We had a few minutes of soft light this morning. with some low clouds. I headed to the bird feeders in hopes of some action but the light didn’t last long. This guy or gal did offer to pose briefly, though.
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All comments welcome!
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Canon R5, 100-500 + 2X at 1000, f/14 (wide open), 1/320, ISO 1600, tripod. Minor tonal tweaks in LR (shadows and highlights) and into PS for NR, but wouldn’t be noticeable at this size. The NR does a very subtle amount of sharpening and I always leave it at that. (Topaz DeNoise, Low Light settings). Cropped a small amount from the bottom and left and added approximately the same to the top and right, with content-aware fill. No cloning or other heroics.
Great light/background working well with the sparrow’s colors. Nice little head turn. Impressive detail with the 2x extender-maybe the days are gone where the 2x tended to cause a soft image.
Thanks, guys! @Allen, a lot depends on the lens. I’ve used the EF 2X III (introduced in 2010) extensively with my 600 II and never noticed softness compared to the 1.4X III or the bare lens. And I’m a certified pixel-peeper who never sharpens images beyond the LR/ACR default, which only compensates for debayering. I was very happy with it with the 100-400 II, which was an amazingly sharp lens. And now with the R5 and the RF 100-500, it almost always has the RF 2X attached, and is aways shot wide open. And I never sharpen beyond the very fine amount I get with the Topaz DeNoise Low Light setting.
@Allen_Brooks and @Kris_Smith, I was curious if I’ve been deluding myself about 2X sharpness. (I’m in with Mark Twain about believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see.) So I did a quick test and posted it in Discussions.
Wow! f/14 and wide open. Ha! That’s great. I agree with @Allen_Brooks that maybe the days are gone when using a 2x converter will get you a mostly soft image. Nice creamy green background and terrific detail in the head. Good head angle and a nice view of the feet. The eye is tack sharp. Well done Diane.
Excellent, Diane. A great pose and I like the perch. I think 2x converters got a bad rap because people were trying to get them to gain distance where even the slightest camera movement caused softness. I used to use an old mark II 2x for small birds and it worked fine because I was close to the birds and on a good tripod and head.
Thanks @Dennis_Plank – and very good point. Adding a 2X can need an increase in ss of more like 4X, everything else being equal. Today’s stabilization can make up some of that, but not all. I always shoot a short burst (2-4) and they often vary in sharpness, from slight subject or camera movement, or I suspect from AF jumping around even if in a limited area.
And a 2X can reveal the limits of some lenses. You need one that is “optically matched” to the lens, by the same manufacturer.
Outstanding image of this Golden crowned sparrow. The focus is perfect and I really like the head turn and background. Detail in the perch works quite well. Very enjoyable image.
On my last trip to Oregon, I got a very brief glimpse at one of these sparrows. A really nice portrait with an impressive BG produced a wonderful comp. Your technical expertise with your camera equipment is revealed once again with the quality of this image…Jim
