Posing Finches (56K warning)

[Fangman]

Coffee and Pipe this morning.
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e375/Exfangman/Birds/FMaleChafftable.jpg
Female Chaffinch checking on a new table
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e375/Exfangman/Birds/GFinchchecking.jpg
Goldfinch checking if they have left any seed
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e375/Exfangman/Birds/MChafflookingout.jpg
Male chaffinch checking if I was ready for him to pose!
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e375/Exfangman/Birds/FMalegreenfinch.jpg
Female greenfinch - just testing against the sun. Looked radioactive with halo - best I could get with fill-in. Not a keeper!

[dougdarter]

Nice work Fang!:)

[Fangman]

You were quick off the mark! In before I could add these!

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e375/Exfangman/Birds/GFchtree.jpg
Not a happy bunny as feeder occupied - plenty of squabbles.
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e375/Exfangman/Birds/GFinchhoop.jpg
Moving up in the queue - ready to get in quick!
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e375/Exfangman/Birds/MChaffcrouch.jpg
Chaffinch for once lingered - checked on the strange flashes
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e375/Exfangman/Birds/MaleChafftree.jpg
Then made sure I got his best side!
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e375/Exfangman/Birds/MaleCFinch.jpg
This morning's visitors make being banished to the garage with my pipe bearable!

[Ally]

That first ones a cracker :thumbs:

[RobertP]

Your bird pictures seem to be improving all the time :)

[oldgit]

:clap: yep you've got it sussed. Now all you need is to sell your car and buy a 600mm prime :D

[Fangman]

:clap: yep you've got it sussed. Now all you need is to sell your car and buy a 600mm prime :D

I should be so lucky - management with me when I bought the 2.8 sigma which I decided to go for with my pocket money rather than upgrading from 350 to 400D as i thought the lens would last longer!

Thanks guys for the encouragement for the old chap.

[CT]

Nice shots Phil - it just seems to be image noise stopping them from being absolute stunners and losing you some of the fine feather detail?

[Venomator]

Interesting set with comedic commentary to boot Phil ... :thumbs: ... echo Cedric's comments though about graininess ... :thinking:






:p

[Fangman]

I think it is the 350D - a B****er at 400 and up so looking for some bright light and staying at 100 and 200 iso. I would like to have a try on another 350 or 400D to compare. Tend to under-expose so to try and keep highlights but then comes noise in the shadows. Never had this problem with film, but then would not be taking the same shots on the 35mm - rattling off a film during a break for coffee and puff on the old smoke-stack.

[Mike]

A nice set, your commentary on each shot is great too :)

Mike

[Paul Blythe]

Picked up a 350D on Sunday and it seems fine at 400 & usable at 800 to me, though it's not much use at 1600, too much noise and a lot of detail is lost.

Great shots btw.

[Fangman]

Picked up a 350D on Sunday and it seems fine at 400 & usable at 800 to me, though it's not much use at 1600, too much noise and a lot of detail is lost..

For general use iso 400 is fine and I use a lot for family stuff but to satisfy CT and Verm's eagle eye on the close-up bird pics it is not up to scratch. I use iso 400 and 800 for candid pics of grandchildren using my 18-200 Sigma to stand well of so they are not aware. The results of this are fine for 6x4 or 5x7 prints but getting grainy if much cropping is required. With the bird pics I am torn between using the 70-200 2.8 Sigma at full stretch and cropping or as a bit too old for a second morgage my 1.5 or 2x extenders and possibly a slightly softer image.

[albundy00007]

I love the pics very sharp well composed LOVE THEM.
what setting do you use when taking these shots and how close are you to the birds?
keep the good pics coming
bigAl

[paulc]

I like 1 and 6...did you use flash by any chance?

[Paul Blythe]

Yeh, iso 400 & 800 seem fine for general use, but the noise starts to stand out when you need to crop to any degree, especialy at iso 800.

I'm taking my time in choosing a long lens for the camera, at the moment my thoughts are on one of three - Canon 70-200 f2.8 L USM plus 1.4x TC, Canon 100-400 f4.5-5.6 L IS USM or the Sigma 80-400 f4.5-5.6 EX APO DG OS.


BTW, a v.good set of shots :)

[Fangman]

I like 1 and 6...did you use flash by any chance?

I use about -1 to -1.5 stops flash as fill-in and the chaffinch male was about 8-9' and those in the birch about 10-12' away. Light varying but usually F2.8 - 4.5 on the sigma 70-200. sometimes with a 1.5 converter. iso 200. I try to keep about 1/200th as the smaller the bird the quicker it twitches!

I have a card tube pushed over the flash to restrict scatter from the narrow opening in the windo frame. Most birds do not mind the flash but shutter noise sometimes makes them have a look about. I am shooting through an window at the back of garage where I am banished to smoke my pipe. Feeders are between 6' - 10' away with birch tree trunk a couple of foot back.

[paulc]

the results look good and you get a catchlight in the birds eye.