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Post by Ely Teehankee on Oct 20, 2012 22:44:48 GMT
I first heard from Kieron Tan when he sent me a message after he saw the bird pictures that I shared here, taken at the Granada Eco Park. He mentioned that he would have wanted to join me had he known that I was in Bacolod. I assured him that I will inform him when an opportunity to do so arises. On this trip where I will talk about bird photography for Canon Photoskwela on Saturday & Sunday at SM Bacolod, I called Kieron and our plans were finalized. Kieron is the President of SKT Digital Productions that specializes on "Wedding Events" for photos and videos. He is the most sought photographer in Bacolod because of the quality of his pictures & videos. I met Kieron for the first time when he picked me up at the airport and we went straight to our birding destination. While I was shooting with my Canon 1D Mark IV and Canon 800mm lens, Kieron Tan was shooting with his Canon 1DX and Canon 600mm Series II. It was pass noon and I decided to try out his gear. I adjusted the settings of his camera to manual, evaluative metering, and single shot. The new 600mm II f/4 weighs 8.65 pounds, is compatible with both the Canon 1.4X & 2X TC III. The Canon 1DX has 3 processors. It has the fastest & accurate focussing capability that I have ever seen. It can take pictures with high ISO with hardly any noise. The minimum focussing distance is 4.5 meters. Here are some pictures that I took at less than 6 meters. This combination of the 1DX and 600mm II with 1.4 TC III is certainly the best that a bird photographer can have. The first two pictures were taken with the Canon 1DX, 600mm II, & 1.4X TC III on tripod. 1/100 sec., f/5.6, ISO 3200 with 1.4X TC III  1/100 sec., f/5.6, ISO 3200 with 1.4X TC III  The new Canon 1DX has new technology that is really useful in bird photography. The 61 focussing point has a lot of combinations that will compose the bird into the frame that will require very little cropping. The focussing system is such that when the subject is focus the focussing points will disappear so you can just press the shutter. I am not disappointed with my old reliable Canon 1D Mark IV because it has a crop factor of 1.3 and with my 800mm, I get 1040mm without a TC. Here are two pictures that I got of the Crimson Sunbird with my set up. Both pictures were taken at 1/160 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600. The 3rd & 4th pictures were taken with Canon 1D Mark IV & 800mm lens.   I have always admired oil paintings by artist like Ang Kiu Kok and Federico Alcuaz. I saw Alcuaz paint from scratch a portrait of my uncle using long brushes on a canvas. It was like he was just stroking the canvas with different colors. Toward the end the shape and face appears. It was just amazing how talented he was and it took a little bit more than an hour to complete it. I don't know how to paint and when I saw this software to transform a photograph to oil, it was a thrill for me to try it out. This picture is the same as the fourth picture but in oil finished.  |
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Post by Tirso Paris on Oct 22, 2012 1:24:40 GMT
Hmmm. Ely, this is very tempting, if I ignore the price tag.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Oct 22, 2012 5:46:18 GMT
Hmmm. Ely, this is very tempting, if I ignore the price tag. I am very impressed with the performance of both the camera and lens. The way I look at it, if you do not have a long lens yet, this is definitely the lens to acquire. The technology is new and it works wonders. It is my first and only time to use this and I am very happy with the result. |
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Post by Mark Itol on Oct 22, 2012 16:35:33 GMT
Wonderful captures of such a beautiful bird.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Oct 22, 2012 21:05:11 GMT
Wonderful captures of such a beautiful bird. Thank you Mark. The Sunbirds are really beautiful. I wish there were more places like this where you could take pictures of them all day. |
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Post by Ramon Quisumbing on Oct 23, 2012 2:12:54 GMT
Ely, you were a bit disappointed with your initial testing of the 1DX (with your 800 mm lens) a couple of months ago in Villa Escudero. Are you much more impressed now with its performance together with the 600 mm lens?
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Oct 23, 2012 5:06:21 GMT
Ely, you were a bit disappointed with your initial testing of the 1DX (with your 800 mm lens) a couple of months ago in Villa Escudero. Are you much more impressed now with its performance together with the 600 mm lens? That is correct Ramon. To start with I had the test version of the camera and I think it was not performing at its optimum capabilities. This time the subject came into the light. This is the production line of the 1DX with a 600mm Series II lens with a 1.4TC Series III attached to it. The bird was out in the open and it gave me a chance to have the picture with some natural light. I was also able to take another shot of the same bird with my 800mm and 1D Mark IV and I will add the picture to this thread as soon as I get to process it so you can see it. Thank you for bringing up the subject as both of these camera/lens combinations are good. |
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Post by Edwin Matias on Oct 24, 2012 3:21:22 GMT
Sir Ely,
The combo is Awesome, Great Captures.... super like
Regards,
Edwin
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Oct 24, 2012 11:46:59 GMT
Sir Ely, The combo is Awesome, Great Captures.... super like Regards, Edwin Thank you Edwin. I took these pictures with two combinations which one are you referring to? |
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Post by Edwin Matias on Oct 25, 2012 0:24:15 GMT
Sir Ely, The combo is Awesome, Great Captures.... super like Regards, Edwin Thank you Edwin. I took these pictures with two combinations which one are you referring to? Sir Ely, Both Combo is incredible, looking the photos on both combo, im not an expert on pixel level, but both are awesome. Regards, Edwin |
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Oct 25, 2012 20:50:45 GMT
Thank you Edwin. It is such a fulfilling experience to have seen and photograph this bird in the wild.
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Post by S. Kieron Tan on Oct 27, 2012 4:06:58 GMT
4th photo is my favourite. superb sharpness and details. just wow.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Oct 27, 2012 7:59:40 GMT
4th photo is my favourite. superb sharpness and details. just wow. Thank you Kieron. I think the position of the bird at the time the picture was taken would spell the difference in getting the other colors on the wing. Very often the wings are completely closed so there are no colors showing. Certain movements of the bird exposes the wing colors and you have to catch that moment. Luck plays a big part of getting these colors. One thing we can be sure of, the two set up works very well especially when the birds are just a little bit over the minimum focussing distance. |
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Post by mlgocon on Oct 30, 2012 8:16:21 GMT
Are there Crimson Sunbirds in Coron? I hope so as I have yet to see this one. I didn't see any during the Bird Fest in Dumaguete. It's such a gorgeous bird.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Oct 30, 2012 12:49:45 GMT
Are there Crimson Sunbirds in Coron? I hope so as I have yet to see this one. I didn't see any during the Bird Fest in Dumaguete. It's such a gorgeous bird. I am not so sure but I don't think so. I have seen them in Cebu but never in Palawan. The Lovely Sunbird is the smallest Sunbird in the Philippines and you can see them in Coron. |
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Post by Bob Kaufman on Nov 1, 2012 2:12:58 GMT
All shots were excellent. Although, in my opinion, the details on the 3rd and 4th photos seem to be sharper.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Nov 1, 2012 22:28:31 GMT
All shots were excellent. Although, in my opinion, the details on the 3rd and 4th photos seem to be sharper. Thank you Bob for your opinion. It is difficult for me to say the same because I took all the four pictures. The first two pictures were taken on the first day and when I look at my own pictures with my own camera & lens, none of them had as much detail as the first two. I went back after two days to take more pictures and found out that depending on the angle of the bird and the light that is how I got more details. It was sheer tenacity and plenty of luck that I was finally able to get the 3rd & 4th pictures. By the way, even if it was not easy, it was fun. |
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Post by Tonji Ramos on Nov 14, 2012 0:20:04 GMT
Thanks for showing the pics of the new 600mm and the 1dx, Canon's latest and greatest.
I, like a lot of us, have been thinking about how well this new gear works.
I am not usually very critical of pictures since it is very hard to take pics of birds in the wild, but since this is a mega buck rig comparison I would like to point out a few things which I noticed.
I think the first two pictures show some head movement by the bird so the focus looks off . I think in the first picture with the bird calling ,the eye blur and beak blur are caused by the singing. The body and feet are very sharp because those parts are not moving.
On the second pic the bird seems to have been moving his head from side to side a bit since the eye and head is not in perfect focus. The lower body is again very sharp.
I think the movement of the bird affected the shots. Maybe it is not a fair comparison of the two rigs since the first set of photos are kinda blurred.
The pics with your rig are spot on.
It would be interesting to see the new 600mm with a super sharp photo to see what it can really do and if it is really worth all the buzz it is getting.
I would also be interested to see if the new IS helps in getting more keepers.
It is hard to take photos of tiny birds and a red and black bird is not the easiest target. Thanks for sharing Ely.
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Nov 14, 2012 8:23:13 GMT
Thanks for showing the pics of the new 600mm and the 1dx, Canon's latest and greatest. I, like a lot of us, have been thinking about how well this new gear works. I am not usually very critical of pictures since it is very hard to take pics of birds in the wild, but since this is a mega buck rig comparison I would like to point out a few things which I noticed. I think the first two pictures show some head movement by the bird so the focus looks off . I think in the first picture with the bird calling ,the eye blur and beak blur are caused by the singing. The body and feet are very sharp because those parts are not moving. On the second pic the bird seems to have been moving his head from side to side a bit since the eye and head is not in perfect focus. The lower body is again very sharp. I think the movement of the bird affected the shots. Maybe it is not a fair comparison of the two rigs since the first set of photos are kinda blurred. The pics with your rig are spot on. It would be interesting to see the new 600mm with a super sharp photo to see what it can really do and if it is really worth all the buzz it is getting. I would also be interested to see if the new IS helps in getting more keepers. It is hard to take photos of tiny birds and a red and black bird is not the easiest target. Thanks for sharing Ely. Thank you for your observation and comments. This pictures were taken because it gave me the opportunity to try the new 1DX and 600mm just purchased by Kieron Tan. To have a fair and equal comparison both should be tested with the same subject and under the same conditions. Usually they would used money bills as a lot of fine details can be seen from them. I personally like the 600mm Series II because it is lighter at 8.6 pounds compared to the 9.9 pounds of the 800mm. When you are taking long hikes the 1.3 pound difference will make you last longer. Another feature of the 600mm II is that the minimum focussing distance is 4.5 meters compared to 6 meters for the 800mm. But when it comes to reach the 800mm has a 200mm advantage over the 600mm. This does not make it simple to decide because the new TC Series III that were made for the Series II lenses are supposedly better. I will wait for the experts to come out with their test results and see what they have to say. The 1DX is a super camera as far as its focussing features are concerned. It focusses much faster than any camera that I have tried. To start with the 1DX has 3 processors, two Digic 5 and one Digic 4 dedicated to the focussing of the camera alone. Normally we would wait for the subject to focus and squeeze the shutter. In the case of the 1DX, the focussing points disappear telling you that your picture is focused. The few micro seconds that you save would mean that you are able to squeeze the shutter sooner and could mean capturing or missing your subject. I think this feature would work very well with bird photographers. Ramon recently bought one and you can see how good the 1DX works for him. Here are some of his latest pictures: birdphotoph.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=photo&action=display&thread=8809 |
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