thanks for the great image opportunity great blue heron and another spoonbill comes flying right in giving us a look at its impressive wingspan i would even go so far as to say this bird is really showing off and with a shoreline of spoonbills eagerly combing through the rocks looking for nesting materials the show is about to begin what show am i referring to well spoonbills flying with sticks of course but there's another great hunter prowling the land this little bird is a cattle egret and that funky little wiggle like dance is this bird's way of trying to pinpoint a dragonfly it looked like it missed but there was two and it grabbed one these little birds are great hunters and this one is starting to show some breeding plumage see all of that awesome color on its beak it will only get more vivid in the coming weeks i love getting head on shots of these birds like this you can see the dragonflies in the foreground but look at those eyes from this vantage point you get a good idea of how this bird sees the world it's kind of weird looking and in this shot you can really see how its eyes face forward wow from this angle it doesn't even really look like a bird but it is and it is hungry and this one really loves dragonflies it just snatches them right off of a blade of grass and then tosses them back whole wings and all i don't know about you but i think that would be a little hard to swallow but a bird has got to eat and it looks like dragonflies are on the menu unless of course you are this cattle egret who has managed to catch a ribbon snake it looks like this bird and the snake have officially tied the knot thank you thank you i'll be here all week all joking aside i would bet that this tangling behavior is a defense mechanism maybe if the snake is in a knot this bird will get a knot in his throat or not in his stomach okay bad jokes aside the snake didn't survive this encounter let's see if our spoonies are ready to fly with sticks yet oh that's a good start what a cute little stick but we want something with a little more substance oh that's a little more promising not sure if that stick is going to make the grade though oh and look at that two great blue herons with sticks i guess they're building nests too and what's this flying overhead with sticks that would be a snail kite they also inhabit the area and i was able to get a very good close-up of one too look at that bird what an amazing creature check out those bright red eyes absolutely incredible and look at that hooked beak that is specially designed to pull apple snails from their shells hopefully i will be able to explore these birds a little more in the summer back to those pink birds with sticks that's not too bad but we want something with a little more substance i'd give this stick a 3 out of 10. that's a little better definitely some more sticks on that stick i'll give it a 4 out of 10. let's get some more colors in there birds um not exactly full of color either but it's the biggest one yet so i'll give it a 5 out of 10. oh now we've got some color look at those little green lily pads roots and all that should be perfect in the nest i give this one a 6 out of 10. oh it's some more color again looking good but still a little on the small side i give it a 6 out of 10 as well oh now we're talking we have a good sized stick with some nice green leaves i'll give this a 7 out of 10. great job great job whoa now that is amazing this bird grabbed a small tree and flew away with it i give it an 8 out of 10 getting better each time now we're talking this bird knows what it's doing not only does it have a huge stick with some nice green color but there are flowers on this one too 10 out of 10. i think we have our winner wait a minute this spoonbill might have something even better it's hard to tell with that wing in the way and how in the world can this bird even see with the leaf covering its eye ah yep this bird is definitely the winner it has a massive branch with leaves and flowers but wait a minute what in the world is this could it be is it is there a spoon bill with that much determination okay this might be the world record for a spoonbill carrying nesting material that's got to be over 6 meters long yeah we definitely have a new winner for the books simply baffling to me how this bird managed to drag this huge piece of water grass through the air someone is going to be very happy back at the nest and after all that hard work carrying sticks around nothing better than a bath seeing these birds bathe in shallow water is always a great treat and trying to pause a few moments in time when the water droplets fill the air and sparkle like diamonds is well worth the wait one of the great things about photographing these birds while they are bathing are there really odd positions you can capture them in like this and being able to capture them as they clean one single feather and hold it out for the world to see is just awesome [Music] you can also capture them with their wings fully outstretched while they face to the left and sometimes they're nice enough to rotate and give you a glimpse of the other side too but i prefer the head-on shots you can capture like these whoa the bird actually looks kind of scary here this bird hasn't even gotten in the water yet but this one sure has and it has no problems splish splashing around in the shallow water and of course there's one bird who has managed to poke its head in from the right side and photobomb every single shot it's kind of funny looking actually and as soon as i turn my camera on that bird it jumps in the air and it gives me this nice exit shot but it left i guess it didn't want to be in the public eye after all what an amazing experience in one of the coolest places in florida springtime in florida is always amazing that location is just spectacular there's all kinds of birds doing all kinds of stuff and i hold a workshop there if you would like to join me on that workshop and take pictures like that um sign up here or down there it's a lot of fun and a lot of happy people have been there and actually got a lot of really good shots let me know what you thought of the video in the comments below as always if you have any questions about the a1 and the 200 to 600 leave them in the comments below maybe i can make a video that answers just of all of those questions if you want to know what i think of this camera and this lens together and the 600 f4 of course because i have that as well i'll make a follow-up video where i just kind of discuss everything that i like about this camera and what i don't like about it so if you're not subscribed go ahead and do that that video will be coming up in a few days by the time you see this it might already be live so go look for that this is part one part two will be coming up soon um if you thought this was in any way helpful or enjoyable to you please share this video because that's always helpful to me and until next time i'll see you later

Channel: Mark Smith

Views: 33,720

Rating: 4.8983665 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: bPBLIRlMN-8

Length: 14min 49sec (889 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 10 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/mirrorlessNY_YouTube]

very cool wildlife slow motion