Australian Black Duck with new Tamron

[Leigh Cojocar]

Tamron 150-600 @ 600, f7.1, ISO 800, 1/1600th.

I'm finding that shooting with a large lens comes with a bit of a learn curve and my success rate is rather low at the moment. Also I find I am having to use a higher ISO to get enough SS and the 60D doesn't handle noise very well, might be time to invest in a full frame camera next.

[kevin Hice]

Nice capture Leigh eye looks sharp and also like the droplets on the head. It would have been nice to have more shutter speed to reduce the blur on the wings. I guess if this was easy everybody would be doing it.

[Diane Miller]

This is a very nice image! Great moment (I love the wing position and color) and technically good. Your settings look good. There is always such a balancing act between ISO, SS and DOF, with the sweet spot often not sweet enough. This looks like cloudy light -- more light always helps but then there are often dark shadows to contend with. Steadying a long lens with a tripod is very helpful for most people, although hand-holding can be done well with practice.

Good AF is important with a long lens -- getting the focus point where you want it (which you did here very well) and good focus speed. If noise is an issue with a body, try to expose to the right as much as possible without damaging highlights.

And of course with a full frame camera you have less reach so are cropping more. So many trade-offs!

[Leigh Cojocar]

Thank you. I was using a monopod, this was the first time and I found it a lot easier to hold the lens for longer periods more steadily. It was a overcast day and I was having troubles all day getting enough SS so there wasn't to many keepers as I find if I boost my ISO above 1000 it really degrades the sharpness of the picture beyond recovery.

[Randall Farhy]

Leigh, this is a solid capture. Nice parallel pose, wing position and focus where you want it. The 60D while a decent camera, is not fine tuned for fast action-you've done well here! It looks like the lens/body are calibrated fairly well (a good thing as the 60D doesn't offer user adjustable micro adjustments). My only suggestion would be to experiment with high speed sync fill flash, in these situations with a decent flash it can make colors/details pop, and add a catch light. With Better Beamer attached it's even possible to increase SS or decrease ISO slightly in these situations. Keep up the good work.

[Leigh Cojocar]

Thanks Randall. The more my photography skills grow the more I am realizing the 60D isn't going to last me much longer. The lens does seem to work well with the 60D and from I have read about the lens is the 60D is the one of the only cameras that Al Servo works well with. I haven't invested in a flash yet but I have been thinking about it.

[Diane Miller]

Leigh, I'm always curious about lenses and-bodies and am curious what you have seen about the 60D and that lens. Are people saying that the 60D works better in AI Servo with that lens than other bodies, such as the 5D3? (Surely not better than the 1DX...?) Maybe the 7D, as it is older technology by now. And whatever is being said, would it be because of the smaller aperture of that lens at the longer focal lengths (which would slow AF)?

[Leigh Cojocar]

Actually from what i understand the 60D is the only camera that the tamron lens keep focus tracking while in AI SERVO. Alot of people with other camera bodies were returning the lens because of this. claiming the only way they could keep a moving subject in focus was to pump the focus button. Not sure if the 1DX was mentioned but i know the 7D, 70D and 5Diii was.


In my experience the lens does track a moving object well except for the odd occasion it searches for focus and then just quits and does nothing. There is a good thread on fredmiranda.com on the 150-600 and its pros and cons.

i cant link to you right now because in on my phone.

Sent from my RM-875_apac_australia_new_zealand_969 using Tapatalk

[Diane Miller]

I had a look for the thread and didn't find it -- I'd love to have the link when it's convenient. I do think the First Law of Photography is "You gets what you pays for," even though the payment scheme is exponential rather than linear. But it's sounding like the 60D has some new focusing tweaks?

There are so many factors in shooting birds in flight or other moving subjects.

[Leigh Cojocar]

Here is the thread.

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1264113/0

Its later on in the thread that people start talking about focusing issues. Page 11 a guy mentions he can't get Al servo to work with the 1DX or 5D3.

This thead is dedicated to BIFs with the Tamron.

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1269628/0