Post your best bird shots!

[neuroanatomist]

I gave up on waiting for the rain to stop, and just went out shooting late this afternoon with the 600 II. Thick, dark overcast, 1-2 hours before sunset, and under a canopy of trees, so as you can imagine the light was not great. The lens was. I spend about an hour, handheld shooting only - not a problem with the lens and 1D X, and my arms are fine tonight (I did have a BR strap connected to the lens foot, so when not shooting, the weight was on my shoulder).

Below are a couple of shots, a female cardinal and a purple finch (the latter, at ISO 1250, was the only shot of the day that was lower than ISO 2000!).

One revealing observation when doing the image triage - of the ~150 shots, there were only 2 shots that missed focus (and not by much), and a few more where subject motion resulted in blur (dropping off the perch, or shaking off water). That hit rate is far, far higher than I experience with the 7d + 100-400mm combo.

EOS 1D X, EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM, 1/250 s, f/4, ISO 6400

EOS 1D X, EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM, 1/320 s, f/4, ISO 1250

[HDNitehawk]

One revealing observation when doing the image triage - of the ~150 shots, there were only 2 shots that missed focus (and not by much), and a few more where subject motion resulted in blur (dropping off the perch, or shaking off water). That hit rate is far, far higher than I experience with the 7d + 100-400mm combo.

Very nice, the new 600mm looks like it is doing a fine job. It sounds like you are enjoying it.

Your observation defines one of the topics that pop up occasionally. The 1D IV gives a similar hit rate as you are seeing on the 1D X. The 1D IV has always given me an outstanding hit rate on all lenses, but the supertele’s even more so. The 7D never, ever performed so well even on the supertele's. When someone asks the question should they go with the 7D vs. 1D IV IMO the answer that matters the most is that the superior AF of the 1D trumps any perceived benefit of the additional crop. Anything else the 1D provides is just an added benefit.

I still think the biggest downside to having a 1D body with a super fast 12fps is all the additional time wasted on sorting and picking through near identical in focus pictures. I really try and keep my finger off the trigger, but it is hard. I can live with this big downside.