Youngster lining up

[Ian McLachlan]

This young White bellied SeaEagle is off the coast of Kangaroo Island in South Aust. This bird will be all white and grey by next season and is in its best colours I think.

Im finding a higher success rate with this very sharp lens at a bit more distance rather than chopping off a wing or other extremity with a moving bird and a rolling sea.

And not to mention when the bait floats away or even towards you on the tide or the wind etc.

So this image cropped is similar to having a 2x converter on but safer because its all in. what about image quality though?
C&C very welcome

Canon1dx 300 2.8
1/2500@.33EV
ISO400 F5.6
Cropped about 50%


128580

[Loi Nguyen]

Ian, very nice image of an interesting bird. Shooting at sea must be difficult and I can well appreciate why you went with the bare lens instead of 2X. But same subject & distance, the 2X would make the image 4X bigger in the frame. It's tough to crop and expect same IQ. In this case, I do see some loss of fine details on the main part of the bird. The raised wing looks good though. If you have the 1.4X, it may be just the right ticket.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Ian,

My general rule for cropping is the subject should make up at least 15/20% of the frame. It is a rule of thumb I received from a pro years ago - sometimes that helps me get a feel for the distance and focal length. Hence, I probably would not crop an image beyond 30% - 50% is a large crop. I have rented the 300 2.8 and with the 1.4 attached it is really sharp (f/4) and the additional FL helps with the reach issue associated with that lens. Cropping is not the same as adding focal length and does hurt IQ. Hence, add TC's 1.4 or 2.0 and keep cropping to a reasonable amount per my earlier comments.

This is a beautiful bird, thanks for sharing and keep em coming.

I must say, the image looks pretty good I might work the eye some and its a bit tight for me - let's see what others say.

[Ian McLachlan]

Thanks for that Loi. . Jeff as you might have guessed i ran out of space i.e. I got a bit behind the bird , so i can't leave space in the finished article for the bird to fly into. No excuses but we move around a bit at sea and I chopped a bit off the wing a few frames later as we went up and down, but we keep at it . Actually thats half the fun of it. Many thanks for your comments.

Ian

[Jeannean Ryman]

For shooting from a rocking boat, not bad at all. :S3:

[Loi Nguyen]

Ian,

My general rule for cropping is the subject should make up at least 15/20% of the frame. It is a rule of thumb I received from a pro years ago - sometimes that helps me get a feel for the distance and focal length. Hence, I probably would not crop an image beyond 30% - 50% is a large crop. I have rented the 300 2.8 and with the 1.4 attached it is really sharp (f/4) and the additional FL helps with the reach issue associated with that lens. Cropping is not the same as adding focal length and does hurt IQ. Hence, add TC's 1.4 or 2.0 and keep cropping to a reasonable amount per my earlier comments.

This is a beautiful bird, thanks for sharing and keep em coming.

I must say, the image looks pretty good I might work the eye some and its a bit tight for me - let's see what others say.

Jeff, just a clarification for me. when people say 50% crop, what do they mean exactly? 50% of the total area? Or 50% in each W and H dimension, which would be 25% of the total area of the original image? Thanks. Loi