Male Goldfinch and New Lens!!

[herderdog]

Well--I broke down and purchased my LAST lens (:rolleyes: yeah--right). I now have a 200mm 2.8 L II.
I got it primarily to use at the dog trials where I really need a fast lens for action and it seems like the light is low about 90% of the time. Most of the shots are really at quite a distance, so I think I may be able to get along without the zoom.
I'll try this lens out and see how it does.
Today it was just birds--I think these goldfinches are really hard to get a shot of. It is hard not to blow their highlights out (for me anyway).
Here he is. This was with a 1.4 TC and the 200mm 2.8L II.
http://www.pbase.com/image/44618867.jpg

1/500s f/2.8 at 200.0mm iso400

[mrclark321]

Very nice......last lense ( lol :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: )

Dan

[Leorooster]

Nice shot.......you meant last lens before your b'day or x'mas???:) :D :lol:

[herderdog]

Nice shot.......you meant last lens before your b'day or x'mas???:) :D :lol:

:D :lol: :lol: :) Leo--that's right--it is before them both!
Tomorrow is my 25th anniversary working for one company. They gave me a small bonus--so I just upped it a little more.

Thanks.

I like this shot--but I don't think it is a sharp as the 100-400 L--maybe it would be without the TC?

[skade]

Gorgeous shot! What a beautiful colour bird.

[sparker1]

Very pretty shot, Bonnie. I like the pose, and it looks sharp to me. Congrats on the lens, and the 25th anniversary. (I managed to work 35 years with one company before they kicked me out. LOL)

[TheBlacksmith]

Hi Bonnie, I think that, if the f-stop was stepped down... say to 5.6 to 8... there would be a little more sharpness- especially considering your distance and the size of the goldfinch. I did three things with this pic... adjusted the white balance, usm'd the pic and then selected only the background (via magic wand) and removed the noise. Didn't make a huge difference, since it such a good capture, but did change it some.
I'm green with envy over the 200 f2.8:p Congrats. I've got a 400 f/5.6 being delivered Tuesday. :cool:




My bad... I forgot that there are differences in some of the rules of posting and editing between different forums. I apologize for editing your image Bonnie. No offense meant. Glad I went back and saw that. :o But the USM and the noise reduction did make a difference.;)

[PhotosGuy]

adjusted the white balance, I think that this is a case where the correct WB isn't the RIGHT WB for the pic. I like the warmer original.
Nice shot!

[tupe]

Great shot, Bonnie! Congrats on the new lens. Looks like a keeper.

[Michaelmjc]

Great shot! Congrats on the new lens, its the last lens before you buy another one.

[herderdog]

My bad... I forgot that there are differences in some of the rules of posting and editing between different forums. I apologize for editing your image Bonnie. No offense meant. Glad I went back and saw that. :o But the USM and the noise reduction did make a difference.;)

Danny,
Thank you for your thoughts and critiques on this image. Please put the pic that you reworked back up. I would love to see what someone else does with it. There is no one single answer to post- processing.
That is how we all learn on this forum.
I will make sure that I state in future posts that critiques, comments as well as any editing on my pics is most welcome.

Thanks everyone for taking a look!