Is it a Hawk

[Snappers]

I'm not quite sure but the airiel display it gave us was something else.

[gjtoth]

Looks like a broadwing... maybe? :) Do you have a Sibley's?

[Snappers]

Looks like a broadwing... maybe? :) Do you have a Sibley's?

No I dont have a sibley's. I have found out what it is though.:)

It is a Common Buzzard. One of the largest species of hawk.

http://www.birdsofbritain.co.uk/bird-guide/buzzard.asp

[gjtoth]

Wow.... your buzzards sure look a LOT different then the ones we have soaring here! Buzzards here are almost all black.

[Snappers]

Wow.... your buzzards sure look a LOT different then the ones we have soaring here! Buzzards here are almost all black.


You have a lot warmer weather there, perhaps they are sunburnt:D:D Any pics of yours?

[gjtoth]

You have a lot warmer weather there, perhaps they are sunburnt:D:D Any pics of yours?

I don't know about that... it's pretty chilly here right now.

I'll try to snap a few when I see some. You'll be sorry, though! They are butt-ugly!

[Snappers]

There's no way they can be Butt-ugly, They are a beautiful bird. The way they soar majestically in the sky. They are really cool.:)

One thing I do know though, to get a better shot of these birds whilst in flight, I need a larger zoom lens as they soar quite high.

[gjtoth]

There's no way they can be Butt-ugly, They are a beautiful bird. The way they soar majestically in the sky. They are really cool.:)

One thing I do know though, to get a better shot of these birds whilst in flight, I need a larger zoom lens as they soar quite high.

What's your high end zoom now? Mine's 12X optical and 4.8X digital. I hesitate to use too much of the digital without a tripod. Even then, I don't like using all of it because of distortion and pixelation.

[Snappers]

I have two lenses
I have a Sigma 28mm - 70mm 1:2.8-4 DG d Lense and a Sigma 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 DG Lense. At the time of taking this pic I was using the 70 - 300mm and I think I was using it at the highest part 300mm. I did not have the tripod handy at the time as the opportunity arose whilst I was playing football! I had to get my camera quick and take the pics before it flew off.


The data for the pic is as follows,
ExposureTime : 1/640Sec, FNumber : F5.6, DateTimeDigitized : 2007:08:26 17:28:49 MaxApertureValue : F5.7, FocalLength : 300.00(mm),
WhiteBalance : Auto, DigitalZoomRatio : 1/1 FocalLength(35mm) : 450(mm)

[gjtoth]

I have two lenses
I have a Sigma 28mm - 70mm 1:2.8-4 DG d Lense and a Sigma 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 DG Lense. At the time of taking this pic I was using the 70 - 300mm and I think I was using it at the highest part 300mm. I did not have the tripod handy at the time as the opportunity arose whilst I was playing football! I had to get my camera quick and take the pics before it flew off.


The data for the pic is as follows,
ExposureTime : 1/640Sec, FNumber : F5.6, DateTimeDigitized : 2007:08:26 17:28:49 MaxApertureValue : F5.7, FocalLength : 300.00(mm),
WhiteBalance : Auto, DigitalZoomRatio : 1/1 FocalLength(35mm) : 450(mm)

YIKES! That's all Greek to me and my dog right now! Perhaps, after I finish the course it will make some sense. But for now... :eek:

[Snappers]

Lol. It doesnt make an awful lot of sense to me either yet!:)

Do you have detachable lenses on your camera or is it a fixed lense?

[gjtoth]

Lol. It doesnt make an awful lot of sense to me either yet!:)

Do you have detachable lenses on your camera or is it a fixed lense?

I have to use an adapter tube + lens. I have a UV, Circular Polarizing, Macro 10x, Close-up +1 +2 +4, and I just picked up a .42 Wide Angle converter on Peter's advice. I also got a slave flash on eBay since my camera doesn't have a hot shoe. I'm in the process of making a macro LED light ring from a spare adapter tube and an 12V LED light strip I got on eBay. Those buggers are just too expensive for what they are (an LED light strip wrapped around a adapter tube!). Hopefully, that's all I'll need for a while. My wife is getting a little edgy at the expenses... :D

[admin]

What's your high end zoom now? Mine's 12X optical and 4.8X digital. I hesitate to use too much of the digital without a tripod. Even then, I don't like using all of it because of distortion and pixelation.

Gary, forget about digital zoom. It's just a marketing gimmick and has nothing to do with the photo or camera quality whatsoever. Digital zoom means the camera will "stretch" the image pixels. It's just an effect, not real zoom. You're not getting any more details. It's exactly the same as when you zoom on the photo in Photoshop on your screen.

[gjtoth]

Gary, forget about digital zoom. It's just a marketing gimmick and has nothing to do with the photo or camera quality whatsoever. Digital zoom means the camera will "stretch" the image pixels. It's just an effect, not real zoom. You're not getting any more details. It's exactly the same as when you zoom on the photo in Photoshop on your screen.

Gotcha... I'll keep that in mind, for sure. Thanks.

[Snappers]

I'm in the process of making a macro LED light ring from a spare adapter tube and an 12V LED light strip I got on eBay. Those buggers are just too expensive for what they are (an LED light strip wrapped around a adapter tube!). Hopefully, that's all I'll need for a while. My wife is getting a little edgy at the expenses... :D

Wow, that sounds like fun. How do you make a macro Led light ring? I'd perhaps be interested in doing that myself. I know what you mean about the expenses, When I think about the equipment I'd like to buy, I have to hold myself back. I keep telling myself, once I have done the course, and have enough knowledge, I'll go into some kind of photography either wedding or school etc and make some money from my photograhpy and then as I do that, I can expand my equipment etc, make it pay for itself. But that is a long way off yet:)
It's nice to have something to aim at though isn't it.

Do you have a link to one of the macro led lights on ebay so that I can see what you are talking about?

[gjtoth]

Wow, that sounds like fun. How do you make a macro Led light ring? I'd perhaps be interested in doing that myself. I know what you mean about the expenses, When I think about the equipment I'd like to buy, I have to hold myself back. I keep telling myself, once I have done the course, and have enough knowledge, I'll go into some kind of photography either wedding or school etc and make some money from my photograhpy and then as I do that, I can expand my equipment etc, make it pay for itself. But that is a long way off yet:)
It's nice to have something to aim at though isn't it.

Do you have a link to one of the macro led lights on ebay so that I can see what you are talking about?

I believe I'll just keep my photography at the personal enjoyment level. Doing anything to make money takes the joy out of it for me.

Here's a link to a macro ring:

http://cgi.ebay.com/LED-Ring-Light-Macro-Flash-For-Canon-S3-S2-S1-G7-G6-G5_W0QQitemZ150186169834QQihZ005QQcategoryZ103419Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Since I already have a spare adapter tube, I purchased a flexible LED strip like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150187923440&ssPageName=MERC_VIC_RCRX_Pr4_PcY_BID_Stores_IT&refitem=150182308899&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=closed_view_item&usedrule1=CrossSell_LogicX&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget

and I'll just wrap it around the tube. How hard can it be?

[Snappers]

Ah right, I see what you mean now. I have used those led strips before in the car. They are very bright so you will have to be carful that it is not too bright for what you are shooting. Nice idea though, let me know how you go on.