Nikon and Canon Photographers scooped up most of the wildlife awards.

Okapi001 wrote:

C Sean wrote:

The only problem is when it comes to the blurred background the M43 can't compete very well against the Full Frame cannons.

Let me quote Eric Hosking, one of the best wildlife photographer of all times.

"Many photographers are very proud of their wide aperture lens without thought as to its use. An f3.5 lens of 300mm is certainly an expensive job, but this focal length working at maximum aperture gives such a tiny depth of field, particularly when working at short range, that it is to be discouraged in most circumstances. There are altogether too many photographs that have a narrow band of focus separating unsightly blurs at the top and bottom of the picture. ..."

That's one man's opinion. There are others that would disagree, but that's fair enough as well. I know exactly what he's saying, but that's also more than likely for FF. There are reasons to keep the lens wide open when shooting birds for unexpected reasons. I never stop down my canon lenses, that's not what they were bought for. Then again, I'm also shooting on an m4/3 sensor, not FF and that does make a difference.

If I look at Steve's settings in bright daylight, he would agree with Eric. His settings with a 500 F/4 on a 1Dx MKII is, F/8 - F/11at ISO 1200 - ISO 1600 and still get high shutter speeds. That's ISO's I can't use, I don't like going over ISO 400 for birds. As said though, we are shooting an m4/3 sensor and not FF. Others use the lenses wide open, could be for subject isolation (which I personally love to see), could be for having the highest shutter speed they can get and still have a low ISO.

All the best and largely, that's a personal thing, not a rule just for one man. There are always exceptions.

Danny.