Show your Bird Portraits

Hi FEBS, no I don't ... I've found the 580 can give me enough .. a lot of the time it just fills the shadows and gives a highlight in the eye.
I think if I need one of those, I'm too far away ... I try and get close. Most of those shots were only cropped at most about 1/2 the frame size or less, if any more then it's not a really a keeper I recon.
 
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Omni Images said:
Hi FEBS, no I don't ... I've found the 580 can give me enough .. a lot of the time it just fills the shadows and gives a highlight in the eye.
I think if I need one of those, I'm too far away ... I try and get close. Most of those shots were only cropped at most about 1/2 the frame size or less, if any more then it's not a really a keeper I recon.

OK, thx for the feedback.
I'm preparing myself for my next safari in September (Uganda), and this time I really want using a flash extender. I fully agree that if you need to crop more then 50%, the chance I will be a keeper is becoming low. However, on a safari, you don't have always the opportunity to come close. I'm using my 200-400 with 1.4 external extender, so that I can get 784mm on my 1Dx. On the other hand, also the light conditions are asking some fill flash over there. Last year, I had bought ultimately the better beamer, but did not use it extensively in front. So the result was not good at that moment. Now I think I'm used to this extender.
 
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FEBS, I would be taking it then. I don't think you'll be able to get as close as I was with those birds, and a flash in the face of an elephant or lion might get them a little upset ... just need to watch that cat eye thing with the flash ... But I think it does bring out the colour much better ... I'd prefer to use one flash and have the bird fly away, than take 20 dull and muddy unusable shots ... but they don't seem to mind the flash.. sometimes the just flinch and look at you again ...
So yeah at those distances with the larger animals over there a beamer might help a lot. Those birds in my shots are tiny and you have to get as close as you can.
 
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Omni Images said:
FEBS, I would be taking it then. I don't think you'll be able to get as close as I was with those birds, and a flash in the face of an elephant or lion might get them a little upset ... just need to watch that cat eye thing with the flash ... But I think it does bring out the colour much better ... I'd prefer to use one flash and have the bird fly away, than take 20 dull and muddy unusable shots ... but they don't seem to mind the flash.. sometimes the just flinch and look at you again ...
So yeah at those distances with the larger animals over there a beamer might help a lot. Those birds in my shots are tiny and you have to get as close as you can.

great series Omni - well done.

I almost always use the better beamer and a little fill flash for birds for the reasons you note. Typically working with 1DX + 600II +1.4XIII. My only issue is that I've broken 2 of the canon remote flash attachments in the last 6 months. I am super careful w gear, but these just seem to snap off with the slightest bump if the flash gets caught on a bit of brush etc. Carry an extra one on safari (or perhaps just spazz less than me ;)).
 
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Vern said:
I almost always use the better beamer and a little fill flash for birds for the reasons you note. Typically working with 1DX + 600II +1.4XIII. My only issue is that I've broken 2 of the canon remote flash attachments in the last 6 months. I am super careful w gear, but these just seem to snap off with the slightest bump if the flash gets caught on a bit of brush etc. Carry an extra one on safari (or perhaps just spazz less than me ;)).

Hi Vern,

Thanks for your reaction. By adding the better beamer, you place an extra force on the flash attachment, and as you mentioned you should be extra carefully.
I don't have the 600f4, but use the 200-400 1.4 with engaged internal extender and the 1.4 III as external extender. So I can get 784mm / f8 on my 1Dx. I mostly change the aperture then to f10 or f11 and use in that case Aperture Priority together with the flash in TTL mostly on FEC -2 and ISO fixed on 100 till 1600, depending what I need. That setting delivered me good and sharp pictures at home with the local birds. Auto ISO, which I mostly use in M setting, does not bring me the right results as the ISO will be fixed to 400 in that case by the 1Dx. What's your setup with a better beamer to catch the birds ?
 
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Just testing the high ISO of the 5DS R on subjects that it was not marketed to handle. :)


Chestnut Munia (Lonchura atricapilla) by alabang, on Flickr

The Chestnut Munia (Lonchura atricapilla) (formerly considered as a subspecies of the tricoloured munia Lonchura malacca atricapilla), also known as black-headed munia, is a small passerine bird. This estrildid finch is a resident breeding bird in Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Hawaii.

Before 1995, it was the national bird of the Philippines,[2] where it is known as mayang pula ("red maya") because of its brick red patch on the lower back which is visible only when it flies. (This distinguishes it from other birds locally called maya, notably the predominantly brownish "mayang simbahan" (tree sparrow)[3] which is more common in urban areas.)

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chestnut_munia

Location: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muntinlupa


Camera
Canon EOS 5DS R
Lens
Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM
Focal Length
800mm
Shutter Speed
1/320 s
Aperture
f/5.6
ISO/Film
2500
 
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dolina said:
Just testing the high ISO of the 5DS R on subjects that it was not marketed to handle. :)


Chestnut Munia (Lonchura atricapilla) by alabang, on Flickr

The Chestnut Munia (Lonchura atricapilla) (formerly considered as a subspecies of the tricoloured munia Lonchura malacca atricapilla), also known as black-headed munia, is a small passerine bird. This estrildid finch is a resident breeding bird in Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Hawaii.

Before 1995, it was the national bird of the Philippines,[2] where it is known as mayang pula ("red maya") because of its brick red patch on the lower back which is visible only when it flies. (This distinguishes it from other birds locally called maya, notably the predominantly brownish "mayang simbahan" (tree sparrow)[3] which is more common in urban areas.)

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chestnut_munia

Location: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muntinlupa


Camera
Canon EOS 5DS R
Lens
Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM
Focal Length
800mm
Shutter Speed
1/320 s
Aperture
f/5.6
ISO/Film
2500

That is pretty cool! How bad were the file sizes?
 
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dolina said:
Just testing the high ISO of the 5DS R on subjects that it was not marketed to handle. :)


Chestnut Munia (Lonchura atricapilla) by alabang, on Flickr

The Chestnut Munia (Lonchura atricapilla) (formerly considered as a subspecies of the tricoloured munia Lonchura malacca atricapilla), also known as black-headed munia, is a small passerine bird. This estrildid finch is a resident breeding bird in Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Hawaii.

Before 1995, it was the national bird of the Philippines,[2] where it is known as mayang pula ("red maya") because of its brick red patch on the lower back which is visible only when it flies. (This distinguishes it from other birds locally called maya, notably the predominantly brownish "mayang simbahan" (tree sparrow)[3] which is more common in urban areas.)

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chestnut_munia

Location: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muntinlupa


Camera
Canon EOS 5DS R
Lens
Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM
Focal Length
800mm
Shutter Speed
1/320 s
Aperture
f/5.6
ISO/Film
2500


I'm really impressed. Great colours and, when I magnify it, great detail. :)
 
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Thanks dpc.


Yellow-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) by alabang, on Flickr

The yellow-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is resident breeder in southeast Asia from southern Thailand and Cambodia south to Borneo and the Philippines. It is found in a wide variety of open habitats, but not deep forest. It is one of the most common birds in cultivated areas. They appear to be nomadic, roaming from place to place regularly.

The yellow-vented bulbul builds a well-camouflaged but fragile, loose, deep, cup-shaped nest from grass, leaves, roots, vine stems, and twigs. The nest is untidy on the outside, but it is neatly lined with plant fibers. It may be built in a wide range of places from low bushes to high trees. This is a species adapted to humans and may even nest in gardens. The yellow-vented bulbul lays 2–5 eggs in February to June.

The yellow-vented bulbuls eats berries and small fruits. They also sip nectar, nibble on young shoots, and take some insects.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-vented_bulbul

Location: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muntinlupa

Camera Canon EOS 5DS R
Lens Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM
Focal Length 800mm
Shutter Speed 1/200 s
Aperture f/5.6
ISO/Film 640

500px uncompressed: https://500px.com/photo/112583865/yellow-vented-bulbul-pycnonotus-goiavier-by-paolo-dolina?from=user_library
 
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