7d mark II as reviewed by Artie Morris

[wjdup101]

I think this ongoing blog review of the new 7d II by Artie Morris will be very helpful for bird photographers to make up their minds to buy it or not. Artie is known as one of the top bird photographers in North America and I personally learned a lot from following his blog on the 7d II. Needless to say that I have already ordered mine. He review only a few photos per day in detail. He regularly used the 7d II with his 600F4 IS II with a 2X III TC for an effective focal range of 1920mm. The results are astonishing taken into account the challenge of lens shake at that focal distance. You have to scroll back at least two weeks to start at the beginning of the review. I hope this is helpful.

http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/

 

[wjdup101]

Oystercatcher by Arthur Morris with the 7d II, 600 F4 + 2XIII TC, ISO 1600

 

[Quasimodo]

Oystercatcher by Arthur Morris with the 7d II, 600 F4 + 2XIII TC, ISO 1600

I have the 2xIII TC, soon the 7DII, and now I only have to figure out how to rob a bank, and to aquire his skills

 

[Keith_Reeder]

and to aquire his skills

The only thing that differentiates Art Morris from a million other photographers is opportunity - he has access (by his own admission) yo lots of tame birds, and the time to exploit them.

 

[Jim K]

and to aquire his skills

The only thing that differentiates Art Morris from a million other photographers is opportunity - he has access (by his own admission) yo lots of tame birds, and the time to exploit them.

I live in Florida just like Artie but on the East (Space Coast) coast and shoot a lot at Viera and MINWR. Unlike Artie who lives in the center of the state and goes over to the West coast for a lot of his local shooting. And therefore have access to the same tame birds that he does. But my work does not look like his

 

[Don Haines]

and to aquire his skills

The only thing that differentiates Art Morris from a million other photographers is opportunity - he has access (by his own admission) yo lots of tame birds, and the time to exploit them.

If it is a tame bird, you are not shooting it with a 600mm lens and a 2X teleconverter... and a crop camera for extra reach.... you are using a 24mm lens

 

[DominoDude]

and to aquire his skills

The only thing that differentiates Art Morris from a million other photographers is opportunity - he has access (by his own admission) yo lots of tame birds, and the time to exploit them.

If it is a tame bird, you are not shooting it with a 600mm lens and a 2X teleconverter... and a crop camera for extra reach.... you are using a 24mm lens

Yes! That's the way to do it!
Don, I've seen others from those neck of the woods feeding Chickadees in the palm of their hands. Is it the cold weather and sparseness of food for them that brings out this behaviour, or is it mostly good and patient training?

 

[icassell]

If you are implying that the reason that Artie's images look so good is that the birds are tame, you are dead wrong. He travels all over the world and shoots wild birds with equal aplomb. He is just (?) extremely skilled both in acquisition and processing (as well as being a great teacher).

 

[Don Haines]

and to aquire his skills

The only thing that differentiates Art Morris from a million other photographers is opportunity - he has access (by his own admission) yo lots of tame birds, and the time to exploit them.

If it is a tame bird, you are not shooting it with a 600mm lens and a 2X teleconverter... and a crop camera for extra reach.... you are using a 24mm lens

Yes! That's the way to do it!
Don, I've seen others from those neck of the woods feeding Chickadees in the palm of their hands. Is it the cold weather and sparseness of food for them that brings out this behaviour, or is it mostly good and patient training?

Patience and a steady supply of food... and works on more than chickadees....

But as said above, if Art Morris is using 1200mms on a crop camera, he is most certainly not dealing with "tame" or habituated birds. If I am quiet and non-threatening, I can get within 30 or 40 feet of a wild duck... but that is exceptionally close. There are several spots I know where people regularly feed the ducks and you can have them a foot or two away.

 

[DominoDude]

and to aquire his skills

The only thing that differentiates Art Morris from a million other photographers is opportunity - he has access (by his own admission) yo lots of tame birds, and the time to exploit them.

If it is a tame bird, you are not shooting it with a 600mm lens and a 2X teleconverter... and a crop camera for extra reach.... you are using a 24mm lens

Yes! That's the way to do it!
Don, I've seen others from those neck of the woods feeding Chickadees in the palm of their hands. Is it the cold weather and sparseness of food for them that brings out this behaviour, or is it mostly good and patient training?

Patience and a steady supply of food... and works on more than chickadees....

But as said above, if Art Morris is using 1200mms on a crop camera, he is most certainly not dealing with "tame" or habituated birds. If I am quiet and non-threatening, I can get within 30 or 40 feet of a wild duck... but that is exceptionally close. There are several spots I know where people regularly feed the ducks and you can have them a foot or two away.

*nods* Agreed and understood. (Been pecked upon by a Jackdaw I raised when young, and bitten by a Mallard who expected food but got none from me.)

I'm also convinced that Art has all the skills needed to shoot wild birds and do it in a professional way. No pro would slap on a 1200mm combination of lens and TC's for a tame bird that could be shot at MFD with a shorter lens - a pro would know to use the best possible gear at hand, make the best of the situation. I've read his blog and the review of the 7D Mark II, and I have a good impression of him and his abilities to judge the camera properly.

 

[YuengLinger]

He's a great nature photographer, but he does work for Canon. His insights are valuable, but remember he is a Canon Explorer of Light.

 

[pwp]

Arthur Morris is a class act, no question. He's Mr BIF...even Sir BIF
Even so, this is a field report with a beta 7DII from a photographer with declared Canon affiliations.

I'll be using my 7DII for all sorts of commercial work where APS-C cuts it, but I'm really looking forward to the totally nerdy, pixel-peeping, technical excesses from the meanest independent camera reviewers on the planet.

What is becoming clear from the handful of beta-reports published so far is that 7DII performance is brilliant. What is not yet clear is the cold hard technical output/image quality from properly processed RAW files. Only then the dust will settle and we'll be able to get on with actually working with what is shaping up as a bargain-priced, high performance camera.

-pw

 

[garyknrd]

Wow, he is switching from a 1D series to a 7D II. Can't wait to see his shots with it in the next few years.

 

[sanjosedave]

I only "discovered" Artie this evening.

He touts that DPP is better than ACR for processing RAW files

Anyone agree/disagree?

I've never heard of anyone, even a Canon Explorer of Light, highlight DPP

 

[HankMD]

Wow, he is switching from a 1D series to a 7D II. Can't wait to see his shots with it in the next few years.

Does he ever shoot high ISO shots, or only in good light?

I am an amateur who sometimes shoot high-elevation birds (above 2500-3400 meters), including some small, fast-moving songbirds that thrive in thickets inside forests. I would have very, very few shots without resorting to ISO 3200 or higher.

It is therefore critical that the 7D II perform better than mark I, maybe not as good as 6D but close.

 

[dtaylor]

I only "discovered" Artie this evening.

He touts that DPP is better than ACR for processing RAW files

Anyone agree/disagree?

I've never heard of anyone, even a Canon Explorer of Light, highlight DPP

In my experience so far...

* ACR has a clear edge in resolution and rendering fine detail.

* DPP results in less noise at high ISO.

 

[Steve]

I only "discovered" Artie this evening.

He touts that DPP is better than ACR for processing RAW files

Anyone agree/disagree?

I've never heard of anyone, even a Canon Explorer of Light, highlight DPP

Yeah DPP handles noise a lot better and I find I can do more sharpening and detail extraction from DPP converted TIFFs. The end result is much better IMO. You can buy a $50 email from Artie about how to do it or you can just play around with it yourself but converting from DPP and using photoshop to do noise reduction, sharpening, etc results in much better finished files.

As for how Artie shoots birds, he's pretty clear about his methods in his book. He has a number of go to places around the US and elsewhere where shooting birds is much easier because of their concentrations, like Bosque del Apache. He makes it sound like he has a regular year-round circuit following migratory schedules. He also shoots a ton from baited setups, which is really the only way to get great shots of smaller birds. You still need to use a long lens for this even if you are only 15-20ft away. A lot of his raptor shots are from photo ranches in Texas where the owners regularly set out bait and perches and then charge people several hundred dollars a day to shoot from hides. In a lot of ways, he's kind of lazy in that he doesn't go out searching for rare species or generally go out of his way too much. That said, he's also really good at what he does and lots of other people shooting from the same positions and setups wouldn't get the same shots. That also said, his constant, nonstop shilling of products and workshops and his full throated defense of his photo buddy who plead guilty to violating the endangered species act (for ramming his boat repeatedly into snail kite nesting grounds) makes me think he is more concerned about monetizing wildlife than preserving it.

 

[Deleted member 369279]

Is it just me or his Blog is a mess!? I like the info, but I have rarely seen a blog that is so uncomfortable to read...
About DPP 4, someone recently told me how good it was. I will try it.

Vincwat

 

[AlanF]

Arthur Morris a doyen of bird photographers, and he is not afraid of changing his mind with changing times. Note that he is now using the 300mm/2.8 II with extenders, which he does also on FF whereas in the past he thought it was too short. Just remember - using these combinations that a 300mm on a crop has twice the aperture as a 1.4 TC + 300mm on FF with similar resolution or a 300 + 1.4xTC on crop is similar to a 300 + 2xTC on FF. The extra stop on the crop makes a factor of 2 in iso and the absence of or smaller TC gives for better IQ.

I am really looking forward to seeing more data on the 7DII, and will get one if the IQ has improved. Already, my 70D using the 300/2.8 stands up quite well to my 5DIII, so I am hopeful.

 

[DominoDude]

I only "discovered" Artie this evening.

He touts that DPP is better than ACR for processing RAW files

Anyone agree/disagree?

I've never heard of anyone, even a Canon Explorer of Light, highlight DPP

All my postprocessing is done in DPP and only DPP. I've tried and tested Oloneo for some processing during its beta phase. (A wicked program with some quirks and awkwardness.)