Quote:
Originally Posted by M_Six
Was not a good day. Brought my new 7D MkII and Siggy 120-300 with the 2x TC to the lake today looking for eagles. I swept the treeline with binoculars and found a bald eagle way on the other side. I grabbed the camera and took a few shots just to check settings. When I looked again, the eagle was gone. Then I saw him flying right toward me. He (or she) flew directly overhead at low altitude, so I was almost able to fill the frame. I took dozens of shots as he flew by.
Not one of them is usable. 
The "sharpest" were, at best, good enough for small FB images. But anything larger than 800x600 will be useless. So then I tried shooting static objects and realized nothing was sharp, even though the image in my VF was sharp. Seems I have a lot of corrections to apply using the USB dock.
Such a shame. That was the closest an eagle has ever flown by me. |
A bird flying directly at you is the hardest shot there is. You made it twice as hard with the 2x TC, slowing the AF.
Even with my f/4 500, I NEVER use the 2x TC when shooting birds. The 1.4x performs well, but that's only f/5.6, you were down at f/8, maybe smaller.
Of course, the static shots should be in focus. Try without the TC and work from there.