Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM - AKA The Dust Pump

kevindar wrote in post #15916904
Here is one with the Kenko TC wide open on the 5d3
http://farm8.staticfli​ckr.com …24251187_4dc4ca​3537_h.jpg

Ok, maybe you've been quizzed on this before, but how do you get such stunning shots of hummingbirds? Even with a 500mm lens and TC, you have to be about 10 feet away. Do you use a tripod and remote, prefocusing and aiming at a likely flower?

I can occasionally capture a hummer with my 100-400, but even with a TC I can't seem to get as seemingly close as you.

Tips much appreciated...

shinksma

shinksma wrote in post #15921202
Ok, maybe you've been quizzed on this before, but how do you get such stunning shots of hummingbirds? Even with a 500mm lens and TC, you have to be about 10 feet away. Do you use a tripod and remote, prefocusing and aiming at a likely flower?

I can occasionally capture a hummer with my 100-400, but even with a TC I can't seem to get as seemingly close as you.

Tips much appreciated...

shinksma

I could be wrong but the image looks rather heavily cropped to me.

Anybody been using this lens with the x2 tele converter on the MkIII after the firmware upgrade? I'm curious as to how the autofocus is working past f8.

Thanks!

jwcdds wrote in post #15921261
I could be wrong but the image looks rather heavily cropped to me.

Excuse my ignorance...and the problem would be like what? Granted, noise might be more pronounced, other than that?

I am just surprised that I am reading a comment like this quite often and obviously I don't get it...

Cheers.

RAW-Shooter wrote in post #15922173
Excuse my ignorance...and the problem would be like what? Granted, noise might be more pronounced, other than that?

I am just surprised that I am reading a comment like this quite often and obviously I don't get it...

Cheers.

There's no problem. The person I quoted asked how close was the camera to the subject because he/she was having issues getting that close despite using 100-400 and TC's. And my response was that this looked to be heavily cropped, so perhaps the owner of the image wasn't as close as the image would suggest.

@kevindar

Nice work.

This was my first attempt at several things combined and not all of them worked out so good. Sure learned a lot though. This bird was in the shade and shot using the 100-400 w/ 1.4x, manual focus and manual flash. The flash was at 1/4 and overpowered it. Now to figure out the ratio in the field with no shade for the LCD will be a challenge.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.cscott4.com …579257&k=dBGV9r​R&lb=1&s=A

thanks for the comment on the image.
that image is indeed heavily cropped, down to about 3.5 MP. 5d3, with 100-400L, at mft of 6 feet would not fully fill the frame with the hummer. honestly, if you are at MFT, you may have bit of aperture issue also (likely need to shoot at f11 at least). I know hummer shooters (using feeders only) who do a multiple flash set up and shoot at f22 regularly (which to me looses way to much detail).
As for the trick, there is a botanical garden close to us. I spend some time watching their behavior and where they like to hang out. they tend to com back to same area/flower every 5-10 minutes. I usually dont need to prefocus, as they hover around the area for a while. I am just ready to shoot, and they usually get used to you pretty quickly.
I am not using a tripod or flash. I shoot at 1/800 to 1/1250. a high synch flash sometimes is nice to bring the color/reflection in their neck.
You can actually get quite close to them. this image is 8.5 MP in full size, and was taken with the 70-200 f4 IS lens at f8. ISO is 2000, so it is noisy. I think I used a tocuh of fill flash to bring out the colors.
http://farm9.staticfli​ckr.com …30482430_462588​bdce_h.jpg
to show you how tough the dof at MFD is, this shot is at f10, 400mm, 10-400, 1/640, iso 1600. this is shot at mfd (1.87 meters) Look how the neck and head are in focus, but the belly and feet are not, and tail is completely out. also the cropped dimmension of this image is only around 10MP, or 50% crop.
http://farm8.staticfli​ckr.com …15759576_4ab947​8015_h.jpg
In nature, looks like I am 10-12 feet away, which gives me a 3-4.5 or 5 MP image.
Hope that helps.

kevindar wrote in post #15922746
thanks for the comment on the image.
that image is indeed heavily cropped, down to about 3.5 MP. 5d3, with 100-400L, at mft of 6 feet would not fully fill the frame with the hummer. honestly, if you are at MFT, you may have bit of aperture issue also (likely need to shoot at f11 at least). I know hummer shooters (using feeders only) who do a multiple flash set up and shoot at f22 regularly (which to me looses way to much detail).
As for the trick, there is a botanical garden close to us. I spend some time watching their behavior and where they like to hang out. they tend to com back to same area/flower every 5-10 minutes. I usually dont need to prefocus, as they hover around the area for a while. I am just ready to shoot, and they usually get used to you pretty quickly.
I am not using a tripod or flash. I shoot at 1/800 to 1/1250. a high synch flash sometimes is nice to bring the color/reflection in their neck.
You can actually get quite close to them. this image is 8.5 MP in full size, and was taken with the 70-200 f4 IS lens at f8. ISO is 2000, so it is noisy. I think I used a tocuh of fill flash to bring out the colors.

to show you how tough the dof at MFD is, this shot is at f10, 400mm, 10-400, 1/640, iso 1600. this is shot at mfd (1.87 meters) Look how the neck and head are in focus, but the belly and feet are not, and tail is completely out. also the cropped dimmension of this image is only around 10MP, or 50% crop.

In nature, looks like I am 10-12 feet away, which gives me a 3-4.5 or 5 MP image.
Hope that helps.

(Images deleted for quoting, but they are nice images!)

Thanks for the detailed explanation and sample shots. Very illuminating. Hmm, pun not intended, but I'll take it.

Yeah, I figured they were cropped, but you seem to be able to preserve the texture of the feathers very nicely even so. I struggle to capture that texture.

Maybe my challenges are two-fold: I'm shooting from about 18 feet, so maybe I could get closer, but I'm also shooting up a lot, since the hummingbird(s) in my yard seem to like the flowers at the top of my bottlebrush tree, which is probably 12 feet tall, maybe more. So glare from the sky behind can be annoying at times.

I guess I just need to practice more, and load up the flash to fill in the lighting. And maybe get one of those lifeguard chairs...

Thanks for the inspiration!

shinksma

not a bird..