First flight shot with 600 f/4 II

I received my new 600 last week (thanks to B&H and Artie). It is a joy to use, weight balance is very nice and it actually feels a bit lighter than the old 500 when hand-holding despite being just a tad heavier. Still need to get used to tracking at 840mm! It's sure a step up from the 500. I had planned to shoot raptors but unfortunately weather was not cooperative. Things were slow with shore birds too thanks to heavy winds over the weekend. Not much flight.

Not the most exotic bird but I liked this willet frame given that it was extremely challenging to get. The willet was just bulleting using the 20MPH tail wind. I had hoped to get a banking shot but they just didn't bank given the high winds. It's amazing they can fly in such winds and it's even more amazing that a camera attached to a 600mm lens can lock focus in a split second on something like this. Even with MK4 10fps there was only one frame with the bird against color. Any ways, the lens is tack sharp as expected. I will post some samples with the TC as well. Stay tuned for a full field review. Hope you like this one.


Attachment 115723

1D4 EF 600mm f/4 IS II USM f/5.6 1/3200sec ISO 500

HD size here

I should mention that this was almost FF with willet flying at about 18m. The long limiter range on the 600 is 16m to inf while the close range is 4.5m to 16m, this makes the focus extremely fast and hunt less but you have to make sure you set the range correctly given the distance you want to get the bird at.

Arash, great first field report of the 600 II. Keep them coming. Personally, the above image is almost undistinguishable from your other images made with the 500 L IS and 1.4x III.

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Originally Posted by EzhilSuresh

Arash, great first field report of the 600 II. Keep them coming. Personally, the above image is almost undistinguishable from your other images made with the 500 L IS and 1.4x III.

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Of course Ezhil the image is not supposed to look any different from other willet shots taken with 500 (or other lenses). All Canon super-telephoto lenses are sharp if used with good technique. The naked lens is of course sharper than a lens with TC, but you have to look at RAW or large prints to see the difference.

The point is that a 600mm lens that weighs as much as a 500 and is easy to hand hold will increase your field productivity by a lot! In this case it was not possible to get this shot with a 500 and TC as the AF speed is not fast enough to lock on the willet in this particular condition. It would have been possible with a bare 500 although the output would have less detail when inspected closely.

bang on as usual,great shot,and enjoy your lens,sharp and good detail,nice BG,one nit,is that part of the willets make up,or is it a high light spot on end of bill.thanks.

Excellent camera work Arash... The new 600mm working extremely well...

Mazal Tov on the new toy! Hope you get many more excellent shots like this one for us to enjoy!

Nicely captures image Arash. The details are pretty impressive. Congrats on your new lens.

Carmelo

Am really looking forward to your review. I can dream...or win the lotto:S3:
Tack sharp image and lovely BG.
Gail

Awesome, Arash, and congrats on the new toy!
I can feel the speed here - great job tracking him and getting him against a great bg.
It's remarkable that you're able to shoot BIF with 20mph winds at 840mm!

Congrats Arash! This looks excellent on all counts. Looking forward to your review and many more exciting images.

Excellent Arash, you must be pleased, it is pin sharp and as you say not exactly easy circumstances.

Very very sweet image. Loved the flight pose,sharpness,lights and great details in colors.

Congrats on the new lens. Your bif technique shows, even with a new toy. And btw, nothing wrong with a plain old willet in flight. Looking forward to more.

Congrats on the new toy Arash!! Perhaps I'll by a used one when the version III's come out, or win the lotto first:S3:. Techs and sharpness are as expected from you, I only wish the head was not angled away.

Congrates on new 600 Arash. I just wish nikon brings out a something similar soon as a lighter weight does help plenty. Auto focus must be fast however the photograher has to be even quicker to get these shot in good focus TFS :cheers:

Congrats on the new toy and it loooks like it will be put to good use. Great shot and looking forward to seeing some more.

Hi Arash, congrats on your new lens, and may you capture plenty keepers. I like the light and tack sharp details, and that BG is so, so sweet. Well captured.

Arash, congrats on the new lens. Looking forward to a lot of shots. excellent details, angle and BG in this shot. Well done.

Another fantastic flight shot. It is amazing how those birds fly in strong wind. Don't write a positive review of the lens - otherwise I will have to get one :-) I also own the 4/500L IS at the moment and the 4/600L IS II sure looks like the perfect upgrade. Markus

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Originally Posted by christopher galeski

bang on as usual,great shot,and enjoy your lens,sharp and good detail,nice BG,one nit,is that part of the willets make up,or is it a high light spot on end of bill.thanks.

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she put on some lipstick for the shoot ;)

thanks everyone for nice comments! hopefully can get some raptors soon

Cool shot, Arash, almost a bit too close!
Looking forward to more.

Outstanding Arash, as always.

Really nice flight shot and great details and congratulations to the new lens.