What to do with a sports camera...

[OlgaJ]

...when you don't have any sports to shoot?

Why, shoot birdies, of course!

Here are some of my first shots with the 1D Mark II that I won:

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker:

http://yiayia.smugmug.com/photos/14375273-L.jpg



Mockingbird:

http://yiayia.smugmug.com/photos/14251731-L.jpg

Olga

[dkapp]

Congrats again on the the new cam. I own a sports cam, and don't use it to shoot sports. This should be a great camera for any occasion.

Great shots & good starting point. How do you like it so far?

Dave

[Steve Cavigliano]

Very nice Olga :thumb That sapsucker is beautiful. But, you were supposed to kick the tree to get him to takeoff. That way you could have shot 45 frames of him flying away......LOL


J/K, I'm sooooooo envious. So how's the weight? Is it heavy enough to be bothersome? Andy let me play with his 1Ds MkII and it was a beast. Definitely too heavy to carry all day. At least for a wimp like me....lol But, it certainly does produce some really nice images. Just like your 1D Mk II :-)

Thanks for sharing,
Steve

[OlgaJ]

Great shots & good starting point. How do you like it so far?Thank you for your kind words.

So far I'm impressed with the focusing capability of the camera. The viewfinder is bigger than the one in the 20D and I can tell exactly what is in focus. I had a shot which with other cameras would have been difficult to make, with too many obstructions in front of my target, but still it focused where I wanted it to:

http://www.dphoto.us/forumphotos/data/500/24LH9O0117-1-med.jpg

But I'm still studying the manual and figuring out what I want my settings to be and how to operate it.

Olga

[OlgaJ]

Very nice Olga :thumb That sapsucker is beautiful. But, you were supposed to kick the tree to get him to takeoff. That way you could have shot 45 frames of him flying away......LOL My husband was upset that I sat there shooting instead of shooing him away.:)


J/K, I'm sooooooo envious. So how's the weight? Is it heavy enough to be bothersome? Andy let me play with his 1Ds MkII and it was a beast. Definitely too heavy to carry all day. At least for a wimp like me....lol But, it certainly does produce some really nice images. Just like your 1D Mk II :-)
You said it: "too heavy to carry all day." I can hold it for a few shots but then I have to rest. I may even have to resort to using a tripod, if for no other reason than to rest my hands and arms. Not a camera I would take on a trip where I spend time touring. I could never handle that weight full time. With the 100-400 lens and the Canon 1.4TC the whole thing weighs 8 lbs. That's too much for my match stick wrists.

But when I go out shooting with my photo friends, I could easily handle it because that's when I bring my equipment carrier with me, the baby stroller. :D

Olga

[Andy]

way good, olga, and congrats again :D

[Andy]

Andy let me play with his 1Ds MkII and it was a beast. Definitely too heavy to carry all day. At least for a wimp like me....lol

when you own it, it's as light as a feather :lol3

[luckyrwe]

Olga, those are SHARP! What aperture and shuter speed did you use? What lens? How far away were you?

[Ann McRae]

[QUOTE=OlgaJ]...when you don't have any sports to shoot?

Why, shoot birdies, of course!


These are fabulous! Congratulations on your win! :clap :clap :clap

And, if you ever decide that the cam needs a sportshooter as an adoptive parent, well feel free to call me!:D :D :D :D :D


ann

[OlgaJ]

Olga, those are SHARP! What aperture and shuter speed did you use? What lens? How far away were you?First one was taken with 100-400L + Canon 1.4TC. It's a crop very close to 100% magnification. I couldn't say how far away. Not close enough to be able to see the detail the picture captured.

Shutter speed: 1/640 sec
Aperture: 8
Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: +2/3
ISO: 400
Focal length: 560mm

Second was with 100-400L without TC. It is full frame. I was probably around 10 ft away (just a guess).

Shutter speed: 1/320 sec
Aperture: 7.1
Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: +2/3
ISO: 400
Focal length: 400mm

Olga

[luckyrwe]

Thanks! My bird pics look a little soft but I use the 400mm/5.6 wide open or the 70-200 usually wider than I wished. Only thing I need is a little more sunlight then. I can tell the IS really works!

[OlgaJ]

Thanks! My bird pics look a little soft but I use the 400mm/5.6 wide open or the 70-200 usually wider than I wished. Only thing I need is a little more sunlight then. I can tell the IS really works!
It's easy for me to get soft pics. I don't have the steadiness of hand that I wish I had. Without the IS I would never get a sharp picture. Then, of course, there are times I'm not paying attention to ISO or shutter speeds, resulting in throw-away shots.

What surprises and pleases me the most is that as heavy as this camera is, I still manage to get some very sharp images. handheld, (and both those shots were handheld.) I thought the weight would preclude me from doing so.

Olga

[OlgaJ]

And, if you ever decide that the cam needs a sportshooter as an adoptive parent, well feel free to call me!:D :D :D :D :D
Wish you lived closer, Ann. We could be sharing. :D

Olga

[luckyrwe]

I know the feeling. he pictures I have which are tack sharp do not have a pattern except how steady I hold the camera. I do a lot of my photography while moving, so I need to take that into consideration. I recently traded up my 70-200 for the IS lens and would like to get the 300/2.8 IS. In the mean time I guess I can brag about getting the softness of the birdie feathers in my pictures. :cry

What do you have your in camera sharpness set for, or are these RAW pics?

[OlgaJ]

What do you have your in camera sharpness set for, or are these RAW pics?
Raw conversions for both.

Olga