Stodmarsh and Pegwell Bay visit 19/8/2017

Lovely sunny morning arrived at Stodmarsh NNR at 6am and proceeded to the reed bed hide, it was very quite just a few ducks and geese about, a Grey Heron in the distance was soon off on the wing when a large group of Grey Lags noisily arrived.
I set about testing with my 25mm extension tube (see post: Experimenting with 25mm Extension Tube On Canon EF 500mm f4 L IS.
A few fly pasts from a Marsh Harrier but nothing worth pressing the button for, it was that quiet I took a picture of a Wood Pigeon that dropped in for a drink.

Canon 5dmk4 700mm 1/800th f9 iso800

After a lot of nothing going on a Juvenile Female Kingfisher came in and as usual landed on the wrong perch sat there for 20 seconds before flying of over the reeds to look for some better hunting grounds.

Canon 5dmk4 700mm 1/640th f9 iso800

Its typical two perches to choose from one which is in the centre of the hides view is in full sun light, the other which is way off to the right hand side of the hide is in partial sunlight at that time of the morning and is really of no use to man or beast.

Canon 5dmk4 700mm 1/640th f9 iso800

I left Stodmarsh and headed off to Pegwell Bay, there have been reports of a Stone Curlew sighting so I thought I would go along and see what I could see, however knowing the terrain there it was doubtful if there would be an opportunity for a quality shot of it.

On arrival there was lots of activity both from cable laying works and the preparation for some fun run or something, I spotted this Female House Sparrow enjoying a breakfast of blackberries.

 Canon 5dmk4 700mm 1/1000th f9 iso800

I have never seen so much fruit on the trees and brambles, Apples, Pears in abundance, I was surrounded by the aroma of fruit smelled almost like a brewery ! this juvenile Goldfinch will no doubt be taking advantage of this bountiful harvest as autumn approaches.

 Canon 5dmk4 700mm 1/1250th f7iso200

I proceeded to walk up the coastal path, the tide was on the way in which tends to push the birds on to the shoreline, then the runners started, lots of them, to me that was a signal to go home for breakfast.

All in all quite a disappointing morning, but hey ho its always nice to get out in the fresh air.

 

Experimenting with 25mm Extension Tube On Canon EF 500mm f4 L IS

I was at Stodmarsh NNR very little going on so I decided to use the time and see just what effect putting a 25mm extension tube had on my 500.
I used a Kingfisher perch as the target I focused on a little red bug right at the tip of the perch, here is shot 1 this is my 500 + a 25mm Extension Tube

Canon5dmk4 500mm 1\332 f9 iso800

So the first thing you notice when using an extension tube is you can no longer focus to infinity, you do gain the ability to focus a bit closer than the Minimum Focal Distance (MFD) of your lens, I would estimate that instead of the MFD of 14.6ft with the tube it was more like 10ft so quite a difference and no real loss of quality either, on the downside the focal range is severely curtailed, I would guess that the maximum I could focus out too was around 13m.

Ok next up is no extension tube but adding a 1.4 x extender instead.

Canon5dmk4 700mm 1\512 f9 iso800

Again focusing on the little red bug, notice the magnification which is far superior to using the 25mm ext tube, if anything I would say that the quality of this shot is better than with the ext tube, we also have the ability to focus to infinity restored, our MFD is back to 14.6ft, quality is in my opinion better then the extension tube image plus magnification is better too.

So for my final attempt I use both the 1.4x and the 25mm extension tube !

 

Canon 5dmk4 700mm 1\332 f9 iso800

Ok with this configuration we do get a better magnification but the image is a lot softer, I also noticed that I could focus out to maybe 20m.

Summing up my quick test for me the obvious choice is always going to be the 1.4x extender, quality of shot, ability to focus to infinity wins hands down.

That said 25mm extension tube works wonders on my 70-200mm for a bit of close up work.

My Custom Settings And Preferences

Lets start by saying that my custom settings have evolved over the last few years and changed with the various camera bodies that I have had,
Canon 30d, Canon 5dmk2 followed by a mk3 and currently a mk4.
Again I must stress that there are no wrong and right settings its all about what works for the individual.
The mk4 has some really nice custom settings available, nearly all the buttons can be re-programmed to suite an individuals photography needs, I do like to keep it as simple as possible though.
Seeing as I mainly shoot birds and wildlfe I have my settings tweaked to make life as easy as possible for me out in the field, I need to be able to switch from a static bird setting to a Birds In Flight (BIF) setting at the drop of a hat.
In order to achieve a BIF setting at the drop of a hat I have set C3 up as my goto BIF setting a quick press of the button and a spin of the selector and I am at C3, you might ask why not use C1 as you dont have to spin the selector so far, well being an old git I cant remember where any of the settings are but I do know C3 is the last one so I can turn the selector without looking at it and know for sure that I am going to hit my BIF setting everytime, sometimes you dont get a second chance, if you mess up its over in a flash and the opportunity is gone.

 Bearded Tit

Canon 5dmk4 @ 700mm 1\400th f8 iso200

OK my basic BIF settings are set to TV mode 1\1600th, Auto iso with an upper limit of 800, +1ev, AI Servo AF, High speed continuous, I can quickly change the shutter speed and adjust ev if required but the above settings are a good place to start for me.
I also have Case 2 slightly tweaked selected for BIF, I always shoot with white balance set to "daylight" and picture style set to "Faithful", as I always shoot in RAW most of these can be tweaked in post processing.
One thing I was shown when I first got my 30d was to use the "AF-ON" button setup to back button focusing, I have used this ever since, on the 5dmk4 however you can customise this button and the "AE Lock" button, and whats more you can set up a whole host of  other settings on these buttons which can transform the ease of moving from spot AF for sitting birds to AF Expand for moving birds.
I have the following custom Settings:
Shutter Button set to "Metering Start" Only

AF On Button Set to "Metering and AF Start"
In The AF On Sub Menu I have set the following:
AI Servo Characteristic = Case 1 Versatile Multi Purpose
AF Operation = AI Servo
AF Area Selection Mode = Spot AF

AE Lock Button Set to "Metering and AF Start"
In The AE Lock Sub Menu I have set the following:
AI Servo Characteristic = Case 2 (Tweaked) Continue to Track Subjects Ignoring Possible Obstacles
AF Operation = AI Servo
AF Area Selection Mode = Expanded AF

 Cock Linnet 

Canon 5dmk4 @ 700mm 1\400th f8 iso200

So for a bird perched I use the AF On button to aquire focus using spotAF to get accurate focus on the area of the bird that I want, and then shutter button to take the shot, if I release the AF On button I retain focus on the bird this acts as one shot AF.
If the bird decides its had enough and flys off I switch to AE lock button, I then have a larger area to obtain focus, it also switches to case 2 in the AF characteristics to help me keep focus locked onto the bird.
I think Canon missed a trick here they should have given the option to also set the shooting mode and relevant shutter speed and or aperture.
I hope that all makes some sense, please feel free to comment and open up discussions and add your own suggestions.
 

My Camera Settings

Just for the record I shoot with Canon bodies and lenses, over the few years that I have been back into photography I have built a decent kit up, made lots of stupid purchases along the way mainly because I am stupid and tried to do stuff on the cheap, partly because I couldn't find the information I wanted and thought I would give it a go, as you do, only to regret spending money on something that either didn't do what it said it would or just did it badly, sometimes you cannot compromise on quality and price.

Currently I am shooting with a Canon 5dmk4 which I have only had for about 2 months, I was looking to replace my 5dmk3 and was a bit torn between getting a 5dsr, a 5dmk4 or a second hand 1dx.
After doing hours of research and reading lots of reviews and taking my photography requirements into account I plumped for the 5dmk4 as it is a little more versatile than the 5dsr has a faster frame rate and has newer technology than the 1dx, plus its brand new.
Am I pleased with it to date ? yes I am, when it churns out images like the Sedge Warbler below then whats not to like.

Sedge Warbler

5dmk4 @ 700mm 1\1250th f7.1 iso640

Anyway I digress from the theme of camera settings. I will do a separate post with regard to AF or purple tab.
I stress these are my settings that work for me, there are no right and wrong settings as far as I am concerned, if it works for you then it right for you.

Red 1

1.  Image Quality = RAW
2. Dual Pixel Raw = Disable
3. Image Review = 4 sec
4. Beep = Disable
5. Release Shutter Without Card = Off
6. Lens Aberration Control all settings under this are disabled

Red 2

1. ISO Settings
2. ISO speed = Auto
3. Range for Stills = 100-3200
4. Auto Range = 100-800
5. Min Shutter Speed = Auto
6. Auto Lighting Optimiser = Off
7. White Balance = Daylight
8. Colour Space = sRGB

Red 3

1. Picture style = Faithful
2. Long exp noise reduction = off
3. High ISO speed NR = Standard
4. Highlight tone priority = Off

All other settings under Red 3 are disabled
All settings under Red 4 are disabled or Off
All settings under Red 5 and Red 6 are untouched

I will deal with Purple AF tab later.

Everything under Blue tab 1 and 2 remain untouched.
Blue 3

1. Highlight alert = Enable
2. AF Point Display = Enable
3. Playback Grid = Off
4. Histogram Disp = Brightness
5. Movie Play Count Rec Time
6. Magnification (apx) = 8x
7. Ctrl over hdmi = Disable

Yellow 1

1. File Numbering = Continuous
2. Auto Rotate = On

Yellow 2

1. Auto Power Off = 4min
2. LCD Brightness = + 2 stops
3. LCD colour tone = Standard
4. Viewfinder Display = All Off
5. Touch Control = Standard

Yellow 3 all options remain untouched

Yellow 4

1. HDMI frame rate = Auto
2. GPS Settings = All disabled
3. Communication settings = All Disabled

Yellow 5
Custom Shooting Mode I have set up a Bird In Flight profile which is registered to C3
Copyright Information is filled in with my details.

Orange 1
Both Exposure level and ISO speed setting are set to 1/3 increments

1. Bracketing Auto Cancel is ON
2. Bracketing Sequence is -0+
3. Number of bracketed shots  = 3
4. Safety Shift = Off
5. Same Expo = Off

Orange 2 Nothing changed on this tab
Orange 3 Only Custom Controls  have been changed on this tab (I will deal with these later)
Orange 4 and 5 nothing changed on these tabs

Green Tab I haven't changed anything here.

That's pretty much how I have the camera setup, I will deal with Custom Settings and AF in a separate post.

Oare Marshes

Arrived at Oare 0600 quite a lot of cloud about initially but it soon cleared to reveal a beautiful sunny morning with light winds, perfect conditions for Bearded tits to be climbing up the reeds to feed which is what I am after today.

Juvenile Reed Warbler

Canon 5dmk4 700mm f7.1 1\800th iso 800

I set off from the car park along the sea wall heading toward the seawall hide, pretty quite but at least no dog walkers or joggers (yet) spotted the above almost straight away, a few yards further on round the corner from the seawall hide I came across a bush full of juvenile Linnets sitting preening in the sun.
The berries on the bush made a nice addition to the picture

Juvenile Linnets preening in the early sun

Canon 5dmk4 700mm f9 1\800th iso 800

Juvenile Linnet preening in the early sun

Canon 5dmk4 700mm f9 1\800th iso 800

Juvenile Linnet preening in the early sun

Canon 5dmk4 700mm f7.1 1\800th iso 800

Juvenile Linnet soaking up the early sun

Canon 5dmk4 700mm f7.1 1\1250th iso 800

I carried on walking up towards the sluice several flocks of Black Tailed Godwits flew off over the estuary.

 One of many flocks of Black tailed Godwits flying off of Oare out over the estuary.

Canon 5dmk4 700mm f6.3 1\1600th iso 500 +1ev

Then I saw a Grey Wagtail again a juvenile, there was a pair of them but I only managed to get a shot of one of them before they flew off.

 Juvenile Grey Wagtail

Canon 5dmk4 700mm f7.1 1\1250th iso 800

A bit further along I spotted a Whimbrel lurking in the grass out on the creek.

Whimbrel

Canon 5dmk4 700mm f7.1 1\1025th iso 800

I went up over the sluice nothing of interest as of yet I had not heard or seen any Bearded Tits !!

The joggers and dog walkers were arriving by the bucket load which means it is time for me to reverse route and head back to the car park, on the way I noticed a big fresh pile of dog shit politely left behind by one of the recent dogs, FFS if you got a dog clear up after it !!

If it was down to me they wouldn't be allowed to walk dogs round there at all, quite a few are still off the leads as well which annoys me its a Nature Reserve if you must walk them there keep em on a lead !!

I did see two Beardies but too far away for pictures.

Nothing else of any interest, packed up and went home for some breakfast and a cuppa !

My flikr site link

My pictures can be found on flikr at the following location:

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/92090785@N03/

Just click on the link and it should open up in a new window, please feel free to like and leave comments.

And if you want to buy any of my pictures or use them in publications etc please add a comment on the blog and I will be notified via email.

Fri 11.8.17 Oare Marshes

Weather and wind are looking favourable, so off to Oare it is as long as I hear my alarm, batteries are charged, bags are packed lets see what the morning brings !!