Fledgling Cooper's Hawk

[Ian Cassell]

Canon 7D
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 + 1.4X
f/8 1/1250sec ISO 1000
Sharpening and Levels in CS5 Approx. 30% Crop
NR in Noiseware Pro

Playing with TC with this lens to see if it can give me something acceptable.

[Jackie Schuknecht]

If you are asking just about the TC, then I think the IQ looks good.

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks, Jackie. Obviously, I would have preferred if the little guy was out from all that obscuring stuff, but I was really interested in seeing how the TC would perform with this lens. As a relative newbie to bird photography, I'm always interested in any comments and suggestions.

[Jackie Schuknecht]

I don't own that lens but have heard it is lightweight and very sharp. Think you lose about 10 percent image quality with the TC, but looks pretty good to me. I guess you manually focused? Cleaner perch ( and light coming from the front) would have been great, but maybe you'll get more opportunities.

[Ian Cassell]

Yes, stuck on MF with the TC. I've had the lens for a couple of weeks and have been having loads of fun. It is considerably lighter and sharper than my Sigma 100-300mm f/4.

[Lance Peters]

Hi Ian - looks sharp enough to me - pity thats its MF.
The Habitat is what it is. Cleaner might have been good - but you take what you can get sometimes.
Exposure looks pretty good - just keep a eye on your light angle- they dont always co-operate with that either :)

[Peter Farrell]

Nice shot, Ian. I like how you can see it's talons.
Peter

[Alfred Forns]

You did the best possible for your location Ian !! Not much else you could have done !!

[Harold Davis]

looks pretty good to me also. looks like you got a good combo!!

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks, all! The silly little bird kept his head down and it took about 30 images before I got one where he lifted his head up and looked at me at the same time. The adult male was on the adjacent branch in deep shade, so I gave up on him.

Arash sold me a great lens, but forgot to pack his skill in the shipping container :p

Oh, and just a minor correction ... I guess he's really not a fledgling yet ... he's bouncing around the branch but not really at flying-feather stage.