Show your Bird Portraits
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Well, he keeps trying! He was sitting up in our tree today where the birds were sitting for my photos. It's just a 3 or so foot jump to the bird feeder.Very nice pictures - but how long will you be able to take them once Ollie goes on the hunt...
W.
Of course, when he's there then there are no birds brave enough to temp fate at the feeder!
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Still practicing hand-holding - from my lanai. After so many years on tripod it's not easy. Keepers like this are low number - lower than I wish. The only technical problem (except my own problems with the hand-holding) was the VR - on my older lens VR Off was in the opposite direction!
For this one Alan probably would say "don't post photos of winged rats" - and by reason! On other hand there was noting else (except few doves but they are even more boring...).
!For this one Alan probably would say "don't post photos of winged rats" - and by reason! On other hand there was noting else (except few doves but they are even more boring...).
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Thanks, Maximillian. The lighting result was more luck than planning, as I couldn't sleep and was up before dawn when I wondered if the birds were near the feeder yet. But after seeing the results, I've been getting up before dawn to see if it's cloudy or not in hopes of getting more shots like it. And I've been shooting wide open, so next time I'll try to bracket some slightly stopped down shots in hopes of getting just enough DOF while still having a good background blur.
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More from the same Christmas window photos.
R5 & RF 100-500 lens.
500mm, f7.1, 1/800", ISO 400. Female Northern Cardinal
500mm, f7.1, 1/3200", ISO 2000, 1:1 image. Juvenile(?) White Throated Sparrow (thanks for the ID, josephandrews22 & Ellen)
363mm, f7.1, 1/400", ISO 8000. Female Northern Cardinal
500mm, f7.1, 1/800", ISO 12800. Female Northern Cardinal (sunrise)
R5 & RF 100-500 lens.
500mm, f7.1, 1/800", ISO 400. Female Northern Cardinal
500mm, f7.1, 1/3200", ISO 2000, 1:1 image. Juvenile(?) White Throated Sparrow (thanks for the ID, josephandrews22 & Ellen)
363mm, f7.1, 1/400", ISO 8000. Female Northern Cardinal
500mm, f7.1, 1/800", ISO 12800. Female Northern Cardinal (sunrise)
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Are you seeing your subject jump around in the EVF a bit when handholding out at 500mm? When I am focusing and just observing through the EVF, the image is very steady, as expected. But then when I take a burst of shots, it seems to be jumping around within the frame more than I expected. The results are still fine, but the jumping around is unsettling, and it leaves me guessing whether the AF point is staying put...Thanks, AlanF.
I think a lot of praise belongs to Canon and the R5 and RF 100-500. I just love that lens!
I can get super close to the birds since they know I'm behind the window (which is fairly dark without lights on) and put my lens hood almost against the glass (and clean it as much as possible). If you look at some of the little falling snowflake streaks in my previous post you can see the fainter double image clearly. But "it 'tis what it 'tis".
I don't know how to use Adobe products (which I know are remarkable), but PL4 lets me pull a rabbit out of the hat (well, out of the dark shadows at least) and with some easy tweaks get an interesting photo.
I really like the dark & neon-like feeling of the photo at sunrise - I had no idea they would look like that. Now I'm getting up before daybreak in hopes of capturing more like that.
Does this sound normal? (I did call CPS, but only on Monday and Thursday, because of Covid-19 procedures, do they have techs physically present in the service centers for support, for trying things with gear on their end.)
Thanks!
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josephandrews222
Square Sensors + AI = Better Images
...the second image is a white throated sparrow, I think:
Great images. Nice pictures of female cardinals like these remind me that while the coloring of the male cardinals is more obvious...often-times the depth and texture of the colors of the females is a sight to behold (imho).
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I'm not noticing any unusual jumping around in the EVF at 500mm. I have chosen to use the slowest FPS burst speed setting to take a 3 exposure-brightness bracket with E-1st shutter, since I've noticed any faster FPS can have noticeable vibration from the previous 2nd mechanical shutter in the last 2 shots. I use a back focus button, but usually choose to hold that back focus button while taking all 3 shots so that it gets the eye in focus (hopefully) for each shot. The focus box sometimes jumps around because of that but it doesn't bother me. It wouldn't surprise me if we are both seeing the same thing, but I might not be noticing it as much sine I've gotten used to the amount of bouncing around due to my slower FPS which allows more subject motion.
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Thanks, josephandrews22. I have noticed that the male adult cardinals as so solidly bright red that it becomes harder to see the individual feather features, while the female adults have a wide variety of brightness & color in their feathers that make them drastically easier to see and thus much more stunning when in sharp focus....the second image is a white throated sparrow, I think:
Great images. Nice pictures of female cardinals like these remind me that while the coloring of the male cardinals is more obvious...often-times the depth and texture of the colors of the females is a sight to behold (imho).
These window photos are at a somewhat downward angle through a double pane window so that the horizontal thin feather lines get blurred out due to reflected images, while the vertical ones remain pretty sharp as those reflected images overlap their detail with ideal alignment so you don't notice the issue. I've got to see if I can get a way to have an opening in the window to allow unhindered shots while not scaring off the birds or letting too much frigid air into the house.
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Thanks! I followed CPS's suggestion to try the same type of shot with my 70-200mm. And I do see a similar kind of jittering of the image, but not as noticeable as with the 100-500mm, presumably because of the shorter focal length.
Did you try, by any chance, looking down through the front element into the barrel to see how much the inner elements shift about? If you have time! Thanks again!
(I should probably take a video of it to show here and to send to CPS tomorrow.)
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OK - I looked down the front on the 100-500 (which was pointed straight up) and slowly tilted it slightly left and slightly right. Yes, there was a noticeable movement of some elements in view - not by a lot, but noticeable. And there was no sound when they did it. I certainly didn't shake it to test any further, as it shows that there is some normal free floating of the IS elements when not in use (I assume). And my photos are superb with this lens and I've had no problems at all with it. So I guess my advice to you is: "Smile, relax, and enjoy one of the best lightweight tele-zooms ever made!"
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