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Two Cormorants Sunning, One BCNH Peeking...

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John_Reed

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Cormorants drying their wings, the better to fly with them?



EXIF: http://John-Reed.smugmug.com/photos/newexif.mg?ImageID=48442725

While I was watching the Cormorants and other nearby birds, a guy came up, laden with a Canon 20D outfit, replete with a huge 500mm IS lens, a $1,000 tripod, cable release, the whole magilla - What, $5,000? He was telling me about all the different things it takes to get sharp shots at long telephoto. One was having carbon fiber tripod legs. I didn't realize that metal tripod legs could cause shake? Then, he said, "you've got to have the mirror locked up," which I could see why that might be needed for his dSLR camera. A remote cable release, do away with that little jitter as you push the shutter button. And all these ingredients, plus some luck, MUST be present, he declared, before you can expect to have any hope at all of catching a sharp shot. Just then, a Black Crowned Night Heron stuck his bill out from behind the reeds across the slough. So I grabbed a full-zoom shot:



EXIF: http://John-Reed.smugmug.com/photos/newexif.mg?ImageID=48442771
Then I showed him the blown-up image on my LCD:



I was shooting with my FZ30 in 5MP mode with TCON-17, I think that's about 940mm of focal length. His 500 could shoot at 800mm of focal length, I think? I don't think he had time to catch a shot of the BCNH, but he shook his head a little when I showed him the bird's sharp eyeball!

OK, there are many great things one can do with a dSLR outfit like his, no question about it. But at ~$800 total investment in my FZ30 + TCON-17 and memory card, certainly I could claim a win in the "bang for the buck" category?
--
Not one to duck an issue, but occasionally may issue a duck or two?



EffZeeOneVeeTwo, EffZeeThirty
 
I love the second shot John the bird Peeking out you got that in an instant.

I think once having entered the (20D) DSLR world some are reluctant to accept other camera solution's that deliver,for whatever reasons,for what I shoot I dont see a DSLR in my horizon..... Oh well perhaps a PANA DSLR with 2 lenses and IS ;-)

--
John
FZ1v2...FZ30 + 3T/4T
http://boyzo.zoto.com/
 
He was fairly accepting of anyone who was interested in bird photos. He got annoyed when a passer-by started asking him about his big lens. He told me "That's one drawback of having one of these things, you have to answer a lot of dumb questions, which is annoying when you're trying to concentrate on finding a bird out there, and someone wants to talk about your camera setup!" I've seen a number of 20D shooters who wouldn't even acknowledge my presence - this guy was a breath of fresh air, by comparison.
--
Not one to duck an issue, but occasionally may issue a duck or two?



EffZeeOneVeeTwo, EffZeeThirty
 
John_Reed said:
Cormorants drying their wings, the better to fly with them?
Click to expand...
Cormorants and their relatives don't have the oil gland that
other birds do that, when they preen, renders them relatively
waterproof (like water off a duck's back!). So when they
come out of the water, they are relatively cold and waterlogged.
So they find a perch in the sun, spread their wings, and dry off
and warm up...
John_Reed said:
While I was watching the Cormorants and other nearby birds, a guy
came up, laden with a Canon 20D outfit, replete with a huge 500mm
IS lens, a $1,000 tripod, cable release, the whole magilla - What,
$5,000? He was telling me about all the different things it takes
to get sharp shots at long telephoto. One was having carbon fiber
tripod legs. I didn't realize that metal tripod legs could cause
shake? Then, he said, "you've got to have the mirror locked up,"
which I could see why that might be needed for his dSLR camera. A
remote cable release, do away with that little jitter as you push
the shutter button. And all these ingredients, plus some luck, MUST
be present, he declared, before you can expect to have any hope at
all of catching a sharp shot.
Click to expand...
Well, unless I missed something when I opened the box on my 20D,
owning a DSLR does not come with an automatic exemption
from cluelessness. Mirror lockup is only necessary when shutter speeds
get down to less than 1/100sec, to counteract the shake induced
by the mirror moving out of the way to make the exposure.
What rubbish!

I am so glad I cut my teeth on the FZ20. I see a lot of people on
the Canon forum with lots of expensive gear, and little idea how
to use it effectively. It seems that some people figure that by throwing
a lot of money at photography, they'll become better photographers.
It only goes so far...
John_Reed said:
Just then, a Black Crowned Night
Heron stuck his bill out from behind the reeds across the slough.
So I grabbed a full-zoom shot:
I was shooting with my FZ30 in 5MP mode with TCON-17, I think
that's about 940mm of focal length. His 500 could shoot at 800mm
of focal length, I think? I don't think he had time to catch a shot
of the BCNH, but he shook his head a little when I showed him the
bird's sharp eyeball!
OK, there are many great things one can do with a dSLR outfit like
his, no question about it. But at ~$800 total investment in my FZ30
+ TCON-17 and memory card, certainly I could claim a win in the
"bang for the buck" category?
--
Click to expand...
Well you certainly got a lot of bang on this occasion! Nice shots...

--
emil
--



http://theory.uchicago.edu/~ejm/pix/fz20/bird_galleries_2005/
http://theory.uchicago.edu/~ejm/pix/20d/
 
I can just imagine him shaking his head ever so slightly. It is hard to believe what this little fz30 is capable of. I went to a spot by the airport a few weekends ago to get some BBIF. There were two guys there with BIG DSLR's and LONG BIG lens on the end. I'm sure they were thinking, what kind of shots could that gal be taking from here with that little camera. We never spoke. We just eyeballed each other and smiled. They were standing on top of a transformer box, I was on the roof of my van! ;-)

I know that my fluzi is no DSLR, but it is oh-so-very capable. And MUCH more simple. When I was using the fz20, I took my tcon14b with me everywhere. Since I got the fz30 I haven't used the tcon14b. I am enjoying traveling light, and I'm not feeling any lack of zoom. There is a lot of reach with the ez modes.

I wish I could have been there with you. I'd love to have seen the look on this guys face when you showed him your shot. It's a beauty John! I love those Night Herons.

I am surprised that your cormorants were taken in program mode. The light must have been favoring them. My shots of cormorants across the river are no where near this good looking. I've yet to get one worth keeping. What the heck am I doing wrong!
Thanks for posting John. I enjoyed it.
--

LaRee
 
I use it for most things, though I did have the EV biased down 2/3 for these shots. That and the "Multiple" metering mode, which I nearly always use unless I'm in Manual exposure mode. A far cry from my old FZ10!
Thanks for your comments, I thought you'd get a kick out of the story!
--
Not one to duck an issue, but occasionally may issue a duck or two?



EffZeeOneVeeTwo, EffZeeThirty
 
You see a lot of wishers on this forum saying "Gee, if only the FZ30 wasn't so noisy I'd buy it, and then I could take PERFECT photos..." or words to that effect. It must happen at all levels of this game. I've noticed that the images I admire most may come from any of a number of cameras that posters use here, from FZ1 through FZ30. It always seems like it's the nut behind the eyepiece that makes the most difference! Some of the most memorable photos I ever saw here were taken by a guy who took an FZ1 to Ghana, and shot lots of wonderful people shots, all with the camera set in the SIMPLE mode. He didn't know any better than that technically, but his photos were superb!

Thanks for your comments. I didn't know that Cormorants didn't have oil glands, though I have observed that the drying process is very common among them after they emerge from a long underwater "flight."
--
Not one to duck an issue, but occasionally may issue a duck or two?



EffZeeOneVeeTwo, EffZeeThirty
 
Is there a reason why you shot these in 5mp? Is there an advantage over 8mp?
 
Great shots John, I really like the Night Heron shot, some kind of reach with your set-up (FZ-30 & TCON)...really comes in handy at times, good shootin'...Bill ~
--

'Always be good' -- -- Rebel XT, 17-40 L, 18-55mm, Tamron 28-75mm 2.8, 50mm 1.8, 85mm 1.8, 70-300mm IS, 430EX -- Panasonic - FZ20, TCON-17, Nikon-6T, Quantaray 383 Flash, Wired Remote....
 
gives me a second look. This morning with the Bigma, I am getting many second looks and two asked whetther I was taking a video. Since I am mostly setup with under exposing egrets, cormorants or any dark birds is tough for me as I need to reset.

That perching branch is quite familiar.

cheers,
gil

--
**************
Images or nothing.
http://art4less.smugmug.com
 
Some advantage. It has 535mm "reach" vs. 420, so I get better framing ability in the field. File sizes are smaller, that's an advantage. I don't need much more than 3MP to print (up to 8X10) images with, and actually, I was using 5MP instead of 3MP because I had my Red Dot Sight mounted, and the 5MP images give me a little more cropping room. I only shoot 8MP when I'm shooting a 16:9 image (which is actually
--
Not one to duck an issue, but occasionally may issue a duck or two?



EffZeeOneVeeTwo, EffZeeThirty
 
Yes, you and I have captured a lot of pixels with images of that particular branch. The "Scene of the crime?" I do notice that I'm not picking up the CA on the branch I used to have all the time with the FZ10. But the Cormorants still love it. Thanks for your comments, I look forward to seeing more of your "dark side" photos.
--
Not one to duck an issue, but occasionally may issue a duck or two?



EffZeeOneVeeTwo, EffZeeThirty
 
John_Reed said:
I use it for most things, though I did have the EV biased down 2/3
for these shots. That and the "Multiple" metering mode, which I
nearly always use unless I'm in Manual exposure mode. A far cry
from my old FZ10!
Click to expand...
Maybe the fz30 will do better than the fz20 did? I haven't ran across any cormorants since I've had my fz30. I also use program mode much of the time with the fz30. I firmly believe that the fz30 is smarter than the fz20. Although that fz20 is no slouch that is for sure! I didn't like the results I got in program mode for the most part though. But I can't believe that I gave the fz20 to Trevor last night. He has been using one of the fz1's that I have. The fz1 is too small for his hands though, he has really big hands. So the fz20 will be his new second camera to compliment the Sony. He likes the Sony for indoor shots of his architecture models. Can't say I blame him there. That sony is really good with indoor/low light shots. But his real interest is in wild animal photography. So now he has TWO of my old favorite cameras. I made sure he knew that he's just borrowing the fz20. I'm not ready to give it to him YET. Although you know how that goes. You let your kid borrow something and they take a liking to it and you never see it again. ;-p
John_Reed said:
Thanks for your comments, I thought you'd get a kick out of the story!
Click to expand...
Yep, I sure did get a kick out of it!
John_Reed said:
--
Not one to duck an issue, but occasionally may issue a duck or two?



EffZeeOneVeeTwo, EffZeeThirty
Click to expand...
--

LaRee
 
Great shot of the cormorants, John, really great colour in the reflections on the water. Liked the 20D story as well, seen similiar set-ups at the Temora air show I went to a couple of weeks ago. Well done.
Cheers,
--
Phillip.au

Constructive critisism & PP welcomed. Never to old to learn new techniques!

FZ20 PSE3 TCON 17 Canon Close-up Lens 450

http://iciclelanding.com/phillipw
 
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