Hand Held at 1200mm

[Arthur Morris]

This Sanderling image was created on Sanibel with the hand held Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 2x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -2/3 stop: 1/1000 sec. at f/10 in Manual Mode. Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here is you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial.

For the whole story and a sweet Snowy Plover image check out this blog post: Baptism Under Fire. Learn how I got my new big lens and one of my 1D X bodies covered in sand. Yikes! And how I cleaned them. But it was worth it.

Don't be shy: all comments welcome.

[dankearl]

I really like this one, Arthur.
A tough little bird to get in flight, impressive at 1200mm.
The combo of a really sharp head, feet and water drops, with the wing blur is about perfect.
Nice light also.

[Don Railton]

Hi Arthur

Pretty impressive for HH at 1200mm... Its nice and sharp, good light and exposure, my only nitpick is that I see a small sharpening halo around the beak..

I think it was Arash H that said the new 600 is better balanced/easier for hand holding than the earlier variant because of less weight at the front. Do you notice any difference?

DON

[Loi Nguyen]

Artie, another great image with the 600. Love the low angle shot, the sharpness of the bird, and the blur wings. Sweet light as always. Are you being converted from tripod to HH?

[Chris Martinez]

Art Morris shooting handheld at 1200mm.... Who would have thunk it

Absolutely love the way in which the head(especially the bill) is separated from the fluttering wings.
Sweet sweet light.
Very intimate.

[PhilCook]

Hand held at 1200mm....you some kinda super hero or something Arthur hehehehe. Sharp where it matters, but ideally a little less wing blur maybe, nice touch with the water droplets.....impressive Sir !

[Tom Rambaut]

Pretty impressive for 1200.

I like the blur of the wings, the dropped feet, water drops, sharp where it matters, and slight look towards the camera make all the difference.

[Frank Schauf]

This is impressive, Arthur.

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Arthur

Pretty impressive for HH at 1200mm... Its nice and sharp, good light and exposure, my only nitpick is that I see a small sharpening halo around the beak..

I think it was Arash H that said the new 600 is better balanced/easier for hand holding than the earlier variant because of less weight at the front. Do you notice any difference?

DON

Hi Don, The "halo" around the beak is not a sharpening halo. At first I thought it might be a NIK Tonal Contrast halo but when I look at the untouched original and tilt the monitor the halo is there. Go figure.

And yes, the huge difference in balance point makes the 600II a pleasure for me to hand hold if only for a few moments. That because of my age and lack of strength as compared to Arash and Patrick Sparkman. Both of those guys are very, very smart in addition to being strong.

Do check out this post if you missed it: Canon 600mm f/4L IS II vs Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS: And the Winner Is!

[Arthur Morris]

This is impressive, Arthur.

Thanks Frank. If you like an image, please let us know why. We are trying to avoid becoming a "Great Shot" forum.

[gail bisson]

This is nice Art.
I like the forward wing position - a bit less wing blur would be my personal preference.
I like the low POV and the tack sharp head and the shadow of the beak on the wing.
Really like the light on the face and the sand showing through the clear water,
Gail

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Gail. I was actually standing at full height. The "low POV" was a result of the long focal length. The blurred wings were are result of the rapid after bath flapping and my proximity to the subject.

[Faraaz Abdool]

Wow - sanderling in flight! That by itself is a huge accomplishment! And HH!! At 1200mm!!! It just gets even better with the killer light, perfect HA, droplets, blurred wings showing motion AND the wings are in that perfect downstroke pose. Sigh. I give you a 15/10. :-).

[Bill Jobes]

Your blog comments on the cleaning of the sand from your gear was really instructive.

Oh, and, Great Shot !

[Arthur Morris]

Wow - sanderling in flight! That by itself is a huge accomplishment! And HH!! At 1200mm!!! It just gets even better with the killer light, perfect HA, droplets, blurred wings showing motion AND the wings are in that perfect downstroke pose. Sigh. I give you a 15/10. :-).

Thanks Rasta-mon! It was actually flapping after its bath.

[Arthur Morris]

Your blog comments on the cleaning of the sand from your gear was really instructive. Oh, and, Great Shot !

Thanks Bill. I just changed "poking" to"poke-jabbing."

[Satish Ranadive]

Arthur Sir:
Magnificent flight pose.Tack sharp head,beak,very nice catch light at 1200mm and great IQ.
I like the feet with trail of water droplets and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Looks like that combo is a winner for sure! Love the water droplets off the feet...but another subtle thing I really dig here is the shadow on the far wing...cool.

[Bill Dix]

Pretty impressive. I like the light on the head, the water drops. Great HA. Terrific IQ on the head, for HH @ 1200. I would have preferred a faster SS, but I'm assuming you went with f/10 because of the proximity to the bird.

[vishaljadhav]

Wonderful image at 1200 mm and handheld
I would be afraid to use that low ISO when i do any handheld , i would have bumped it to 1000, guess that why i use the the 400 2.8 L IS (older version)
i have picked up both the old and new 600 and agree that the older one was a front heavy unbalanced monster :)
i love the way the bird has been captured over water, lovely

[nick clayton]

Wings full stretch forward with a movement blur and feet off the ground with splashes coming from them, you caught a great action moment here. Nice and sharp with great light. You did well with your new toy Artie.

[Gary Esman]

Hi Artie, really like this one. The blur in the wings is awesome. Tack sharp head and the feet really stand out against the background. Very very nice.

Gary.

[arash_hazeghi]

welcome to the HH club Artie ;)