Show your Bird Portraits

Jack Douglas

CR for the Humour
Apr 10, 2013
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Alberta, Canada
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ISv

"The equipment that matters, is you"
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Apr 30, 2017
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ISv

"The equipment that matters, is you"
CR Pro
Apr 30, 2017
2,569
7,450
I still have the freedom to go to remote places (few people here and there). Oahu Amakihi (Hemignathus flavus)- male! Tomorrow again: this morning I didn't have enough time to get something better but it's common case with the Amakihi: they are mixed with bunch of Japanese White-eyes (very hard to separate in bad light) and you finish with plenty of photos of the Japanese and just few of the endemics.

DSC_1129_DxO.jpgDSC_1130_DxO.jpg
 
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AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
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Aug 16, 2012
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Nice! Are your new programs compatible with PL3?
You can use Topaz AI sharpener with other RAW converters. I find the PL3 Lens Sharpness tool problematic with some camera-lens combinations. In particular, it can introduce terrible noise with the 90D and I turn it off. It also oversharpens with the 5DSR and I use a low setting when it gets unnatural. The PL3 lens sharpness tool has hardly any effect on the Nikon D500 + 500 PF, but they are so sharp they don’t need sharpening unless focus is not spot on. I sometimes use PhotoNinja instead of PL3 as a RAW converter as it handles highlightS very well, suppresses noise very well but is not as sharp although more “gentle”. For speed and ease of review and making comparisons for selection, I prefer to stick with PL3 and use alternatives only when I have to. My initial thoughts after only limited attempts is that these sharpening tools are most useful for sensors that have AA-filters or softish lenses, which seems pretty obvious. But, the Topaz did rescue an image of a BIF spoiled by movement, which I will post later. I checked its performance on sharpening lines on resolution charts. As expected, it works by enhancing acutance and increasing contrast, which does bring out apparent detail that has been obscured by blurring but may still be there. This can lead to artefacts, which I have seen.
 
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Valvebounce

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Apr 3, 2013
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Isle of Wight
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AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
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Aug 16, 2012
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Something new. Sometimes things do come to those who sit and wait. We have a Chiffchaff in the back of the garden that I frequently hear singing "chiffchaff" repetitively but I hadn't got any good shots. Yesterday, I was sitting down, camera at the ready as always, and he perched in a bush about 4-5m away, enough time for several bursts of shots that had one in a nice pose and in focus.DSC_8819NN_Chiffchaff-smalljpg.jpg
 
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Maximilian

The dark side - I've been there
CR Pro
Nov 7, 2013
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Germany
... We have a Chiffchaff in the back of the garden that I frequently hear singing "chiffchaff" ...
Great picture, Alan.
And a mere coincidence that I just wanted to look after this English bird name, because a few days ago I saw one, too.
As it wasn't singing I cannot tell if it was a chiffchaff or a willow warbler.
And it wasn't really cooperative so this is the only "good" pic out of three before it disappeared.

chiffchaff_or_willow_warbler.JPG
 
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Maximilian

The dark side - I've been there
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Nov 7, 2013
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Hi Maximilian.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention, this is terrible news, a devastating situation.
Just to save a bit of trouble, a link to the page translated to English.

Cheers, Graham.
Thanks for doing so, Graham.

It was 2018/2019 where we had something similar regarding blackbirds.
The usutu virus took a lot of them away. This year I can luckily count a lot of blackbirds again.
 
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AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
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Aug 16, 2012
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Great picture, Alan.
And a mere coincidence that I just wanted to look after this English bird name, because a few days ago I saw one, too.
As it wasn't singing I cannot tell if it was a chiffchaff or a willow warbler.
And it wasn't really cooperative so this is the only "good" pic out of three before it disappeared.

View attachment 189777
It's difficult to distinguish between them. My one was belting out chiffchaff, chiffchaff...
 
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Maximilian

The dark side - I've been there
CR Pro
Nov 7, 2013
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Germany
It's difficult to distinguish between them. My one was belting out chiffchaff, chiffchaff...
I know ;) :cry:

I've asked a friend of mine who is a good bird-watcher and member of the LBV (Bavarian bird conservation association).
He told me the same:
"Either hear them singing or take a closer look at the primaries. The later is only possible if you hold it during banding."
 
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AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
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Aug 16, 2012
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I promised to post a shot of what Topaz Sharpen AI can do. It is very good at removing motion blur. I took a shot this afternoon of a Great Spotted Woodpecker flying of my peanut feeder, and the shutter speed was only 1/800s. The top one is straight out of DxO. The lower was output from DxO PRIME with no sharpening, and then sharpened with Topaz. Initial processing with PhotoNinja gave too much noise.
DSC_9308-DxO_woodpecker_flying_off_feeder.jpgDSC_9308-DxO_woodpecker_flying_feeder-ls-sharpen-stabilize (50-50).jpg
 
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AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
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Aug 16, 2012
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The Great Spotted Woodpecker thenflew off and perched at the top of a sycamore, as a few days ago. For this very sharp shot, the direct output from DxO PRIME + lens sharpness set at standard (top) was better than from sharpening with Topaz. The middle image to match the sharpness looks slightly unnatural to me and lowering the sharpening (bottom) to remedy is not as good as DxO.

DSC_9328-DxO_great_spotted_woodpecker_on_tree_vs.jpgDSC_9328-DxO_great_spotted_woodpecker-ls-sharpen-stabilize(50-50).jpgDSC_9328-DxO_great_spotted_woodpecker-ls-sharpen-stabilize(20-50).jpg
 
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Jack Douglas

CR for the Humour
Apr 10, 2013
6,980
2,602
Alberta, Canada
The Great Spotted Woodpecker thenflew off and perched at the top of a sycamore, as a few days ago. For this very sharp shot, the direct output from DxO PRIME + lens sharpness set at standard (top) was better than from sharpening with Topaz. The middle image to match the sharpness looks slightly unnatural to me and lowering the sharpening (bottom) to remedy is not as good as DxO.

View attachment 189781View attachment 189782View attachment 189783
Alan a glance at the shoulder feathers did it for me - the top is better.

Jack
 
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