The fox and the rabbit

M

mr bill

Messages
492
Edit My Images
Yes
Since ive had my sigma 100-300 i seem to see something every walk to work, pleased i got the fox but the outcome could have been better, not sure if its me, the lens or just too distant it was at 300mm f4 tv 640 awb and it is cropped but was very pleased with the rabbit shotView attachment 17280 View attachment 17281
 
Last edited:
anyone??? this part of the forum is hard work, i'm sure this is nature?:D:beer:while i'm waiting
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: riu
Neither of them are particuarily well focused and the subject is too central in them. They have a distinct magenta tinge to them and part of the rabbits face is obscured. I can't see the exif so can't comment on settings.
 
appreciate your comment though i think the partial obscured part adds something and i cant see much wrong with where it is or the focusing tbh, the rabbit stands out which is what i was hoping but i suppose its as much about opinion to. The tinge though not sure the 60d has the greatest AWB
 
Last edited:
Well, to be brutally honest if can't see the focus being out on both of these to varying degrees then you really need to start looking at some of the great wildlife shots on here and compare them with your shots here. You'll soon realise how poorly focused yours are. The leaf covering the rabbits face adds absolutely nothing to the image at all imo it's a messy distraction.
 
All taken on board i didn't think national geographic would want want them:)
 
mr bill said:
All taken on board i didn't think national geographic would want want them:)
Click to expand...


No but there is a vast amount of room for improvement. Pointless in saying they are great pics when they are clearly not. Hopefully you will take advice on board and improve accordingly. I'll bet in a couple of months you'll look back on these and think WTF. The journey there will no doubt be long, frustrating and filled with disappointment but when you start to get things right it's simply a great experience and very satisfying. Keep at it;)
 
Also the Fox pic, would i be correct in thinking the fox was just too far away (about half a wheat field away) for a 300mm lens or was it me?
 
mr bill said:
Also the Fox pic, would i be correct in thinking the fox was just too far away (about half a wheat field away) for a 300mm lens or was it me?
Click to expand...

Yeh, too far off and a big crop I assume which will lose you a fair bit of IQ.
 
Keep persevering and you'll get better.
I see what you were aiming for with the first rabbit shot, but agree with brash re the distracting leaf etc.
The fox shot is not sharp at all. Even if its far away, you should still be able to get a really sharp shot, albeit with a "small"" fox in the frame. Possibly cropped too much?
Was it quite misty?
 
mr bill said:
Yes very much learning i'll look at these as a starting point, is this one any better ?View attachment 17364 though a bit boring
Click to expand...

The rabbit is still out of focus and has that magenta cast. You're WB need sorted play about with different setting for different lighting conditions.

With subjects like these you really need to consider composition. Sticking them in center frame is never good unless the subject is facing straight to camera (looking away like this one is not the best either). Try to leave more space to the side of the frame the subject is looking or moving into and it does not have to be bang on rule of thirds. Mess about with that as well and you'll soon get an eye for decent composition. Here's a couple of examples of what I mean and compare the sharpness with yours as well.

MP Wire-2 by Brashman 201, on Flickr

Curlew final-3_filtered by Brashman 201, on Flickr
 
Last edited:
It was overcast but not misty though it looks like it, cant get my head round why they're not sharp (at least before cropping) lens or me? Great pics, something to aim for
 
Last edited:
mr bill said:
It was overcasy but not misty though it looks like it, cant get my head round why they're not sharp (at least before cropping) lens or me? Great pics, something to aim for
Click to expand...
It's not likely to be the lens, probably technique. I had a 100-300 panasonic lens, and had the same issues when I started. The problem I was having was my body swaying slightly was enough to cause issues.
Next time you walk past that field, try sitting the camera on a post, and use a higher aperture and compare the results. I doubt the fox will be there though :p
 
mr bill said:
And before i bore you to death, i thought these were good but not so sure now
View attachment 17368 View attachment 17369 View attachment 17370
Click to expand...
In the first one, the lighting looks poor. What shutter speed etc are you using?
In the others, it looks like the focus point has not been on the bird/s.
Again, I was having similar results, then I tried a tripod and remote release, focused on the feeder, and ensured I used an aperture that provided enough dof to ensure the birds were sharp. Keep an eye on shutter speed too.
I'm far from an expert, and can only dream of taking the kind of shots that I see on here, but I have had similar issues myself.
 
Not as easy as you think is it? i need to do this when i'm off and have more time so i can take a tripod. Of course thats the morning i wont see anything lol. The fox shutter speed was 640 and maybe neutral rather than awb might help, of course finding these things can be difficult to.
 
Last edited:
mr bill said:
Not as easy as you think is it? i need to do this when i'm off and have more time so i can take a tripod. Of course thats the morning i wont see anything lol. The fox shutter speed was 640 and maybe neutral rather than awb might help, of course finding these things can be difficult to.
Click to expand...
Its definitely not as easy as you'd think.
The problem is, I see some fantastic shots on here, head out full of enthusiasm, come back, view my shots and then think "where have I gone wrong" as they never look pin sharp.
Doesn't help that I view a lot of them on my ipad. They do look better on the mac, but still not as good.
I think A lot of the issues that I have are with DOF and body movement.
One day I'll get it right.......hopefully.
 
Last edited:
Just have to keep going, i'm still happy with the shots in respect these aren't easy things to photograph, country foxes are more difficult than town ones and an image is better than none at all, just hoped they would look better. The other thing is a tripod is fine if in a hide or something but walking around like i did for these and the time issues as they won't pose for you makes it all the more difficult
 
Last edited:
mr bill said:
Just have to keep going, i'm still happy with the shots in respect these aren't easy things to photograph, country foxes are more difficult than town ones and an image is better than none at all, just hoped they would look better. The other thing is a tripod is fine if in a hide or something but walking around like i did for these and the time issues as they won't pose for you makes it all the more difficult
Click to expand...
I'm a great believer in the only bad shot is the one you didn't take, so it's great to have seen the fox, and be able to get a shot.
I know what you mean about the tripod though. Possibly a nearby fence post as a substitute?
It's like everything though, practice makes perfect.
I could never figure out why I was crap at golf, then someone said "you only play twice a year, what do you expect"?
 
Perhaps try a monopod, if you can't take a tripod with you. I had similar problems with tripods, so bought a good Manfroto mono, and it doubles as a nice walking stick... :)
 
Thanks guys all very helpful but where am I going wrong with focusing I've had on the middle focus point ?
 
mr bill said:
Thanks guys all very helpful but where am I going wrong with focusing I've had on the middle focus point ?
Click to expand...
I'd say your not catching the birds with the focus point, either that, or you're moving slightly after achieving focus
 
Last edited:
comments please cant decide if this lens is a keep or not (sigma 100-300 f4) both were at 300mm (no pp) as some may know its a heavy lens and not sure if i'd be better with the canon 300mm prime lighter and is
 
These are very soft again I'm afraid. What settings are you using, I can't see the exif?
 
That's what I was thinking these were at f4 iso 400 500 sp getting very frustrated lol
 
Make
Canon
Model
Canon EOS 60D
Aperture
10
Exposure Time
1/640 (0.0015625 sec)
Lens ID
Sigma 100-300mm f/4
Focal Length
300.0 mm
Flash
Off, Did not fire
File Size
2.1 MB
File Type
JPEG
MIME Type
image/jpeg
Image Width
3456
Image Height
2304
Encoding Process
Baseline DCT, Huffman coding
Bits Per Sample
8
Color Components
3
X Resolution
72
Y Resolution
72
YCbCr Sub Sampling
YCbCr4:2:2 (2 1)
YCbCr Positioning
Co-sited
Exposure Program
Shutter speed priority AE
Date and Time (Original)
2014:08:19 12:34:48
Metering Mode
Spot
Color Space
sRGB
Custom Rendered
Normal
Exposure Mode
Auto
White Balance
Auto
Scene Capture Type
Standard
Contrast
Normal
Saturation
Normal
Sharpness
N/A
Quality
Fine
Sequence Number
N/A
F Number
10
Exposure Compensation
+1
Focus Mode
AI Focus AF
ISO
400
Digital Zoom
None
Compression
JPEG (old-style)
Orientation
Horizontal (normal)
 
That settings look ok. I'm not familiar with the lens. Are they crops?
 
Funily enuf I was testing a lens a couple of hours ago. This is a simple way to see if the lens is front focusing, rear focusing or bang on. Use a tripod and set the lens to wide open.

p5MOlYG.jpg
 
i'll try that in the morning thanks i was thinking it must be me but now not so sure but then my shots were hand held, the bird would have gone if i'd run upstairs for the mono or tripod, but then if i need one for every wildlife shot its not going to be very practical
 
Last edited:
Set up your tripod and take some shots of an inanimate object. That should produce sharp shots. Try using the same settings and compare the difference. If they are nice and sharp, then you need to look at your technique.
I've been getting a lot of soft/out of focus/wrong area in focus whilst trying some close up shots. I know its me that's the problem. Someone has suggested using burst mode and firing off several frames, so if movement is the issue, then you increase the chances of a sharper shot.
Try not zooming to the max 300mm, as the lens won't be as sharp at full zoom. Should still be a lot sharper than you're getting though.
 
Is this a manual focus lens??

I have the Tokina ATX 100-300mm f4 and I'm finding that the focus ring is very easy to move out of focus , it's very sensitive. Have you got focusing peaking / magnified view on your camera, if so this will help with manual focusing.

As you can see from the pics below I'm struggling with the smaller birds, but getting there with the larger birds. The Great Tit ? is a slight crop. On the pigeon when at full size and zoomed in you can see the finest of small rain drops on it's body.

I have come to the conclusion I need to purchase a monopod or tripod to help with focusing and sharpness on smaller birds. The lens is too heavy for me to use handheld with my disabilities.

As for settings, I am setting my camera to min SS of 1/320 and iso to min 200 max 1600 this is on a Fuji XT1. Also, it may help to set the apreture to f5.6 -f8 and pull the lens back to 270mm or so.. Keep practising you will get there, it's a heavy lens and if it's like my Tokina it can produce some brilliant results when you nail it.

I have to use manual lenses as Fuji have delayed their Supertele until winter 2015/2016.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top