Official 1dx Mark III owners unite! Post photos and discuss.

WyzMan wrote in post #19248652
Nice!
Shooting Puffins with a Canon (ho ho) has been a favourite pastime of mine for a few years but never been to Saltee. Off to Fair Isle in a couple of weeks but the weight of my usual and preferred Canon gear needs a lot of thought. (Been before but as part of an organised photography group who had a special “book a place on the 7 seater aeroplane for the camera gear” arrangement).

Great pictures.

Last year we went during our partial lockdown and I had the 200-400. I decided to travel a bit lighter this year and just packed the 300 f2.8 mkii. Much easier to haul around particularly when we have to travel about a mile out from the coast by fishing boat from Wexford, then transfer to a dingy about 200 yards out from the island before jumping ashore unto the rocky beach. Its a bit of an adventure, but well worth the trip. Island is literally home to 1000's of seabirds.

Red Dog wrote in post #19248590
Wee 8hr round trip yesterday to the Saltee Islands off the southern tip of Ireland, to photograph the puffins, razorbills and gannets. I was particularly after birds in flight to test the AF capabilities to the limit. What I and others found was that the auto AF tracking working well when shooting against the sky, but struggled to acquire and hold focus when the subject bird was at or below the level of the cliff especially with the sea in the background. We concluded that it was the sun reflecting off the caps of the waved was interfering with the AF system and preventing it from picking up the birds.
However, all in all, we were pleased with the quality of the images.

Did you try using any of the zone AF and did you try electronic shutter with a Hoodman or just mechanical? When you used auto AF was it through the OVF?

butterfly2937 wrote in post #19248850
Did you try using any of the zone AF and did you try electronic shutter with a Hoodman or just mechanical? When you used auto AF was it through the OVF?

I used the small block of auto AF through the OVF with mechanical shutter. As I said, it works fine as long as the background is clean and no obvious distractions, but the sun was glistening off the sea and causing all sorts of flashes in the background so I'm not surprised it didn't want to lock on.
My normal method of single point AF would be a waste of time given the speed and haphazard direction these things fly in.
I tried the electronic shutter once (when I got the camera), but to be honest, for the type of photos I do, 20fps is overkill and would be a nightmare to work through to select, edit, caption and send within 60 secs of an event taking place and the image being captured. Plus, looking through the rear screen at randomly moving objects travelling at relatively high speed would be uncomfortable.
Guys who were with me armed with the R5 and R6, which have eye tracking, reported the same issues with focus on the flying birds so its not something specific to the mkiii. I just put it down to the adverse conditions.
I tried each of the AF Cases, to see if any of them worked better than others, and it did appear that Case1 and Auto case were marginally better to acquire and hold focus than my normal go to options of Cases 2 or 4.

Not the best shots as the weather was poor this afternoon but this little fella turned up 3 times to the garden feeder just outside. Through glass too.

Went to a Deer park today in Nottingham (Wollaton Hall https://wollatonhall.o​rg.uk/deer-park-and-gardens/ )

First shot I forgot to check the shutter speed - so the ISO compensated!

Surprisingly ok.

Some family fun yesterday goofin' off at the house!

Hittin' 100 off the water slide

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Still very happy with the 1DX.. despite the R3 development announcement

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DB-Fotografie wrote in post #19250811
Still very happy with the 1DX.. despite the R3 development announcement

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Revierkampf by Daniel, on Flickr

That is very impressive at 1/10" - presumably tripod mounted? I'd love to know what as I keep thinking I aught to get some sort of support!

Thanks There was also some luck involved.. Yes, that was on a tripod.. sometimes it is easier to handhold the lens (BiF).. sometimes its easier tripod mounted. I'm using a Gitzo GT4542LS and a Berlebach Pegasus Head for long lens photography.

I drive past a field most days where I've noticed a new foal which is now only a few weeks old. They're usually away in the distance but yesterday as I passed they were right beside the road. I couldn't resist a shot of the baby with her Mum:

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DB-Fotografie wrote in post #19251232
Thanks There was also some luck involved.. Yes, that was on a tripod.. sometimes it is easier to handhold the lens (BiF).. sometimes its easier tripod mounted. I'm using a Gitzo GT4542LS and a Berlebach Pegasus Head for long lens photography.

I handhold most of my shots - and pretty much all my BIF to date are.

I've been thinking about a better head than I already have - I do have a decent tripod though not the lightest.

When I first spotted this backlit Curlew today I thought it might have just ended up as a silhouette, I'd forgotten just how good the 1Dx files are though, and how much dynamic range there is in the raws:

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While i was driving i looked on top of the tree close to the edge of the road, and all of a sudden i discovered a huge bird shape. I pulled over, stepped out my car and i grabbed my camera.

Here's some pics...

European honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus)

...one more...