Real Stuffed Bird for Shot Practice

I have been shooting birds for about six years now. Started with 20D and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS MKI with 2x TC. Shot mostly at f/5.6 according to what I had read in AM BAA book to maximaize SS. I did web research and discovered that this lens combo is sharpest at around f/10-11!!! Almost two stops!! This tended to make shots hard to get. I eventually moved upto the 400mm f/5.6L. I have been using it with my 20D. I bought a 1DIV mainly for shooting basketball but started using the 400 with 1.4x TC since the 1DIV can AF at f/8. But I am now at f/8 and not much better in terms of reach between the 20D and 1DIV. Last year I upgraded the zoom to the MKII and the 2x TC to MKIII. The shots appear to be very good using the 1DIV.

However, ever since I have been shooting birds there has always been the nagging question: Is this the best my equipment and me can do? I know a 400mm f/2.8 L IS I or II will be sharper than the 400mm f/5.6L but there is alot dollar signs between those two lenses. So how good of a shot can I get with my 400? I thought about getting a stuffed bird that has real feathers to use as a test subject. But I have not been able to locate a source. Does anyone know of such a source?

Hook up with James Shadle, the owner of the site and tour operator extraordinary. Go here for more information on how to contact him: http://www.wildflorida.net/contact.aspx

He can help you out.

Cecil, I'm not sure that you need an actual bird. I have a small glass figurine, a bear wearing a dress of all things, that I practice with. It has alot of fine detail and is great for practice. I've also heard of people using stuffed toys.

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Originally Posted by Grace Scalzo

Cecil, I'm not sure that you need an actual bird. I have a small glass figurine, a bear wearing a dress of all things, that I practice with. It has alot of fine detail and is great for practice. I've also heard of people using stuffed toys.

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Thanks but what I am hoping to accomplish is to evaluate the iamge quality under different lighting conditions. Bird feather details really depend on which way the light is coming from as well as the sharpness of the equipment. I hav etried other things but do not get the effect I am looking for.

So move the stuffed toy or the figurine to your different lighting scenarios. The only other thing I can think of if you want the real thing would be something that has been taxidermied. (Is that a word?)

I've been using toy stuffed animals too, as well as single bird feathers (I'll will have some new articles on lighting out in a couple of months).

But bird feathers are unique in terms of their structure and the shading one gets in different lighting situations. Fur or hair is much finer, and that fineness changes the light scattering and diffraction compared to feathers. Thus the micro shading is different with bird feathers.

I have also tried to find a model bird that uses real feathers or something close but synthetic. I didn't look too hard and did not try a taxidermist.

A taxidermist is a good idea. But the feathers are different on different birds and the lighting effects will be different too. So one might need several different model subjects.

Roger

Be sure to check in your area to see if it is legal to keep a stuffed bird. In many countries, including the U.S., it is illegal to do so without a permit except for game birds and poultry.

Alan