Sunday, December 25, 2016

Olive-backed Sunbirds of Bued River

I haven't made a bird video in a while, as I'm too busy with other things lately. Filming birds and editing the footage require a lot of effort and time, two commodities which I have in short supply.

However, these tiny birds are too incessant with their early morning calls, and my resistance finally gave way a few days ago. I had to devote three mornings to filming the birds to get enough footage for this short video.

_____

Olive-backed Sunbird (Nectarinia jugularis, resident)

Habitat - Common lowland sunbird.

Shooting Info - Bued River, Rosario, La Union, Philippines,  December 21 - 23, 2016, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 2.8 IS + EF 2x TC III + EF 2x TC II, 1600 mm, f/13 - F/14, 1/125 sec, ISO 160 - 200, manual exposure in available light, 475B/516 support, 1080/59.94p capture, processed to 720/23.97p.





Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Feather detail with 4x worth of teleconverters

I was filming birds with a 4x TC when this Brown Shrike perched nearby for quite a few minutes. This gave me the opportunity to try the 4x TC on shooting stills, probably my first time to use the combo in this application.

The video quality with the stacked doublers is still quite good, considering that the 7D MII down-samples the original sensor capture to 1080p video by a little over 3 stops. This effectively nearly offsets the 4 stops loss due to the stacked 2x TCs.

However, at full-res 20 MP stills, viewing the 7D II's tiny pixels at 100% should be another story IQ-wise. Even the super-duper sharp 400 2.8 IS should suffer from the 16x dilution of its optics, which is equivalent to using a 320 MP APS-C sensor on the naked lens, and viewing the image at the pixel level.

Here's analyzing one of the sharper frames I got.

Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus, migrant, male)

Habitat - Common in all habitats at all elevations. 

Shooting details - Bued River, Rosario, La Union, Philippines, December 22, 2016, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 2.8 L IS + EF 2x TC III + EF 2x TC II, 1600 mm, f/14, ISO 200, 1/200 sec, 475B/516 support, manual exposure in available light.

Uncropped full frame resized to 800 x 1200.


100% crop  (actual pixel view at original capture resolution).

50% crop (original capture resized to 50%, then sharpening applied).

My conclusion?

The 50% crop is much sharper than anything I can get with a single 2x TC on the 400 2.8 L IS. This means that the second 2x TC is still significantly adding captured details when focal length limited, at least on a very sharp lens like the 400 2.8 L IS.

In other words, 4x TC > 2x TC > no TC, IQ-wise when focal length limited. This field experience mirrors exactly the results I get in more controlled tests:

Of course, with each doubler mounted, shot execution (shake control and focusing) becomes more difficult. Hence, I'd probably use this combo only when the subject is static and it allows me enough time to practice careful long lens technique.

Eye contact with a fishing raptor

It's not very often that I manage to get a good eye contact with this migratory fishing raptor in flight. The angle of the sun on the head area has to be just right so details of the piercing eye can be captured well. This is one of those lucky occasions. 
 
_____
 
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus, migrant)

Habitat - Associated with water both along coast and inland. 

Shooting Info - Sto. Tomas, La Union, Philippines, December 3, 2016, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 DO IS II + EF 1.4x TC III,
560 mm, f/6.3, 1/2000 sec, ISO 320, manual exposure in available light, hand held, major crop resized to 800 x 533.
 
 

Saturday, December 10, 2016

A banking Bee-eater over Bued River

Sorry, I couldn't resist the opportunity for an alliteration. 😊

During a short walk along the banks of the Bued River early this morning, this bee-eater passed near me, did a U-turn in the air and banked away at a nice angle relative to the sun.

I quickly fired a short 10 fps burst, and one of the frames caught the subject in a photogenic full wingspread.


_____

Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus , resident)

Habitat - Open country usually associated with water along rivers, marshes and ricefields. 



Shooting Info - Bued River, Rosario, La Union, Philippines, December 11, 2016, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 DO IS II,
400 mm, f/5.0, 1/2000 sec, ISO 320, manual exposure in available light, hand held, major crop resized to 800 x 533.


Sunday, December 4, 2016

Another take at a Barn Swallow in flight

I had a 1.4x teleconverter mounted on the EF 400 DO IS II when this speedy, little bird passed near my position at one of the fishponds of Sto. Tomas (La Union). 

That slowed down the AF of my BIF rig a bit, but I was pleasantly surprised that the combo managed to isolate the subject  from the grasses in the distance and place the focus where it should be.

_____

Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica, migrant)

Habitat - Coast to above the forest in high mountains. 


Shooting Info - Sto. Tomas, La Union, Philippines, December 3, 2016, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 DO IS II + EF 1.4x TC III,
560 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO 320, manual exposure in available light, hand held, near full frame resized to 800 x 533.

Labels

1.4x tc iii (28) 16-35 f4 L IS (7) 1d miv (4) 2x TC (5) 2x tc ii (5) 2x tc iii (13) 400 2.8 IS (19) 400 5.6l (2) 400 do ii (2) 400 f/4 do is ii (57) 4c tc (1) 4k (1) 4k bird video (18) 4k macro (2) 4k moon (1) 4k moonrise (1) 4x tc (1) 5D MIII (14) 70-200 2.8 l is ii (3) 7d (6) 7d m2 (1) 7d mark ii (61) 7d mii (6) 7d2 (1) abuos (1) Acridotheres cristatellus (3) Acrocephalus stentoreus (1) action photography (1) Actitis hypoleucos (1) Aethopyga bella (1) Aethopyga flagrans (1) aggregates (1) aggregates crushing (1) Alauda gulgula (1) Alcedo atthis (1) Alcedo cyanopecta (1) Amaurornis olivaceus (1) Amaurornis phoenicurus (2) Amur Falcon (1) Anas clypeata (1) Anas luzonica (1) Anser serrirostris (1) ant video (1) Anthus rufulus (1) ants (1) Aplonis panayensis (3) apollo 15 (1) apollo 15 landing site (1) Arachnothera clarae (1) Arctic Warbler (1) Ardea cinerea (3) Ardea purpurea (1) Ardeola bacchus (1) Ardeola speciosa (1) Artamus leucorynchus (2) Ashy Minivet (1) ashy minivet video (1) Asian Glossy Starling (4) astro (6) Australasian Grass-Owl (1) baguio (1) baler (1) baler surfing (1) Barn Swallow (4) baroro (1) baroro beach (1) Barred Buttonquail (1) Barred Rail (1) batch plant (1) bee (2) bee in flight (1) bees (1) bees in slow motion (1) bif (1) binmaley (1) bird in flight (1) bird macro (1) bird video (43) birding places (4) birds in flight (74) birds of the philippines (1) Black Bittern (1) Black-chinned Fruit-dove (1) Black-crowned Night-Heron (1) Black-Headed Gull (1) Black-naped Oriole (1) Black-winged Stilt (2) blue moon (1) Blue Rock-Thrush (6) Blue-headed Fantail (1) Blue-naped Parrot (1) Blue-tailed Bee-eater (5) Bolbopsittacus lunulatus (1) Brahminy Kite (4) Brown Hawk-Owl (1) Brown Shrike (8) Brush Cuckoo (1) Bubulcus ibis (3) Buceros hydrocorax (1) bued (65) bued bridge (1) bued flood (4) bued river (125) bug slomo (1) bugs slow motion (1) Butorides striatus (6) butterfly (9) butterfly macro (6) butterfly slomo (2) butterfly slow motion (1) Cacomantis variolosus (1) camp i (1) camp john hay (1) candaba (1) canon workshop (2) Caprimulgus manillensis (2) Cattle Egret (3) Centropus bengalensis (1) Centropus viridis (2) Charadrius dubius (3) Chestnut Munia (2) Chinese Egret (1) Chinese Pond-Heron (1) Chlidonias hybridus (7) Cinnamon Bittern (1) Circus spilonotus (1) Cisticola juncidis (1) Citrine Canary-Flycatcher (1) Clamorous Reed-Warbler (1) Colasisi (2) colasisi call (1) colasisi song (1) colasisi sound (1) Coleto (1) Collared Kingfisher (3) Collocalia troglodytes (4) Common Kingfisher (1) Common Sandpiper (1) concrete (1) coolpix p1000 (48) cordillera (1) cordillera mountains (1) Corvus macrorhynchos (1) Crested Myna (4) crusher (1) Culicicapa helianthea (1) cute puppies (2) cutest dog fight (5) Dendrocopos maculatus (11) Dicaeum austral (1) Dicaeum australe (9) Dicaeum pygmaeum (2) dji mavic air (4) dog jump (1) dog poker (1) dog poker game (1) dog slomo (2) dog tricks (1) double rainbow (2) dragonfly (3) dragonfly in flight (3) dragonfly macro (5) dragonfly slomo (1) dragonfly video (3) drone (1) drone panorama (1) drone photography (1) Ducula aenea (1) Dupetor flavicollis (1) Eastern Marsh-Harrier (1) eco trail (1) Egretta alba (5) Egretta eulophotes (1) Egretta garzetta (4) Elegant Tit (1) elyu (1) endemic birds (62) Eumyias panayensis (1) Eurasian Hobby (1) Eurasian Tree Sparrow (5) Falco amurensis (1) Falco peregrinus (1) Falco subbuteo (1) Ficedula narcissina (1) Ficedula westermanni (1) Flaming Sunbird (1) fog (1) Gallirallus torquatus (1) Geopelia striata (2) Gerygone sulphurea (3) goat shed (1) Golden-bellied Flyeater (3) grasshopper (2) grasshopper macro (1) Great Egret (5) Greater Sand-Plover (1) Green Imperial-Pigeon (1) Green Sandpiper (1) Grey Heron (3) Grey Wagtail (5) Grey-streaked Flycatcher (1) Grey-tailed Tattler (1) Guaiabero (1) Halcyon smyrnensis (11) Haliastur indus (4) Handsome Sunbird (1) hantik (1) haradrius leschenaultii (1) Heteroscelus brevipes (1) Himantopus himantopus (2) Hirundo rustica (4) Hirundo striolata (2) Hirundo tahitica (1) Hoopoe (1) Hydrophasianus chirurgus (1) Indigo-banded Kingfisher (1) insect 4k video (1) insect video (1) Ixobrychus cinnamomeus (1) Ixobrychus sinensis (1) Java Sparrow (5) Javan Pond-Heron (1) jewel bug (2) jumping tilapia (1) kennon (2) kennon junction (1) kennon road (2) kennon road junction (1) kreto (5) la union (11) labrador (5) labrador puppy (5) labrador puppy training (1) Lalage nigra (2) Lanius cristatus (8) Lanius schach (7) Lanius validirostris (1) Large-billed Crow (1) Larus ridibundus (1) Larus saundersi (1) Lesser Coucal (1) lightning (5) lightning photography (5) lightning video (1) liquidstone (5) Little Egret (4) Little Heron (6) Little Pied Flycatcher (1) Little Ringed-Plover (3) Little Tern (1) Lonchura atricapilla (2) Lonchura punctulata (5) Long-tailed Shrike (7) longest dog fight (5) Loriculus philippensis (2) Lowland White-eye (13) lunar eclipse (1) Luscinia calliope (1) Luzon Hornbill (1) maambal (15) maambal farm (11) maambal orchard (14) maambal pozorrubio (12) macro (10) macro slomo (1) Macropygia tenuirostris (1) magnus (3) mangkhut (1) mango farm (1) Marsh Sandpiper (1) mavic 2 pro (9) mavic air (2) Merops philippinus (5) Microhierax erythrogenys (1) migratory birds (79) Monticola solitaries (1) Monticola solitarius (5) moon (4) moonrise (1) moonshot (1) Motacilla alba (1) Motacilla cinerea (5) moth (1) moth macro (1) moth video (1) moths (1) Mountain Shrike (1) Mountain Verditer-Flycatcher (1) Mountain White-eye (4) Muscicapa griseisticta (1) Naked-faced Spiderhunter (1) Narcissus Flycatcher (1) Nectarinia jugularis (9) Ninox scutulata (1) Northern Hobby (1) Northern Shoveler (1) Numenius phaeopus (2) Nycticorax nycticorax (1) nymphs (1) Oecophylla smaragdina (1) Olive-backed Sunbird (9) ompong (1) Oriental Honeybuzzard (2) Oriental PratincoleGlareola maldivarum (1) Oriental Skylark (1) Oriolus chinensis (1) osmo action (12) osmo action slomo (1) Osprey (5) Otus megalotis (1) p1000 (35) Pacific Swallow (1) Padda oryzivora (5) Paddyfield Pipit (1) Pandion haliaetus (5) pangasinan (1) Parus elegans (1) Parus semilarvatus (1) Passer montanus (4) Penelopides manillae (1) Peregrine Falcon (1) Pericrocotus divaricatus (1) Pernis ptilorhynchus (1) Pernis ptilorhynchus philippensis (1) Phaenicophaeus cumingi (1) Phaenicophaeus superciliosus (1) Pheasant-Tailed Jacana (1) Philippine Coucal (2) Philippine Cuckoo-Dove (1) Philippine Duck (1) Philippine Falconet (1) Philippine Hanging Parrot (2) Philippine Nightjar (2) Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker (10) Philippine Scops-Owl (1) Philippine Serpent-Eagle (1) Philippine Woodpecker (6) philippines flood (1) Phylloscopus borealis (1) Pied Bushchat (3) Pied Fantail (3) Pied Triller (2) Plain Bush-Hen (1) Porphyrio porphyrio (1) Ptilinopus leclancheri (1) puppies (2) puppy training (1) Purple Heron (1) Purple Swamphen (1) Pycnonotus goiavier (3) Pygmy Flowerpecker (2) Pygmy Swiftlet (4) rainbow (1) readymix concrete (1) Red Turtle-Dove (10) Red-crested Malkoha (1) Red-keeled Flowerpecker (10) resident birds (117) Rhabdornis mystacalis (2) Rhipidura cyaniceps (1) Rhipidura javanica (3) Richard's Pipit (1) romy ocon (6) rosario (1) Rufous Hornbill (1) rx10 4 (1) rx10 iv (48) rx10 iv slow motion (3) rx10 m4 (22) rx10 mark 4 (13) rx10 mark iv (23) rx10 miv (21) san juan (1) Sarcops calvus (1) Saunders's Gull (1) Saxicola caprata (3) Saxicola maurus (1) Scale-feathered Malkoha (1) Scaly-Breasted Munia (5) shih tzu (13) shih tzu mixed breed (2) shih tzu playing (2) shih tzu puppies (9) shih tzu puppy (5) shih tzu slomo (8) shih tzu tricks (1) Siberian Rubythroat (1) Siberian Stonechat (1) singing sunbird (2) sison mango farm (1) sleeping puppy (1) slomo (1) slow motion (1) spider (1) Spilornis holospilus (1) Spotted Dove (1) stacked 2x TCs (1) stacked teleconverters (1) Sterna albifrons (1) Streptopelia chinensis (1) Streptopelia tranquebarica (9) striated heron (4) Striated Swallow (2) Stripe-headed Rhabdornis (2) subic rainforest (2) sunbird call (2) sunflower (2) super blue moon (1) super moon (1) supermoon (1) supertyphoon (1) surfing (4) surfing slomo (1) taboc (2) Tanygnathus lucionensis (1) teaching tricks to a puppy (1) telephoto (1) ten-four (1) ten-four readymix (1) tilapia (1) time lapse (1) tiny bees (1) Todiramphus chloris (3) tplex (4) tplex roasrio-sison (1) tplex rotunda (1) tplex roundabout (1) tplex sison-rosario (1) tplex terminus (2) transcend dp200 (1) Tringa ochropus (1) Tringa stagnatilis (1) tug of war (1) Tundra Bean Goose (1) Turnix suscitator (1) Tyto longimembris (1) udiao (1) Upupa epops (1) vanta (2) versys x300 (1) video (1) wasp (1) wasp macro (1) wasp video (1) Weaver Ants (1) Whimbrel (2) Whiskered Tern (7) White Wagtail (1) White-breasted Waterhen (2) White-breasted Wood-Swallow (2) White-fronted Tit (1) White-throated Kingfisher (11) woodpecker macro (1) Yellow Bittern (1) Yellow-vented Bulbul (3) young grasshopper (1) Zebra Dove (2) Zitting Cisticola (1) Zosterops meyeni (13) Zosterops montanus (3)