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Picture this...
- Thread starter cmartinez
- Start date
STEM?
Cheers! ..
Aww man! Now I feel bad. But I'm also laughing. I didn't know that was possible.
You captured that picture at the perfect moment.
Not exactly a rare visitor but an ironically uncommon one on the river here:
A common loon spotted hanging out near a bridge. Very noticeable even at a distance because of its unique field marks. It could have been a duck by general appearance but it would have had to be a distressed one! It was sleeping in the water! Head down on its back, then after it woke up it stayed out in the middle of the river without moving anywhere. It was also too low in the water. Overall, it provoked an immediate reaction that this was an... odd duck... (sorry)
I was able to get much closer, shooting from the bridge. Here's the (un)common loon...
A common loon spotted hanging out near a bridge. Very noticeable even at a distance because of its unique field marks. It could have been a duck by general appearance but it would have had to be a distressed one! It was sleeping in the water! Head down on its back, then after it woke up it stayed out in the middle of the river without moving anywhere. It was also too low in the water. Overall, it provoked an immediate reaction that this was an... odd duck... (sorry)
I was able to get much closer, shooting from the bridge. Here's the (un)common loon...
I'm sure you've already said, but I don't know how far back; what camera and lens are you using for these bird shots?
This shot was with a Canon 1DX Mark II and a Canon EF 600mm /4L IS USM prime lens fitted with a 1.3x Extender III teleconverter for an effective focal length of 780mm at /5.6. The 1.3x loses me a stop of light but the reach is worth it.
The whole thing is on Gitzo Systematic legs with a Gitzo leveling base and Gitzo GFH-1 gimbal.
Does the speed of the lens even matter anymore given how sensitive CCDs are vs. traditional film?
Yes, because when shooting birds I need to use fast shutter speeds much of the time, though I would also like to be able to shoot stopped down in order to maximize depth of field which, at 780mm is already pretty shallow, that is not always an option especially when I am trying to keep the ISO down to limit noise.
I often have to crop quite radically because birds are small and often far away. When I am using only a small percentage of the sensor the noise at higher ISOs has a larger effect on image quality.
So, yes, a faster lens has a lot of utility in many cases. Mind you, f/4 isn’t all that fast and f/5.6 is only half the light of that.
EDITED: fixed �f/ in and sentence structure.
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There was a time, not long ago, when I didn't know enough for that to be impressive.
Nissan, Kia, Mitsubishi, and Hyundai all offer cars (brand new) that cost less than that setup (used).
I am building my photography knowledge currently; hopefully one day I know enough to feel justified in touching something like that.
Two things:
1. I, with very few exceptions, only buy used gear because the value proposition is massively unbalanced against new gear. For as much as 50% off retail I can get gear that is not functionally distinguishable from new and often without even noticeable cosmetic blemishes.
2. I worked my way up to this arrangement and spent many hours learning to “play” the camera. Many of my shots demand that operate three controls. and I have to keep in mind 4 or 5 parameters that I may have changed and can influence the shot. I’ve suffered a lot of frustration and feelings of incompetence to get to this point but I have to say that anyone who says “gear doesn’t matter” is just plain wrong.
I can endorse “gear is necessary but insufficient” and it is definitely true that if you don’t know how to operate the camera it won’t help make things better, but given the skill and developed habits, gear matters a lot.
On the other hand, any gear can be maximized, and the art of photography requires something other than technical competence. The technical competence allows the expression of the art in the best way but it doesn’t make the art happen.
Yeah, I get it. This concept holds true for most endeavors. You can take a Ford Fiesta to the race track every weekend and get better and better at racing, but you'll only ever be as fast as a Ford Fiesta. You can also go out your first time ever on a track, in an F1 car you just bought because it sounded cool. You'll probably crash, and even if you don't, someone in a Fiesta who actually knows how to drive will probably pass you while you spin out in the grass. Best to start small and work your way up to it; gear commensurate with experience. I have no business with a camera like yours. If someone gave me one, it would be wasted on me. I am still busy baffling myself with all the settings on my Canon 5D MkII.
You could learn the 1DX, it would just take time—less if you were using it. I also shoot a 5D Mark IV and a 7D mark II—the controls are substantially like the 1DX, particularly gripped up. The lens is a unique thing to learn, though.
