Taken this morning in Newport News, VA. Sony A230, 70-400G @400mm, f5.6, 1/500, iso100, ec-0.3, HH
60% of FF, Duck: reduced shadows on head, slight color saturation, increase contrast, sharpened
BG: slight darkening and NR
Hi Peter, what a pretty Wigeon and the blue water compliments it nicely. It looks to me like there are some hotspots on the beak and the white feathers on the side and tail? and I might try adding a little sharpening to the eye, although lately I've been doing too much of that:o
Regarding the feathers Katie is right one !!! These birds needs soft light for capturing detail at both ends and if they flap you will blow the breast area unless your going for it !!!
Processing wise if you could ever update to PS will be a big deal since the work flow is in 16 bit rather than 8 bit. For a much better price you can register for an adult photo course in your area and will be able to enjoy student discount for one year ... on all software, some substantial !!!
Hi Peter. You have good details, and thats pretty much what is most important IMO. There is no advantage in ISO 100, and higher ISOs will give you higher shutter speeds and greater depth of field that will actually give you better detail, especially the shutter speed. There is a limit, and you don't need to get carried away, but hand holding, at 400mm, even with onboard image stabilization, 1/1000 sec seems about right for the bird here. Of course you can get by with slower shutter speeds, and I often am forced to shoot slower, but the percentage of sharp images drops quite a bit. You did very well here at 1/500, but the difference between sharp and tack sharp might just be a higher shutter speed was needed. This 70-400G is quite capable of producing tack sharp images, but as you would expect, proper technique is required.
I use exactly the same camera and lens, assuming you've updated to V4 on the firmware, and you don't underexpose, ISO 400-1000 are what I usually use, and as long as you expose to the right on the histogram, up to ISO 1600 is pretty good.
Avoid direct sunlight, especially with birds like the Widgeon. It is impossible to get the dark and light plumage exposure correct, you either get the darks exposed correctly, and clip the highlights, or vice versa. Overcast is preferred IMO, and the 70-400G detail resolution is excellent in this low contrast light.
regards~Bill
American Wigeon
Posting Permissions
