Friday 4th September. First outing with the new lens. It takes some getting used to the narrow field of view and high magnification! Previous experience with the 50-200 with the 1.4x TC was valuable. The 400mm zoom is almost extreme. Its reach is remarkable. Sharpness at the long end is impressive! 
A telecoms tower seven miles away was an interesting target. Though the early morning light was rather poor. Despite the slight haze the detail is astonishing. The elements of the antennae on the upper tower are clearly visible in the original image.[Right]
5184x3888. 1/1300s f/11 ISO 1000, 400mm. I could have reduced ISO for greater sharpness but will wait for a sunny day to try again. I ought to take the Kowa '884 telescope to where I can see the tower in the distance to make direct comparisons.
Cropping has robbed the image of its sharpness. Increasing contrast and sharpening in PhotoFiltre hasn't matched the original. Just increased the artefacts. The various images here are my attempts to improve the original in PhotoFiltre.
The image [Left] is untouched except by Google's auto-resizing to 2048 × 1536 pixels. As the blog author I have privileges to expand the image to full size. Visitors may not be able to double click for a huge view.
I might still think of a better way of sharing the
fine detail from my images. Matching it to the needs of the blog format, while retaining the detail, is proving extremely difficult.
It is ironic that there are those who still insist on full frame 35mm cameras and long lenses. They must spend many thousands of pounds/dollars. Then carry the huge and heavy lenses via a vehicle and set them up on massive tripods and heads.
A closer view [Right] for comparison.
Totally impractical and expensive for most users. While I, as a fit septuagenarian, can easily carry an 800mm equivalent. For hours at a time on a simple camera strap over very rough ground. Up steep firebreaks and banks without even noticing the weight and bulk of the relatively tiny, Leica zoom lens and G9 body.
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