Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM

TustinMike wrote in post #19440218
Thanks Levina !

Yes, I brought the 800 to see what I could do with it at an airshow, with a couple of other lenses that I was much more familiar with (a 400 mm f5.6 L and my trusty 70-200 mk II f2.8L) as backup, and I found it challenging to spot and smoothly keep up to most of the planes with the 800, resulting in only a few that made the final cut. I found that most of the better shots were made with the 400. Admittedly the 800 was still quite new to me at the time, but at my present skill level shooting planes it was not the best of the lenses for that task. 800 is probably a bit too long in most cases for airshows if you're close to the flightline, especially with the faster aircraft. But for the ones I did get, I liked the detail that could be achieved by being in so tight.

IMAGE LINK: https://mikester.smugm​ug.com …how-Hillsboro/i-7HFCWhM/A

800mm is a lot of length with awfully narrow DOF. And to make matters worse, the 800/11 has a limited focus area. With BIF I don’t even try anymore. All the more impressed I was with your shots!

The old 400/5.6L is still great for anything flying though.

John Sheehy wrote in post #19440217
I was going to ask whether that was about the winter, because I assumed that their northern winter range was the gulf states, but I just checked a range map, and their winter zone goes along the outer Maryland coast and even up the coast of Delaware.

John, I've never seen a Palm during winter here (DC Metro area, and at least 100 miles from the coast). The Palms at the local park come in around beginning of October and stay as long as a few weeks. We have the occasional warbler that over-winters, such as a Pine and Orange-crowned last winter. Apart from that, we do have some Yellow-rumpeds that stick around. Generally speaking, the last few years it seems we've had an increase in sightings of some southern coastal species up here...maybe related to climate change.

eBird has some really nice distribution maps. Not just range, but relative abundance. Here's one for the Palm Warbler, set for non-breeding. You can change the seasonal distribution with the switches on the right.

https://science.ebird.​org …ce-map?season=nonbreeding

BTW, nice shot Steve.

kd_reno wrote in post #19440341
eBird has some really nice distribution maps. Not just range, but relative abundance. Here's one for the Palm Warbler, set for non-breeding. You can change the seasonal distribution with the switches on the right.

https://science.ebird.​org …ce-map?season=nonbreeding

BTW, nice shot Steve.

Wow. That's for the link. I haven't looked at that site in a few years, and it looks like it is richer in features now. I like the animation option; it helps you see the migrational flow.

My Delaware/Maryland comment was from "allaboutbirds" and they must have a higher threshold for presence.

kd_reno wrote in post #19440341
eBird has some really nice distribution maps. Not just range, but relative abundance. Here's one for the Palm Warbler, set for non-breeding. You can change the seasonal distribution with the switches on the right.

https://science.ebird.​org …ce-map?season=nonbreeding

BTW, nice shot Steve.

Thanks, Ken! Great link.

John Sheehy wrote in post #19440358
Wow. That's for the link. I haven't looked at that site in a few years, and it looks like it is richer in features now. I like the animation option; it helps you see the migrational flow.

My Delaware/Maryland comment was from "allaboutbirds" and they must have a higher threshold for presence.

Both are maintained by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. All About Birds is a basic field guide for North American birds, and the maps are fairly simple, like you would find in a print guide. eBird is their database platform. Those status maps are generated from checklists submitted by eBird users.

Blue-headed Vireo, Fall Migration

steveb108 wrote in post #19440612
Blue-headed Vireo, Fall Migration

Hosted photo: posted by steveb108 in
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forum: Lens Sample Photo Archive

Great shot!

Dave63401 wrote in post #19440695
Great shot!

Thanks so much, Dave!

Eastern Towhee

steveb108 wrote in post #19440888
Eastern Towhee

Hosted photo: posted by steveb108 in
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forum: Lens Sample Photo Archive

Very nice Steve. It takes some patience to get one of these in front of the leaves instead of behind them.

I decided to dust mine off.

IMAGE LINK: https://www.flickr.com …985/in/datepost​ed-public/

Western Grebe

kd_reno wrote in post #19440913
Very nice Steve. It takes some patience to get one of these in front of the leaves instead of behind them.

It sure does, Ken! They spend an awful long time making their way to an open spot, for sure. Thanks!

This lens isn't the best choice in low light, but it's not too bad.

IMAGE LINK: https://www.flickr.com​/photos/kendrozd/

American Wigeon