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Thread: Mallard hen landing not at Bosque...

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Default Mallard hen landing not at Bosque...

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    This bird was photographed with the Canon 800mmm f/5.6L IS lens that I borrowed from Canon. I have one on order... With the EOS-1D MIII on ghd 3530 LS Gitzo CF tripod with the Mongoose M3.5.

    ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/5.6 set manually.

    Don't be shy; all comments welcome.

    ps: Photographed in Albuquerque.
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  2. #2
    Rod Wiley
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    What a great shot, I like the flat feet and the eye contact, and texture of the water. The 800 must be a real moose to lug around.

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Thanks Rod. Actually the 800 is just a shade less than two pounds lighter than the 600 and it is svelte. Much less bulky and thus easier to handle and travel with.
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  4. #4
    thomasryan
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    S W E E T! Sharp head and body with just enough wing blur. I like the head position against the white wing, and the bg color is icing on the cake. Nice Work!

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    BPN Viewer Ed Grella's Avatar
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    Great choice of shutter speed for your wing effect!

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Wanted to stick with ISO 800 so more a matter of necessity than choice.
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    BPN Member Don Lacy's Avatar
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    Wonderful image, I really like that you caught the decisive moment right before he touched the water.
    Don Lacy
    You don't take a photograph, you make it - Ansel Adams
    There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs - Ansel Adams
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    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
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    Just enough wing blur, and I also like the white inner wing serving as a backdrop for the face. Interesting how the colour pops from her legs. I find myself anticipating the splashdown :-)

  9. #9
    Samir Begovic
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    Impressive quality of image. Never shot with anything longer then 400mm. 800mm must be hard, but exciting to work with.

  10. #10
    bill kominsky
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    Great shot Artie nothing else one can say, thank you for sharing.

    Bill

  11. #11
    Axel Hildebrandt
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    Great timing, sense of motion and details. The complementing BG makes this one for me.

  12. #12
    Tony House
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    I like the water colour which matches the birds plumage ,wing position and motion blur on the wings. Nice work Arthur

    I've noticed you seem to always use high iso settings, even in good light. I often read your Birds as Art bullitens and the techs always seem to have high iso and + on the exposure? I've tried this and the nosie I get is terrible, must try another camera, think mine must have a bad chip..

    Not sure why Canon brought out the 800mm, yes it's a tad lighter than the 600, but at F5.6 ? surely it should have been F4. I can get 40mm more with the same aperture buy using a 1.4 xtc on my 600. I think if it had been an F4 I would have saved my pennies for one...

    Enjoying the site.
    Tony

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Hi Tony,

    re:

    I've noticed you seem to always use high iso settings, even in good light.

    Not always, but often. I am so comfortable with ISO 400 that I rarely go below that except in full sun (and then only once in a while if I need additional d-o-f.

    I often read your Birds as Art bullitens and the techs always seem to have high iso and + on the exposure?

    All of the six EOS-1D MIII bodies that I have worked with require more plus compensation (to get some data in the fifth box) than any other cameras that I have worked with). It is almost as if the ISOs are highly over-rated. The final word is that you need to know your own camera and need to work to get data in the highlight box.

    I've tried this and the noise I get is terrible, must try another camera, think mine must have a bad chip..

    Assuming that it is a MIII, that makes no sense. We want to expose to the right to reduce noise. I often use Breezebrowser noise reduction during conversion. (It is the same as in DPP in a much more user-friendly package.)

    Not sure why Canon brought out the 800mm, yes it's a tad lighter than the 600, but at F5.6 ? surely it should have been F4. I can get 40mm more with the same aperture buy using a 1.4 xtc on my 600. I think if it had been an F4 I would have saved my pennies for one...

    That is pretty funny; it is pretty close to what I said except I used the word "stupid" somehwere. That was until I tried it...

    I will do a complete review in a Bulletin before the end of the year, possibly sooner. IAC, the lens coatings are so much improved that the lens is incredibly sharp and focuses much faster and more accurately in AI Servo AF than any long lens that I have ever used. In addition, being able to create flight images without a TC is a huge advantage as AI Servo tracking accuracy is vastly improved.

    Do I miss f/4 at times? You bet. But with the great high ISO performance of the 1D MIII I am willing to sacrifice f/4 for the rest of a truly great package.

    Enjoying the site.

    As we are enjoying your posts and comments. :) :) :)

    ps: we look forward to your joining the membership ranks.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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  14. #14
    Tony House
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    Hi Arthur, I use a 1D M11 N which produces a fair amount of nosie above the 400 mark due partly to me I think, I will have another play in different conditions to see if I can get better results. I must admit I don't use any nosie reduction software. In fact I've only ever use neat image once and noticed reducing the nosie caused some fine detail to be lost, that put me off, maybe give some of the other products a go.

    I know adding the 1.4xtc to my 600 greatly reduces the focus speed so I can see the benifit of the 800 for flight shots were tracking the subject is so important.
    I try and get over this with my set up by reducing the focus distance the lens has to cover by selecting 16m to infinity setting on the lens, sometimes selecting the ring of fire helps too, think that's what it's called. Works better than centre focus points on some days but not all.

    Cheers.
    Tony

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    Hi Again Tony,

    re:

    I use a 1D M11 N which produces a fair amount of noise above the 400 mark due partly to me I think, I will have another play in different conditions to see if I can get better results.

    Ah, the II series bodies are different animals from tme 1D MIII as far as noise control (and exposure). With any camera, however, exposing to the right will reduce the amount of noise.

    I must admit I don't use any nosie reduction software. In fact I've only ever use neat image once and noticed reducing the nosie caused some fine detail to be lost, that put me off, maybe give some of the other products a go.

    There are lots of ways to select the BKGR and protect the subject (Refine Edges) and then run NR only on the BKGR in Photoshop. At times, doing the NR during conversion is more effective.

    I know adding the 1.4xtc to my 600 greatly reduces the focus speed so I can see the benifit of the 800 for flight shots where tracking the subject is so important.

    For sure.

    I try and get over this with my set up by reducing the focus distance the lens has to cover by selecting 16m to infinity setting on the lens.

    We have been teaching folks to do that for 20+ years now :)

    Sometimes selecting the ring of fire helps too, think that's what it's called.

    Yes, that is my nickname for AAFPS. Works better with the II series than with the III. And with the MIII, even with the latest yellow dot versions, 45-Point with backgrounds other than sky simply does not see the subject... IAC, I rarely use it with the MIII even with sky BKGRs.

    Works better than centre focus points on some days but not all.

    Agree. Later mate.
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    I like the image. I've been toying with the idea of adding the 800 to my lens collection but as has already been stated, I wasn't happy with f5.6 when I can use a 1.4x converter on my 600 and get more focal length and the same f stop. However... a weight savings of 2#'s (possible more if you go with a lighter tripod foot. Mine shaved nearly a pound off of the 600's total weight) is pretty attractive. Even more attractive is the thought of faster focusing.

    I tend to shoot ISO 400 most of the time too. I use Imagenomic Noiseware Pro and I'm pretty happy with it. Their software includes sharpening and contrast sliders as well as two "protection" sliders. They have a trial download on their site and customer support is really good.

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Michael. What camera are you using?

    Warning to all: if someone offer to let you "try" their 800 f/5.6 for a few frames, resist the urge to do so unless you are willing to buy one immediately. Or have them killed....
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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    ps; the thing works great with the Mongoose M3.5 and when mmy 800 arrives the first thing that I will do is mount the low foot which will reduce the weight a bit more.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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    Primarily the 1DMKIII. When I went to Bosque earlier this year I was stuck with the 1DsMKIII (I know you know what sloth that thing is). My standby is my 1DsMKII (love this camera but it became "slow" when I bought the 1DMKIII). My 1DMKIII was giving me intermittent Err 99's. It started about a week before I left for Bosque and I couldn't risk having that happen on my first trip to "meca" so I sent it in. We both left the same day :(

    ROFL at "have them killed" :D

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    Hi Michael,

    re:

    Primarily the 1DMKIII. When I went to Bosque earlier this year I was stuck with the 1DsMKIII (I know you know what sloth that thing is).

    The only problem that I had with that camera was the noise. As I recall, the frame rate was pretty good actually.

    My standby is my 1DsMKII (love this camera but it became "slow" when I bought the 1DMKIII).

    I loved my 1Ds MII. Kept it too long--should have sold it long ago. I cannot go back to the MII series because my brain is not capable of working with two different sets of buttons and controls...

    My 1DMKIII was giving me intermittent Err 99's. It started about a week before I left for Bosque and I couldn't risk having that happen on my first trip to "meca" so I sent it in.

    I have had only a very few intermittent Error 99s over the past 7 years. Been blessed.

    We both left the same day :(

    Would have loved to have met you. Maybe next year. And a bad day to leave. I know that as I drove north....

    ROFL at "have them killed" :D

    That was the plan.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    Hi Michael,

    re:

    Primarily the 1DMKIII. When I went to Bosque earlier this year I was stuck with the 1DsMKIII (I know you know what sloth that thing is).

    The only problem that I had with that camera was the noise. As I recall, the frame rate was pretty good actually.

    My standby is my 1DsMKII (love this camera but it became "slow" when I bought the 1DMKIII).

    I loved my 1Ds MII. Kept it too long--should have sold it long ago. I cannot go back to the MII series because my brain is not capable of working with two different sets of buttons and controls...

    My 1DMKIII was giving me intermittent Err 99's. It started about a week before I left for Bosque and I couldn't risk having that happen on my first trip to "meca" so I sent it in.

    I have had only a very few intermittent Error 99s over the past 7 years. Been blessed.

    We both left the same day :(

    Would have loved to have met you. Maybe next year. And a bad day to leave. I know that as I drove north....

    ROFL at "have them killed" :D

    That was the plan.
    Artie,

    Noise is the other issue with the 1DsMKIII. Its a fine landscape / portrait camera but when the ISO has to be pushed up it, as you know, leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe I am having problems with the 1DsMKIII and don't realize it? I was using a 16Gb CF card (always have for that matter) and if I tried to shoot a burst I would get 2 frames and then have to wait for the buffer. The wait often felt like hours :)

    I can relate to the different set of buttons and controls comment. that is why I didn't use it much at Bosque. I had a 14mm lens attached to it and I shot a few with that but even thought the DsMKIII was slower I stuck by it because of the control issue.

    I was actually there about a week before... I meant my camera went to Canon and I went to Bosque on the same day.

    Leaving Bosque... ugh.... that was tough. Every day seemed to bring more "gifts". Someone said, on this forum, that the thing that makes Bosque stand out is the quality of the light. I've got rice fields within 30 miles of my home so I have access to 10's of thousands of geese and other waterfowl, but the light is definitely not the same.

    I hope that we do eventually meet up. I met, briefly... we had birds to shoot :) , a few BPN members when we were there.

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Hi Again,

    re:

    Noise is the other issue with the 1DsMKIII. Its a fine landscape / portrait camera but when the ISO has to be pushed up it, as you know, leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe I am having problems with the 1DsMKIII and don't realize it? I was using a 16Gb CF card (always have for that matter) and if I tried to shoot a burst I would get 2 frames and then have to wait for the buffer. The wait often felt like hours :)

    A common mistake: you have enabled the CF for in-camera Noise Reduction. Disable and you will get the normal buffer. I did the same thing at first...

    Leaving Bosque... ugh.... that was tough. Every day seemed to bring more "gifts". Someone said, on this forum, that the thing that makes Bosque stand out is the quality of the light. I've got rice fields within 30 miles of my home so I have access to 10's of thousands of geese and other waterfowl, but the light is definitely not the same.

    Agree. This was fourteen consecutive years of me since the death of my wife Elaine in NOV '94.

    I hope that we do eventually meet up.

    Ditto.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post

    A common mistake: you have enabled the CF for in-camera Noise Reduction. Disable and you will get the normal buffer. I did the same thing at first...
    Well I'll be darned... I thought hat I had that turned off... but I just checked it and sure enough... noise reduction was turned on (both). It's no DMKIII now but much better than it was,

    Thanks!!

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    YAW. Been there, done that!
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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