Mating merops

[Nikolay Staykov - shotlandetsa]

A photo from the last weekend. The lens leaned on the lifted car's window.

Kirkini, GR at noon.

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N,
Sigma 300-800mm f/5.6 EX DG APO IF HSM (used at 800mm)
f7.1 @ 1/1000, ISO 320

PP include levels, USM, no saturation or contrast.

I was amaized with the Mark, as it has shooted app 2000 shots with a single charge of the new original battery and is still at it's max indicator when turning the camera on :eek:. It was charged a week ago and used previous weekend for some shots, too. Is it normal?

I am trully amaized with the sigma 300-800 lens, it covers every situation and framing you could wish. The quality is superb, no complains for that. The only thing that sometimes annoys me is the lack of limiter, but with some manual pre-focus tech's it is OK.

I wonder why canon hasn't got such a lens, even with some loss of quality???

[Brutus Ostling]

Congratulations! Great catching.


And yes, those who have the Sigma-zoom say the same thing. The reason for me to start with and to keep up with Canon was the IS, which I still find fantastic in some situations and it works well even on a tripod. But yes, they should have a zoom-lens like that, especially when you are in a hide where you can't change the lens, t's great to have such a zoom.

One small thing: Can you save the highlights if you go back to the RAW-files, they are burning out very much? I get that result sometimes downsizing and sharpening, but I don't think you have sharpened it after downsizing. I tried that, and the image looked better, but burning out.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Excellent timing and capture of this moment. As Brutus mentioned the whites are a bit overexposed, which can be fixed in RAW and the BG looks a bit noisy. Enjoy the lens, I'm glad you like it and I have seen many great images made with it.

[Arthur Morris]

Nikolay, You have two great subjects doing the deed and you have captured the peak of the action but with the harsh light from the left the image is left with major problems: overexposed highlights and extremely high contrast. In addition, the eye of the female is way messed up. Not sure why. And the fluffy feathers covering atop the far leg of the female look quite strange. Best bet in a situation like this is to use a ton of flash, at least +1 to try and even out the EXP and reduce the harsh shadows (like the one on the female's eye...) Sorry to rain on your parade but I needs to call em like I see em.

[Maxis Gamez]

Hi,

Harsh light but the action and details makes me forget all about the light.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Love your timing and the excellent action you captured in this image. Nits have been covered. So glad you shared this with us Nikolay.

[Nikolay Staykov - shotlandetsa]

thanks for the comments and suggestions :)

Unfortunatelly I rarely have the opportunity to use flash while shooting. In this case - it was impossible. I will keep in mind the issue with the highlights, while the peak of the contrast ... hm ... I didn't use any, except the slight levels adjustment :confused:

[Arthur Morris]

Niko, The contrast was there at the moment of capture as a result of a poor light angle--the harsh light was almost from directly overhead. If you cannot use flash, you need to pray for a cloud!

[Nikolay Staykov - shotlandetsa]

I understand what you meant now :)