What is Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS USM used for? Any good for birds photography?

[limvo05]

Hi All,

Can someone please let me know what Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS USM is used for? Can it be used for Birds and Wildlife Photography?

Thanks.

[RobertTheFat]

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@Waddizzle wrote:

Rodger,

Some birds do like to play games.  I had a red wing blackbird who would keep landing 15-20 feet away.  But, he would take when I pointed the lens, and land 15-20 feet behind me.  This happened like 5-6 times, until it finally let me take a whole series of photos.

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He was checking to be sure the camera wasn't actually a shotgun.

[ebiggs1]

 Hmmm,

Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye.
Four and twenty red-wing blackbirds,
Baked in a pie.

Not quite the same!  

[wq9nsc]

Waddizzle,

Red wing blackbirds are so over the top with aggression that they are generally fun to watch.  I regularly see them harassing hawks to run them out of their territory.

But I did have a run in with one two years ago.  As you know, they are extremely territorial and one had staked out his spot near the 2 mile point on my favorite running route.  For around 200 yards he would continuously swoop down and rake his claws through my hair and he was so aggressive that the wife of the farmer started driving instead of walking to bring her husband stuff from the house because the bird would always attack her. 

I tried carrying a water gun with me to discourage him but that did no good and I finally grew tired of his/her antics.  I could watch the shadow we both cast as it attacked and I caught it during its strafing run and carried it with me for another mile before releasing it.  If anybody had seen me running carrying a red wing they really would have wondered what was up with the crazy prof this time 🙂  It still inhabits the same territory but now it just looks at me so we came to a mutual understanding.  I am used to red wings doing flyovers and I don't blame them for enforcing their territory and I stay well away from their nesting spots but this bird needed a little attitude adjustment.  Surprisingly, once I caught it there was no struggle and it didn't seem to mind the little trip going running with me.  Maybe it thought it had trained me to be its personal UBER ride.

Rodger.

[CaliforniaDream]

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@wq9nsc wrote:

Waddizzle,

Red wing blackbirds are so over the top with aggression that they are generally fun to watch.  I regularly see them harassing hawks to run them out of their territory.

But I did have a run in with one two years ago.  As you know, they are extremely territorial and one had staked out his spot near the 2 mile point on my favorite running route.  For around 200 yards he would continuously swoop down and rake his claws through my hair and he was so aggressive that the wife of the farmer started driving instead of walking to bring her husband stuff from the house because the bird would always attack her. 

I tried carrying a water gun with me to discourage him but that did no good and I finally grew tired of his/her antics.  I could watch the shadow we both cast as it attacked and I caught it during its strafing run and carried it with me for another mile before releasing it.  If anybody had seen me running carrying a red wing they really would have wondered what was up with the crazy prof this time 🙂  It still inhabits the same territory but now it just looks at me so we came to a mutual understanding.  I am used to red wings doing flyovers and I don't blame them for enforcing their territory and I stay well away from their nesting spots but this bird needed a little attitude adjustment.  Surprisingly, once I caught it there was no struggle and it didn't seem to mind the little trip going running with me.  Maybe it thought it had trained me to be its personal UBER ride.

Rodger.

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What a great story.

[wq9nsc]

Thanks California Dream!  I am very animal friendly but they do like to interact with me when running.  Around 10 years ago I was enjoying a nice late afternoon run in early June listening to some classic CSN&Y on my iPod when a doe popped out of the grassy ditch by the side of the road and froze right in front of me.  I  had to push off of her shoulder to avoid running into her.  She looked at me for a moment and then gracefully ran across the field.  No harm to either of us but for months afterward I was on guard for another appearance of Bambi.

Then 4 years ago I was running down another road past a mature corn field in late July and a buck emerged from the field heading across the road at full speed.  I mostly dodged him with just a slight blow sending me rolling down the steeply banked roadside into a fortunately dry drainage ditch.  I was fine but I hope that was my last close encounter with a deer.  Fortunately I have never hit one in a vehicle or been hit by one.  Once they decide on a running course, they are like a WWII torpedo and stay on that course until they clear it or hit something and detonate.

Rodger

[CaliforniaDream]

I know this is a photo forum but I just can't help it.  I was stream fishing about 40 off and below a road.  A deer came out of the woods and started across the road.  When it came to the white line in the road it bent down and smelled it.  It then walked down the road about 50 yards along the white line then back and walked the other way about 50 yards.  It then walked back to is's starting point, jumped up about 8 feet over the line and continued across the road. 

[wq9nsc]

You met an OCD deer 🙂

Rodger

[limvo05]

I have decided that I would get thee 300mm 2.8 IS Mark I for now. I've been playing around with my 70-200 2.8 ii with 2x iii ET and the quality of the image is pretty decent. I would imagine the same quality when using the 300 2.8 IS i with the extender.

[ebiggs1]

It all depends on what YOU are happy with. Nobody else!  Too me the shot is a little soft.

[limvo05]

I agreed, the photo could be a touch sharper, I wished I had the cable release with me at the time. That said, keep in mind, I was hiding underneath a small enclosure I built using PVC pipes, covered by canvas to allow me to sneak up to the birds. It was a windy day and the canvas keep flying everywhere, so one hand was occupied holding the thing down.