Anyway here are some of the everyday visitors to the garden taken with the Sigma set at about 450mm most of the time:
Adult Goldfinch
Young Goldfinch
Young Sparrows at the bird bath
Sparrow enjoying Elder berries
Robin
Greenfinch trying to keep its balance
Greenfinch
The lighting conditions were not very kind as the Sun was often hidden behind cloud. I had upped the ISO to cope but even so I still found the results disappointing as the Sigma had had good reviews. Mine is second hand so maybe it is not in perfect condition optically. Also there is the difference in price to take in to consideration as the Canon lens cost an arm and a leg whereas the Sigma only needs an arm!
I would be happy with these, just bought the sigma 50-500. So far I'm happy at the price. The Zuiko prime 300mm is five times the cost. just not justifiable for me. Somewhere on the internet there is an American forces sharpness evaluator which can be downloaded. I find cable release helps unless I can get the speed up around 1/1000.
ReplyDeleteBreathtaking! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteBreath taking closeups! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI would be very happy with those John, beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteI have a large Sigma too which I haven't used for some time (I still haven't got round to buying a tripod) and I do find my Canon 55-250 gives quite good results when closely cropped. Even when I get a tripod I don't think I fancy carting it and the Sigma around on our trips out!
If I remember rightly you have the Canon 50d camera where mine is the 450d, I do sometimes regret not spending more and buying the 50d but what I did pay was a lot of money and I wasn't sure then if my interest in photography would be a 'five minute wonder' but then again it is probably just that you are better at it than me, you clearly have more technical knowledge and have studied it for a lot more years than I have.
The Robin photo is just beautiful as is the Greenfinch on the fence.
Lovely set John.
ReplyDeleteYou say the lighting was poor, and I'm guessing with the high ISO, the combination didn't give the results you wanted. Better light and faster speed might give you what you wanted?
The Sparrows at the bird bath and the Greenfinch trying to keep its balance look to be the sharpest.
I'd keep the leg, and stick with the lens :)
Wow and Wow again John ....the green finch you caught trying to keep it's balance rocks!! I love all your bird shots today. Your adult Gold Finch is stunning...I wish we got birds like that here...
ReplyDeleteWonderful post today :) Well every post you do is wonderful accually I love coming here John..I feel like I know you already.
Me :)
Hi Adrian. You reminded me that I have a printed camera test card published many years ago - the type we used to see on television when there were no programmes during the day. That would be a good test. I forgot completely to try a cable release which may have helped. I will give another test the next time we get some brilliant sunshine.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting, Trillium, and your kind comment.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jan. I'm afraid I am not in to lugging heavy lenses and tripods around either, mainly because I rarely go out without the hairy monster. That is why I invested in the Canon image stabilised lens. I am tempted to save up for its bigger brother but I don't think I would have any arms or legs left at the amount they cost. I started with a s/h 350D and I think the reviews said the 450D was a good improvement on it.
ReplyDeleteThe trouble is I keep looking at the blogs with crystal clear bird photos and I want the same results but then have to remember that many are using professional equipment well out of my price bracket.
The main thing here is I have plenty of time Jan. Being retired and having no family to occupy me I can wait for the right opportunity to occur.
Thank you Keith. Yes the lighting was very variable. I will probably try again if we get another bright sunny day this year. That is what the lens needs as it is far from fast with a maximum aperture of f6.3 at full zoom whereas the Canon lens I normally use is f1.4 at all settings.
ReplyDeleteYou are too kind Crista. The Goldfinch only has small areas of bright colour but they do look spectacular, to me anyway. They also seem to have such calm, cool and collected personalities.
ReplyDeleteIt was a very fortunate shot to capture the Greenfinch catching its balance. I was trying the camera on the sport setting to get the speed and it also takes a rapid sequence of shots in that mode.
Lovely birds of course. The results with the long sigma lens are very interesting as I have been looking longingly at a lens such as that. I have seen good results with that lens and the reviews were OK too so yours is definitely disappointing.
ReplyDeleteAgree with the others.....brilliant shots!! But then I wouldn't know Sigma from...... USM!!! :))
ReplyDeleteI just know what looks good to my eye. I point my Kodak EasyShare, click and hope for the best. hehe.
Amazing! What clear shots of those lovely birds eating at your Birdy Bistro ~ got a kick out of that term yesterday. Lovely colourings on the adult goldfinch and robin and loved the greenfinch's balancing act. Well done on all accounts!
ReplyDeleteHi Mick. I shall give the lens another test if we get a really sunny day again. It is a slow lens and I think it needs really bright light to be able to get the shutter speed needed to freeze any small movements the birds make. As I bought it second hand it is possible that it may have had a bit of rough treatment in the past which may have misplaced a lens element slightly. It does seem to auto focus with some difficulty at times.
ReplyDeleteHi Pam. Thank you. USM - ultrasonic motor - is a way of making a lens focus very rapidly. I think I am in one of those moods where I am looking for perfection. It will wear off and I'll get back to being happy with what I have. It was nice to get some really close views of the garden visitors.
ReplyDeleteHi Glo. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWell I had to call the feeding area something :)
It made a change shooting through the open door instead of the double glazing. That makes a lot of difference to the depth of colour and gets rid of any distortion caused by the slight curve in double glazed windows.
I think the Greenfinch was going to nip down to a feeder and changed its mind at the last minute.
I usually have two Goldfinches feeding at a time but early this morning there were six. I will have to get a larger Niger seed feeder so they don't need to argue whose turn it is.
You have got some great bird images here John.
ReplyDeleteThank you Roy. It was nice to be able to get much closer views than I normally get.
ReplyDelete