I was out at the local bird sanctuary last weekend, hoping to see some migrants come through. No luck, so practiced some BIFs on the ever present Canada Geese. Light was low, and the geese were coming with the sun to their back, but tried to make the best of it.
D700 80-400 at f/6.3 1/200 ISO 800 400mm handheld
Post: PS CS4 Sharpening, full frame
I rather liked the rim lighting, falling water drops and was pleased to be able to hold the central core fairly sharp at this shutter speed while showing the wing motion.
I don't use the 80-400 much anymore, but it is happier with the D700 than the D300.
Randy I just love backlit shots against dark background:-) The trailing drops, the sharp head and perfect posture make this work for me. You did very well to get the head sharp at that SS, with a slow focusing lens like the 80-400. For what it is worth, my default SS for larger birds is 1/2500, which results in high IS0's. I don't mind that with the D3 (or D700 by implication) as the camera can handle it comfortably without too much noise. I think a higher SS would have given you a sharper image overall?
You are quite right about the ISO. I usually shoot this camera at a base of 1000 when BIF is anticipated.
I had been using a different camera and lens, when I saw this situation developing, and grabbed the D700 hanging on its strap and got off a quick burst. I was lucky to get the exposure dialed in pretty close since it was in manual.
I always try to 'zero' each of my cameras before I start the day. By that I mean check all the base settings(ISO, metering mode, EC,etc.) to make sure they are appropriate for the anticipated shooting, and not left over from the previous outing.
Because I was using the D300 primarily, I hadn't zeroed the D700 for the day!