Artic Wolf + REPOST ( c )

Gallery: POP PhotosPosted November 26, 2015489 views8 comments

Since more then a year I have started photographing more regulary again and since then also thoughts about a new camera gear raised up. I have been using my Canon EOS 30D for 9 years and I also thought it is time for a technology update as well.

Due to having invested in many Canon lenses it was obvious to have a look at Canon first and my interest was a Canon 7D MKII altough I have read and seen in many reviews that NIKON in the mean time has the better sensors ( Sony ). Because of that I also considered a system change and with that in my mind I also started looking to others like NIKON and Olympus which have a very nice ED 2.8/90-250 ( 180 - 500mm full frame ) that can be used with a 1.4x and 2x extender.

After going to some options I decided to stay with Canon and bought the Canon EOS 7D MKII, mainly because of the big investment I made in the lenses a few years ago, but also because the 7D MKII uses the AF technology of the 1Dx and over the years I have liked more and more the APS-C format. Also the improvemets I have seen in reviews concerning noise at higher ISO was another point that was important for me, since the 30D already starts to get noticeable noisy above ISO 800.

Yesterday I have had a first chance to test my 7D MKII outdoors and it was the right weather for it, cloudy, snowy and rainy; a good chance to test the camera at higher ISO.

Therefore I drove to a close nature reserve that have also many interesting animals captive like this artic wolfs.

After being there for nearly 3 hours ( it started raining too much ) I drove home and started evaluating my pictures. Quickly I learned that I needed to spent more time in learning about the AF system because it has a lot of settings, which probably leaded to many unsharp pictures.

Anyhow I managed to get some technically fine images and I also noticed that the colors the camera is delivering are more "natural" as with my 30D. Also the white balance ( WB ) seems to work more acurate as Brad mentioned in one of my post. From that perspective I am very pleased, but as the image shows, also the accurancy in colors at higher ISO is very nice. I also have the impression that the dynamic range is higher since under the given conditions the camera managed to get good details in the bright and darker areas.

From the first impressions I am very happy with the decision and now it is time to use the new gear more intensively to learn more about the various AF settings which are in my opinion a bit too much choices ...

That is why I am looking for some hints from you concerning an apropiate AF setting for wildlife and avian photograhpy. I have opened a thread in the "Photo Gear" Forum to discuss that:

http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/bbs.cgi?a=vm&mr=78577&CGISESSID=b26206b5880f50f4ec5a54b1247d40db&u=12515

Canon EOS 7D MKII, EF 2.8/300L, F5.6, 1/250s, ISO1600, tripod

Processed with Canon Digital Photo Profesional, WB cloudy, converted to TIF and final setups with Photoshop CS2, like resizing, sharpening, but keeping full frame.

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Stephen Kaluski on November 26, 2015 at 9:22 AM

Hi Cay-Uwe, I find it again, a wee bit tight all round, a bit more space for the subject to 'breathe' I feel would be good. By all means try and compose as much 'in camera', but allow some room for manouver at the final stage in PP. Tonally I find it a bit 'flat' as there are no real 'forms' to provide stucture to the image, a bit of light & dark helps to bring the 2D capture more into 3D. Personally I leave the WB to auto and change it in PP, in that way I have more control and errors do not occur in leaving it on pre-sets, however always recovered at the PP stage if needed.

There isn't IMHO a 'silver bullet' for AF, 7D, like the 5D & 1DX you also need to configure the Cases too to maximise you whole AF, especially with moving subjects like BIF.

TFS
Steve

Registered on March 25, 2007, 189 Posts, 1064 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on November 26, 2015 at 9:24 AM

Hi Uwe,

Unfortunately (in this case), the posting guidelines in the Wildlife Gallery have changed over the last few years and shots of captive animals are no longer permitted. I find this super unfortunate in this case as I hate to deprive the wildlife gallery members of your commentary here. If you look at the posting guidelines you'll see that you can post shots of captive animals like this in the POP gallery.

I have taken the liberty of moving this image to the POP gallery. I hope you don't mind!

Cheers...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Marella on November 26, 2015 at 11:41 AM

Cay-Uwe, I agree with Stephen that it 's a little tight, and a slight boost in contrast and maybe a touch of vibrance would give the wolf a little more separation from the background. As far as auto focus. I find that using the center point with expansion points around it works well and stops the multi focus points from grabbing the wrong part of the image. You can also move the focus points around for compositional purposes, or use the center, back focus, and the recompose after focus is achieved.

Looks like you're near a pretty nice nature reserve.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 142 Posts, 862 Comments

Comment posted by Cay-Uwe Kulzer on November 27, 2015 at 12:53 AM

Brad,

no problem. I did not knew that and shows for how long I was absence.

Steve,

I only photograph in RAW and therefore any setting I may have can be changes again with DPP.

Jerry,

thanks for the hint with the AF setup. After reading the manuals I came to the conclusion that that setup is probably a good point to start with and as Steve stated then one still has the option to adapt, it the situation allows it.

In general, as said, it was a very overcasted day and I am happy with the results so far. Wil check what I may do with some contrast, etc. tuning.

Registered on January 27, 2004, 494 Posts, 4021 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on November 27, 2015 at 12:58 AM

It is a bit tight, but considering this was somewhat of a test shot, looks OK. A bit more contrast would be nice, but considering it was a rainy day again a decent image. As far as AF, just keep trying different settings with different situations. I think you will find there is no one setting fits all. Thanks for sharing.

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

Comment posted by Cay-Uwe Kulzer on November 27, 2015 at 2:47 AM

That is what I always have like dabout NPN, the users tend to challenge sad

OK, here is a repost going for more contrast. To avoid the background snow to get too hot, I have darken the overall image about -0.33 stops, excluding the eyes and nose to avoid detail loos and then increased contrast in such a way that the snow was not overexposured.

I have to admit, a big change and hope I have driven it not to far with my tweaks enlightened

Registered on January 27, 2004, 494 Posts, 4021 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on November 27, 2015 at 9:35 AM

Real nice wolf portrait. I prefer the original post. I find the repost too contrasty. If it were mine, I would create a Vibrance layer and pop Vibrance up quite a bit, leaving the contrast as is. Beautiful animal and nice capture of it.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on November 27, 2015 at 3:11 PM

Cay-Uwe,
this is a wonderful shot. My only feedback it that it is cropped a little close for my taste. If you were seeking a specemin shot, this is it. Beautiful animal!

Registered on March 13, 2011, 326 Posts, 1679 Comments