First Shot with the 600

First Shot with the 600

June 28, 2013

Well, as dead as Cherry Creek is these days, I managed to get an excellent series of photos of a Western Kingbird as the first shots with my new lens. Usually a shot like this would be a setup shot, carefully executed to attract the bird with food, and supply a perch for it to rest on while it eats. This featured photo is 100% off the cuff, entirely natural, shot hand-held, without any setup of any kind. Quite a shot for the first one with a new $13,000 lens, I must say! 😀

The sharpness of the EF 600mm f/4 L IS II is simply phenomenal. Literally second to none, razor sharp, even at considerable distance.

Above is a cropped sample for sharpness comparison. My 100-400 used to be sharp before it was dropped, and lately it hasn’t been sharp at all. I haven’t seen a feather tine in ages, a fine detail aspect of birds I love. I have some shots from last fall and early winter with the 100-400 where this kind of detail can be seen, however with one important distinction: I was more than twice as close! This detail was captured from over 50 feet away from the bird, which simply blows my mind! Even the eye is incredibly clear, something I’ve never really achieved with the 100-400 unless I was exceptionally close, a feat only allowed when I was in a hide.