Bushtit in the back yard

[Kerry Perkins]

Got the 400mm f/5.6 yesterday. Decided to head to the mountains for some winter birds. It was so cold and windy we headed back home, and after 200 miles of driving I captured this little Bushtit in my back yard! It was a gloomy day with no light, so I had to crank the ISO on the 50D. Noise Ninja did a decent job of the noise in this very dark background although it's still a bit lumpy. Going to try Topaz Adjust next...

Can't wait to see what this lens can do with some light! :D

Converted from RAW with DPP, tweaked in CS4, cloned out a large branch going off to the right from the perch in LRHS.

50D, EF400mm f/5.6L
Manual mode, f/5.6@1/500 ISO 1250 AWB
AI Servo autofocus using back button, tripod no flash

[Dan Brown]

Nice job with the high ISO and a tiny, flitty bird. FYI, this is a Bushtit, a female, told by the light eye.

[Kerry Perkins]

Thanks for the ID help Dan. I was torn between bushtit and wrentit!

[Katie Rupp]

Kerry, at least your first day with your new lens was not a total bust! Good detail and a very sharp eye, looking forward to more in better light.

[Lance Peters]

Hi Kerry - congrats on the new lens - have you tried the Noise inja profiles for your camera??
Good HA and eye contact - BG is stilll pretty noisey.

Looking forward to more :)

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Lance. I do use the profiles as supplied on the NN web site. However, there is something amiss with the ISO 1250 profile, as it wasn't doing any noise reduction at all. As a backup I profiled the image instead and then at least it (mostly) worked. I am going to shoot the chart with my 50D and use those images instead. Probably work better anyway for my particular body.

Thanks!

[Glenn Romain]

Just a bit of noise kerry but the rest is all there pose, sharpness, color etc... Well Captured

[Oscar Zangroniz]

Congrats on your new lens Kerry. You got great head angle and eye contact. I've heard that topaz works better than NN.
Regards,

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Kerry,
I like the composition and placement of your bird in frame...my suggestion would be to reduce the noise level in the background and to crop 1/4 from the bottom...good show...:cool:

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Kerry You got yourself one fine lens and it will be very sharp with a converter. AF gone unless you use a Pro Body but will be sharp !!!!

[denise ippolito]

Kerry, Congrats on the new lens-she's a beauty!
Your bushtit looks nice and sharp with a good HA- looking forward to more w/ the new lens!