kestrel

i have a pair of these falcons breeding im my backyard.
here's a photo i took this evening:



cheers
loko

Nice light Lorenz… but I wouldn't like to be a little mouse in your backyard!

What lens did you use?

Did you call him so he turns his head?

Nicolas Claris said:

What lens did you use?

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hmm.. that's a mean question..
because the combination of lens setup and shutter time is less than optimal...

i used the 300-800 sigma coupled with the 1.4x and 2x extenders...
results in a f11 at 1/100s and 400ISO

at least i got close..

hmmmm

800X2X1.4 = 2240 mm???? need a gyro for that length!

hehe.. or much more light.. i wouldn't dare show it at 100% because of that.
i used a remote release and mirror lockup to minimize vibrations...

i could have pushed the iso further... but then the noise takes over which results in a different kind of unsharp picture.

While a remote release is often a good idea, with long lenses some photographers will squeeze carefully with one hand on the camera grip and one hand resting gently on the lens to dampen vibrations. It's worth testing your setup both ways with a static subject and seeing what gives you a sharper result.

thank you for your suggestion, david.
i will try it once - but i don't understand how it physically will give me a steadier shot.
even if i squeeze the button very gently and try not to breathe my heart still pumps and my muscles twitch in order to maintain balance.

i think that locking the mirror - waiting for the rig to steady again - and then release by cable will give superior results.

here is another shot with the cable release technique:

David A. Goldfarb said:

While a remote release is often a good idea, with long lenses some photographers will squeeze carefully with one hand on the camera grip and one hand resting gently on the lens to dampen vibrations. It's worth testing your setup both ways with a static subject and seeing what gives you a sharper result.

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I think that this is meant to dampen harmonics in the long lens tube which can be activated by even a slight breeze. Worth trying!

Asher

Asher Kelman said:

I think that this is meant to dampen harmonics in the long lens tube which can be activated by even a slight breeze. Worth trying!

Asher

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Yes, exactly. Even with mirror lockup, shutter vibration can be magnified by that long lever attached to the camera body, particularly if you're using an 800mm lens with a 1.4X and 2X extenders. I've done it both ways, and it's hard to tell which is consistently better, since there are other factors that become relevant with long lenses at close subject distances like the stability of the ground. Many bird photographers, though, use this technique with long lenses, rather than a remote release.

Another alternative is to sandbag the lens and the camera, and then you can use a remote release, which is probably the best way of steadying the camera, but then you've got to carry sandbags with an already heavy lens and tripod, and it makes it more awkward to adjust the position of the camera, if you've got to worry about a sandbag falling off the lens and scaring away the bird.

I usually don't use more than 1.4X with my 600/4.5, because it's an older lens, and 2X will reveal chromatic aberration in high contrast zones with that lens, but if I were using both the 1.4X and a 2X (or two 2X extenders like Art Morris sometimes does), I'd probably be inclined to use a second support, like another tripod or at least a monopod between the camera body and the ground presuming the lens is mounted to the main tripod.

If you are interested, you can read some tips about keeping steady with a long lens, in this article, here:

http://www.mikespinak.com/articles/Essays/e002obtainingmaxsharp.html

Mike Spinak said:

If you are interested, you can read some tips about keeping steady with a long lens, in this article, here:

http://www.mikespinak.com/articles/Essays/e002obtainingmaxsharp.html

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Hi Mike,

Thanks for sharing these tips

Cheers,

Cem

My pleasure, Cem.