XTi at Carlos

Of course I had to go out this afternoon and try my new XTi body! I went to Carlos Avery; I mounted the 300mm w/1.4x converter on the XTi and my 70-200mm zoom on the 20D. It was sure nice to have the flexibility of not having to change lenses. The 300mm with the 1.4x converter is the equivalent of a 420mm lens; however, since the XTi has a smaller sensor than a full frame 35mm camera, the effective focal length of the combination was that of a 670mm lens on a 35mm camera. Because the 300mm lens has image stabilization, I did not use a tripod. The results (w/out the tripod) are not as sharp as my 400mm + 1.4x converter on a tripod. That's to be expected, but the convenience is sure nice.
The Sandhill Crane on the right is the only one I saw at close range (close enough to take a decent picture); the large flock of cranes is still there, but at a great distance, as discussed in our earlier posts.
All three pictures in this posting are taken with the above combination on the XTi. Our next posting will have some from the 20D as well.