Kestrel in flight.

[Amol Khedgikar]

Shot in amazing evening golden light but is a big crop so the IQ has suffered greatly. the image was sharp out of the camera. This is a crop from a shot of a pair of sparring kestrels.



1/4000, ISO 640, 7.1 , Learning the limitations of the great 100-400 on 7D for such shots. What do you think?




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[Robert Holguin]

Very nice shot. Great light, really like the pose, but do agree with your self critique. IQ is not all there, but still a great shot.
well done.

[arash_hazeghi]

pose is excellent so is the light but unfortunately details have suffered greatly from the crop. These are small raptors and it's quite difficult to get them with a 400mm lens in the wild.

[gail bisson]

Hi Amol,
The lesson here is...buy a 500mm!!! Great pose and light.
Gail

[Marina Scarr]

While the image has suffered from the crop, I still find it to be a dynamic flight pose. It's obviously sharp and colors look great. The 500 isn't the answer for everyone. I spent Monday using only my 100-400 for birds and many years with only my 300 and a 1.4.

[Craig Brelsford]

I think you have handled the situation, from the field to the "lab," about as well as one could expect, considering the limitations of your lens.

[Amol Khedgikar]

Gail, I agree I need a 500 or at least a higher end prime. I had planned to buy a 500 this year but Canon put it way beyond my reach with the new version. (and I personally cant justify paying the price of a brand new lens(older version) for a lens that has been used for 5-8 years. Its just crazy IMO).

I also agree that not all kinds of bird/wildlife photography would require a 500 mm. I believed in and did OK with a 100-400 mm. BUt I am now realizing for the kind of photography I do (or I want to excel in) a higher end prime like the older 500mm, at least, is the way to go.

I like Arash's pics with the new 600 and his assessment after the field test. I too handhold my rig 90% of the times. So I guess I should stop sulking over the price of the new canon long lenses and start saving up for the 600.

[Shawn Zierman]

I agree with most of what's been said. It's a very nice image, that in this case would have been helped by having more focal length.
The flight pose and lighting are top notch. Appears perfectly sharp to me, and your techs look solid.

[Nico Steenberg]

Still a good IMG to share ! I like the pose and exposure is good. Nice shot !

[Karl Egressy]

The nice banking pose , fully streched wings and the golden light, make up for the not so great IQ by far.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Nice pose and light. I agree with your own crittique but Arash is right about these birds being small even for a 400mmm and a 1.6crop factor camera.