Purple Martin in flight.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Just a bit of fun testing the 7D's autofocussing this past summer. What better test than a Purple Martin colony! I did take advantage of strong winds at my back to get them slowing down as they approached the nesting box condo, but I was more than satisfied with the performance...especially combined with the "slow" zoom.

Canon 7D + 100-400L @330mm, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/2000s., f/6.3, ISO 800, natural light, cropped for composition (about 75% FF), center point, rear button focus.

[Jim Crosswell]

Nice image Daniel! I like the wing position, fanned tail, eye contact and composition.

[Stu Bowie]

Hey Dan, getting the martins to fly into the wind is cheating Have a try with them flying with the wind behind them This is not easy for an extremely fast flier, so well done on capturing this flight posture. Great angle, and overall nice and sharp too. It doesnt matter in whatever conditions they are flying in, one still has to get them in the frame. You certainly achieved that here.

[gail bisson]

Wow! Amazing flight shot considering how fast these little guys are. Good composition. Tack sharp. I often blame my 7D for poor shots but when I see the amazing ability and shots you have with your 7D I know I should blame the operator (me) and not the camera!
Gail

[Karl Egressy]

Excellent fligth shot, Daniel.
Did you use single point, multiple point or all the points?
My friend is telling me that he uses multiple or all points for Swallows on his 7D.
Otherwise single point.

[Doug Brown]

Super flight shot Daniel! Love the dynamic pose! Strong winds make a big difference with the small and fast flyers.

[Dumay de Boulle]

Man you did well, these guys are fast and the combo used, while the 7D has superb AF the 100-400 is a slower lens in that department...Very nicely done

[Daniel Cadieux]

Excellent fligth shot, Daniel.
Did you use single point, multiple point or all the points?
My friend is telling me that he uses multiple or all points for Swallows on his 7D.
Otherwise single point.

Hi Karl, thanks!

This was single point, but can't remember if it was with expansion or not (I tried both and thought the results were similar).