Bobwhite

[Anita Rakestraw]

I did a large number of frames of this bird, from the car window on the BLUBB, my arm over the lens to hold it down firmly, and all of them had blur or just were not quite sharp, & I'm not sure why. The light was dimming for one thing, and I should have increased ISO but didn't think to. Aperture of f/8 would have given me slightly faster shutter speed, but not alot....Still, I've gotten sharp images in similar light, and in fact took frames of another subject even later on this shoot and they were sharp....so I'm rather puzzled. Another question I have is that in both instances of photographing bobwhite, the focus point has been directly on the bird's head, yet the head looks soft and another part of the bird looks sharper - in this case, the upper breast. Can anyone explain this? Could it be because the body of the bird was on a closer plane? Other than those issues, how does this look? All c/c welcome!

7-21-08, 8 p.m.
1DMkIII, 500mm @ 1000mm, BLUBB
1/30, f/10, ISO 400, EV0

[Dave Slaughter]

It looks sharp to me, and if you got something this sharp without a rock-solid tripod at 1/30, my hat's off to you. I am not a technical expert but my understanding is that the autofocus of a camera picks up areas of contrast to focus on. Even if the camera is set to autofocus at the center point, the image sensor could possibly be confused by other contrasty areas, such as the breast. I know we've all had shots where the bird is blurry but the branch or cattails are razor sharp. Maybe someone with more technical expertise can enlighten us. BTW, congrats on getting this shot. Most of the quail I see are rocketing off after I've nearly stepped on them. I've never seen one in a tree.

[Gail Spitler]

Hi Anita
The head looks sharp on my monitor. I am not sure I understand using f/10. I guess my tendency when the light is fading is to up the ISO, really high if I have to. I'll bet your camera is quite capable at higher ISO's. Anyway, pushing the ISO up might allow the aperture to open up, helping to blur the bg, and increase the shutter speed to help with sharpness? What do you think?
Dave is right about kudos for getting the bobwhite in a tree roost, quite unusual. I like the overall composition very much.
Gail

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Anita Great finding this bird perched !!! Had to laugh at Dave's encounters !!!

Did very well with the slow shutter speed here !! Excellent technique Would suggest bumping the ISO ... do take advantage of your camera it is an excellent performer. Would not hesitate to go up to 1250 with warm light then use Noise Ninja. With flat light the noise will be more noticeable.

You should be able to use the single point and keep it on the head since there is enough contrast to hold focus. Aperture wise would go wide open to minimize the bg clutter. Will also bump up the shutter speed which has to make a difference. Next time you are in a similar situation take one at a high ISO Shutter speed just for comparison Might surprise you !!! Excellent image !!!

[Anita Rakestraw]

Thanks, Dave, Gail and Alfred. I'm glad it does look sharp. Honestly, I think I took about 90 frames and could only keep 4....maybe at 1/30, that's not too surprising....As I said, I forgot to up the ISO, normally I would have; and Gail, I think I also forgot to change the aperture from a previous shoot, thus the f/10. But with the 2x extender, that len's widest aperture is f/8....and yes, I normally shoot wide open & when the light is going, up the ISO. As for the focus point & sharpness, thanks for the explanation.

The last several weeks, when I go out to my favorite place to find birds/wildlife, I typically hear the bobwhite calling and locate them in trees. Something seems to be going on with them, I'm not sure what, but they're suddenly more active and vocal.