300 f/2.8L IS II/2X III TC/EOS-5D III at Torrey Pines

[Arthur Morris]

Denise Ippolito and I spent the morning on the cliffs at Torrey Pines, San Diego, CA. I created this image with the hand held 300 f/2.8L IS II/2X III TC/EOS-5D III. It is about 40% of the original image. Neither the central sensor nor any of the surrounding AF points were anywhere near the bird at the moment of exposure. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop off the blue sky: 1/1600 sec. at f/5.6 with Highlight Tone Priority Enabled.

Don't be shy; all comments welcome.

[Colin Driscoll]

Lovely shot Artie. I am still learning with my 5D3 but I have seen just what you describe about the AF points being nowhere near the bird and yet it is in good focus.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Just love the dorsal view here Artie...
Looks like the 5D3 is shaping up to be a great BIF camera looking at the results you and Doug and Arash are getting . Can only imagine it in combination with the 300mk2/2xmk3
I love the dorsal view here.
Can the face/head stand a tad more sharpening??

[dankearl]

Killer angle and I really think the BG color works really well with this guy.
I think maybe a bit more below and a bit less above would look nice.

[Randy Stout]

Artie:

Great 3D feeling here, wonderful dorsal display as mentioned, well exposed. I had the same thought about the sharpness of the head, before I read Morkel's comment.

Because he is diving, I think that Dan's suggestion makes a lot of sense re: cropping.

Cheers

Randy

[Humberto Ramos]

I don´t have many experience in BIF, but I do like this view from above, agree with dank earl about more room bellow and above.

[Ofer Levy]

Dorsal view is nice. However, I am not surprised to hear that none of the focus point were on the bird as the only part which is relatively sharp in the right wing.

[Karl Egressy]

Great top view, nice head turn and eye contact.

[Colin Knight]

I love the angle! Looks like the 5D III held up to the crop just fine.

[arash_hazeghi]

Excellent topside view and dynamic pose love the fanned tail and the BG. Great job getting this fast raptor with a 2X TC, it is not easy. I agree that the sharpest focus is on the far wing but with the 2X you can't ask for much more even if the bird is centered in the frame at the time of exposure. The details will sharpen up nicely though. I sharpened the left side of the bird plus the head selectively to equalize sharpness. It will come out better if you start from RAW

[Kiran Poonacha]

Loved it guru, I love this bird. hope to make a pic like this some day.

[stefano sitzia]

great.
for me just a little bit of sharpen in the head to have more definition.

[Ofer Levy]

Repost doesn't look bad at all....

[Arthur Morris]

Excellent topside view and dynamic pose love the fanned tail and the BG. Great job getting this fast raptor with a 2X TC, it is not easy. I agree that the sharpest focus is on the far wing but with the 2X you can't ask for much more even if the bird is centered in the frame at the time of exposure. The details will sharpen up nicely though. I sharpened the left side of the bird plus the head selectively to equalize sharpness. It will come out better if you start from RAW.

Arash, Thanks for the repost; it does look better. I knew from the get-go that it was not the sharpest image ever :). I did get a similar image a few days later with a bit less tail spread but very sharp and nearly full frame.... Will post it soon.

[Steve Uffman]

Artie, like the image as always and look forward to the full frame shot you mention. Curious how the lack of focus point illumination in red in the AF servo mode works for you on the 5dIII? I think I am correct that the focus point is highlighted in red on the 1dMK4. As I am coming from the 7D which has the same black focus point showing in the viewfinder, its a bit frustrating because I had hoped for the "red" illumination. Missed a few shots on black bears recently because I was inches off when I could not see the point against the dark fur. Rumor has it that the 1dx will not have the illumination either.

All things considered, I really like the 5dIII. Eagles in flight taken in Alaska are by far the sharpest I have taken.

[Arthur Morris]

[QUOTE=Steve Uffman;805945 Curious how the lack of focus point illumination in red in the AF servo mode works for you on the 5dIII? I think I am correct that the focus point is highlighted in red on the 1dMK4. [/QUOTE]

I am quite confused. Except in one very rare instance that nobody but me knows about, no previous Canon camera has the AF point illuminated when you are in AI Servo AF and the shutter button is pressed half way. Please correct me if I am in error.

[Steve Uffman]

http://www.canonrumors.com/2012/05/5...o-information/ says the following "For some of us shooting the 5D Mark III, there is an issue that is driving some, not all, photographers bonkers. That is, when shooting in AI Servo mode, the focus point we have selected does not illuminate red, like it does on the EOS-1′s like the 1D Mark IV. The 7D has always had the black focus points in AI Servo and we never really heard many complaints about it. However, since the 5D3 came about, there have been countless complaints about shooting in AI servo mode without the illuminating focus points." I have the 5dIII and the 7d....quote sounded like it was different in the 1dmk4 and did seem like it would be a nice advantage...clearly I must be missing something if you say it does not illuminate. thoughts?

[Arthur Morris]

As I said, it the active AF point never illuminates on Canon cameras in AI Servo mode when the shutter is pressed (except on one instance with both the MIV and the 5DIII)....

Nothing about the 5DIII drives me bonkers. Not sure what the rumor boys are talking about....

[Steve Uffman]

Thanks, was why I wanted clarification since I don't own the 1dm4 that they seemed to imply handled it differently.

[Arthur Morris]

There may be some differences in the AF point being illuminated between the 1D IV and the 5D III but nothing that I noticed and no difference as far as I know in AI Servo AF when the AF is activated.... And the AF on the 5D III is great. Some folks would rather find something to complain about than go out and make some good images....

Does anything bother you or are you just passing along internet rumors?

[Steve Uffman]

There may be some differences in the AF point being illuminated between the 1D IV and the 5D III but nothing that I noticed and no difference as far as I know in AI Servo AF when the AF is activated.... And the AF on the 5D III is great. Some folks would rather find something to complain about than go out and make some good images....

Does anything bother you or are you just passing along internet rumors?

Nope, just trying to understand all the fog that is out there. I have the 5dIII and love the AF...a huge fan.....before 5diii came out I put 1dx on pre order. Still planning to upgrade to a second body other than the 7d. just thought I would ask the guru who has the 1dmk4 and 5dIII for clarification...sorry

[Arthur Morris]

No problema. I always get a kick out of the internet experts.... I did hear that the issue had something to do with the active points being black rather than red.... No wonder they were in a tizzy. But not while AF is activated in AI Servo mode....

[arash_hazeghi]

they are talking about AF point illuminated in black (5D3) vs. red in 1D4. The black is harder to see than red if the subject is dark.

It could be annoying for some, Canon is said to be working on a new firmware to address this.

[Steve Uffman]

Thanks Arash, since I don't have the 1d4 was not sure if I was missing anything....did miss a the focus point being on the forehead of a black bear by a few inches. Red highlight might have helped...

[Arthur Morris]

When I wrote in Pane 18, "As I said, it the active AF point never illuminates on Canon cameras in AI Servo mode when the shutter is pressed...." I was 100% wrong. With the proper menu items selected the system illuminates the active AF point when the shutter is pressed halfway. That is how I had both cameras set up. Yes to black only with the 5D III even when you set the menu item for "always illuminate in red." Not sure what I was thinking :).