Between rain showers Saturday, I was going outside and practicing my panning by taking pics of birds flying in and out of the barn. I was really proud of my 7D and it's ability to hang in there (as far as focus goes) while I was trying to keep up with them. The first is just a shot for the "focus proving" grounds. I had my 70-200 set at 200. As fast as he was going and darting in and out of trees, it still held focus that far out on something so small. The one below that is a crop done in LR3 so you can see the bird.


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My big question is how do you guys keep the birds looking so good as far as color goes. Mine always come out skanky. I know how the light hits off of them is huge, and everyone shoots manual at high speeds. I'm iffy on the aperture and assume 2.8 is okay on a lens like this but drives the shutter up WAAAY high. The white balance prolly has the most to do with it I guess. I'd meter the sky, but never know which way the buggers are coming or going. Here's a pic of what I end up getting. I'd love to see more of his head without PS'ing something fake in there. INFO:70-200 set on 200mm @2.8 ISO 100, 1/5000 sec.


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