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The light levels at this time of the year can be quite challenging in the Northern hemisphere and therefore I welcomed the performance improvements of the Olympus E5. I have already carried out a few tests to confirm the improvements but remained a little sceptiical as to the benefits that higher useable ISO might have in wildlife photography. I thought I would put this to the test by attempting to photograph the Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus) which is normally a shy and reclusive bird. Most of the time this bird spends deep in reedbeds but, at this time of the year ice, and a shortage of accessable food, forces the bird to range further and be more in the open.
The normal diet for these birds include insects, seeds, berries and small birds. The subject of these images had learnt that another food source (Stickleback fish) was readily available and had developed a duck-like technique to capture its prey.
The lighting was very poor being late in the afternoon. The sun was low and behind clouds. The location was a ditch with reed beds and vegetation on the banks which threw shade over the scene. I was using the Sigma 50-500 at fl 500mm and aperture set to f 6.3. The resulting shutter speed was only 1/125s - 1/250s at ISO 1600. Challenging conditions for the camera made more difficult by being hand-held with such a long focal length. The IS system would also be tested.
Click here for larger image.
Click here for larger image.
The bird was standing on the ice, checking to see if it was safe to move out towards the middle of the ditch.
Click here for larger image.
It moves out to the centre of the ditch where the ice is broken, looking through the ice for signs of its prey.
Click here for larger image.
Following a quick swim and head immersion, it climbs back on the ice with a fish.
Hope these images are of interest. I would not have attempted these shots with the E3. Sure, with better light and lower ISO I could have achieved better images but at least I did not lose an opportunity to get this bird in an image despite the conditions (over which I obviously had no control) being so poor.
Comments welcome, as always.
The normal diet for these birds include insects, seeds, berries and small birds. The subject of these images had learnt that another food source (Stickleback fish) was readily available and had developed a duck-like technique to capture its prey.
The lighting was very poor being late in the afternoon. The sun was low and behind clouds. The location was a ditch with reed beds and vegetation on the banks which threw shade over the scene. I was using the Sigma 50-500 at fl 500mm and aperture set to f 6.3. The resulting shutter speed was only 1/125s - 1/250s at ISO 1600. Challenging conditions for the camera made more difficult by being hand-held with such a long focal length. The IS system would also be tested.
Click here for larger image.
Click here for larger image.
The bird was standing on the ice, checking to see if it was safe to move out towards the middle of the ditch.
Click here for larger image.
It moves out to the centre of the ditch where the ice is broken, looking through the ice for signs of its prey.
Click here for larger image.
Following a quick swim and head immersion, it climbs back on the ice with a fish.
Hope these images are of interest. I would not have attempted these shots with the E3. Sure, with better light and lower ISO I could have achieved better images but at least I did not lose an opportunity to get this bird in an image despite the conditions (over which I obviously had no control) being so poor.
Comments welcome, as always.
as it is clearly a life-line for this bird. But please do not tell anyone
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