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Kirsten
xfkirsten
13 March 2007 @ 04:19 pm
 
So the man in the Great Brown Truck came today and made life win! XD Spent the afternoon at Marymoor Park, playing with the new lens on bird photos... and OMG!LOVE.

This sucker is NICE. Quick focus, sharp detail. It's a bit heavy (2.8 lbs) and it's long (around 10"), but that's to be expected from a long lens. I didn't really have trouble holding or carrying it, but I was only out for a couple of hours.

Not having used a USM lens before, I was surprised at how quickly and quietly it focused. The one quirk I did find was that, if the background is really busy (say, there's a lot of tree branches behind the subject) it has trouble picking out the subject. I found that it tended to focus on the background rather than the bird. Not really a big issue, though, as I tend to use manual focus when I'm birding because of branches in the way and all.

As for the sharpness... well, I'll let the pics speak for themselves...

No spectacular species today. The weather was a bit icky, so I wasn't expecting anything great. But all I really needed was test subjects, and I certainly got them! You can click on any photo below to be taken to a full-size version to see just how sharp this thing really is. All photos were taken by hand-holding the camera - I did not use a tripod or monopod on these shots. They also have not been touched up at all. They are straight off the camera, and compressed for easier uploading.


Mallard (male and female)
ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec


Two Anna's hummingbirds in a territory dispute (the second is bottom, center, obscured by a branch)
ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/4000 sec


Bald eagle nest
ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec


Unidentified bird (I think it may have been one of the resident eagles, based on its large size, but by the time I spotted it, it was in sharp contrast and I could not make out the head)
ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/4000 sec


Mallard pair - check out the sharpness on the male!
ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/1600 sec


American robin male
ISO 800, f/11, 1/2000 sec


American robin male
ISO 800, f/11, 1/640 sec


American robin female
ISO 800, f/11, 1/2000 sec


All of the day's photos can be found here: http://xfkirsten.smugmug.com/gallery/2578415

The total confirmed bird sightings for the day:
American Robin
American Coot
Song Sparrow
Mallard
American Crow
Seagull sp.
Black-capped Chickadee
Anna's Hummingbird

(There were a billion others that I heard or suspected, but I'm not counting those here. I wasn't looking very hard. :P)

Bottom line? This lens owns my soul.
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Speckles: Elizabeth- Window[info]speckleberry on March 13th, 2007 11:30 pm (UTC)
Mallard

Ah lol, Ducky...*loves you*

You lense seems brilliant!! Hope we get more pics coming!!
Kirsten[info]xfkirsten on March 13th, 2007 11:40 pm (UTC)
We have lots and lots and lots of them here. :D If you like duckies, you will love Vancouver. :P

Hopefully I can get out a bit more often now that spring is on the way!
Speckles: Elizabeth- Window[info]speckleberry on March 13th, 2007 11:43 pm (UTC)
Hehehe! i meant Ducky from NCIS 'Dr. Mallard' lol...but little duckies are cute too.

I hope to see more photos. And are you going to take some of the animals you work with?
Kirsten[info]xfkirsten on March 13th, 2007 11:44 pm (UTC)
LMAO!! I've never actually seen that show. :P

Hopefully! I'd like to bring it to the zoo and try and get some closeups. Maybe sometime this week! :)
Speckles: Kate[info]speckleberry on March 13th, 2007 11:50 pm (UTC)
Hehehe! that'd be great!

And yeah, NCIS was a good show for the first 2 seasons, ask Sapph and she'll tell you it was good only after the first 2 seasons, lol.

No accounting for taste! *giggles*
Kirsten[info]xfkirsten on March 14th, 2007 02:47 am (UTC)
LOL! I hate that, when a show starts out good then goes down the drain quickly!
Speckles[info]speckleberry on March 14th, 2007 03:18 am (UTC)
With NCIS it's more a matter of opinion really. People that never saw Kate in the first 2 seasons say that they love Ziva and it's still a fantastic show, i'll even agree that it's still good and the characters haven't changed, Ducky, Abby, Tony, Gibbs and even McGee still have the traits that i loved most about them, but not having Kate there has changed the dynamic dramatically.

She was awesome! and Sasha, the actress that played her, equally as cool! But, Ziva too has her interesting side, and i like her, but it's just not the same show that i want it to be, the blaringly obvious possibility that Tony and Ziva could get together, i don't like, and not because i was a Tony/Kate shipper (regardless of the fact that i still am.)
I don't see that that's what this show should be about. It's about procedural drama mixed with light-hearted comedy and idiocy mostly on Tony's part.

I don't like shipping, especially one that isn't mine, to be that obvious. I don't even like my own to be that obvious...i mean look at Sparky! *loves on the sparks*

And i'll shut up now, because you don't even watch the show and i'm harping on, lol.
luisa_f[info]luisa_f on March 13th, 2007 11:31 pm (UTC)
So pretty, the robin is so cute, we have one here [we throw birds food to the birds on the garden daily], and it comes and eats with the doves, and you can see the red spot amongst the brown of the doves. And the color is so vibrant, if I had to choose my favorite bird, that would be it.

And this might seem a dumb question, but how do you make out the difference between male and female?.
Kirsten[info]xfkirsten on March 13th, 2007 11:42 pm (UTC)
They are gorgeous birds! They're all over the place here, I see them all the time. LOVE that bright red!

With robins, the males have that striking black-and-red coloration. Females are duller in color - they look more gray, and the red isn't as vibrant.
Loli[info]chiidesu on March 13th, 2007 11:33 pm (UTC)
Such a niiiiiice camera... ::drool::
Kirsten[info]xfkirsten on March 13th, 2007 11:43 pm (UTC)
*marries it* :P
Sally: Faith - beautiful disaster[info]mizz_magenta on March 13th, 2007 11:36 pm (UTC)
Wow! I think I just cut myself on the sharpness of your most awesome pics. :P And seeing all the many shades and textures makes me want to be arty again.
Kirsten[info]xfkirsten on March 13th, 2007 11:44 pm (UTC)
*pokes* Be arty! Be arty!!
Sally: SGA - Lizzie - preggers[info]mizz_magenta on March 14th, 2007 12:33 am (UTC)
:P

Well, I was kind of arty in a different way tonight. I got the lil bro (who's 17 and not so little) to help me make Mothers Day cards for Mum and Grandma. :)
Kirsten[info]xfkirsten on March 14th, 2007 02:48 am (UTC)
That's a great kind of arty! :D

BTW, your icon? Made of awesome. XD
Disco Dollie[info]_disco_dollie_ on March 13th, 2007 11:58 pm (UTC)
Beautiful. Niiiiiiiiiiice closeups :)
Kirsten[info]xfkirsten on March 14th, 2007 02:48 am (UTC)
Thank you very much! :D
wraithfodder[info]wraithfodder on March 14th, 2007 12:06 am (UTC)
Wow, NICE SHOTS!!!!!!!!!!!
Kirsten[info]xfkirsten on March 14th, 2007 02:49 am (UTC)
Thanks! It's fun to have a great lens to play with - hopefully I can get out and get more as the weather warms up.
how weird can be wonderful: me and torri = OMGSQUEE!!![info]wannatee_1984 on March 14th, 2007 12:21 am (UTC)
i am so totally not jealous of you and that lens of awesome... no... i'm not... seriouly.

*is totally jealous* :P

that money sure was well spent, well done hun! :D
Kirsten[info]xfkirsten on March 14th, 2007 02:50 am (UTC)
I figured if I was going to make an investment into a big lens, I'd make it a good one! I'm very pleased with it! :D
[info]hithrael on March 14th, 2007 01:57 am (UTC)
dontcha love a lens thats nice enough to shoot wide open and still get photos like that?

Any recommends on a good wideangle... my smallest decent lens is a 50mm... :P. And I hate using the 18-55 that came with it.

~N
toasteronfire: eureka7[info]toasteronfire on March 14th, 2007 02:17 am (UTC)
If I can give my advice, we're currently shooting with a Canon 10-22 mm and love it. Ironically, we ordered that lens a while ago and sent it back because it wasn't as sharp as we wanted. Several months ago we ordered it again (different lens than before) and directly compared it to a Tokina 12-24 mm. This specific Canon lens was much sharper than both the Tokina and the earlier Canon lens we sent back. Go figure.

I have no idea why there is so much lens to lens variability with these high-end lenses. One can be sharp as a tack and the next can be slightly fuzzy. Drives me nuts.

Kirsten[info]xfkirsten on March 14th, 2007 02:53 am (UTC)
I love it! To actually be able to see detail on feathers like that is amazing. Great recommendation on the lens! :)

And I'm glad [info]toasteronfire can jump in on the second part - I have the 18-55 kit lens and a 50mm f/1.8, so I don't have much in the wide-angle department!
toasteronfire[info]toasteronfire on March 14th, 2007 02:23 am (UTC)
NICE! This is the Canon lens, right? The one you picked over the Bigma? And it's not too heavy huh? I feel like my 300 mm is on the verge of comfortable hand-holding but I might just be a wuss. ;)

I envy your ability to use manual focus, I'm so dependent on the automatic feature and it's so irritating when the focus gets stuck on background or foreground branches. Must learn!
Kirsten[info]xfkirsten on March 14th, 2007 02:57 am (UTC)
Yup! This is Canon's 400mm f/5.6L prime. I figured that if I was going for a long lens, I might as well get the best I could afford! :p It's chunky (2.8 lbs and around 10") but I was able to carry it around for a couple of hours with no problem. It would probably get tiring if you had to hold it up for a long time, but if you're just periodically lifting it, it's not bad. And it does have a tripod mount on the lens, I was just too lazy to deal with a tripod/monopod today. :P

I tend to prefer automatic, too! I'll generally try that first, and then switch back to manual if need be. The nice thing about this one, too, is that while you're in automatic, you can still make adjustments manually, but it tends to jump back when you hit the shutter. Still playing with that a bit! I've never had much luck with any lens as far as automatic focus around branches goes. :P
The Duuuuuuude: Whoa[info]dcpesses on March 14th, 2007 10:57 pm (UTC)

Wow. Just...wow. What an amazing lens.

Of course, it takes a good photographer to know what the hell they're doing. :P
Leah[info]ulisesgirl on March 15th, 2007 03:08 am (UTC)
SQUEE!!!