Collared Kingfisher and Pied Fantail

Here's sharing a couple of recent hand held captures (Philippine birds)....

1. Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris), 20D + 500 f4 + Canon 1.4x:

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A 500 handheld with teleconverter. Wow! I'd be happy with those pictures if I took them with a tripod close up. Nice detail and composition. I love the colors in number one. Kingfishers are fascinating birds.

Nice captures - you can really see the relationship between kingfishers and kookabooras in the first one.

Nicely posed, crisp with great details. Brilliant captures Romy.

Excellent capture as always Romy, beautifully composed and exposed.

As always, fantastic stuff! The Pied Fantail shot for me is just perfect in every aspect.

I was up till late last night perusing your excellent collection of images on your website, I then fell asleep dreaming about the Sigmonster Just out of interest Romy if you had to make a decsion regarding the 500 f/4IS and the Sigma which would you choose - for birding? I guess I could answer it easily myself as I tend to do alot without a tripod which would mean I suppose the 500 would be better, having said that though having the reach and quality of the Sigma sure would be nice!

Cheers!

The light and colours in these two shots are quite exceptional. The details are quite intricate down to the the fine detail of the plumage, good bokeh to the shots, magnificent shots Romy, well done.

Thanks, everybody....

paulhillion wrote in post #2293746
Just out of interest Romy if you had to make a decsion regarding the 500 f/4IS and the Sigma which would you choose - for birding? Cheers!

That's a tough choice, Paul....each lens has a strong suit where the other is weak. My choice would probably be dictated by the birding situation of the season:

1. If most shots are long, I'd choose the Sigmonster.
2. If the shots are mostly hand held, the 500 f4 IS would be ideal.
3. Extremely mobile birding would put my super-100-400 in the running...

Romy

Beautiful Birds here Romy and excellent photographs as we have come to expect. That Kingfisher is just superb.....I see you now also use the Sigma 1.4X TC. Does it also allow auto focus on F5.6 lenses and how do you find it compared to the Tamron?

liquidstone wrote in post #2295659
That's a tough choice, Paul....each lens has a strong suit where the other is weak. My choice would probably be dictated by the birding situation of the season:

1. If most shots are long, I'd choose the Sigmonster.
2. If the shots are mostly hand held, the 500 f4 IS would be ideal.
3. Extremely mobile birding would put my super-100-400 in the running...

Romy

So basically Romy what you're saying is that I should get both ...I'll tell my wife that I've been told this by a renowned expert and see what she says, although I've a good idea what her response will be

Gary Fairhead wrote in post #2295941
Beautiful Birds here Romy and excellent photographs as we have come to expect. That Kingfisher is just superb.....I see you now also use the Sigma 1.4X TC. Does it also allow auto focus on F5.6 lenses and how do you find it compared to the Tamron?

Thanks, Gary.

Per tests on my copies, the ranking according to sharpness among my TCs :

1.4x
1. Sigma 1.4x (non-DG)
2. Canon 1.4x II
3. Tamron 1.4x (standard version)

2x
1. Canon 2x II
2. Sigma 2x (non-DG)
3. Tamron 2x (standard version)

The sharpness difference is very small though, that I consider it virtually undetectable after PP. I choose which TC to mount depending on the property I need for the situation (fast AF, correct EXIF data or weather-sealing).

The Sigma 1.4x behaves like a Canon 1.4x II - no AF at f/8 for non-1Dxx bodies. Even if I tape the pins, the 1.6 CF body will attempt to AF but it's always hunting. The standard Tamron 1.4x is the king of AF speed with any body, at the cost of incorrect EXIF data (focal length and AV) and a small hit in IQ (negligible to me).

Romy

paulhillion wrote in post #2295967
So basically Romy what you're saying is that I should get both ...I'll tell my wife that I've been told this by a renowned expert and see what she says, although I've a good idea what her response will be

Exactly! If the choice is much simpler, I'd not be a pauper (a happy pauper though) now...

Romy

A couple of beautiful photos.

Two out-of-this-world photos, Romy! Beautiful subjects and you have captured them beautifully, as always.