Rodney Campbell's Blog

Having setup at the Temple Gorge Campground we went for an afternoon walk along the Temple Gorge Trail. A Class 3 and 4, 2km return trail

Temple Rocks

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S @ 57 mm, 1/60 sec at f/5.6, ISO 1100

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Starting at the Temple Gorge campground, the first part of the trail is Class 3 and leads to a fork in the creek under a prominent rock face referred to as The Temple. The left fork is a short picturesque walk, and apart from a few step-ups, is relatively easy. The right fork is rated at Class 4 and is a longer, tougher, boulder-strewn walk up to a small seasonal rock pool

Holey Temple

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S @ 33 mm, 1/40 sec at f/5.6, ISO 450

Red

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S @ 70 mm, 1/80 sec at f/6.3, ISO 1100

Temple Gorge

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S @ 33 mm, 1/40 sec at f/6.3, ISO 450

After another long drive on dirt roads we were finally at Temple Gorge Campground in the heart of the Kennedy Range National Park

Kennedy Ranges

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S @ 70 mm, 1/100 sec at f/8, ISO 64 x 8 Frames

We stopped on the road when we were nearing the ranges so I could take this eight (8) frame horizontal panorama (handheld of course :))

That’s the range you can see spanning right across in the distance. It looks quite a way away but is just 5km from here

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S @ 31.5 mm, 1/60 sec at f/8, ISO 64

After two nights in Carnarvon we headed west to Gascoyne Junction and then north to the Kennedy Range National Park

Neither myself nor even my parents had ever been to the Kennedy Range, so this was all going to be new

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S @ 70 mm, 1/800 sec at f/8, ISO 400

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

During the trip we saw quite a lot of large raptors (eagles, kites, etc). Usually just perched on the tallest trees or even tall anthills (where they were sometimes the tallest things in the area). Sometimes also feasting on the roadkill at the side of or on the road

Some of them were very large (2m wingspan) which is pretty impressive to see when they are just a few metres from the car as you drive past

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S @ 70 mm, 1/80 sec at f/8, ISO 90

On the way out to the Kennedy Ranges we saw these interesting looking plugs, mounds and hills off in the distance. We decided to stop and fly the drone over to investigate. They didn’t look all that far away but it turned out they were over 3km away by the time I got to them. This burned most of the battery just flying there and back, so I didn’t have all that long to do any photographs or video whilst I was there 🙂

Plugs

DJI Mavic 2 Pro L1D-20c + 28.0 mm f/2.8 @ 10.26 mm, 1/80 sec at f/4, ISO 100

We left Karijini and continued on our way. First stop was a night in Tom Price – essentially so we could do some much needed washing 🙂

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S @ 38 mm, 1/40 sec at f/9, ISO 80

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Then it was onward past Paraburdoo to Barradale and then to Carnarvon

Curved Paths

DJI Mavic 2 Pro L1D-20c + 28.0 mm f/2.8 @ 10.26 mm, 1/1250 sec at f/4, ISO 100 x 21 Frames

Iron Bound

DJI Mavic 2 Pro L1D-20c + 28.0 mm f/2.8 @ 10.26 mm, 1/1600 sec at f/4, ISO 100 x 21 Frames

Here at the end of the trail at Weano Gorge we have the Handrail Pool

A stitched panorama from a single row of five (5) horizontal frames with the fabulous Nikon Z7 plus the 14-30/4 Z lens at 23mm

Handrail Pool

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S @ 23 mm, 4 sec at f/8, ISO 64 x 5 Frames

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

… and just for comparison here is that panorama compared to two I took with the Mavic 2 Pro

Those are comprised of three (3) rows of seven (7) horizontal frames with a 28mm equivalent lens. And these are the straight out of drone JPEG pano’s

DJI Mavic 2 Pro L1D-20c + 28.0 mm f/2.8 @ 10.26 mm, 1/30 sec at f/2.8, ISO 400 x 21 Frames

At this size and even full screen on my computer they compare very favourably

The differences appear when you view it zoomed (like at 1:1)

The Z7 pano is 21,000 pixels across and has superb detail and clarity even zoomed to 1:1. The Mavic 2 pano’s are 8,200 pixels across and not anywhere near as clean

I suspect if I stitched the RAW images out of the Mavic they would be better but still I expect not near the Z7

Still for what it is and the portability, convenience and indeed possibilities… the Mavic 2 Pro produces very nice and usable images