Vernon Chalmers Photography Training: Birds and Butterfly with Canon EOS 6D Mark II

09 October 2025

Birds and Butterfly with Canon EOS 6D Mark II

Experimenting with the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM prime lens paired with the Canon EOS 6D Mark II

Purple Heron in Flight : Above Woodbridge Island

"Suspended in blue silence, the purple heron - unaware of his own majesty - offered me a pulse-moment: a glimpse of freedom, framed by the impermanence of being." - Vernon Chalmers

Shooting at 400mm with the Canon EOS 6D Mark II (Full Frame) body
Looking out the window this morning I viewed a relatively cloudless blue sky and a moderate south-easterly wind. For my regular photography hike, down the Diep River, Woodbridge Island, right up to the edge of the Table Bay Nature Reserve I decided to pair the Canon EOS 6D Mark II with the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens. With the objective to experience the focal range a little different than with the effective crop-factor of the Canon EOS 7D Mark II paired with the same lens. I decided that the 6.5fps, 26 megapixel sensor (for improved cropping), better low light performance and 45-Point AF system should assist in some way when photographing more / less the same birds at the same distance as I would with the EOS 7D Mark II.

It took a while getting use to the slower AF and reduced fps. Other than that is was quite a pleasant experience with a few image to show what this pairing is still capable to deliver comparing to 'faster' and modern Canon EOS bodies.

I enjoyed photographing the butterfly - and this while the camera was set on my birds in flight settings. The butterfly was tiny between the wildflowers, but Zone AF delivered in-flight and through the many obstacles when perched. I also had an opportunity in attempting a bee in flight with my stock birds in flight settings.

Note: the Minimum Focus Distance (MFD) of the Canon EF 400mm is only 3.5 meters - so it was quite a challenge to capture the bee in flight.

Birds in Flight / Perched Birds (Butterfly / Bee) List