Dweller of the Forest

[Dvir Barkay]

153134

Good that I am getting a 1Dx soon. I mean I love my 1DIII to death but in situations like this i think it's focus system can be better. The very rare Geoffroy's Spider monkey are residents of the Yucatan, they are not easy to photograph because of course they are not easy to find and even then they prefer to spend their time high in the treetops. I was lucky to have one (pretty much like Tarzan) glide through the understory, barreling at me, and I was able to get one shot with a spotlight of sun hitting his face as he made way through the branches. The only issue? Well the focus is on his back head, tack sharp hair can be seen there, but the face is just outside of the tack sharp range and is slightly soft for sure. I did get the shot, and I really like it, but just wish it was perfectly in focus.

1DIII, Canon 300/2.8 with x1.4TC, F/4.5 (Now wish for F/10 and raised ISO), ISO 400, 1/400s, Mexico, 2015

[Jonathan Ashton]

Your comments took the words from my mouth Dvir. having said that I like the shot very much.
When you get the 1DX I guarantee you will be blown awaaaaay! But then it has to be paid for and that is a real bummer:e3

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Dvir - The dappled light is a nice effect especially with it hitting the face but as you said in your self-critique, the missed focus is problematic. I also find the blue circles of sky poking through on the rhs drawing the eye a bit. Sometimes you can salvage something like this by turning it into a more artsy image, converting to B&W and using the light to your advantage. It might be worth a try.

TFS,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Dvir, it's often hard to shoot in these conditions (backlit) and often the camera is fooled by the metering system, so personally I would shoot for the subject and worry about the BKG later in PP. Although the exposure from the image is right across the axis I'm not sure how true this reflects the original. I would look to opening things up more, however this will intern create more noise in the shadow areas, so it can be a fine balance. The MKIII is a good camera, but technology has certainly moved on and with the 1DX you will see the huge leap forward, but this is not a camera to take and use straight out the box, it needs to be set up, but the great thing is you can really push that ISO.

The face does look soft, but you could perhaps get more from it using more selective sharpening. I think f/10 might have been too excessive and then you would start to loose SS. Balancing DoF, SS, ISO and EV are key, and sometimes a very fine balancing act.

Not ideal, but this RP may give you a steer.

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Dvir - Steve's rp is definitely a major step in the right direction.

[dankearl]

While the repost is better, it probably cannot be saved...
Nice work though and the back lighting is cool, the sharpness as you pointed out, just is not there...

[Morkel Erasmus]

Dvir this one just isn't working for me.
Firstly because of the lack of sharpness on the face, as mentioned, but also the composition just feels off - I'd have liked to see more of its arms and possibly the hands holding branches than seeing as much of the torso as you have here. Sorry mate...

[Dvir Barkay]

Thanks all, I personally like the light and back light, maybe it needs a bit of brightening. But the focus is a big issue, back there in January with a new camera so hopefully I will get similarly good chances and make them work

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

I would love a 1Dx, but am not going to waste that much money for a latest camera to keep up with the masses. My 1DIII is perfectly capable of shooting sharp images in most situations.
Maybe post a full frame shot showing the highlighted AF point and explain how you set the AF up. Are you using a single point? Multiple points? It can confuse the best AF system if not set up properly. And if the subject is too small for the AF point, it will hunt back and forth and not get you the shots anyway.
Naturally a 1Dx will have the better AF system, but that does not mean an older camera is not capable of making sharp images. ISO 1600 is a piece of cake for the 1DIII and you'd get a much better SS for starters. That may have saved you some sharpness too.
Thanks for sharing. :S3: