One AF point up and three to the right of the center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Shutter Button AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point fell on the bird’s face just below and to the right of the eye. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment = +5.
Advantage #1: Only with the 1D X are you able to utilize all 65 AF points (as well as all AF Area Selection Modes). With all other Canon bodies you are limited at f/8 to only the center AF point plus four assist points (in Expand). This 1DX II advantage allowed me to create a new and different image design at 1200mm with this image by placing the bird in the upper right part of the frame (with the reflections included below).
Learn more about Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, dowitchers, and this image along with the second big 1DX II advantage in the recent blog post here.
As for the image, please don't be shy; I'd love to know what you think about it.
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Last edited by Arthur Morris; 08-22-2016 at 09:02 AM.
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Good one, Artie. Great feeding pose, and the colors are lovely. It's tough to get a good feeding pose on these guys; they act like little sewing machines, and their heads are more often under water than out. I do like the placement of the bird in the upper right. The ripples give the impression that a little CW rotation might be in order, although ripples can sometimes be deceiving.
Good one, Artie. Great feeding pose, and the colors are lovely. It's tough to get a good feeding pose on these guys; they act like little sewing machines, and their heads are more often under water than out. I do like the placement of the bird in the upper right. The ripples give the impression that a little CW rotation might be in order, although ripples can sometimes be deceiving.
Thanks Bill. The funny thing is that I leveled it by the ripples but obviously did not use the Ruler Tool as well as I would have liked :(
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BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
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Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
A beautiful image Artie, bird tack sharp and looking your way along with the "to die for" BG. Id like to see bit more upper canvas only bc i like the blue and also agree on a slight CW rotation. Further there is a small bluish blob bout half way on the right side that could disappear. wonderful placement!
It is so difficult to get these guys to pose. They just never stop. Especially the young ones. Seems they are just ravenous. I really like the placement of the bird and that classic East Pond water. Agree with others re the clockwise rotation and the blue blob. If mine I would have been tempted to add a little more room on the right and take some off of the left. Question for you. What picture style do you use in DPP for this type of shot? Or all shots? Keep it always on standard or what? Ever use fine detail?
It is so difficult to get these guys to pose. They just never stop. Especially the young ones. Seems they are just ravenous. I really like the placement of the bird and that classic East Pond water. Agree with others re the clockwise rotation and the blue blob. If mine I would have been tempted to add a little more room on the right and take some off of the left. Question for you. What picture style do you use in DPP for this type of shot? Or all shots? Keep it always on standard or what? Ever use fine detail?
Thanks Isaac, I never even saw the blue blob... All of my camera bodies are set to Standard picture style. My understanding is that picture style affects only the embedded JPEG, thus the image that you see on the rear LCD. Furthermore, my understanding is that the picture style has zero effect on the RAW files. If I am correct, it would seem to make your question moot...
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BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
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Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
Just for fun I just went into DPP and changed the picture style of a picture. It is only in the RAW tab so you would think it changes the RAW. But I am not sure. What I can say is that when I selected it, there certainly was a difference in the RAW. Photographed some Egrets at sunset last night and there was a big difference in what showed in the RAW tab if I selected fine detail as opposed to Standard. Specifically the exposure seemed better using fine detail. On a few shots that I was slightly over exposed in Standard, in Fine detail is was much better. Curious...
Just for fun I just went into DPP and changed the picture style of a picture. It is only in the RAW tab so you would think it changes the RAW. But I am not sure. What I can say is that when I selected it, there certainly was a difference in the RAW. Photographed some Egrets at sunset last night and there was a big difference in what showed in the RAW tab if I selected fine detail as opposed to Standard. Specifically the exposure seemed better using fine detail. On a few shots that I was slightly over exposed in Standard, in Fine detail is was much better. Curious...
I am waiting to hear back from Canon's Rudy Winston. As far as I can tell you are correct and I was wrong. I will report back here and on the blog once I get a definitive answer.
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BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
Thanks. Eager to hear the real deal on these settings. Best I can tell it changes the color palette. The Fine Detail seems to do a bit of sharpening as well although I am not sure. Somehow there does seem to be more details and also a bit more noise so I am guessing that maybe it does some sharpening or something.
if you change the PS in DPP it changes the tone curve that is applied to the RAW file in addition to sharpness and contrast presets that can be manually tuned as well. I always use standard for bird photos
fine details just bumps up the sharpness to 4. For the best settings check the values in the DPP4 guide
Thanks. I could tell it was sharper and more noisy as well. Also that it changes the color rendering. Thanks for the confirmation. Also made things easier. Just leave on standard.
Thanks Arash. I am still waiting to hear from Rudy Winston. He has been busy with the 5D IV release.
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BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,