I took today off, and headed up to Winfield in search of bald eagles. I figured with the cold we’ve had, and the incredible cold we’re about to have, they might be down river far enough for us to see them. There were a few — maybe ten or so that I spotted — along with loads of gulls and even a couple of herons.

This was the first real opportunity to photograph things in motion with the 7D, and I’ve got to admit that 8fps just flat rocks for photographing birds winging their way around the river. However, it’s well worth noting that at 8fps, it’s real easy to fill CF cards quickly. I have only one large card, along with several small ones, and that’s a situation that’s gonna have to change. There are some nice deals out there on 16GB and 32GB cards…

Another thing of great interest that I’ve noted with the 7D. For a several years, I had some issues with my Canon 100-400 L lens triggering Err99 messages on both the 20D and 40D when the lens’ IS system was on. Turn it off, and there’s no problem. I’ve read a ton of information about an apparently large number of folks who have observed the same thing. Today was the first time I’d shot at length with the 100-400 on the 7D, and guess what? No Err99 messages. None. Not once. I don’t claim to understand why that is… Is the 7D more tolerant of whatever condition the 20D and 40D were noticing? Has the 100-400 mysteriously fixed itself? Dunno. But it was a joy to be shooting with the IS on again on the jewel of my lens collection!