Thanks for sharing Sam! UHS is indeed a better option. I have the Kingston card now and am putting it through its paces.
The BIF shots look great! I cant get anything like that with my 6D unless it's dumb luck.
For the PP, if in Lightroom: go to Develop --> HSL tab (third down?) --> Luminance --> dial Blue slider back a bit. I think it should help bring back the blue sky, unless the color Process/temperature removed blue (I do not fully understand this tweak, I just know it usually works for me).
Thanks! (For the compliment and the tip.) The HSL slider is actually why there is any blue at all in the second PP attempt. Without it, everything was straight up white.
While I'm posting, someone elsewhere asked about autofocus modes and which I use, etc. Took the time to write up a long post and maybe someone here can benefit from it too.
There are three focus modes to use - One Shot, AI Focus and AI Servo. You can forget AI Focus; it's supposed to be an automatic mode, where it starts off as One Shot, but if your subject moves it switches to AI Servo. It has never done me any favors and here's why...
Situation one: Static subjects - typically single point focus in One Shot mode. In this situation I currently tend to use the center point (which is the most sensitive double-cross type point that can also focus in extremely low light if the need arises), focus and re-frame.
The problem with that is that it will meter for the frame you're focusing and not for your final frame, so this may not be the best option. It works for me when I'm getting snapshots and don't have time to fool with the camera. When I have a couple seconds to do so, I will select the autofocus point I want it to use outside center, that way it's focusing where I want and also metering for the frame I want. This is the best of both worlds and selecting your focus point in this manner will always get the focus and metering you're going for. As I get more used to selecting the point I want, I'll move further and further away from the center-point-and-re-frame model except in low light when that extra sensitivity is needed.
Sometimes I will alternate to the groupings and move the group around rather than the specific single point. I'm still experimenting with which one of these two I like best. The OCD person in me that wants to make sure I get it right specifically on the one point. The lazy person in me wants to use the groups so I have fewer options when selecting where to focus. Both seem to work pretty well.
What I do not do in One Shot is use the 19 point full on auto. It always defaults to the closest item in the frame with enough contrast to focus on. Many times that is ok, but many other times it is not. For instance with good composition, you often want something in the foreground....but you don't want it to be the main focus point. Try telling that to the 19 point autofocus system. For that reason alone it's worth getting to know the smaller grouping and/or single-point options better.
Situation two: Moving subjects - typically all 19 points in AI Servo mode. Here is the reason you want AI Servo instead of AI Focus. When you shoot AI Servo with all 19 points available, you'll see something that isn't present in One Shot - the center focus point is
also lit up, inside the full focus bracket. AI Servo is very intelligent. What you do is hit your subject with that center point, and half-press the shutter (or hold AF-ON, if you use back-button focusing). From that point on, your camera is locked onto that subject (in theory; practice is always harder, especially if anything jumps in front of your subject for too long) and will chase it around all of the 19 points, so long as you keep the subject inside the autofocus frame.
This is how you get in-focus bird shots. Pick your bird, half-press with the center point where you want to focus (typically the bird's eyes) and then follow it around with the camera, making sure to keep the focus point somewhere inside the 19 points. It doesn't matter where, as long as you're inside the frame the camera will happily track your chosen subject intelligently and quickly. You will see the different AF points lighting up as the camera sticks with them within the frame. It's actually pretty neat to behold, but not something I can really show since it only occurs looking through the eyepiece.
This will work for sports too - pick your subject, lock on them and keep them in the frame to track them around.
Of course, nothing is perfect - sometimes another bird/person will jump in your frame. If they stay too long, the camera will move its focus point to the person who's in your way. There are several options you can adjust that are quite advanced with regard to how hard it locks focus and how long it stays there in the event something does get in the way. Those options are beyond the scope of a post like this, but they're there in the "C.Fn II: Autofocus" menu; page 362 in the manual.
The behavior of AI Servo is exactly why I do NOT like AI Focus. With AI Focus starting out as One Shot, that center focus point is not lit up. The 19 points act just like Single Shot and will lock on the closest object. Without that center point, you're back to being at the mercy of the camera rather than selecting your own subject.
So the moral of the story with regard to focus modes - know your situation and select your focus mode to fit. It's not hard to move between One Shot and AI Servo. Don't think that AI Focus can properly select between the two, because in trying to be a jack of all (ok, both) trades, it ends up being the master of neither.
Hope this helps.