{"id":24103,"date":"2014-11-18T06:51:17","date_gmt":"2014-11-18T10:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/?p=24103"},"modified":"2014-11-19T12:35:12","modified_gmt":"2014-11-19T16:35:12","slug":"canon-ef-100-400mm-f4-5-5-6l-is-ii-usm-lens-first-impressions-and-first-two-keepers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2014\/11\/18\/canon-ef-100-400mm-f4-5-5-6l-is-ii-usm-lens-first-impressions-and-first-two-keepers\/","title":{"rendered":"Canon EF 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens: First Impressions and First Two Keepers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Streak Continues: 353<\/h3>\n

On Monday, day one of the “Bird Photography” video project that is being created by the Canon Digital Learning Center, everyone worked long and hard to complete six of the needed seven educational segments. As we were concentrating on creating educational content and getting it on tape, several decent photographic opportunities needed to be bypassed; when we returned to the refuge at about 1:30pm there were about 20,000 white geese in the main impoundment with dozens every minute braking in flight and landing right next to the road into the perfect southwest wind. They were so close to the photographers that you could have killed them with a hand held 70-200 and a 1.4X III TC (or with a 7D II). It killed me to drive by that situation as south winds are so rare at Bosque, but a deal is a deal and we needed to create three more educational segments that afternoon. Jeez, I almost forgot to mention that lots of single Snow and Ross’s Geese were floating in perfectly still blue water along with their mirror-image reflections…. As I say, you gotta love it. <\/p>\n

As part of the deal, the video and sound crew will follow me around on Tuesday morning while I visit my favorite early morning spots and actually getting to do some serious bird photography. Both video cameras will be hand held and most of what we create tomorrow will be done in an over-the shoulder, documentary style. Once the light gets too harsh for good photography we will create the seventh and final segment, “What’s in the Gear Bag?” We have affectionately been referring to that as “The Junk in the Trunk.” <\/p>\n

Everyone in the crew is as nice as could be and is incredibly professional. And that goes double for project director Jem Schofield whose most difficult task has been keeping me in line!<\/p>\n

My plan for this morning is to use the 100-400 II\/7D Mark II combo as much as possible, and I hope, of course, to be sharing some more 100-400 II images with y’all here soon. This blog post, the 353rd in a row, took about 2 hours to prepare. It was published from my hotel room in Socorro, NM at 3:51am, same as yesterday. <\/p>\n

E-mail Problems<\/h3>\n

Please be aware that I am having att e-mail problems and at present am not able to send or receive e-mails at my samandmayasgrandpa address. In addition, I am unable to access my ATT via webmail. I will be calling them after we wrap things up this afternoon. <\/p>\n

Fire in the Mist Fizzles… <\/h3>\n

Though conditions seemed perfect on Monday morning–it was a toasty 14 degrees at 6:00am yesterday, the mist dissipated as it got closer to sunrise. My prediction was close but no cigar. <\/p>\n

Please Help Support My Work on the BAA Blog<\/strong> <\/h3>\n

Thanks a Stack! October was a Great Month. <\/strong><\/h2>\n

The last six weeks have been quite rewarding month with more and more folks making it a habit to use my B&H links especially for their major gear purchases. It is great to feel appreciated. Thanks a stack to all who used our links for purchases large and small. <\/p>\n

To show your appreciation for my efforts here, we ask, as always, that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. B&H Is recommended for you major photography gear purchases, Amazon for your household, entertainment, and general purpose stuff. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store<\/a>, especially Gitzo tripods, Wimberley tripod heads, and the like. We sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. <\/strong><\/font> Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and visiting the BAA Online<\/a> store as well. <\/p>\n


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If what you’ve learned here on my blog about the Canon EOS-7D Mark II has inspired you to purchase this great new camera body, please consider using the logo link above to support our efforts here in bringing you the latest, greatest educational materials on daily basis.<\/center> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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This image was created on the late afternoon of November 17th while working on the seven-segment “Bird Photography” project that is being created by the Canon Digital Learning Center. I used a pre-production beta version of the new Canon EF 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens<\/a>, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III<\/a> (hand held at 146mm), and the Canon EOS 7D Mark II<\/a>. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1\/3 stops: 1\/500 sec. at f\/7.1 in Av mode. <\/p>\n

Central sensor (by necessity)\/AI Servo Expand\/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. Click here<\/a> if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version.<\/p>\n