As ever, the Bank Holiday weekend looks like it will be a time for warm coats and rain hats. The forecast for Good Friday is poor, and this morning we were again shrouded in mists. Again. The day did brighten up by mid afternoon, which gave me the chance to try a few shots of the garden birds with my latest lens, the EF 400mm f/5.6L USM. This is my first long prime (i.e. it's a fixed length lens). I decided to go for this because it should be a little sharper than the 100-400 zoom (and may take an extender rather better, though I'll still need bright days to use that combination). Although it doesn't give me more 'reach' than the 100-400 and lacks image stabilization, it has a good reputation as a 'birding' lens. Most of the reviews also suggested it outperforms the Sigma 50-500 and 150-500 zooms (which are the same price band). The 500mm Canon is well beyond me (roughly the price of a small car).
First impressions are good. It locks on to the subject very quickly, and because it holds its sharpness with a wide aperture I was able to get faster shutter speeds with lower ISO (and theoretically less noise) than I'm used to, even going down to ISO 200 for some shots (including the wood pigeon below).
The slightly unexpected star showing for this workout were the collared doves. Although regular visitors, they are usually outnumbered by the pigeons, gulls and starlings.
The starlings stayed in the distance for most of the time, but the pigeons did put in an appearance (two species, the feral and the wood).
And yes, I did take some shots of the gulls as they circled around. They're easily the largest of the local birds, and the most vocal (though starlings compete through sheer weight of number at certain times of the year).
Herring gull
Camera note: all shots taken with the EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens.
SittingFox
9 Apr 2009Congratulations for your new lens! :hat: I'm sure that it's going to get plenty of use! 😉
cakkleberrylane
10 Apr 2009Wonderful shots! It looks like a great lens!
gdare
10 Apr 2009Amazing how sharp "flying" photos are (except that wood pigeon), especially the collared dove :yes:
Flying Red Fox Blog
10 Apr 2009lovelly pics 😀 The weather is not so good today but hopefully Easter Sunday will be aswe are having a family get together which is nice.
It seems that the weather went downhill since the start of the school holidays….. get those kids back to school so we can have our sunny weather back! 😆
Words
10 Apr 2009Adele, I fear it will get a lot of use. 😀 I also looked at the Sigma 500 prime (they had one, second hand at a fairly good price), but I'd need a truck to carry it around.
Words
10 Apr 2009Thanks Lois!
Words
10 Apr 2009Darko, that's certainly my best collared dove to date. The wood pigeon is showing motion blur (slower shutter), but the head is nice and sharp :p
Words
10 Apr 2009Mark, the forecast was for solid rain, but that hasn't arrived here yet, so I'm keeping an eye on the sky and may try to get out later. And I totally agree about the school hols. Some years ago I read an article which tried to make the case that weekends were always wet because there was less traffic about, the air cooled and the rain came. It would clear up on Monday as all the cars went back on the road. So maybe there's something in your theory 😉
Ukwildlife
10 Apr 2009great photos – that lat shot of the gull is excellent
Words
10 Apr 2009Thanks Neil… taken just after it launched itself off a roof.