Eagle (zoo)

Gallery: AvianPosted October 21, 2014205 views6 comments

This is a repost of an earlier eagle photo, but I realized I had forgot a couple of steps so deleted it and posted this version. The eagle, Beauty, is a non-flighted bird from Alaska. She has laid eggs at the zoo, but none have hatched. She is a good test subject for me as I can compare this photo to very similar ones taken with other gear. Your comments are requested.

Canon PS SX60
1/1000 @ F-6.5 ISO 400
Canon 3.8-247 @ 247mm (35mm= 1365mm)
HH

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on October 21, 2014 at 10:29 AM

Hi John:

I did see the earlier post and wondered what happened. I think this one is better (brighter) than the last. The white feathers in the lower right look to be lost due to over exposure. I'm left wanting for more light in the eye. A small amount of fill flash could help. Can the SX60 do that? Looking at the larger version, I'm surprised I'm not able to see more fine detail in the feathers. At ISO 400, I would have expected more. Was NR applied? How close to full frame is this? I see this is at the full zoom capability of the camera.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on October 21, 2014 at 11:56 AM

Keith, I forgot to shift from flash to daylight setting, and posted the jpeg image instead of the RAW converted jpeg image which I adjusted for light balance. Did use some noise reduction. Think I should have used a monopod or tripod with the extreme lens zoom. Thanks for your comments.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on October 21, 2014 at 3:09 PM

I like the profile shot, John. The background is very complementary. Keith Bauer has covered most of the gaps well. I feel the image is a little soft and has some noise in it. There is also a bluish tinge. Some processing of the RAW image even in Canon's own software may enhance this.

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Thompson on October 21, 2014 at 8:40 PM

I agree with Keith and Govind's comments John. The detail looks pretty good around the eye and beak but the feathers seem softer than they should. It is a very nice profile and comp.

Registered on August 7, 2014, 125 Posts, 2319 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on October 23, 2014 at 12:09 PM

A nice portrait. Beauty was looking pretty good when you got this shot; she's not always quite this handsome.

I'm puzzled by the softness of the neck and back of head feathers. At f6.5 I'd expect more depth of field. Perhaps a slower shutter speed and smaller aperture?

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on October 23, 2014 at 3:02 PM

Hello John, I guess the noise is showing too much.... Indeed and tripod and maybe shutter speed would have done the trick for bringing the noise down and getting it sharper. Since these birds sometimes will be still for a second, 1/60s with tripod could have worked well I guess... Cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments