Title: Bald Eagle In Front Of Raising Full Moon
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Location: Clinton, Whidbey Island, Washington, USA, North America
Description: Some days you just get lucky, even when you plan.
I had planned this shot using The Photographer’s Ephemeris to pick a good location and time for the full moon rising over the Cascade Mountains. Some haze was making it hard to spot the moon but once it started rising I was focused on getting an array of shots with various orientations and composures.
And then the eagle flew in. And my second shot caught it right under the moon.
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| Camera | Canon 7D |
| Lens | Canon 28-300mm L |
| ISO | 100 |
| Focal Length | 250mm |
| Aperture | f/5.6 |
| Shutter Speed | 1/1000 |
| Altitude | 610 ft |
Photograph Copyright Peter West Carey. Image Available For Commercial Licensing (email).
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My heart is pounding just reading your explanation of that shot!
I have a question. I’ve noticed for a long time that you use a Canon 7D almost exclusively. I have a Canon
5D Mark III, but am considering a 7D because I’ve heard they are really fast. I would keep my 5D. Do you think buying a 7D would improve my bird photography enough to justify the cost?
Glad to have you back. You’ve been absent for awhile!
Annette,
Thanks for following the blog for so long and your encouragement.
That is a very good question and sent me looking for more info. I can see where you’re coming from if you mean the Canon 7D Mark II. Or do you mean the Mark I that I use?
The Mark II has 10 frames per second which is faster than the 6 of the 5D Mark III and that can help with birds in flight. It seems both cameras share the same autofocus these days so there is no distinct advantage there. One thing that would help is the 7D Mark II is a crop sensor and 20MP as compared to the full frame 5D Mark III and 22MP. What that would mean is at 300mm, for instance, the 7D is ‘zoomed’ further and is comparable to a 480mm lens on the 5D. This can help a lot for birds. The crop sensors on Canons are typically 1.6x the full frame.
The original 7D is 18MP and has less focus points, so I wouldn’t move from a 5D Mark III to that (you didn’t mention which 7D you would buy, and I assumed the Mark II, but I also want to rule out the other option). But for birding, and if you are okay giving up the nice wide angle capabilities of the 5D especially when using L quality lenses, then I’d seriously consider the move. And if the money works out or is not too much of a factor, I’d certainly move to a 7D Mark II body for bird photos. You’ll get more reach out of your current lenses.