Super Telephoto

I was hoping to find some wildlife outside today... even if only a squirrel or chipmunk... so I could test a new super telephoto Canon lens I picked up recently. The weather was pretty nice but I was feeling rather lousy. Nevertheless, I pushed the crappy health aside (and all the nausea and pain that goes with it) and I still headed out to the backyard with my camera and new (used) lens in hand.  

So, not finding any wildlife to shoot left me with some withered old flowers and a few remaining leaves on tree branches. "Well... that is kind of a let down..."

One of the problems with shooting small subjects such as flowers and leaves with a long super telephoto lens is that these subjects are rather tiny... even smaller than typical song birds. I didn't see any of them either! Not only are these subjects small but I can only get so close to these subjects because every lens has a minimum focus distance. On long super telephoto lenses such as this one, this minimum focus distance is usually in the 10-12 foot range. If I'm any closer to my subject, it will not be in focus. That is a fair distance away from such small subjects and this was what I was stuck with today. 

So, I got a shot of a few leaves hanging off a branch... illuminated from the back and glowing a bright red... and, I got a shot of a withered flower, also illuminated from the back... and, I shot a branch that could have had a bird perched upon it. The photos are sharp... there is some nice micro-contrast... the background separation is nice... I still wish I had some more interesting subjects to shoot. 

Although not the most interesting subjects to shoot, I'm impressed with this lens and I'm looking forward to trying to capture photos of waterfowl and other wildlife when an opportunity presents itself.

This first photo I shot from a place where I would be to capture a bird on this branch... so... if there was a bird on this branch, I would have captured some nice detail!
Sony a7, Metabones IV adapter, Canon 400mm f5.6L lens

Sony a7, Metabones IV adapter, Canon 400mm f5.6L lens

Sony a7, Metabones IV adapter, Canon 400mm f5.6L lens


In hindsight, being that I knew I would be stuck shooting stationary small subjects, I should have grabbed an extension tube and tried that too. An extension tube would allow me to get closer to my subject. Maybe I'll give that a try next time....


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