Show your Bird Portraits
- Thread starter 1982chris911
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Click said:
That must be a wonderful pairing for small birds! Reach/cropping ability - ever too much lens to control easily? - any comments?
Jack
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Jack Douglas said:
The IS on this lens is wonderful. I was using the fine central spot focus I have assigned to one of the back buttons. After a second, the IS kicks in and remains active for another second or so when the button is released so I can re-aim precisely and refocus. I had little trouble putting the AF point on this little guy free hand and free standing at a distance of 24m (as reported in the EXIF data). I was very concerned that with an effective focal length of 800mm (as compared to FF) that this would be difficult to control, but those worries are unfounded. I had been using this same combo with the 1.4x III extender and even that is reasonably well behaved. I just don't quite have the micro adjust dialed in on that set up yet.
Joe
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JMZawodny said:
Thanks, I'll appreciate hearing your assessment from time to time. For comparison have you handled other big lenses - i.e. how does it compare to the 300 2.8?
Jack
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Jack Douglas said:
I have the 300 2.8 II and the original 400 DO. I do notice the extra ~kg of the 500 over those two, but I can still handhold the 500 for a couple of hours at a time. I typically use the 300 on my 5D2 for nighttime football games and the 400 for airshows. I expect the 500 to replace the 400. The IS on the DO is not on par with either of the newer lenses. I have used the 300 with both the 1.4x and 2x extenders and was surprised that the 500 "handled" pretty much the same. Now the 500 with the 1.4x gets a little more challenging especially on the 7D2 primarily because the small FOV. Once I get more experience with that set up I suspect my body will learn the subtle differences in posture/geometry and my target acquisition will improve. All in all, I'd buy both the 300 and 500 again without hesitation and can recommend both for use with the 7D2.
Joe
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Thanks Joe. I suspect that if I was starting today with the knowledge acquired from almost 3 years of the 300 2.8 I would buy the 500. However, that's assuming smaller birds and "walk around" where I quickly found the 300 was always attached to X2. Sometimes the 300 alone is useful. Also, when I bought the 300 I didn't have the "courage" to shell out larger sums of money and was tormented/embarrassed by the $7000 expenditure (being new to the higher level gear). Have you tried the 400 DO II?
Jack
Jack
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Female American Kestrel, shot from my car. I find these birds to be almost impossible to photograph because they are so skittish. This one stayed put long enough for a couple of images, although she was eyeing me and obviously thinking "time to go" when she saw me poke the lens outside of the car.
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Ferruginous Hawk. These birds show up where I live (southern Arizona) in the fall/winter. They're big -- about 40-50% larger than a Red Tail and very easy to spot from a distance because of their white breasts and tails. I found this one perching on a utility pole in a rural area. I caught the flash of white from more than a mile away. I was fortunate that it was in a lazy mood and didn't fly sooner.
5Diii, 400 DO (old model) + 1.4X extender, aperture preferred setting, ISO 500, f7.1 @ 1/1250.
5Diii, 400 DO (old model) + 1.4X extender, aperture preferred setting, ISO 500, f7.1 @ 1/1250.
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steven kessel said:
When my friends glow over my bird photos I bring myself back to Earth by looking at yours. I continue to be impressed by your ability to find the light and the angle for sharp, well-exposed, well-framed and well-posed shots. May I ask: are you skilled at stalking to get close shots, or have you mastered the long-range crop, or both?
BTW, the metadata says f/5.6; is that an artifact of the extender?
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