DSLR Photography Forum

I took this shot yesterday of a duck washing itself.
It would dip its head underwater and then flick it back, splashing water over its back. It would then shake the water off vigourously.

Needless to say I am very impressed with this camera. It seems to deal with situations like this with ease. The duck's feathers are razor-sharp when viewed at 100%, and the colours and contrast are spectacular. 800iso is also wonderfully noise-free, allowing me to use it without giving a second thought to any loss of IQ.
It looks like my PP time will be cut dramatically from now on, as so many shots come out of the camera looking just how I want them to.

Aren't ducks beautiful birds to photograph?...

Very beautiful picture, Kombi...

Truely amazing image. Can you post some average ones now and then to make me feel better about myself?

I am pleased you like the camera so much, I think we all appreciate what you can do with it.

Wow! F/2, off-centre subject, varying distances, movement... perfectly sharp and excellent depth of field. I'm really impressed.

Very impressive ISO performance - and a great shot all around.

Kombi - fantastic image. The 135 combined with the Mark 3 and your talent certainly are a formidible weapon.

Thanks for the kind comments everyone.
I feel like a bit of a fraud with this shot though, as it is the camera and lens that makes the shot rather than me.

I just pointed at the duck and held down the button machine-gun style! With 10fps and ducks that are happy to sit there washing themselves and ignoring me, the only tough part about this shot was having to wade through the 125 RAW files I ended up with in DPP to find the best shot.
Surprisingly, the hit rate was very high among those 125 shots. There are shots where the AF focussed on water rather than duck understandably, but hardly any where it was left not focussed on anything or caught mid-way between subjects. Beyond that, every shot had really interesting water splashes and contorted duck parts in it!

Here's another shot - The duck is ducking its head under in order to scoop water over its back... this time the AF is on the duck's bill and water splash and the shallow DOF means it's eyes drop out of focus unfortunately, but I love the shape of the water.

Wow, very sharp. Looks like you are enjoying your new toy....

Sharon

That is the oddest photo of a duck that I have ever seen. But that's not a bad thing -- it makes for a very interesting image.

wow beautiful

Unbelievable!

That seems as though you are underwater, looking up at the duck.

Too cool, Especially the second one. Have a similar image, but it's a goose. Your timing was spot on!

John

Excellent ad of both the camera and you, old chap.
I do agree with smarti: please post a few howlers now and then to help me with my self-worth issues...