American Kestrel

PrescottPhotog

Hi Everyone.. and HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

I haven't posted much lately, my Mark III died and went to the big Canon dealer in the sky.. so I was without a camera for a while.

I just got a 40D for the interim until the AF problems get worked out. It sure pays to have a dealer that you can count on. Mine came through in spades when nobody else would. If you want a dealer that will put the rest to shame email me and I will get you his name (and prices that will equal anyone).

I wasn't sure about the 40D when I first got it but today I hooked up my 500mm + 1.4 extender and got some fabulous shots. The 40D sure worked with this setup.. far better than my M3 ever did.

Here are a few almost untouched shots I got today.

These guys are pretty tough to capture but they sure are cute. But I saw one ripping apart a field mouse the other day.. they put the big guys to shame when chowing down on lunch.

If you look real close you will see something got one of his talons and he only has a nub on the outside, no claw.

The hovering shots were almost directly into the sun. I didn't think they would come out. Hope you like them.

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Maestro

Oh, very nice. I love kestrels. Your shots are very good! Nice to hear about your dealer and the 40D. I hope the MIII issues get worked out.

RogersDA

These are excellent.

I, too, am considering the 40D. I got to play with one from my uncle-in-law's camera shop. It is quite nice.

dbaker1221

fantastic set

jwear

great shots lot of folks not happy with the 111 but I was very unhappy with the d300 when it comes back you will be happy

BigAl

Super set Chris!

I've been pretty impressed with the AF on my 40d as well - you probably won't want the m3 back

PrescottPhotog

Maestro wrote:

Oh, very nice. I love kestrels. Your shots are very good! Nice to hear about your dealer and the 40D. I hope the MIII issues get worked out.

Hi Stephen.. Thanks for the comments. There have been so many Raptors around here lately. Every type of hawk you can thing of, big to small. The Kestrels hold their own even being so small.

PrescottPhotog

RogersDA wrote:

These are excellent. I, too, am considering the 40D. I got to play with one from my uncle-in-law's camera shop. It is quite nice.

Hi David.. Thank you for your comments. I have only been shooting the 40D for a couple days and it has taken some getting used to. I am having a real hard time with the small viewfinder. Being a 1.6 sensor it give a limited field of view so if you have a passing bird it is sometimes very hard to find them in time. Compared to the Mark III it is a world of difference. Other than that the camera operates and focuses wonderfully. You will love the main dial's 3 extra sets of custom settings.. This little trick needs to be on all of Canon's cameras in the future.

PrescottPhotog

dbaker1221 wrote:

fantastic set

Hi Dave, Thanks for your comments. I really wanted to get a few good shots of these guys. I love to watch them hover.

PrescottPhotog

jwear wrote:

great shots lot of folks not happy with the 111 but I was very unhappy with the d300 when it comes back you will be happy

Hi Jeff.. No, my Mark III is gone forever. After the sub-mirror fix it totally died. Hundreds of OOF shots. Finally after having it back about a week it started malfunctioning electronically in addition to not focusing at all even on a stationary object in one shot mode.

So after having it for 6 months my dealer stepped up and made things right and then overnighted me a 40D to boot (which I paid for of course). That is what I call going above and beyond anything he had to do by about 5 months and 15 days.

PrescottPhotog

BigAl wrote:

Super set Chris! I've been pretty impressed with the AF on my 40d as well - you probably won't want the m3 back

Hi Al, Thanks for your comments. The only problem I have with the 40D so far is the viewfinder. These old eyes of mine have a tough time finding the BIF's. The Mark III was like looking through a picture window. Other than that it is a really sweet camera. I captured some great "long" distance shots today that were spot on in focus.

Harryb

Excellent shots Chris. Sorry about yoiur camera problems. The Mark III looked so good it had me pondering a switch at one time.

Dennis Kaczor

Super series of the Kestrels, I love these birds.

jeff lapoint

Sorry to hear you got zapped in the whole 1D3 fiasco, but it looks like you'd make great photos even with a jacked sub mirror

PrescottPhotog

Harryb wrote:

Excellent shots Chris. The Mark III looked so good it had me pondering a switch at one time.

Thanks for viewing Harry. The Mark III.. what can I say. I really liked the camera and will get another when the bugs are worked out, or maybe the next version whatever that might be.

I'll tell ya though, the 40D doesn't have any focus problems. It's tough to capture BIF's though.. the AF point is very tiny when attached to a 300 or 500.

PrescottPhotog

Dennis Kaczor wrote:

Super series of the Kestrels, I love these birds.

Hi Dennis, Thanks for your comments. I really liked the way these shots came out. It's the first time I've been able to capture the real colors and details. The sun was in the perfect position for the shots.

Ric Grupe

One of my favorite birds!

Very well captured.

raptorcaptor

Great shots Chris! Like the backlit hovering shots best!