The branches in the UR balance the bird nicely but pull my attention -- wonder how they would look with a little blur, if you're into manipulation.
The bird is a bit soft, from several possible causes. The focus may a bit off - the left end of the branch looks sharper than the head, although possibly it is in the same plane -- hard to be sure. Have you looked at focus calibration for the lens? LensAlign had a good product and I think there are some others now.
With low light you didn't have good options for a higher shutter speed or more depth of field, but at long focal lengths, a SS equal to the reciprocal of the focal length is marginal, especially handheld. (Does that lens have IS? I think I remember that it doesn't.) A little fill flash will give you some leeway with ISO, SS or aperture.
When you are handheld, shooting a burst can give one image that is sharper than the others -- you might catch one at the top or bottom of a camera shake cycle. (At these focal lengths, the tiniest bit of shake can be a significant factor.) And if you are using back button focus and AI Servo, and keeping one focus point of the bird's head, a burst can give one where the focus is a little better.
All of what Diane said-but I would like to add that even the tiniest bit of camera shake on a 7D will throw focus off if it is active, IE holding the back button down while you're shooting. While it's best for moving subjects, it will wreak havoc on stills or subjects that pause momentarily (active focus is predictive, it will try to "guess" where the subject will be). Shooting with support helps but won't eliminate the issue, switching focus modes is a better choice-just remember to switch back when you're trying for a moving subject. Another thought-when shooting small subjects such as this, use spot or spot with the dot in the middle (forget the term) NOT spot with the 4 spots around it as they will read areas far enough off the tiny bird to cause focus shift.
Last edited by Randall Farhy; 01-20-2014 at 02:35 PM.
Good points, Randall. I haven't shot with the 7D, but I definitely see some nervous twitching of AI Servo focus with the 5D3 -- never bothered to find out how bad it is as I get very sharp images of still subjects, but I'm always interested in how to improve things.
I always use back button focus and for a still subject I generally do let go of the button after acquiring focus and before hitting the shutter. Arthur Morris talks often about having the focus point active at the moment of exposure, but maybe only for moving subjects.
I've found it very frustrating to try to hold focus on birds in flight with a long lens (300 f/2.8 to 600 f/4) and that body, even with a solid tripod and Wimberley head, and even with a single point focus kept on the bird and no helper points. It searches too much.
And you're right that the helper points reach out a little too far in many cases. Fine detail seems very attractive to them and can override the center sensor. Certainly with the 7D I think it would be far best to use the center point, and focus and recompose if necessary. Back button focus is the practical way to do that.
Diane, I have no experience with the 5D3 system other than to say all reviews and user experience indicate it's focusing system is far superior to anything prior save for the 1DX. I'm assuming you've set the distance limiters on your lenses accordingly (helps limit hunting when the target wanders out of selected focus points). Another technique that I employ, whether it's race cars or BIF is to track the subject while tapping the back button focus and when I'm about to shoot, I lock down and track active for my 3-5 frame bursts. This helps limit the chances that the subject will wander because you are tapping the focus only when it's on spot. Haven't read Arthur Morris, but one possible reason that he recommends active at time of release might be due to the AF systems being predictive for moving subjects and they need input to track properly, along with accurate metering and assuring IS remains active.
Affirmative on distance limiter switch, although I wish there was a 100m to infinity setting. When focus gets lost it really gets lost. I prefocus closely enough to be able to acquire focus quickly -- otherwise you can't even see the target.
I do tap the back button "when it seems like a good idea" -- but I'm sure that's a learned skill. When the camera thinks it has focus I do hold the back button and shoot a burst. And I have it set (both the first and "second" -- i.e. subsequent) -- image thing set to don't shoot until the camera is happy with the focus.
Looking thru the viewfinder things will seem OK, and I think I'm doing everything reasonable on my end -- I'm extremely careful about a steady tripod (big Gitzo and Wimberley II, legs spread and stabilized as much as possible, forehead tight against the camera body, lens supported / damped at the hood and all that, all with the the new 600 II). But I'm a pixel peeper and I may just be expecting performance for which I'd need the 1DX. If they come out with an updated model, I'll spring for it, but this late in the cycle, I'm wary of getting one now.
With a still subject, all is great, it's birds in flight that are a problem. I've tried the various AF parameter settings with little difference noted. Have even done the LensAlign thing (I do it for all my lenses) and it was right on. I really think it's the camera just not being up to the task of deciding on focus and / or driving a big lens. We get a lot of turkey vultures in our area and when I see them I grab the rig and practice. Focus issues occur even with their gentle movements -- predictive AF is needed but it's not like a diving falcon.
I've done tests before with a still target (a magazine page glued on cardboard) with both One Shot and AI Servo held down and a burst shot, and both work equally well there. The problem is birds -- even gently soaring ones without flapping wings.
I just don't know Diane, it might be a power issue. Don't know if this would help or not; have you or are you using a grip with an extra battery? I have noticed that the spot modes do struggle with moving subjects, I don't think it's a predictive issue as much as it might be a surface contrast issue. At distance I believe the sensors struggle with monotone colorations.
When I'm shooting against sky or similar background such as water, I prefer the spot with 4 squares mode as it will pick out the contrast edges of the bird against the sky better, of course this can often lead to the head not being the main focal point on some of the burst shots in a sequence. If the backgrounds are busy with contrast detail, then spot mode works out a little better.
When I'm tracking race cars in daylight it's the mode I use most often, as contrast edges can be further apart, at night I switch to a cluster and hope for the best. I don't know about the 5D3, but with the 7D the center spots are more accurate (or sensitive), another reason to use those for BIF. I don't want to come across as some kind of an expert- because I'm not- just passing along personal experiences here.
Last edited by Randall Farhy; 01-21-2014 at 02:27 PM.
Power is a good thought -- I'm not using the extra battery grip. And quite true that with a plain area you do need the helper sensors, assuming you can keep them off of a BG. I see problems with gently gliding birds (turkey vultures, for instance) against a clear sky, so that eliminates several factors.
At one point I was having a lot of trouble with the camera holding focus on a moving bird and I finally thought to clean the connections. That improved things quite a bit so now I really think the issue is just the limitation of the camera compared to what I want.
And yes, the center spot is the best on the 5D3 also. I use it whenever possible and definitely for birds in flight.
We're all experts to some degree, and learners to another degree. I think the best way to learn is to listen to the collective experience of many users, as opposed to the "party line" from the manufacturers, which glosses over a lot of details.
Thanks Diane and Randall for the feedback and suggestions.
My 400mm does not have IS. I took burst shots on this occassion as the Kingfisher kept moving its head to adjust the prey for swallowing position.
I think i need higher SS to get sharper image. I'll also look into fill flash and focussing technique.
Eddie, I also shoot this lens on a 7D, at times a true love hate relationship. The more I look at this image, the more it looks like it front focused a bit, I believe it is sharp-just in the wrong place-note left side of branch. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend calibrating it to your body using the micro adjust function. Once it's dialed in, then you can better assess the other possibilities re: missed focus.
Collared Kingfisher in rain
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