Bird Photography – Kathy Adams Clark

Canon R6 Mark II: First Look In The Field

Pine Warbler photographed with the Canon R6 Mark II at ISO256000.

File Size

R6 Mark II files are 33 to 39MB in CR3. In 16-bit, these files are 4000 pixels wide by 6000 high.

R5 files are 42 to 61MB in CR3. In 16-bit, theses files are 5464 wide by 8192 high.

R3 files are 29 to 35MB in CR3. In 16-bit, these files are 4000 pixels wide by 6000 high.

So we get a smaller file than the R5 but the same size as the R3.

High ISO

Eastern bluebird photographed at 25,600 ISO

Eastern bluebird photographed at 400 ISO

Eastern bluebird, photographed at 640 ISO

Orange-crowned warbler in low light at 25,600 ISO

Orange-crowned warbler, enlarged to 100% and noise reduction added to background

Pine warbler photographed at 25,600ISO. Enlarged to 100%. Nice feather detail.

High ISO in low light is grainy. There’s no getting around it. The grain in a high ISO photo is no worse with a R6 MarkII than with an R5 or R3. To my eye, each camera is about the same. The files are usable to illustrate the bird while still retaining nice feather detail.

Low ISO and good light is always better, though.

Eastern bluebird in good light at ISO 800. (Ignore the line through his head. This is only a test.)

Auto Focus

I’ve used the Canon R6 Mark II on three outings of an hour each. In each test, the camera locked on the bird quickly. Then it never lost focus once it got on the bird.

The auto focus stayed on the pine warbler’s eye even when the bird moved behind the leaf.

The camera found a small bird. The camera found the bird on perch.

In only one instance did the camera change auto focus to a distant background.

The auto focus was quick, stayed on the bird’s eye, and adjusted as the bird moved.

I haven’t had a chance to use the Canon R6 Mark II on flying bird, yet. Stayed tuned for that test.

Conclusion

So far, I’m impressed. The Canon R6 Mark II handles high ISO well and the auto focus is outstanding. I thought I’d find something lacking but this camera is living up to my expectations.

Thanks for reading. Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Canon EOS R7 — Autofocus

I was eager to try the autofocus on the R7 with a variety of subjects.

I used the same settings on all the photos: Servo, AF[1], Subject Tracking, Subject to Detect is Animals, Eye detection is Enabled. Servo AF is on Case 2 which is “Continue to track subjects, ignoring possible obstacles.”

For those of you new to AF[1], it is a wide zone where the camera looks for a subject based on face and/or motion. Once the camera has found a subject, the focus point lights up with blue dots. Then we can move the camera around to compose the shot while the camera stays on the subject.

Northern mockingbird. The R7 found the bird without hesitation and locked on to the eye.

Great-tailed grackle. I didn’t push the focus button until the bird’s face came into view. Once the eye was clear of the pine needles, then the R7 found the eye and locked on.

Gray Hairstreak. Tiny butterfly. The Flexible Zone AF 1 (AF[1]) was not the best choice for this small butterfly. The R7 found the subject because it was moving. The focus point bounced between the butterfly’s real eye and the fake eye at the base of the tails. I should have changed to 1-point AF and put that point on the butterfly’s eye. Not bad, though.

Gray Hairstreak. Same as above with a slight change in my angle to get a green background.

Clouded Skipper. The R7 found the butterfly’s eye without a problem. It locked on and held focus.

The same clouded skipper perched on a purple passionflower. The R7 stayed on the butterfly but I confused the camera. The R7 tried to focus on the structure on the passionflower. This camera is smart but the photographer has to remember to give clear directions. My error in not changing to the 1-point AF area. Then the camera would have known exactly where to focus.

Honeybee on bee bush. The AF[1] focus area stayed with bee without any effort.

I found the Autofocus on the R7 quick and precise. The R7 is not a mind reader (though it does amazing things) so we have to remember to change AF Areas based on the subject.

The only time the R7 failed to acquire focus was on a tiny subject at the top of a stick. I moved the camera down the stick until it acquired focus. Then I moved the camera back up to the subject and the R7 held. This is not unusual with AF in mirrorless but not as bad as I’ve seen in earlier cameras.

All photos in this post were taken with the 100-500mm RF lens, 1.4x extender. All the insects were at the edge of the minimum focusing distance of 3.94 ft.

All photos are uncropped.

Questions? Post below. I’d love to hear your comments and feedback. Thanks for reading.

Canon R3 — Flying Birds

The Canon EOS-D1X was my workhorse camera for years. It focused fast, held focus, and never hesitated. That what I hoped from the new Canon R3.

So far, my hopes are reality.

I grabbed a couple of hours during sunny weather this weekend to photograph at the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. My goal was to photograph ducks and raptors in flight at high shutter speeds.

Blue-winged teal in flight. Canon R3, 100-500mm RF lens, 1.4x extender, shutter speed 1/8000th

Blue-winged teal flying low along the cattails. The Canon R3 kept focus on the bird and didn’t get distracted by the cattails. (100-500mm RF lens, 1.4x extender, 1/8000th shutter)

Blue-winged teal in flight. Same equipment and settings as above.

Below is a series of a black-bellied whistling-duck that I tracked across the marsh. The camera is set on large zone autofocus versus a small cluster of focus points.

When the bird flew behind the reeds, the Canon R3 didn’t lose focus. The camera stayed locked on the bird and didn’t get distracted by the brush.

Red-tailed hawk under similar circumstances. Tree limbs come between the bird and me. The Canon R3 doesn’t get distracted by the limbs. It stays focused on the bird.

During my time in the field, I aimed the camera at any bird that flew nearby. I aimed the camera at hawks and vultures in the distance. Not once did it fail to acquire focus on the bird.

One or two times the camera lost focus during a burst but it reaquired focus by the next click of the shutter. I used to see this same thing with the EOS-D1x.

I missed a couple of birds but those were “operator error” versus the Canon R3. The R3 is living up to the hype and I’m a happy photographer!

Female blue-winged teal comes in for a landing.

Please feel free to post questions below. Would you like me to test something during my next outing with the Canon R3?

Canon R3 — First Look

After a long wait I finally got my Canon R3. I’ve used the Canon R5 and R6 for the past two years. Use the “search” feature here to read my reviews of those cameras.

The Canon R3 was advertised as a mirrorless equivalent to the Canon D1X. The D1 line and particularly the D1X have been my preferred camera for over 15 years.

This first review of the Canon R3 is with minimal set-up. I took the camera out of the box and set the following menu items: (1) date and time, (2) copyright, (3) Raw, (4) animal eye focus, (5) AF Servo AF Case 2, and (5) High speed release. That’s it! The bare minimum for this first test run.

Bald eagle is a nest shooting through trees in the foreground. Handheld Canon 100-500mm lens with a 1.4x extender. One point focusing on the eagle.

I walked closer to the eagle’s nest. R3 focus does not get distracted by the brush.

Animal eye focus continues to stay with the eagle as it moves around the tree.

Viewfinder Simulation allows me to under exposure to maintain the white feathers.

There’s a northern mockingbird in this bush. The Canon R3 locked onto the eye and held focus despite all the tangle of brush in front of the bird. No coaxing on my part. The camera did all the work.

Ruby-crowned kinglet is a hyper-active little bird that never sits still. The Canon R3 found the eye and stayed with the bird as long as I could keep the bird in the frame.

Uncropped image of a white-throated sparrow in the brush. The Canon R3 found the eye and stayed with the bird. This is an easy one because the sparrow wasn’t very active. The Canon R3 didn’t get distracted by any of the round leaves nearby as we’ve seen with the R5 or R6.

There weren’t a lot of flying birds during my test run. The wind was blowing hard and erratic. A few black vultures flew across, though. I raised the Canon R3 and the camera immediately found the bird. No hunting or hesitation. The Canon R3 stayed with the bird as long as I could keep it in the frame.

The Canon R3 works like the Canon D1X! I feel that I finally have a D1X back in my hands but with all the bells-and-whistles of a mirrorless camera.

The Canon R3 is a big camera so it has a different feel in the hand. I’ll write about that in an upcoming post. Stay tuned.

I’ve been asked to compare noise between the R5 and R3. I’ll do that comparison in another post. Keep watch for that one.

The Canon R3 has Eye Control. This is a new feature where the camera uses my eye to determine where to focus in the frame. Can’t wait to explore that feature!

INITIAL IMPRESSION:

The Canon R3 looks and feels like a D1X
Minimal set-up is needed to get this camera up and running. Yea!!
Precise auto focus that allows us to photograph birds deep in the brush with Animal Eye activated.
Birds in flight are tracked on par with the D1X.
Exposure Simulation allows us to over or under exposure to get the picture right in the camera. This is expected in today’s mirrorless cameras.

Stay tuned as I work with the Canon R3.

Ask questions below or suggest items that you’d like to see tested. Thanks for reading!

Nature Photography Event

NANPA is the North American Nature Photography Association. It’s a leading organization for nature photographers. NANPA events should not be missed.
I’ll be leading the birds track at NANPA’s Nature Photography Celebration in Asheville, NC, April 19-21.
Join me and my colleagues in bird photography, night photography, landscapes, flowers, fine art, and conservation for an unprecedented amount of field time with other photographers as well as classroom sessions and opportunities to share images.
My friends save $75 on registration with the FriendOfKathy promo code. More info: nanpa.org/celebration.

Northern parula might be a migrant we find during the NANPA Celebration in Asheville, North Carolina.

Bird Photography: Flash & No Flash

It always amazes me how much impact the flash can have on photos of birds in the forest.

Palm tanager; with a flash Costa Rica; Sarapiqui

Palm tanager; with no flash; Costa Rica; Sarapiqui

Both were photographed with the following settings: Aperture Priority, F/8, 1/400 sec shutter speed, ISO 800, Canon 580 flash, 100-400mm lens.

The flash is set to TTL and high-speed.

Tanager & Other Birds — Ecuador Photo Tours

Tanagers are one of my favorite families of birds in the tropics. They are colorful, rather large, somewhat slow, and plentiful. The Ecuador birding field guide lists about 66 species with tanager in their name. We didn’t photograph that many during our Strabo Photo Tour Collections trip in March but we got a lot.

Black-capped tanager; Tangara heinei; Ecuador; Mindo Valley — Black-capped tanager — Mindo Valley, Ecuador

Blue-capped tanager KAC9857 — Blue-capped tanager in the Mindo Valley. This was a new bird for me.

Blue-capped tanager KAC9864 — Blue-capped tanager

Blue-winged mountain-tanager KAC9997 — Blue-winged mountain-tanager

Golden tanager; Tangara arthus; Ecuador; San Tadeo; Mindo Valley — Golden tanager — Mindo Valley, Ecuador

Flame-faced tanager; Tangara parzudakii; Ecuador; San Tadeo; Mindo Valley — Flame-faced tanager — Mindo Valley. What a great name!

White-lined tanager KAC9389 — White-lined tanager — See the white line?

We found a nice variety of birds along the way. These are all from the Mindo Valley of Ecuador on the western slope of the Andes Mountains.

Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch, Buarremon brunneinucha, — Chestnut-capped brush-finch

Crimson-rumped toucanet KAC9716 — Crimson-rumped toucanet

Crimson-rumped toucanet KAC9740 — Crimson-rumped toucanet — here you can see the rump

Dusky Chlorospingus KAC0091 — Dusky Chlorospingus — Love that name!

rufous-collared sparrow KAC0035 — Rufous-collared sparrow — so common but so pretty.

Swainson's thrush KAC9427 — Swainson’s thrush on wintering grounds. It will be arriving in my area of Texas in mid-April on its way to breeding grounds in the north.

Here are a couple more hummingbirds from the last day of the trip. The birds in Ecuador are amazing.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

My 2018-2019 photo tour schedule is on the Strabo Photo Tours site or on my website.

Antisana Reserve — Ecuador Photo Tour

Antisana Volcano KAC8540-Pano

My husband, Gary Clark, and I got a chance to return to Ecuador earlier this month to lead a Strabo Photo Tours Collection trip. Our trip visited the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains, the western slope, Quito, and the Antisana Reserve.

Antisana is a large tract of undeveloped land surrounding the Antisana Volcano. The reserve protects Quito’s water supply and is prime habitat for the Andean Condor.

The Antisana Ecological Reserve covers 120,000 hectares or 296,000 acres. The Antisana Volcano is 5758 meters or roughly 19,000 above sea level. Most of the reserve is above the tree line and covered in low grasses called paramo. Rolling hills, cliffs, deep valleys, and even a lagoon round out the habitat.

Antisana Volcano KAC0634

Permits are required to enter the reserve so access is limited. This means it can sometimes feel like you have the place to yourself even on a busy Sunday afternoon

Giant hummingbird; Patagona gigas; Ecuador.; places ecuador; Antisana Reserve;

shining sunbeam hummingbird; Aglaeactis cupripennis; Ecuador.; places ecuador; Antisana Reserve;

Our first stop was a coffee shop near the entrance to the Antisana Reserve. It’s called Tambo Condor. www.tambocondor.com This is a great place to stop for coffee or a snack but we were there for the hummingbirds. The feeders attracted giant hummingbird (on the right above) and shining sunbeam (on the left.) Andean condors roost on the cliffs across the valley.

On the day we visited, the skies were clear and sunny. Wind was howling, though, but we were prepared and dressed for it.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Gary and I got everyone out of the motor coach when we were high on the paramo for a fun time chasing and photographing carunculated caracaras and Andean lapwings. It was cold, the altitude was killing us, but it was fun.

We ate box lunches at the lagoon. It was too cold and windy to eat outside so we used the coach as a shelter. We got in and out depending on the birds outside.

Andean condor; Ecuador.; Antisana Reserve; Vultur gryphus Gary and our guide Nelson were great spotters. We saw Andean Condors six times during our visit. The last sighting was the best when an adult condor flew right over our heads and gave everyone a perfect opportunity for incredible photos.

Tomorrow — Hummingbirds of the Eastern Andes.

File Size

High ISO

Auto Focus

Conclusion

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: