canon 40D
70-300mm @300mm
f 7.1
1/100 sec.
ISO 800
i don't really understand why, but i am getting much better focus than on other attempts.
i use a tripod and i'm sure that helps. again, my shutter speed is low and before these latest photos i always blamed my lack of detail on my low shutter speed.
here is the latest attempt.
there wasn't much i could do with the background. i shot it as i saw it. i blurred the leaves as much as i could and then cut back on opacity of the blur.
I know. For small birds, that seems to be a problem usually. Here though, you have a problem with the foreground, too. As for details and sharpness, I think they're OK.Originally Posted by mikedelaney
Hi Mike, Such a sweet bird! Love the sharpness and detail and the quality of light. Shame about the foreground leaves but sometimes you have to take what you can get!!
Sharpness and EXp are good but you need to get closer and learn to look for cleaner situations... Are you able to set up a feeder in your yard?
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I agree with Art. You'll be much happier with your results if you get some light on the birds and find an uncluttered BG. Also, think about investing in a flash and a Better Beamer. The combination will help with sharpness and with backlit subjects.
Try opening your aperture to a lower level, f5.6 for example. This will allow a faster shutter speed. With an ISO of 800 you should be able to shoot with a shutter speed of faster than 1/100.
I read somewhere that with a long lens the shutter speed should be the inverse of the lens length, or faster. Thus for a 300 mm lens look for a shutter speed of 1/300 or faster. This was for hand held shots, and you can go slower with a tripod and a still bird, but I've found that when I get much slower than this even with a tripod a lot of the pictures look soft.
This photo is sharp despite the 1/100 speed.
Mike, this is so much sharper/in better focus than the other shots I've seen of yours!! If you were not using a tripod before, I'm sure that's part of it. I found that trading in my cheap tripod for a much more solid one made alot of difference for me....If your opportunities for bird shots are limited to birds in trees/shade, it would help alot also to use flash; the extra light makes much difference too! Try to find an angle where branches and leaves are not in front of/across the body of the bird. And if you use a wider open aperture, the background will blur more, allowing the bird to stand out better. Keep working at it, you'll get there!!
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