New toy!

My week long quest for owls and especially juveniles continued yesterday, the weather was slightly better but not brilliant, overhead cloud but no rain! However, today I was armed with the "equaliser", hmmm what could that be I hear you ask?

For the last few years I have been using a Sigma 150-500mm lens that has served me well, and it will continue to do so, a brilliant lens for the money but it does let me down somewhat in low light. So I have taken the plunge and purchased a new piece of kit, again a Sigma lens (I can't afford Cannon) but this is only 300mm but it is fast, an F2.8! Apparently it is "tack sharp" which will be a welcome improvement over the quite soft at times 500mm.

So chomping at the bit off  I went looking for a likely subject to try out the new lens on. A few owls were seen, and a juvenile too (my first of the year!) but they were all too far away. Eventually I did manage a few shots of some closer birds, (images below).

Nothing spectacular in terms of variety or poses but what I have found with this new lens is the reduction in post process requirements (sharpening), basically what you see here is what I got. But the one thing that is a massive improvement is its light gathering abilities, all these images were taken in pretty poor and overcast conditions but with the aperture wide open at F2.8 it makes it look as though the light was fantastic!

As I write up this latest post (weds 10.45am) the sun has just poked its head around the clouds. Not wanting to waste such a rare opportunity I am off out again now. My aim is to see if I can firstly locate an "out of the nest" juvenile and then get some images of it, of course any accommodating adults will do too!