Show your Bird Portraits

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#15,041
Hi Jack.
One of those, I guess so! :) depending on which “one of those” you actually mean! (I’ve been called worse!)
No need to worry Jack, he took off towards the approach fence for the Hide and gracefully flew over it and off towards a willow tree where he landed to eat the nut which btw he chose from a selection of assorted seeds.
There are feeders loaded with nuts and mixed seed and the nuts always go first!
Not sure about causing him back problems, but you can live with that pain, I do! ;D

By the way, how are you getting on with that three flash setup you were working on for your personal hide? :o ;)
Best wishes for the new year.

Cheers, Graham.

Jack Douglas said:
So you're one of those, Graham! >:( How dare you and then to add insult to injury, you're blinding the poor guy with a flash. He probably headed home like a drunk on our highways and crashed into a tree. >:( >:( Worse yet likely no one found him and took him to a vet. Oh, and the peanut is high on saturated fats and not part of his normal diet so he likely will get ulsers and he even could have back problems trying to transport that heavy object and .... Oh my, oh my!

Nice shots though. ;)

Jack
Click to expand...
 
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#15,043
Dylan, they're very nice but not Canon! ;)

Graham, I never got my third RT flash but I did get the RT transmitter which freed the two flashes to be anywhere and that's made quite an improvement. I have been trying to have only fill so as to avoid the very dark background but in December, it's dark on a cloudy day by 3 PM so tough, but that's already starting to improve. I still think three will do the trick with background fill better but finances can't justify the third flash for now.

I can't afford to pay in peanuts. I'm also feeding deer with oats and barley. It gets expensive. :)

Here's what I'm up against with the sun setting off to the far right and back-lighting the bird. I had 1/80 which was too slow so as to have ISO 1250. Raising the ISO yields the dark background I'm trying to avoid so I guess I have to wait for late January. :(

Jack
 

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#15,044
Hi Jack.
That shot of the redpoll is nice, pretty little bird.
I was using HSS with my Better Beamer at 1/1000s ISO 400 f6.3 flash power down at 1/8 (not sure why 6.3, must have accidentally put a click or two on with the thumb wheel) and even then I was getting motion blur, these little critters are fast, see the attached shot!
Incidentally, the Hen Pheasant shot was almost binned for being too dark but I gave it a try, it always amazes me how much info is captured even when the operator screws up significantly! (Didn’t have time to crank the flash up to full power). We live in a time of great gear.

Blue Tit choosing peanut over various other seeds.
SE0A7649_DxO by Graham Stretch, on Flickr

Cheers, Graham.
 
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#15,050
Dylan777 said:
Jack Douglas said:
Dylan, they're very nice but not Canon! ;)
Click to expand...

Few years back, I would show up at local wildlife with this combo and all buddies would always gave a warm welcome:

This year, I showed up with the one on the left and all buddies gave me the "look"!!! ;D ;D ;D

Merry Christmas Jack
Click to expand...

If all the Sony can do is to take coots, Canada geese and a mallard, then you can throw it to the ducks along with bread. Show us some BIF and shots that will test a camera! If it can do the tricky stuff and work at lower light, I'll consider one myself as I am looking for portable gear.
 
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#15,051
AlanF said:
Dylan777 said:
Jack Douglas said:
Dylan, they're very nice but not Canon! ;)
Click to expand...

Few years back, I would show up at local wildlife with this combo and all buddies would always gave a warm welcome:

This year, I showed up with the one on the left and all buddies gave me the "look"!!! ;D ;D ;D

Merry Christmas Jack
Click to expand...

If all the Sony can do is to take coots, Canada geese and a mallard, then you can throw it to the ducks along with bread. Show us some BIF and shots that will test a camera! If it can do the tricky stuff and work at lower light, I'll consider one myself as I am looking for portable gear.
Click to expand...

I don't BS around AlanF ;)

More here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/140610344@N08/

_DSC0396 by Dylan Nguyen, on Flickr
 
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#15,054
AlanF said:
Thanks for showing these. What fraction of the shots are sharply in focus?
Click to expand...

A friend just ordered Sony 10 IV after using my for less 1hr shooting BIF, he about to put his 7d II on Ebay ;)

When is not tack-sharp, you get something like this:
_DSC0411 by Dylan Nguyen, on Flickr

Very-very high rate keeper, not sure is AF tracking or 1" sensor. IQ is amazing for small sensor, it looks really good in good light, not so great shooting BIF after sunset.
 
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#15,055
AlanF said:
Thanks for allowing downloads from your Flickr albums. You seem to be using mainly a Sony 9 and and a Fuji XT-2. Have you given up on Canon?
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm 100% mirrorless. I sold all my Canon DSLR few years back.

My current gear:
1. Sony A9 + 2470GM + 70200GM, FE50f1.4, FE50f1.8, FE28f2 and FE35f1.4

2. Fuji Xpro2 + 23F2 + 23F1.4 + 35f2

3. Sony RX10 IV, mainly for video. To have 24mm to 600mm optical is quite amazing. This 1" sensor is great for indoor(low light) video clips.
 
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#15,057
Dylan777 said:
AlanF said:
Thanks for allowing downloads from your Flickr albums. You seem to be using mainly a Sony 9 and and a Fuji XT-2. Have you given up on Canon?
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm 100% mirrorless. I sold all my Canon DSLR few years back.

My current gear:
1. Sony A9 + 2470GM + 70200GM, FE50f1.4, FE50f1.8, FE28f2 and FE35f1.4

2. Fuji Xpro2 + 23F2 + 23F1.4 + 35f2

3. Sony RX10 IV, mainly for video. To have 24mm to 600mm optical is quite amazing. This 1" sensor is great for indoor(low light) video clips.
Click to expand...

Rave reviews about the Sony RX10 IV on imaging-resources and your photos are testimony to it. It is obviously great for video with that field of view range. But, for me, resolution is another key factor as I crop bird photos. As far as resolution goes, the 220mm f/4 lens (at nominal 600mm fov) of the Sony is equivalent to 300mm on a 20 MP microfourthirds, 340mm on a M5 or 70D, 380mm on a 5DSR or 490 on a 5DIV. So, I'll have to weigh everything before choosing my lightweight gear for BIF and action where I'll be shooting mainly at the longer ends. I'd like to know how the Sony RX10 IV, Olympus OM-D EM-1 II + 300/4 and the new Panasonic G9 with the new 200/2.8 (± 1.4xTC) stack up against each other.
 
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