First week of BIF action with 7D MK II

[Phil L]

I received the MK II on Monday Nov. 3 and had a chance to get out a few days this week to try it on BIF shots.

Here are two bald eagle shots and these are my photo blog posts for the week if anyone wants to see how I made out. There are more eagle shots plus an osprey with two fish and cool mid air gull battle over a caught bird.

All were shot as jpegs using a 300 f4 with a 1.4 extender attached.

http://phillanoue.com/2014/11/07/high-speed-chase/

http://phillanoue.com/2014/11/06/osprey-double-dipper/

http://phillanoue.com/2014/11/05/looking-for-a-place-to-land/

http://phillanoue.com/2014/11/04/get-out-of-our-neighborhood/

 

[Phil L]

Here's an ibis and a wood stork from this week.

 

[nda]

Fantastic pics

 

[Click]

Great shots Phil. 8)

 

[Marauder]

Great shots Phil! Thanks for sharing! How do you like the AF and the ergonomics?

 

[fragilesi]

Very nice! Looks like it focuses well even under tricky conditions.

 

[Phil L]

Here's a GBH jump off at 2500 ISO from earlier this week. These were also just shot as jpegs.

 

[Phil L]

I made this GBH shot Friday evening just after sunset. It was taken at 16000 ISO. Shutter 500 and 7.1 aperture.
I made only some minor tweaks in PS and it got a touch of NR. This was also just shot as a jpeg not Raw as I wanted to test how jpegs (especially slightly under exposed) might look using super high ISO. I'm not saying this is a prize winner with any kind of fantastic IQ or anything. But I figure that if you were in a once in a lifetime situation where the only way you could get the shot was to go way up on the ISO you could potentially get something out of it.
With my original 7D I hesitated to go up to 800-1600 for jpegs.

 

[Phil L]

Fantastic pics

Thanks much, glad you like them.

 

[Phil L]

Great shots Phil. 8)

Thanks, I appreciate you checking them out.

 

[Phil L]

Great shots Phil! Thanks for sharing! How do you like the AF and the ergonomics?

Thanks very much for looking and commenting!
So far I have been happy with the AF and the feel of the camera. The first day out was a little odd though. For several years I have been shooting my 7D with a battery grip attached and I don't have one yet for the MK II so I think I missed the weight and feel of this new camera at first. I shoot all BIF handheld and I'll probably get the grip for this new MK II eventually.

 

[Phil L]

Very nice! Looks like it focuses well even under tricky conditions.

Thank you and I was happy that the camera was usually about to pick out the subject (even a small one) from a busy background. Need more time to dial it in and continue some tweaking but it looks good so far.

 

[CaptainZero]

Looks like it's working great. Nice shots. Question on your BIF shots, do you use a single point AF, or a Zone, or anything else?

 

[miah]

Very nice shots, Phil; thanks for posting. Hey, were all of these taken at Huntington Beach State Park in SC? I ask because I'll be traveling through that area en route to the Everglades in early March and would like to know if it's worth the stop. I live out in dry, dry Colorado, so anytime I can enjoy a good estuary (and the wildlife they afford) I try to do it. Thanks in advance.

 

[Phil L]

Looks like it's working great. Nice shots. Question on your BIF shots, do you use a single point AF, or a Zone, or anything else?

Thanks for checking them out I appreciate it.
I tried a couple of different focusing options for BIF and eventually went with center point expanded which is the one with the one center point and the four smaller points on each side. That's what I successfully used on my 7D for years and I'm still thinking it works out best for me on the new MK II.

 

[Phil L]

Very nice shots, Phil; thanks for posting. Hey, were all of these taken at Huntington Beach State Park in SC? I ask because I'll be traveling through that area en route to the Everglades in early March and would like to know if it's worth the stop. I live out in dry, dry Colorado, so anytime I can enjoy a good estuary (and the wildlife they afford) I try to do it. Thanks in advance.

Thanks, glad you liked the bird photos.
Yes, these and pretty much every shot on my wildlife photo blog were taken at HBSP in SC. It's a great place for birds (and alligators) however traditionally, Feb. and March are probably about the slowest months there. It's kind of a transitional time when some birds have left to nest elsewhere and we are still waiting for Spring birds to show up. Also the gators are not really out and about yet. But you never know. All of 2014 has been an odd year and out of whack here in many ways and we are hoping 2015 will be better. You can check my blog archives for March to get an idea of what you might see. Let me know if you think you will visit the area.

 

[miah]

Thanks, Phil, I'll take a look at your site's March posts and give you a shout when I get close.

 

[Phil L]

Thanks, Phil, I'll take a look at your site's March posts and give you a shout when I get close.

Ok great, let me know if you hit the area.

 

[Phil L]

Not a BIF, but here's an oops moment from yesterday when the egret dropped and lost it's fish.

Also today's blog post has a cormorant fishing and taking off from the salt marsh.

http://phillanoue.com/2014/11/10/this-guy-was-good/

 

[Click]

Not a BIF, but here's an oops moment from yesterday when the egret dropped and lost it's fish.

Very good timing. Well done.