Shooting Synchronized Duck Butts

I think this duck couple might have been rehearsing for the Olympic games if they have those for ducks.

I saw these two while playing with one of my older lenses, a Tamron 200-500mm that doesn't have any currently popular features like image stabilization or fast autofocus.

The purpose of my play was to see if I could get good sharpness at the 500mm range and these ducks were there when I needed them.

This was shot at 1/1000 @ f/6.3, the fastest this lens will get. I used my Canon EOS 5D Mk2 and added 1/3 stop EC at ISO 200. I shot in shutter priority and used spot metering and focusing on the duck butts.

This is the original shot. I  cropped more than half the shot away to get the close up. I'm very pleased with the sharpness.

I shot a RAW file, as usual, and sharpened and clarified it in Lightroom 3's develop module. I think I'll return this lens to the shelf. My wonderful Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS is great but not with a teleconverter to push it past 500mm. The AF doesn't work with the teleconverter and I need the AF when shooting the birds. Someday I'll probably invest in a Canon L series 500mm or 600mm lens but first things must come first. First I win the Powerball and then I buy the lens.