Chestnut Headed Bee Eater

[Phil Liew]

These are back in season. I went up north to Penang to try out some new kit and hope the picture does justice to it.

5D Mk2 + EF 800mm 1/100s f/8.0 ISO50

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Je!
My compliments! what a great looking bird you have here!
First time I see the 5D and 800mm combination. They together deliver wonderful images! Congrats.

[Bill Foxworthy]

This is superb with great detail Phil. I cant wait to get my 5D II

[christopher galeski]

nice colourful bird,great shot,sharp,nice BG,nice head angle.thanks.

[Mike Tracy]

Gorgeous bird. I like the subtle complimentary background.

I am amazed at the sharpness and detail considering your ISO and shutter speed selection.

[Rene Quenneville]

I agree with Mike. Sharp image at 1/100s is a challenge. Why did you go for ISO 50?

[Tony Whitehead]

Lovely pose with the open bill. BG is perfect. ISO and shutter speed seem a little unusual considering the focal length. The feathers on the back look a little oversharpened. I assume you're happy with your new kit, Phil :D

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Beautiful bird and well-captured. I like the soft light, eye contact, open bill and BG. I agree that the back plumage looks oversharpened. Why ISO 50? ISO 200 would have given you higher shutter speed.

[Art Kornienko]

No doubt about it, the picture does the kit justice in spades, stunning would be an understatement, but I have to agree with Axel and the other, who ISO 50 and 1/100, but am amazed at the bill sharpness considering these settings. Colours are stunning and lovely light.

[Phil Liew]

Thanks all for your comments.

The image was taken with the lens resting on a bean bag on a car door.

The image was sharp as is when out of the camera and I am sure many are aware lots of birds have a slight reflective sheen to the plumage and this is where I just love the lighting that brings it out if fill flash is not used. It does appear a touched over sharpened when USM was applied for the other parts.

ISO 50 and 1/100s - The image was taken in Av mode with evaluative metering. I was testing out the IS which is a claimed 4 stops (I think it is proven here) and have actually handheld 1/200s shots but more of that later in other posts. As for ISO 50, well I wanted to see if this camera still had the dynamic range at lower ISOs.

[Greg Basco]

Phil, I think this is outstanding! Was this full-frame? If so, I congratulate on the composition as well. I have a new 5D the old version, and I too have been enjoying ISO 50. It's amazing the shutter speeds that you can get away with. I think shooting in the tropics leads one to realize that slower shutter speeds will still give you good sharpness with good technique.

Cheers from Costa Rica,
Greg

[Simon Bennett]

Beautiful bird and image.