So I posted the previous image of this bird at 9:52 am yesterday and noted that the post was interrupted by its reappearance. I did take some shots then, but it left and came back again just a short while later and gave me some nice frontal shots. Somehow I didn’t notice this when it was happening, but I was pleased to get half a dozen frames of this behavior. This was one of two that I particularly liked.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
Anything.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Anything.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
Sony A6500 with Sony FE200-600 lens @ 600 mm, hand held, f/8, 1/1600, iso 1600, manual exposure. Processed in LR & PS CC. Cropped from a vertical original to 2897x4032. Taken at 10:45 am yesterday in light rain.
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This is really beautiful, Dennis. Love the pose and expression of the bird, and the vertical framing works excellent. Nice branch as well. The rain adds quite a lot. Really, really nice ! Cheers, Hans
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Nice composition and pose with the open mouth. Nice background with the rain. Highly impressed with the detail. I’ve probably asked you this before, but forgot the answer: how do you compare your Sony gear to your Canon/Sigma?
Hi @Allen_Brooks. I think the 200-600 Sony lens and 150-600 Sigma are quite comparable in sharpness and general lens quality, meaning they’re both superb pieces of glass, particularly for the prices. I think the Sony focuses just a touch faster, but it’s pretty hard to compare since I can’t use them both under identical circumstances. I still prefer the Canon ergonomics to the Sony, but the A6500 was basically a point and shoot body with interchangeable lenses, and it’s just a bit too small for my klutzy hands. The control wheel on the back is particularly problematic to me. The newer A7 series is supposed to take care of that, but they’re full frame, so unless you get to the A7Riv (at over twice the price of a 7DII), you’re losing pixels for the same framing. I also still prefer the Canon Menus. Canon does it’s menus from a photographer’s perspective, while Sony seems to do theirs from a computer geeks perspective, and as is usual in that case, I do not find them at all intuitive. Final image quality with both systems is very similar. All that said, for hand holding, I’m going with the Sony system as a bit more stable in my hands.
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First I’m going to say, I like this one better than the original from the standpoint of the position and the expression. I don’t know that the raindrops really help that much and there aren’t enough of them so that you couldn’t remove them. I’m quite impressed with the level of clarity that you are getting in this image and others you have posted with the 6500. That said and I know that your Sigma telephoto is can considerably sharper than the one I had for the Nikon, I think the Sony lens appears to be sharper and has better contrast than the Sigma.
I think part of the issue with using another camera system especially when you have used Canon for many years and I have used Nikon for many years; it is an adjustment to work with a different system. I have never found the A7r3 or A7r4 to be that clumsy. Everyone knows the Sony menu system is not intuitive and is quite archaic. I don’t know anybody shooting Sony who likes it. But you do get used to it. I have been shooting Sony now for about a year and I still push the wrong buttons and screw up everything every now and then. I spent the last six months shooting Sony exclusively before I touched my Nikon again and there was some short learning curve going back to the Nikon. I’m sure I would have some issues going from the A7r4 to the 6500. In fact, when we can afford to be less socially distant, I would suggest that the two of us go out to McLane Creek and exchange disinfectant treated cameras for a while just to see the difference. I am curious about the 200 to 600 and I think you are probably curious about the full frame A7 models.
@David_Schoen. A very good idea about going out and trading rigs. Hopefully that will be a doable thing by late summer/early fall. It’s not looking too probably soon, but we’ll see. One of the camera club guys who does a lot of bird photography is using the 200-600 coupled with the a9, so maybe we should get him in on it.
You’ve got to be kidding me. This is awesome. Personally, I think the rain adds a lot. Details and colors are spot on. If mine, I’d consider cloning out the two twigs sticking out, but nice either way.
Hi Dennis,
One of your finest images. I like this as presented. Awesome…Jim
One of your best Dennis, super pose, nice comp, I like the rain droplets. Looks great.
Great pose and capture. I posted a picture of a Cooper’s a while back that only had one leg visible.
Now I am wondering was I fooled? I have never seen them without both legs down. I am hoping that one of the other pics showed both legs? Maybe they can stand one legged like sea gulls?
I found your other post and he really does have two legs. I’ll be darned.
@Charlie_Chaffee. They tend to prefer to stand one-legged. Maybe their feet get cold, but then it usually seems to be the same leg they stand on. Better balance than I.
