The Gear:
Today I’m using a trusty Canon 7D and a very interesting super telephoto lens: the Tokina AF 400mm f5.6. The lens is very compact and lightweight for a prime super-telephoto, especially for one with an aperture as fast as f5.6– and it’s surprisingly sharp with very decent autofocus! Really a bargain if you can find one. I would say it struggles a bit with focus hunting for in-flight subjects, especially against a uniform blue sky, but not so much that it’s unusable. Far from it:
It’s definitely got a few struggles, like chromatic aberrations and more mess in the bokeh than is ideal, but nothing that can’t be corrected in post, so nothing to worry about. Here’s what the lens looks like:
The Bird in My Backyard:
Today’s bird from my backyard is the house finch. Watch for the red on head and chest, with streaks of brown and black on wings and tail. Classic finch beak for seed eating, which this one did:
Since it’s springtime in my backyard, Mr. House Finch also brought along Mrs. House Finch, who was kind enough to also pose for a photo:
And finally, here they are together:
Christian McCall 