A day at Bolsa Chica with the 1D Mark IV and 500mm f4

[gatorbill]

These are from a couple of weekends back, all shot with the EOS 1D Mark IV using the 500mm f/4L IS lens sometimes using the 2xTC. It was a great day with a wide variety of birds including a 30 minute fishing exhibition put on by the Reddish Egret during which time he caught about a dozen fish. The Reddish Egret's fishing technique is an amazing sight to see as he chases the fish, jumps at the fish, and shades the water from the sun with his wings outstretched while he intently looks for his prey.

1) Juvenile Male Red-breasted Merganser


2) Great Blue Heron


3) Red-tailed Hawk


4) Northern Harrier


5) Snowy Egret


6) Reddish Egret with fish #1


All of the above samples images are available at the following Zenfolio gallery:

http://gatorbill.zenfolio.com/p867375425

The first Reddish Egret fishing 28 shot sequence is of a single burst and the bird was relatively close, and so these are only cropped down to about 5 Mpixels and the frame was mostly filled. These photos are available in the following Zenfolio gallery:

http://gatorbill.zenfolio.com/p1013962314

The second Reddish Egret fishing 26 shot sequence is also a single burst but the bird was further out and so these were cropped to around 3 Megapixels but as can be seen the frame is not as nicely filled as in the first sequence. These photos are available in the following Zenfolio gallery:

http://gatorbill.zenfolio.com/p604775859

The third Reddish Egret fishing 33 shot sequence is a collection of my favorite shots of the bird fishing that day. These photos show him chasing the fish, jumping on the fish, and stalking the fish with his outstretched wings sun shading technique. These are available in the following Zenfolio gallery:

http://gatorbill.zenfolio.com/p1016755480

The entire set of photos from that day (minus the Reddish Egret fishing sequences) is located in the following Zenfolio gallery:

http://gatorbill.zenfolio.com/p844977552

Comments and suggestions for improvement are always welcome,
gatorbill

[Canon-Fodder!]

Re: A day at Bolsa Chica with the 1D Mark IV and 500mm f4

Hello Bill; welcome to the forum...

What's a FL man doing in CA - apart from shooting birds? (None of that is anything more than assumptions )

A nice series, with some cracking detail; specially the Northern Harrier (which I've yet to see in the wild...) but...

#1 & 2 (& possibly 3) look a little rich and/or a tad under-exposed... at least on my screen...

#4 (Harrier); would love to see a closer crop / bigger image...

#5 (Snowy Egret); love the detail in the feathers...

PS: Mightily jealous of the Belted Kingfisher as well

[gatorbill]

Re: A day at Bolsa Chica with the 1D Mark IV and 500mm f4

Thank you very much Mr Canon-Fodder, yep I'm a gator who took the freeways west til I hit the Pacific in CA and decided to stay (the weather here is a lot better than in Florida).

Your comments are very helpful and exactly the type I was looking for, I agree with your assessments and will probably tweak the saturation or exposure on 1 & 2 a little bit this coming weekend. As for the Harrier I also agree, the shot shown is a 5MP crop of an original 16MP image. In general I try not to crop down to 4MP or less, this is a rather arbitrary rule on my part, would cropping down to a 3MP or even 2MP yield good enough results ?

I also liked the way the Snowy Egret's feathers turned out, he was looking for lunch at the time and the wind whipped up behind him and lifted his feathers as I took a sequence of shots. Post processing white birds is always difficult for me, but I think I got the exposure/brightness set on this shot as well as I could.

As for the Kingfisher, I was fairly happy with the shots but she always seems to be in side or back lighted conditions and so I'm still trying to figure out how I can get a front lit shot of her. I've tried using the Better Beamer flash extender but have yet to get that working to my satisfaction.

Once again, thanks for your very useful critique.

gatorbill

http://gatorbill.zenfolio.com/

http://www.pbase.com/gatorbill

Hello Bill; welcome to the forum...

What's a FL man doing in CA - apart from shooting birds? (None of that is anything more than assumptions )

A nice series, with some cracking detail; specially the Northern Harrier (which I've yet to see in the wild...) but...

#1 & 2 (& possibly 3) look a little rich and/or a tad under-exposed... at least on my screen...

#4 (Harrier); would love to see a closer crop / bigger image...

#5 (Snowy Egret); love the detail in the feathers...

PS: Mightily jealous of the Belted Kingfisher as well

[Canon-Fodder!]

Re: A day at Bolsa Chica with the 1D Mark IV and 500mm f4

...yep I'm a gator who took the freeways west til I hit the Pacific in CA and decided to stay (the weather here is a lot better than in Florida).

I've spent quite a bit of time in CA over the years; mainly around the SFO Bay Area... Great place to be... But can get damned cold as well - specially in the fog!!! But I guess your much further south than that? Bolsa Chica = LA area?

As for the Harrier I also agree, the shot shown is a 5MP crop of an original 16MP image. In general I try not to crop down to 4MP or less, this is a rather arbitrary rule on my part, would cropping down to a 3MP or even 2MP yield good enough results ?

For simple online display - all you need is an image of 800px wide or tall. 1024 is probably the best 'fit' for most monitors... Display resolution can be MUCH less than that required for printing; which is a whole different ball-game...

[gatorbill]

Re: A day at Bolsa Chica with the 1D Mark IV and 500mm f4

I've spent quite a bit of time in CA over the years; mainly around the SFO Bay Area... Great place to be... But can get damned cold as well - specially in the fog!!! But I guess your much further south than that? Bolsa Chica = LA area?

For simple online display - all you need is an image of 800px wide or tall. 1024 is probably the best 'fit' for most monitors... Display resolution can be MUCH less than that required for printing; which is a whole different ball-game...

Yes, I'm in Southern California in Orange County (south of LA) and the weather is much nicer here than in the Bay Area.

Thanks for the feedback, I tweaked the Merganser and had a correction that it's a Juvenile Male and not a Female, and I cropped the Harrier shot a little bit tighter.

Once again, thanks for your useful critique.

--gatorbill

[Stephen]

Re: A day at Bolsa Chica with the 1D Mark IV and 500mm f4

Hi Gator bill
welcome to the forum
a very nice set of shots...would you mind answering a couple of questions for a newbie.

1. I notice you are using the new 1D mk4, are there any of the old problems that the mk3 had/.
2. What’s the noise like at high ISO
3. Are you using a tripod and if you were what sort of head?

[gatorbill]

Re: A day at Bolsa Chica with the 1D Mark IV and 500mm f4

Hi Gator bill
welcome to the forum
a very nice set of shots...would you mind answering a couple of questions for a newbie.

1. I notice you are using the new 1D mk4, are there any of the old problems that the mk3 had/.
2. What’s the noise like at high ISO
3. Are you using a tripod and if you were what sort of head?

Hi Stephen,
Glad you liked the shots.

1) I've owned the Canon 40D, Canon 50D, Canon 1D Mark II, Canon 1D Mark III, Nikon D3, and now the Canon 1D Mark IV. With all due respect to 40D & 50D owners, when it comes to moving subjects the AF on those bodies does not come anywhere near to the capabilities of any of the 1D bodies I've used. In the progression from Mark II -> III -> IV the camera and AF system has increasingly become faster and more responsive. In my opinion the Mark II's AF was very good but not as good as claimed by some (I think there's some nostalgia involved there). I went thru two Mark IIIs, the first one was an early release and it definetly had AF issues and so I returned it to the store I purchased it at. Later on I got a second 'blue dot' 1D Mark III and it's AF did not have issues and it was IMHO clearly better than the 1D Mark II and the Nikon D3. The 1D Mark IV's AF system is an improvement over the III's, it's more responsive and tracks targets better. However, I must warn you that it's a very complex AF system with many ways for it to be configured (and hence also mis-configured), and even after 3 years of shooting with 1D bodies once in a while I either mis-configure or mis-use the camera's AF system and get myself in trouble.

2) With the 1D Mark II I would never go over ISO 400, with the 1D Mark III I would never go above ISO 800, with the 1D Mark IV I can routinely shoot at ISO 1600, but I have shot ISO 3200 images that clean up nicely with Noise Ninja and give accepatble results. The noise of the 1D Mark IV is a lot finer grain noise than that I've seen on the other Canon bodies which tends to be more blotchy type noise. The following are sample shots at the high ISOs.

ISO1600


ISO3200 (cleaned up using Noise Ninja on just the background)


3) My tripod is a Gitzo 1325 and I use a Wimberley Gimbal Head II. I plan to start using this a little bit more but up until now I've been mostly shooting using a Gitzo GM5541 monopod with RRS Head (http://reallyrightstuff.com/tripods/04.html).

BTW: The 1D Mark IV is the first body I've used that has an exceptional Auto ISO function, and now I just always shoot with Auto ISO. You just need to set the limits for ISO, shutter speed, and aperture and you're set to go. Since I use Aperture Priority Mode I set these limits to 100-3200 ISO, 500-8000 shutter speed, f1-f64 aperture.

Later,
gatorbill

http://gatorbill.zenfolio.com/

http://www.pbase.com/gatorbill

[Stephen]

Re: A day at Bolsa Chica with the 1D Mark IV and 500mm f4

Hi Bill
thanks for taking the time to reply...the shots you have taken at high ISO on the mk4 for very impressive.
I've been toying with should I, shouldn't I get one.

Now the price has come a bit maybe I will.
Thanks again
Stephen

[Richard12]

Re: A day at Bolsa Chica with the 1D Mark IV and 500mm f4

hi,

i love image 1

thanks
richard

[colin C]

Re: A day at Bolsa Chica with the 1D Mark IV and 500mm f4

My favourite has to be the Snowy Egret. That little gust of wind to dislodge a few feathers makes all the difference. A very fine capture.

I also read with interest and agree with you comments on the MKIV and previous 1 series bodies. My MKIII was a good one from the start, with some time and care in setting it up, but the MKIV is superior in every way, except ...... I feel that the MKIV is just a hint slower to lock-on. I am probably only talking milliseconds, but I have been in situations where there was a slight delay and my instant thought was that my MKIII would have locked on quicker. As I never actually missed a shot, it's not an issue .... just an observation.

Colin

[gatorbill]

Re: A day at Bolsa Chica with the 1D Mark IV and 500mm f4

Hello Richard,
Thanks for your comment !!!
You're not alone, I've posted this image in several forums and in just about all of them this shot gets loads of complements, it's the colors, sharpness, and the reflection in the wate that I think helped make this shot.

Later,
gatorbill

hi,

i love image 1

thanks
richard

[gatorbill]

Re: A day at Bolsa Chica with the 1D Mark IV and 500mm f4

Hi Colin,
Your comment about the gust of wind is very astute. This particular shot is part of a short burst (that's my shooting style) and it's the only one where the wind lifted up the feathers on his back making the shot stand out.

Glad to hear of another satisfied 1D Mark IV owner, I've been extremely satisfied with the performance and IQ that I consistently get out of this body. It's a bit on the expensive side but I think well worth it for the great images you're able to produce with it.

Later,
gatorbill

My favourite has to be the Snowy Egret. That little gust of wind to dislodge a few feathers makes all the difference. A very fine capture.

I also read with interest and agree with you comments on the MKIV and previous 1 series bodies. My MKIII was a good one from the start, with some time and care in setting it up, but the MKIV is superior in every way, except ...... I feel that the MKIV is just a hint slower to lock-on. I am probably only talking milliseconds, but I have been in situations where there was a slight delay and my instant thought was that my MKIII would have locked on quicker. As I never actually missed a shot, it's not an issue .... just an observation.

Colin

[colin C]

Re: A day at Bolsa Chica with the 1D Mark IV and 500mm f4

Glad to hear of another satisfied 1D Mark IV owner, I've been extremely satisfied with the performance and IQ that I consistently get out of this body. It's a bit on the expensive side but I think well worth it for the great images you're able to produce with it.

Later,
gatorbill

The MKIV is even more expensive this side of the pond and I did consider taking the sensible route of waiting until the price dropped. But wildlife togs over here are continually battling with low light conditions and the higher performing ISO characteristics were a must for me, with the higher quality rear view screen a very welcome bonus. Prices here have dropped by around £500, but I have been shooting with it for three months now and regularly get shots that I couldn't with the MKIII.

It is expensive and however much you may debate and attempt to justify the cost, it is irrelevant once the beastie is in your hands and getting used.


Colin

[gatorbill]

Re: A day at Bolsa Chica with the 1D Mark IV and 500mm f4

Absolutely, the high ISO performance of the IV over the III is a big plus. I shoot a lot inside the SD Zoo bird cages which are quite dark and have found that the IV gives me a significant advantage when shooting there and I routinely get ISO1600 and ISO3200 images that are very good IQ wise. Completely agree that once you've shot with a IV it's pretty hard to want to use anything else.

gatorbill

The MKIV is even more expensive this side of the pond and I did consider taking the sensible route of waiting until the price dropped. But wildlife togs over here are continually battling with low light conditions and the higher performing ISO characteristics were a must for me, with the higher quality rear view screen a very welcome bonus. Prices here have dropped by around £500, but I have been shooting with it for three months now and regularly get shots that I couldn't with the MKIII.

It is expensive and however much you may debate and attempt to justify the cost, it is irrelevant once the beastie is in your hands and getting used.


Colin