BIRD IN FLIGHT ONLY -- share your BIF photos here

[Click]

Very nice series Alan. Well done.

 

[CarlTN]

I occasionally see raptors flying high, usually too high for photos. I took the kestrel (middle) and buzzard (bottom) last weekend and the marsh harrier (top) last December. They are all 100% crops, with the birds occupying only 400-500x600-700 pixels, which gives an idea of how far away they were. All are hand-held using the 5DIII + f/2.8 300mm II + 2x TC III at f/5.6. 600mm and iso 640. (I saw them while walking around and could not have used a tripod).

The kestrel looks the best of this group of images, in my opinion. Did you set ISO to 640, or was it in auto ISO?

 

[AlanF]

I occasionally see raptors flying high, usually too high for photos. I took the kestrel (middle) and buzzard (bottom) last weekend and the marsh harrier (top) last December. They are all 100% crops, with the birds occupying only 400-500x600-700 pixels, which gives an idea of how far away they were. All are hand-held using the 5DIII + f/2.8 300mm II + 2x TC III at f/5.6. 600mm and iso 640. (I saw them while walking around and could not have used a tripod).

The kestrel looks the best of this group of images, in my opinion. Did you set ISO to 640, or was it in auto ISO?

ISO 640 was set manually. It is my default setting for reasonable light as I find the noise level acceptable and very well suppressed with DxO prime. So, I use AV, with f = 5.6, ISO 640 and let the camera take care of the speed for shots like these. Also spot metering + 2 ev to get the right exposure against the sky. Focal gives f/5.6 as the sharpest aperture for my lens at 600mm.

I agree the kestrel is the best. The buzzard is of very marginal quality as it was just a dot in the sky and I photoed it just for identification. In extreme situations such as these the Canon 300 II + 2xTC III combo has a real edge over the Tamron 150-600mm, though for closer situations the Tamron is nearly as good at f/8.

 

[CarlTN]

I occasionally see raptors flying high, usually too high for photos. I took the kestrel (middle) and buzzard (bottom) last weekend and the marsh harrier (top) last December. They are all 100% crops, with the birds occupying only 400-500x600-700 pixels, which gives an idea of how far away they were. All are hand-held using the 5DIII + f/2.8 300mm II + 2x TC III at f/5.6. 600mm and iso 640. (I saw them while walking around and could not have used a tripod).

The kestrel looks the best of this group of images, in my opinion. Did you set ISO to 640, or was it in auto ISO?

ISO 640 was set manually. It is my default setting for reasonable light as I find the noise level acceptable and very well suppressed with DxO prime. So, I use AV, with f = 5.6, ISO 640 and let the camera take care of the speed for shots like these. Also spot metering + 2 ev to get the right exposure against the sky. Focal gives f/5.6 as the sharpest aperture for my lens at 600mm.

I agree the kestrel is the best. The buzzard is of very marginal quality as it was just a dot in the sky and I photoed it just for identification. In extreme situations such as these the Canon 300 II + 2xTC III combo has a real edge over the Tamron 150-600mm, though for closer situations the Tamron is nearly as good at f/8.

Very interesting, but hold on a minute. You've piqued my interest, but I doubt it means what I think it does. Are you just referring to the sharpness being better due to being open to f/5.6, or are you saying the Canon combo can also give better sharpness at a longer focus distance ?

 

[AlanF]

I occasionally see raptors flying high, usually too high for photos. I took the kestrel (middle) and buzzard (bottom) last weekend and the marsh harrier (top) last December. They are all 100% crops, with the birds occupying only 400-500x600-700 pixels, which gives an idea of how far away they were. All are hand-held using the 5DIII + f/2.8 300mm II + 2x TC III at f/5.6. 600mm and iso 640. (I saw them while walking around and could not have used a tripod).

The kestrel looks the best of this group of images, in my opinion. Did you set ISO to 640, or was it in auto ISO?

ISO 640 was set manually. It is my default setting for reasonable light as I find the noise level acceptable and very well suppressed with DxO prime. So, I use AV, with f = 5.6, ISO 640 and let the camera take care of the speed for shots like these. Also spot metering + 2 ev to get the right exposure against the sky. Focal gives f/5.6 as the sharpest aperture for my lens at 600mm.

I agree the kestrel is the best. The buzzard is of very marginal quality as it was just a dot in the sky and I photoed it just for identification. In extreme situations such as these the Canon 300 II + 2xTC III combo has a real edge over the Tamron 150-600mm, though for closer situations the Tamron is nearly as good at f/8.

Very interesting, but hold on a minute. You've piqued my interest, but I doubt it means what I think it does. Are you just referring to the sharpness being better due to being open to f/5.6, or are you saying the Canon combo can also give better sharpness at a longer focus distance ?

Carl
What I mean is that the canon combo is slightly sharper than the Tamron and that this becomes noticeable when you very highly crop and in effect are pixel peeping. If you have a subject close up then much of the fine detail is spread over many pixels and so you don't notice a small amount of blurring at the single pixel level. However, when the subject is far away, the same fine detail might occupy one or two pixels and so any blurring becomes apparent.

 

[Dylan777]

I occasionally see raptors flying high, usually too high for photos. I took the kestrel (middle) and buzzard (bottom) last weekend and the marsh harrier (top) last December. They are all 100% crops, with the birds occupying only 400-500x600-700 pixels, which gives an idea of how far away they were. All are hand-held using the 5DIII + f/2.8 300mm II + 2x TC III at f/5.6. 600mm and iso 640. (I saw them while walking around and could not have used a tripod).

Nice shots Alan

 

[steven kessel]

Here's one of my favorites.

 

[Click]

Beautiful shot Steven 8)

 

[CarlTN]

I occasionally see raptors flying high, usually too high for photos. I took the kestrel (middle) and buzzard (bottom) last weekend and the marsh harrier (top) last December. They are all 100% crops, with the birds occupying only 400-500x600-700 pixels, which gives an idea of how far away they were. All are hand-held using the 5DIII + f/2.8 300mm II + 2x TC III at f/5.6. 600mm and iso 640. (I saw them while walking around and could not have used a tripod).

The kestrel looks the best of this group of images, in my opinion. Did you set ISO to 640, or was it in auto ISO?

ISO 640 was set manually. It is my default setting for reasonable light as I find the noise level acceptable and very well suppressed with DxO prime. So, I use AV, with f = 5.6, ISO 640 and let the camera take care of the speed for shots like these. Also spot metering + 2 ev to get the right exposure against the sky. Focal gives f/5.6 as the sharpest aperture for my lens at 600mm.

I agree the kestrel is the best. The buzzard is of very marginal quality as it was just a dot in the sky and I photoed it just for identification. In extreme situations such as these the Canon 300 II + 2xTC III combo has a real edge over the Tamron 150-600mm, though for closer situations the Tamron is nearly as good at f/8.

Very interesting, but hold on a minute. You've piqued my interest, but I doubt it means what I think it does. Are you just referring to the sharpness being better due to being open to f/5.6, or are you saying the Canon combo can also give better sharpness at a longer focus distance ?

Carl
What I mean is that the canon combo is slightly sharper than the Tamron and that this becomes noticeable when you very highly crop and in effect are pixel peeping. If you have a subject close up then much of the fine detail is spread over many pixels and so you don't notice a small amount of blurring at the single pixel level. However, when the subject is far away, the same fine detail might occupy one or two pixels and so any blurring becomes apparent.

Ok, that's what I thought. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[ERHP]

Here's one of my favorites.

Really cool shot!

 

[Skatol]

Here's one of my favorites.

INCREDIBLE!

 

[ERHP]

Immature Rufous Hummingbird from Monday.

EXIF on the site.

 

[Click]

Lovely shot ERHP.

 

[Chisox2335]

Not as sharp as I'd like, but I thought the shot itself was pretty cool.

Canon 70D
100-400 @400mm
f5.6
1/320 (should've bumped it up a lot, they started fighting and I was excited and fumbling, hence why I'm practicing before my safari)
ISO100

 

[jrista]

Immature Rufous Hummingbird from Monday.

EXIF on the site.

That is a truly exquisite shot! Perfectly composed, beautiful boke, supreme sharpness. Fantastic work!!

 

[EvilZeev228]

Lunch time farming!

 

[Click]

Lunch time farming!

Beautiful series. Good timing on the second one.

 

[AlanF]

Wonderful shots on this page, every one of them. Congratulations!

 

[AlanF]

Oyster catcher in Lakenheath on 18 April. Canon 5DIII + 300mm f/2.8 II +2xTCIII, 1005 crop.

 

[AlanF]

And a shelduck 3 days earlier.