Maximum pixels per duck

Gaffer · 31 Mar 2008 at 07:12

Against the advice of pretty much everyone, I went out and bought the Cannon EF 180 mm f/3.5L Macro USM with the singular purpose of getting more pixels per duck.

This is the result. Full frame (that's 5616 pixels across on the 1DsMkIII) and 100% crop.

Andrew

PaulStat · 31 Mar 2008 at 15:14

looks like an owl to me

Neil79 · 31 Mar 2008 at 15:38

PaulStat said:
looks like an owl to me

Its a deformed Duck

GeX · 31 Mar 2008 at 16:03

Neil79 said:
Its a deformed Duck

we're all deformed ducks

SDK^ · 31 Mar 2008 at 17:37

Nice and sharp but how useful will this be for birds not in controlled conditions?

Gaffer · 31 Mar 2008 at 17:43

Neil79 said:
Its a deformed Duck

It's a Tawny Duck.

Andrew

Gaffer · 31 Mar 2008 at 17:50

SDK^ said:
Nice and sharp but how useful will this be for birds not in controlled conditions?

The choice was inspired nearly a year ago by a particularly friendly robin. The robin would let me come close but the minimum focusing distance snookered me.

Andrew

Joe T · 31 Mar 2008 at 19:01

You can always use extension tubes on a long lens to get closer.

V-Spec · 31 Mar 2008 at 19:18

Those images are lovely, the 1Ds certainly does resolve more detail than any other DSLR, those images remind me of looking at slides taken on kodachrome..

Would certainly consider one if I wasn't saving for a 600 F4.

ElDude · 31 Mar 2008 at 19:57

V-Spec said:
Those images are lovely, the 1Ds certainly does resolve more detail than any other DSLR, those images remind me of looking at slides taken on kodachrome..

Would certainly consider one if I wasn't saving for a 600 F4.

Jebus, that's a pricey lens

Nice owl duck..thing

Gaffer · 31 Mar 2008 at 20:50

Joe T said:
You can always use extension tubes on a long lens to get closer.

Yes, but then you loose the infinity focus and while you're messing around, you would miss Molly weaving through the trees:

(The same 180mm lens but cropped to about half the width of the full frame)

Andrew

SDK^ · 31 Mar 2008 at 21:28

What is AF speed like? I have a Canon 100mm Macro lens and the AF is slow and hunts most times.

Gaffer · 1 Apr 2008 at 07:39

SDK^ said:
What is AF speed like? I have a Canon 100mm Macro lens and the AF is slow and hunts most times.

I would say it is pretty fast. But it does have a huge range down to 45cm WD, so if it does hunt, it takes a while. There is a zoom range switch to stop this. My experience (half a day's shooting with this lens) is that it very seldom hunts.

The focus range can take you by surprise. When I was trying to pan an owl flying low over the heads of the audience, I captured a nice crisp image of the bald spot on the head of the guy in front :-)

Likewise, in cages, when trying to focus on the bird, the AF will get the wrong idea and snap to a pin-sharp frame of the chicken-wire. Again, the focus range switch can help here.

Andrew