Best Of
Small Birds with the Canon R3 and the EF 100-400 IS V2 and a couple 1.6 Crop Factor Images
In my previous thread - https://dgrin.com/discussion/268132/a-few-birds-and-other-critters-from-south-texas#latest - I mentioned that I had ordered the Canon R3 body last October 2021. It finally arrived in late April of this year, and I have spent the last 4 weeks chasing small birds in west central Indiana with the R3 body, and an EF 100-400 IS v2 + a version III 1.4 tele-converter that I already owned. This gave me a 560mm f 8 lens for my R3 body. I wanted to see how the AF faired at f8, and how the IBIS worked with the non-RF lens. I own and use an RF 100-500 on my R5, but this post is about the R3.
The lighter weight of the R3, compared to my 1DX Mk II, is appreciated, the inbody IBIS allows me to hand hold lenses that I would otherwise need a tripod with a standard DSLR. The larger LP-E19 battery means I don't usually need to carry a couple extra batteries for an afternoon of shooting, like I might with the R5. The viewfinder in the R3 is a joy to use with no apparent blackouts which are so disturbing if you are shooting birds in flight.
A catbird in front of rhododendron bush 560mm, f8, 1/800th, ISO 2500. This image, like most of these posted here, are significant crops, barely 1/4 of the full frame image. The R3 is 4000 x 6000 pixels, or 24 Mbts in size which is 25% bigger than the files from my 1DX Mk II
I have several frames of blue jays, here is one in the rhododendron bush with a peanut 560mm, f8, 1/800th, ISO 8000
This frame of a blue jay flying directly toward me at 1/800th second shows how well the AF system can be at f8 in the shade, 560mm, ISO 1600 - the eye seems pretty sharp
This cardinal was captured at 560mm, f8, 1/800th, at ISO 3200
I know a shutter speed of 1/800th is too low for birds in flight, but in deep shade with an f8 lens, what are you gonna do? The fact is that the combination of 1/800th and IBIS works pretty well for this body - better than I would have thought.
Now I am eager to see what Canon reveals in a couple weeks with the announcement of the APS-C R7 - A 32 MPxl mirrorless body with, hopefully, the AF and IBIS of the R3. We'll know more pretty soon
Any comments or questions about the images I have posted are heartily encouraged.
Two in black and white
An agave:
Strathcona Provincial Park, BC:
The first shot is recent but the second shot is from 2009. I thought I'd lost all the photos from that era when a drive crashed a few years back but it turned out that, unknown to me, Google Drive saved a few of the RAW files.
Southwestern autumn
Autumn is in full swing. Criticism would be welcome. I'd crop one differently if I weren't trying to stay with a 3X2 aspect ratio to avoid having to get custom mats and frames.
Katmai Bears
A collection of Alaska coastal brown bears taken on a Muench Workshops trip to Katmai. The coastal brown bears are essentially the same species as grizzlies but they live on the coast and eat fish all day. They actually grow larger than grizzlies due to the high protein and fat diet. The is probably the best place in the world to photograph bears because they're too busy fishing to bother with photographers. For the most part, we stayed in one place and the bears would come to us. Just amazing.
All pics taken with the Canon R5 and EF 100-400 MKII on an adapter with the exception of a few landscapes.
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16 We stayed on this ship

Road Trip
My wife and I tossed some gear into the van, and headed south on U.S. 395 Traveling through Washington and Oregon during the night, we found ourselves in the eastern Sierra Nevada's of California.
During the day we kept tracking amazing Lenticular cloud formations as we traveled south.
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Approaching Mono Lake we were still tracking the clouds.
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Next stop, Alabama Hills
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Alabama Hills welcome committee
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Visit to Riparian Preserve in Gilbert AZ this morning.
A Few of the obvious suspects from the ponds
Snowy White Egret
Gamble's Quail
European Starling after a bath
Gila Wood Pecker
White Pelican

Ice abstracts
Shots of gas bubbles in ice sheet - all focus stacks using zerene. Plus pharted versions (playing in PS)
Brian V.
Pharted versions of above