Goldcrests anyone?

Here are a few more bird pics K-5/Sigma 500mm f4.5 EX DG/Sigma EF-610 DG Super/Beamer.


Goldcrest by ducatigaz, on Flickr


Goldcrest by ducatigaz, on Flickr


Goldcrest by ducatigaz, on Flickr


Goldcrest by ducatigaz, on Flickr
And Treecreepers to finish.


Treecreeper by ducatigaz, on Flickr


Treecreeper by ducatigaz, on Flickr

#3 & #4 are just gorgeous Gaz. #1 won't load for me .. but it could be a large pic and the internet here is really slow so it times out.

The weather here has been awful (until yesterday and today when it hit 22C and dry - mostly) but at least last Sunday was 13C and dry, not too bad ... except it brought out the masses into Changfeng park where I went birding, along with lovers, runners, fitness freaks, kung-fu practitioners, dueting would-be Chinese opera artists, musicians, linguists practising their French/English/German in the quiet shady areas and children of every size variety and hue you could imagine - along with all the vendors hawking their wares. The birds were higggggh up in the canopy and best I got was a nice White's Scaly Thrush, I wished it would have rained

I can't afford the Sigma yet (not unless I want to be lobotomised by the missus) but I've got some alternatives on the way that cost a little less and will partner the DA*300 - an old Sigma AF 400/5.6 that looks to be in great nick and a Tokina MF 300/2.8 to use the AFA x1.7 on. The better beamer is on order but will take 4-5 weeks to get here Still, even just an-snooped Metz makes a helluva difference in poor light.

Always look forward to seeing your excellent small bird shots.

3+4 for me too. Outstanding crispness

What superb shots youve captured here, so nice to see. How close where you when you took these shots?

These shots and the previous post were taken at about 5 metres the Sigma 500mm's minimum focus distance is 4 metres.

Stunning

Having a couple of goldcrests in the tree outside the window, my hat is doffed to anyone with the patience to capture them at all, let alone with such delightful compositions as these.

But am I the only one here that thinks they're a bit oversharpened?

I wonder if it's the flash giving the effect of over sharpening.

Have to say I am not a great fan of flash being used on bird pictures .. I prefer the more natural look.

The use of flash can bring out fine details
in bird feathers, which ambient light rarely does though direct sunlight can
sometimes produce a similar effect, when shining from the proper angle.

Very nice! I love it