Portrait of a Pacific Black

[Grumpy John]

This post is in birds as the images are of a Pacific Black duck, but the real story is the lens used to take the image. I have had my Siggy 150-600 for quite a while now and I still have trouble with it as the combined weight of the 7D II and lens is 3.14 Kg and that is quite a bit to hold steady without a monopod or tripod. As a result my keeper rate when using this lens is not as good as with other lenses, my fault, not the lens. However when I get it right the results are fantastic.
These are two images from a burst sequence and are heavily cropped, IMHO the IQ is pretty damn good.

Any thoughts on IQ greatly appreciated.

EXIF data f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 800. Focal length at 313mm.

#1 Note the drop of water on the beak.


#2 Caught mid flight.

[HansE]

Def a couple of keepers. I would try and draw some attention to those drops at least highlight them like the lights on the waternear the duck

[kevinj]

Can`t fault these,sharp as a tack and exposure is spot on.It looks like your Big Siggy is a great lens,my big Tammy(150-600) still surprises me with it`s performance.Tamron and Sigma are producing some top class glass these days.

[Isac]

Nice work John. The drops add another point of interest. Good sharp images. I love the colours in the water.
I think this is what Hans meant by highlighting the drops. Just add a Curves Layer and fill with black.
start with settings I used as a guide (128,90), then brush over the drops on the mask with a white soft brush. Play with the curves until your happy

[wigz]

IQ looks excellent to me John. I know what you mean about the weight, as my Sigma 120-300 weighed just over 3kg on its own. I never calculated how much the D800 added to that. I’m rather skinny and not particularly strong, so was a bit surprised I managed it for so long.

I’ve now replaced it with a 1.5 kg lens - much easier to handle. I still have a bit of a chuckle when I see someone complaining about the weight of a 2kg lens.

Alan