Yellow Throated Sparrow

[Kiran Ghadge]

Clicked this weekend near Pune

Canon 50d
Canon 100-400 (Focal Length : 370mm)
Little bit cropped

Aperture Priority

Shutter : 1/60 sec (On Tripod)
ISO-100
F5.6
Spot Metered

[Rajan Kanagasabai]

Wow, Brilliant

The sharpnes, clarity and the whole frame screams class!!! Great Shot.

The Apreture and Shutter speeds point to either an early morning or a twilight shot (or a largely overcast sky through the day). What time was it Kiran ?

The other (maybe silly) question is, did you have the IS switched On ? The reason i ask is, i have this lens and have seen the IS whine and moan on low apreture and shutter settings like this one (sometimes even annoyingly). I guess the Gyro's are on overdrive trying to compensate the low settings, but just curious . . . .

Rajan

[Ranbir Mahapatra]

Being a fellow Sigma len user, I concur with your Rajan. The lens does whine and groan when the IS is turned on. A peculiar problem with my lens is the fact that it hunts for focus before locking...and that takes quite some time. At times I have found it to be a major battery drainer.

About the image; you have incorporated the perch well in the composition Kiran! Overall, a pleasing image.

[Rajan Kanagasabai]

Hi Ranbir, i was actually talking about the Canon EF 100 - 400 L which Kiran has used for this shot and i have one of them as well.

Honestly, i find the Canon groaning and whining more on low apretures and shutter speeds than the Sigma. I use a Sigma APO 150-500 OS (Equivalent of Canon's IS) and on the OS2 mode, i did notice the hunt more pronounced.

Rajan

[Mrudul Godbole]

Good Shot.Nice clear background.Liked the composition.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Kiran,
Lovely image. The open beak is the icing on the cake. I would have loved a higher shutter speed. People should learn how to move close to birds and get those shots at 400mm.

Rajan,
Any lens will hunt in low light. You have to use the focus limiter switch. That reduces hunting. Also, in low light try to manually turn the focus ring. That helps in acquiring focus faster. The focus speed is also dependent on the camera body. Any lens will focus faster on the 1 series bodies than others. However, the AF system of 50D is very good. Initially I had problems in adjusting to the 40D as I was used to the superb AF of the 1DII.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Rakesh Dhareshwar]

Almost perfectt shot ...I would have left a wee bit more space on the right side of the bird .

[SangeetaDhanuka]

VoW!!!! SUPER