Griz Loc: Red Lake, Ontario, Canada

I just purchased the 150-500 sigma and here are a couple of my captures. Spring is a little later this year and these Canadian geese have little choice for open water giving me the chance to photograph them. I also have a spot where I can view Bald Eagles regularly.

tramsey Loc: Texas

WOW you do a fine job with that lens. :thumbup: :thumbup:

Next time you are out with it shoot a shot at wide angle and then shoot the same shot at the highest telephoto, just for comparison.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

Crop the second and make it your avatar.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

All three of your images appear to be slightly back-focused. Compare your center Canada goose to goose on right side.

FYI: The proper term is Canada geese, not Canadian geese. They were named before the country of Canada was founded.
The first recorded use of the name, 'Canada goose' appeared in 1772 in Carl Linnaeus' 8th-century work, Systema Naturae.
James Audubon called it the Canada goose in 1836.
The name Canada comes from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata, meaning "village" or "settlement". In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona.
Two British colonies . . were re-unified as the Province of Canada in 1841 and upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the legal name for the new country.

Griz Loc: Red Lake, Ontario, Canada

Thanks for the comments, as for using the eagle as an avatar ..well I am too fat to soar like an eagle!! :-D
The back focus issue has been noticed and as soon as I figure out how to fix that properly I will.

naturepics43 Loc: Hocking Co. Ohio - USA

That 2nd shot is a dandy! :thumbup: It must have been pretty close. As for the back focus issue, most (including mine) seem to have that issue. You should be able to do an AF fine tune thru an in camera menu option. The more you use it , the more you'll like it.

birdpix Loc: South East Pennsylvania

Your pictures are a decent first attempt but you will find that any long lens has a learning curve. I agree that you should test the lens for back focusing problems. your eagle picture is slightly out of focus due to motion blur. Did you shoot hand held? if so get your shutter speed up to at least 1/1000.

The third shot of the eagle in the tree is definitely focused behind the subject. It appears, from the edge halos, that you tried to sharpen it in post processing. Sharpening never helps an OOF picture.

These pictures are great learning tools. Keep up the hard work and you will get better and better.

Bram boy Loc: Vancouver Island B.C. Canada

I could tell you right now the wide would not be as big as the white on the eagles head In the last picture.

Griz Loc: Red Lake, Ontario, Canada

Absolutely a steep learning curve with this lense. and yes these pix were shot handheld. I have learned that the higher the SS the crisper the image is and hence i am learning how high i can push my iso and maintain IQ. Any kind of motion is amplified a lot. But i keep trying, hard to shoot BIF on a tripod!!!

Acountry330 Loc: Dothan,Ala USA

Nice shots. I am sure you will enjoy you Sigma. Most of the forum do including me.