I Decided to turm the OS Off...NEW IMAGES 31Dec09

TwentySixDays

TwentySixDays

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Name
Stuart
Edit My Images
Yes
I took this set today.
I normally have the OS turned on and the pictures have seemed a little soft.
1 to 3 were taken from about 25ft
All Handheld, @500mm, F/8, ISO200

1) Chaffinch 1 - This is only one with the OS=On
DSC_5996a800.jpg


2) Great Tit
DSC_5998a800.jpg


3) Chaffinch 2
DSC_6015a800.jpg


4) Goldfinch (Taken from 50ft - 100% crop)
DSC_6059a800.jpg


Thanks for looking, C&C Welcome.
 
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Hi

They all still look soft to me, your shutter speed on all bar one is below 1/500. That alone won't help in getting sharp shots at that focal length. Even less so when the birds are sat on a moving twig / branch.

Will the app open anymore or failing that up the ISO to try and get your shutter speed faster.
 
(y) Thanks for the comments...
digitalfailure said:
Hi

They all still look soft to me, your shutter speed on all bar one is below 1/500. That alone won't help in getting sharp shots at that focal length. Even less so when the birds are sat on a moving twig / branch.

Will the app open anymore or failing that up the ISO to try and get your shutter speed faster.
Click to expand...

I try to keep to ISO200 to keep the noise down, but I have use ISO800 which is not to bad.
To get 1/500 it has to be really bright.
The Lens will go down to 6.3 but I have been advised to keep to at least F8 otherwise the imagaes get soft.


artyman said:
I'm wondering why turn the OS off unless you are using very high shutter speeds or else absolutely rigid on a tripod.
Click to expand...

This was an experiment to see if the OS was affecting the sharpness ... maybe its the lens or more likely me. I have tried on a 'solid' tripod with the OS off but they still seem the same.

scottthehat said:
what lens are you using.
Click to expand...

The lens is a Sigma 150-500 F6.3 APO HSM

Thanks for the ideas ... maybe I need to do some controlled testing with static subjects or test cards :thinking:
 
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mstphoto said:
I've been trying out Auto ISO lately on my 5D Mk2 with great results.
It means I can hand hold my 100-400 with little chance of camera shake as the camera will set an ISO to give me a reasonable shutter speed.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. I will read up on the D300 to see if it has auto ISO.


artyman said:
I have a Sigma as well and you should be able to get sharper images than that even wide open. This was 1/60 f6.3 @500mm ISO 400

Img_0435.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks for the example Ken. Your one does look sharper.

I tried a different tack when processing the RAW, I wound up the RAW Clarity.
The image below is almost 100% crop, with a final sharpen when I resized from 1000 pxs to 800...did it work?
5)
DSC_5998b800.jpg
 
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Looking at your images you are cropping quite heavily yes? They are all nice poses and in good light, but lacking the critical sharpness.

I don't think the lack of sharpness is down to your equipment. Personally I would stop worrying about your gear (I expect It's fine) and start working on your fieldcraft. Getting closer to the birds is the best way of getting good shots - if you have to crop you are effectively increasing the magnification of an image, and as such you would need a higher shutter speed to maintain sharpness. Plus you start introducing errors from mis-focussing which are more pronounced the more you crop.

Look forward to seeing more of your shots.
 
RichardtheSane said:
Looking at your images you are cropping quite heavily yes? They are all nice poses and in good light, but lacking the critical sharpness.

I don't think the lack of sharpness is down to your equipment. Personally I would stop worrying about your gear (I expect It's fine) and start working on your fieldcraft. Getting closer to the birds is the best way of getting good shots - if you have to crop you are effectively increasing the magnification of an image, and as such you would need a higher shutter speed to maintain sharpness. Plus you start introducing errors from mis-focussing which are more pronounced the more you crop.

Look forward to seeing more of your shots.
Click to expand...

:agree:

Try upping your iso I'm sure the D300 can handle 400-800 with ease. That would give you one to two stops of extra shutter speed. Personally I wouldn't crop so heavily either I like a bit of habitat in a shot, makes for a more natural look. Noiseware software is free and should help reduce noise issues too;)
HTH(y)
 
RichardtheSane said:
Looking at your images you are cropping quite heavily yes? ... Personally I would stop worrying about your gear (I expect It's fine) and start working on your fieldcraft. Getting closer to the birds is the best way of getting good shots Look forward to seeing more of your shots.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your comment, I agree with what you are saying. The closes I am generally getting is 20-30 feet, and you are right I am cropping the picture to about 25% of the original frame.

RJL2005 said:
:agree:

Try upping your iso I'm sure the D300 can handle 400-800 with ease. That would give you one to two stops of extra shutter speed. Personally I wouldn't crop so heavily either I like a bit of habitat in a shot, makes for a more natural look. Noiseware software is free and should help reduce noise issues too;)
HTH(y)
Click to expand...

I do have Noiseware, and I am impressed at the way it handle noise. It obviously does some clever stuff inside as the images seem to loose most of the noise without loosiing much in the way of clarity.

I think the upshot is more practice.

Thanks to everyone who has tried to help me with this.
Have a good Christmas.
 
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TwentySixDays said:
Thanks for your comment, I agree with what you are saying. The closes I am generally getting is 20-30 feet, and you are right I am cropping the picture to about 25% of the original frame.
Click to expand...

Are you out and about or are these garden birds?

This really is the right time of year to start working on getting close - the birds ar ehungry and will be a bit bolder to get food. When out an about I tend to go early and take some premium seed, I'll walk a route spreading seed about then turn around and walk back slowly. If I see a bird taking interest in my seed I'll stop about about 25 feet away and wait - then just edge closer.

Practise on Robins :) They are easy but they can be a proper confidence builder when you get good shots.
 
The D300 does have a fully functioning Auto ISO, I use mine all the time set to 3200 max.

I have in camera NR set to LOW.
 
RichardtheSane said:
Are you out and about or are these garden birds?

This really is the right time of year to start working on getting close - the birds are hungry and will be a bit bolder to get food. When out an about I tend to go early and take some premium seed, I'll walk a route spreading seed about then turn around and walk back slowly. If I see a bird taking interest in my seed I'll stop about about 25 feet away and wait - then just edge closer.

Practise on Robins :) They are easy but they can be a proper confidence builder when you get good shots.
Click to expand...

The shots are of birds in the trees around the garden.
We have lots of bird feeders but I was trying to photograph birds in 'natural' surroundings
i.e. not on the feeders.
The Robin is the most adventureous he/they have come with in a couple of meters, or even a couple of feet when I am gardening.
The birds, in general, do come a lot closer when I haven't got my camera.
Maybe my attitude is more theatening when I am 'stalking' them trying to get a shot :thinking:


scottthehat said:
what do you have the d300 set to for noise control.
Click to expand...

Long Exposure NR = OFF
High ISO NR = NORM


Martyn... said:
The D300 does have a fully functioning Auto ISO, I use mine all the time set to 3200 max.

I have in camera NR set to LOW.
Click to expand...

ISO Sensitivty Settings
ISO sensitivity auto Control = OFF
Maximum Sensitivity = 3200 but Greyed Out
Minimum Shutter Speed = 1/30 but Greyed Out


Thanks again for the advice - I can see I have lots to learn about the camera settings/capabilities and also about wild-life photography.

If I turn ISO sensitivity auto Control = ON.
Do I leave the Aperture Priority set at F/8 OR change to Shutter Priority at say 1/500?

Stuart
 
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TwentySixDays said:
The shots are of birds in the trees around the garden.
We have lots of bird feeders but I was trying to photograph birds in 'natural' surroundings
i.e. not on the feeders.
The Robin is the most adventureous he/they have come with in a couple of meters, or even a couple of feet when I am gardening.
The birds, in general, do come a lot closer when I haven't got my camera.
Maybe my attitude is more theatening when I am 'stalking' them trying to get a shot :thinking:




Long Exposure NR = OFF
High ISO NR = NORM




ISO Sensitivty Settings
ISO sensitivity auto Control = OFF
Maximum Sensitivity = 3200 but Greyed Out
Minimum Shutter Speed = 1/30 but Greyed Out


Thanks again for the advice - I can see I have lots to learn about the camera settings/capabilities and also about wild-life photography.

If I turn ISO sensitivity auto Control = ON.
Do I leave the Aperture Priority set at F/8 OR change to Shutter Priority at say 1/500?

Stuart
Click to expand...
i would turn the high iso noise reduction off all together and you will see a big difference in detail, the d300 noise reduction at 800 and up set to normal is very hard,
 
scottthehat said:
heres some i have taken with my d30 and 1505--mm.
Click to expand...
(y) Nice Pics Scott.
I will try some experiments over the next week - apparently going to be busy over the next few days :LOL:
Happy Christmas :)
 
TwentySixDays said:
If I turn ISO sensitivity auto Control = ON.
Do I leave the Aperture Priority set at F/8 OR change to Shutter Priority at say 1/500?

Stuart
Click to expand...

Turn Auto ISO 'ON' - - - use Manual 'M' set aperture to f7.1 (front command dial), set shutter speed to 1/500 (rear command dial). You are now in control of the beast, you can see the ISO reading in the viewfinder, if this starts getting too high, or the meter indicates under exposure (any bars showing when the ISO reads 3200) you can bring down the shutter speed with your thumb on the rear dial, or open up the aperture with your index finger.

Conversely on a bright day you may need to increase the shutter speed, or stop down the aperture, if the ISO reads 200 (its lowest), just check the +/- reading in the viewfinder and bars showing will indicate over exposure

As all the info is in the viewfinder you can see what is happening without removing the camera from your eye, well after a bit of practice you can (y)
 
Ahem - yokel time... "OS" ?
 
Right, entire thread now makes sense to me, thanks :D

Arthur
 
Martyn... said:
Turn Auto ISO 'ON' - - - use Manual 'M' set aperture to f7.1 (front command dial), set shutter speed to 1/500 (rear command dial). You are now in control of the beast, you can see the ISO reading in the viewfinder, if this starts getting too high, or the meter indicates under exposure (any bars showing when the ISO reads 3200) you can bring down the shutter speed with your thumb on the rear dial, or open up the aperture with your index finger.

Conversely on a bright day you may need to increase the shutter speed, or stop down the aperture, if the ISO reads 200 (its lowest), just check the +/- reading in the viewfinder and bars showing will indicate over exposure

As all the info is in the viewfinder you can see what is happening without removing the camera from your eye, well after a bit of practice you can (y)
Click to expand...

(y) Thanks Martyn - you make it sound so easy :LOL:.
I will try, or should I say practice, over the next week and see if I can get some decent shots.

I must say I enjoyed the challenge this month - really hard to call when it came to voting though.

Have a Good Christmas.
 
Went to Sevenoaks Wildlife Centre today and tried with noise reduction set to Low. Also manage to get closer to the action (10-15 feet).
Fixed the ISO @ 800, Apeture Priority @ F6.3

6) Blackbird: 150-500@500, ISO800, F/6.3, 1/80s NR=LOW
DSC_6187b800.jpg


7) Robin: 150-500@500, ISO800, F/6.3, 1/125s NR=LOW
DSC_6204b800.jpg


8) Song Thrush: 150-500@500, ISO800, F/6.3, 1/250s NR=LOW
DSC_6200b800.jpg

Bit anoyed about the OoF twig cutting across the tail.

There seems to be noise creeping in even at ISO800.
To my eye there appears to be an improvement, especially with the Robin.

RichardtheSane said:
...start working on your fieldcraft...
Click to expand...

There were all shot at about half the distance of the first set, so may be my field craft has improve anyway :)

Be blunt - are these better than the first set?
 
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artyman said:
I think they look better, perhaps a little contrast tweak needed, but like all these things it's personal taste.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your comment - now you mension it they do seem a little lacking, I will give them a tweek.
 
Another way for you to try, no better or worse,just different.

Put the camera in aperture priority at F7.1 or F8, turn the auto ISO on and set the max iso value to say 1600 and minimum shutter speed to say 1/500.The camera will then adjust the ISO for you.Keep an eye on what shutter speed your actually getting though.

PS..I have the NR turned off on my cameras.
 
fracster said:
Another way for you to try, no better or worse,just different.

Put the camera in aperture priority at F7.1 or F8, turn the auto ISO on and set the max iso value to say 1600 and minimum shutter speed to say 1/500.The camera will then adjust the ISO for you.Keep an eye on what shutter speed your actually getting though.

PS..I have the NR turned off on my cameras.
Click to expand...

Thanks Ade, I will try with your setup next time I am out.
 
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Pretty dark and overcast today so I when to the local park for some more practice with the suggested settings.

All the shots are handheld

D300 Settings:
Manual F/6.3
S-1/200s
Auto ISO (Min Shutter 500, Max ISO=3200)
High ISO NR=OFF

8) Manderine Duck (M)
Sigma 150-500@450 (Auto)ISO1400, 1/200s, F/6.3, OS=ON
DSC_6349a800.jpg


9) Mallard Duck (F)
Sigma 150-500@500 (Auto)ISO3200, 1/200s, F/6.3, OS=ON
DSC_6362a800.jpg


10) Heron 1
Sigma 150-500@500 (Auto)ISO2000, 1/500s, F/6.3, OS=OFF
DSC_6425a800.jpg


11) Heron 2
Sigma 150-500@500 (Auto)ISO2000, 1/500s, F/6.3, OS=OFF
DSC_6426a800.jpg


(y) Thanks Again for all the advice.
 
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