Wild Turkey Portrait - With New Toy And A Happy Mistake!

[Daniel Cadieux]

• Canon EOS R6
• EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4x III
• ƒ/5.6
• 700mm
• 1/1250s
• ISO 51200
• Daniel Caxieux
• Sun, 21 November 2021 8:51 PM
• Daniel Cadieux
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 11.0 (Windows)

Well, the time has come....the time to retire the 7DII after a great run with it (going on 7 years :eek3. I was going to use it until it breaks, but it is such a workhorse that I don't think it would have broken anytime soon! Anyhow, onwards and upwards with the R6. What can I say except that in retrospect I wish I had switched to mirrorless sooner.

On my first "real" outing with the new camera, and in the excitement of playing around with it, I just could not figure out why the image kept getting brighter in the viewfinder every so often, so I just added more shutter speed to level things out when that happened. After a while I figured out that I kept accidentally bumping up the ISO, which I assigned to one of the dials. This had never happened to me before, so I initially ignored that possibility. Well, it turns out I was up to ISO 51200 by the time this image was created. ISO 51200? Are kidding me? Lol, so I kept the frames to test them out in post processing. Why not eh! Well, turns out the files were quite usable - looking better (or at least equal to) than ISO 3200 on the 7DII. What a happy mistake in the field that was, if only to convince me that high ISO on these mirrorless cameras truly are high.

Canon R6 + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC III, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/1250., f/5.6, ISO 51200, natural light, handheld, FF, topaz denoise on the image, but all other processing workflow identical to before.

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Dan, well a huge congratulations in moving into the brave new world of Mirrorless, the 7D2 has done a stalwart job over the last ten years, delivering some fantastic images, but time to retire it as you say, but I'm sure on occasion it will have an airing. The R6 I think is the perfect choice Dan, juxtapose to the R5, it's more flexible and better in terms of ISO and with variable light to shoot in, you will enjoy it far more. :cheers:

Perhaps now, folk may reflect on this posting and see, that if you need to push ISO to gain more SS and or DoF you can still deliver usable images, well certainly for Social Media, but ultimately images need to be well exposed. Obviously no need to go to these dizzy heights, but pushing to 3200, 6400 +... todays cameras can take it, they are designed too and not let old habits hamper obtaining the capture.

The overall image is very striking with the Autumnal backdrop providing lovely separation. Great detail and you retained the iridescent colour in the plumage, perhaps this could go tonally slightly darker? As presented with the head parallel I think its fine, some may wish for a slight turn towards, either works IMHO.

Looking forward to seeing more in the coming weeks Dan and I'm glad you have finally released this news. :5

TFS
Steve

 

[Volkan Akgul]

hi Daniel,


I'm happy with the R6. Use it with a smile. iso 51200 Happy new year


Congratulations.

 

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very nice indeed Dan, I would not have guessed such a high ISO, the details and colours look excellent.

 

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Daniel ... congrats to your new camera !!!
Funny and very realistic story behind the image ..... very nice !!!
A typical " Cadieux " image ....:5

Great to see such good outcome , even with that crazy high Iso . Enjoy the learning curve in the new world of mirrorless .... we are in the boat at the moment . I just see pros & cons !

Tone and color looking quite good ... but can understand Steve asking for more depth in parts .

TFS Andreas

 

[sasan nejadi]

Hi Dan ... congrats to your new camera ,the perfect choice :cheers:

 

[William Dickson]

Congrats on the new camera....Nice capture and I really like the colours throughout.....No more low ISO's for you now....:S3:.....I must say that you created some beautiful stuff with the 7D Mk2....can't wait to see your images from now on....Maybe even better!! if that's possible .....

Will

 

[Randy Stout]

Great story Daniel:

Keep practicing so you are ready to go in the spring!! Hopefully warmer weather and some rose colored birds!

Randy

 

[Dorian Anderson]

I would not have suspected the extreme ISO without your story, so that's a good sign! Exposure and detail look great. I would told you to close down for more DOF across the back and neck, but that woulda put you at ISO 100K! Fall background is pretty regardless.

I still have my 7D2 and trot it out when I'm birding first. Coupled with the 100-400 II, its the perfect walk-around rig. It's great that the R5/6 and 7D2 take the same battery. Makes an easy pairing for travel!

 

[Brian Sump]

Daniel, welcome to the Canon R world my friend! You just crushed with the 7D and I think we're all excited to see what you do with this body and your excellent field craft.

Love the frame a lot. It's mind bending that it was such high ISO. Your good ol post processing techniques still work wonders... even with Topaz. No need to change much else, but curious what method/settings you used with Topaz; I have gone away from it due to ungodly posterization.

So yeah, the colors and the composition bring this home. Very nice feather detail considering the higher numbers. Loved the story, love the frame, well done!

 

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Dan, amazing a that ISO, a credit to your post processing skills. I also like the autumnal feel of the image, the colors in the background compliment the bird perfectly. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Daniel Cadieux]

Thanks a stack gang! Pretty happy with the switch.

Brian, it was just at default level (set at "low light"). Hey Dorian, yep, glad the batteries are compatible for some nice back-up "spares" while in the field.