Birds ( A question for DJ )

A question for DJ when you are at Loch winnoch photographing birds, what kind of distance are you from them. I just cant seem to get sharp shoots with my 7D & my 100-400.

Thanx in advance Goggs....

Sounds like a great combo for Bird shots to me Goggs. Should get some decent shots.

I just cant seem to get sharp shoots I am not very happy with the camera
but it may be me who is using it wrong.

Don't forget most of the images you see have gone through Photoshop which makes a huge difference. Maybe thats the problem its not so much the camera/lens its the final editing. Also a sturdy tripod with remote shutter release helps as well

Bazza

I'm sure Grant will tell you himself but he does very little PP work and he shoots handheld I think for his bird shots.

What problems are you having Goggs ?

Remember the 100-400 is not a particularly fast lens being 5.6 @ 400mm so might need slower than ideal shutter speeds in dull conditions but you should be able to get good results in decent light without having to crank the ISO up.

Again - I'm sure Grant will tell you the distance of the hides at Lochwinnoch but a lot of the great 'garden bird' shots I've seen elsewhere can be from as little as three or four meters away.

I took these the other night it may be low light but I dont feel they are sharp
and quite noisey.

http://www.yophotographer.com/page.php?t=10697

It may just be me I reset the all the custom functions as i read that some of the functions can cause noise. Am off work tomorrow I will give it another go thanks for taking the time to reply.

Goggs....

Do you add sharpening to you pictures?

When you reduced a picture in size to post on the web it becomes 'softer' so you have to add a touch of sharpening to get that back.

Mind you those pics look like the focus is off a bit tbh.

Yes they are sharpened in CS4

Goggs...

Now if you had a Nikon camera !!!!!!! .

I think I might know the problem having looked at the EXIF files. The shutter speed is to low at 1/250 sec and 1/500 sec. You have pushed the ISO up to 3200 ( high ISO = more noise) EXIF readings, yet kept the Aperture at f8 and f5.6. If I may suggest, concentrate on higher shutter speeds as in shutter priority (S) and let the camera work out the rest as a start. Oh the 3200 ISO usage I can understand why, but it also has to be in conjunction with aperture and shutter speed as the three all relate closely together

Try working at 1/800 sec upwards - aperture ISO allowing- and see the results. On some of my bird shots I have had to go up to 1/4000 sec as an example
Taking wildlife photography does require a slightly different technique to still life due to constant movement hence the higher shutter speed generally to "freeze" the picture

There is also a limit regarding light which going beyond can cause the problems you are experiencing as well. Generally if you can't get a high shutter speed without exceeding the aperture readings and not too high ISO then the light isn't good enough for that particular lens.



Bazza

Thanx Bazza I will give it another go great help mate thank you so much for the info

Goggs....