Canon 500mm Cedar Waxwings **Two MORE added**

[CyberDyneSystems]

My used EF 500mm f/4L IS arrived today,. and luck was with me,. as the weather was beautifull.

Took a quick trip after work nad at first had little luck..

Finally I drove by a tree that was alive with Cedar Waxwings! :)

Here's the first two images I processed,. more to come later...

EOS 1D MkII RAW 500mm f/4
Converted in Rawshooter, minor adjustments in PS
http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=y8ed0t&outx=600&noresize=1&nostamp=1

This one has no sharpening applied
http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=y8eauv&outx=632&noresize=1&nostamp=1

I am very happy with the lens! :mrgreen:
A review of sorts will have to wait a bit though ;)

TWO MORE!
http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=y8eauu&outx=666&noresize=1&nostamp=1

http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=y8eauw&outx=617&noresize=1&nostamp=1

[Dante King]

Holy Sharpness Batman! What great captures! Congrats on the new Lens. Looks like a real winner!!!!

[Belmondo]

Wow! I'd call that a success for sure.

Good job, CDS. I take it you're happy with the new lens?

[ssim]

Great shots CDS. You seem to have got the hang of that lens real quick.

[robertwgross]

The small yellow tree growths add just the right color accent.

---Bob Gross---

[Glenn.B]

CDS,

What cracking shot's!! this is one bird i'd like to take piccy's of, but they are very rare in my neck of the wood's.

enjoy your lens and keep posting.

Glenn.

[mrclark321]

Excellent Pics....very nice


Dan

[Alan B]

WOW those are superb :D

[IanD]

Sweet! That lens is wicked. I think I know where there is one laying around:):):):):):)
Congrats on the new glass.

[cmM]

wow, those are some superb shots CDS
What did you do with your 500mm Sigma? Did you sell it?

Enjoy this lens ;)

[Mills]

Nice! Great shots as always CDS. Enjoy your new lens in good health.

[dlrstudio]

Beautiful shots - keeping part of the tree in the frame adds a lot with a bird shot. Congrats on the new lens!

[cfcRebel]

Wow, that's when great photog meets with great lens!

[dewmuw]

Took a quick trip after work nad at first had little luck..
;)

Great images CDS. But as for luck I'm a firm believer in the old saying "the harder I work the luckier I get" Stay lucky! :)

[CyberDyneSystems]

Thanks guys,.
I love these waxwings too,. they are one of my favorite birds.. and yesterdays occurance was nothing short of miraculous to me.. I never get the chance to get so close and in such nice light.. (early evening/late afternoon with sun to my back)

Yes, very happy with the new lens.
I was so enthralled with actually shooting,. I never got around to messing about with T-cons and the like for "test" purposes.

Bob,..
..bless your heart I believe that's the first time you've ever posted something approaching a compliment regarding my photos.. I am moved beyond words.. (no sarcasm..I really mean that)
thank you.

cmM,
Yes, sold the Sigma here to a fellow regular,. it is in good hands!
I intend to write up a small review/comparison.. but in a nutshell I have to say that having a chance to shoot the Canon 500mm has only re-inforced my enthusiasm for the Sigma 500mm.. the two lenses compare much more closely than most would admit/believe.

Denise,.
Welcome to the Forums http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze2hdzu/pics/welcome.gif
Thanks for your comments, much appreciated. I too was excited about the setting :) I could not tell you what type of tree it was,. but the tiny buds/blossoms were apperently a favorite for the Waxwings.. as they just sat around gorging themselves happily! The tree was "busy" and it was very hard to get a shot wihtout a lot of branches in the way.. so I moved around a lot.

Most of the shots were taken.. yes HANDHELD!

Image Stabilization was is a god send in a case like this!

cfcRebel,.
I appreciate your comment! :) It's nice to get a little of Canon's credit ! :lol:

And Damien.. well said. Perserverance can certainly help your chances :)

[LazyPhotographer]

These are beautiful, CDS! The 2nd pic is an Audubon magazine cover for sure - great job!

[MarkoPolo]

Wow, you are not just and interesting avatar and patient moderator, you are a hell of a photographer. Congrats on your new toy, we are all a liitle jealous (In the nicest possible way, of course)!

[pcasciola]

Wow. From the looks of those shots I can see why you are very happy with the upgrade.

No surprise there, but suddenly, I feel like I have an old hand-me-down lens. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[CyberDyneSystems]

Mark!

Wow,. thanks man! :mrgreen:

Phil,.
Don't fret.. as I mention above.. the Sigma compares exceedingly well!
I'll get into details in another thread.. but the two largest improvements are IS and that .5 on the aperture.

I do not think that I (or you now) were sacrificing an iota of pure image quality with the Sigma 500mm.

[Scottes]

<gulp>

[mr.photoguy]

You will love that lens.
Those are some awesome photo's that you have taken with it.
I don't even want to imagine what it will be like with the 1.4x on there.. woowee.. That should be sweet.
I once had the joy of using a 500mm lens, and it's mazing.. the focus is lightining fast..
However the one I used was a f5.6 I think.
I don't know if you can tell from this pic.
http://www.pbase.com/brucescott/image/40001745

As always Cyber Great images.

Much Respect.
Bruce

[CyberDyneSystems]

Thanks Bruce (and Scottes I think ;) )

Yes,. Bruce that is the same f/4L IS I have in your photo.

[HJMinard]

Wow, CDS ... those are truly awesome - especially the second one!! Print it, mount it ... display it proudly.

[Anders Östberg]

Congratulations on the lens, and the pictures, both very sweet! :)

[Scottes]

Thanks Bruce (and Scottes I think ;) )
Yes, that was a compliment. You got me speechless.

[PhotosGuy]

Outstanding shots! (I feel as if I've contributed to them!):D:D

[CyberDyneSystems]

Just added two more processed images ;)

Scottes,.
Speechless? Wow,. I'm humbled :)

Frank,.
..thanks,. and yes.. you did contribute!

[Belmondo]

I guess when the bird saw that big thing pointing at him, he natuarlly assumed it was just another tree trunk.......a large one at that!

[TammieO]

OMG! These are great. The second shot is fabulous. I love the pose and the little sparkle in his eye.
Mac and Cheese, 50 cents a blue box.

[Arsonist lolol]

Damn you CDS.....hot shots :D

[Paul A]

I feel blessed to even get a glimpse of these guys, imagine getting those photos!! WOW

[LazyPhotographer]

The new ones you added are fantastic!

[JZaun]

Boy you know how to put the pressure on us mere mortal photographers. You don't post many but when you do........W O W!!! Fantastic.

JZ

[CyberDyneSystems]

Thanks jerry...

Too busy laying the smackdown on renegade posters to take many pohotos :lol:

Actually,. I do hope to get more time in with the weather getting better,. but wrok is simply.. insane ..

[foxbat]

Very nice indeed. I like #1 the best because of the pose and the eye contact. The bokeh, contrast and colour are fantastic as I'd expect from that lens. The lighting/shadows on the others are a little harsh ... although that's only noticeable because you set yourself such a high standard with the first one!

[Titus213]

This might be considered waxing eloquent with an L. Wonderfully amazing.

[sw2001]

brilliant

[Skip Souza]

CDS, these are the most spactacular that I have ever seen.

Wow.

[michael.luczkow]

just beautiful....

[CyberDyneSystems]

I framed the second Image and brought it to my Mum,. for an early Mother's Day gift.. (and bought her dinner) :mrgreen:

She was quite happy ;)

You can be 38 but to your Mother,. there's still nothing better than a peice of your artwork to hang on the ice box and show off to your freinds! :lol:

Thanks Skip! That's quite a compliment!

Titus,. hahaha :lol: Good one.

Thanks for your input Foxbat,. I may try another conversion on some and try to dodge a little of the darker shadows.

[Belmondo]

Yeah, but the real test is if she uses her favorite magent and sticks it on the refrigerator.

[RbrtPtikLeoSeny]

Wow!!!! Beautiful shots! Amazing lens! I'm so jelous!

[Rob612]

Undoubtfully GREAT ! Congratulations for both the lens and the pics !