zoom in

[wallyboy]

been trying to take some shots of birds in back garden here is set up

here is result

not to happy with result feel shot should be sharper, what am i not doing to make a good photo

 

[Strangways]

It looks to me like your focus is okay, but I think you need to up the ISO to get a faster shutter speed. I think 1/160 is too slow. Are you using a zoom at it's maximum of 300mm or is it a 300mm prime?

 

[artyman]

You need to be a lot closer, move your feeder.

 

[fitzer]

As above 1/160 is too slow for birds but you're also shooting at F11, at that distance you don't need that for decent DOF so unless that is the absolute sweet aperture of that lens (I'm a Canon guy!) I'd open her up a stop which will help you with your shutter speeds as well.

 

[u8myufo]

Hi Walter and welcome, as mentioned you do not really need F11 to obtain sharpness. I am guessing that the feeder in relation to the first shot is at the bottom of the garden :shrug: If it is then what sort of distance are you looking at? To me it looks about 40ft plus :shrug: Anyway as suggested get as close as possible, your lens should be more than capable of producing a satisfactory image. My other suggestion would be to ditch the remote if that`s what is coupled up in your pic. For starters try using single focus point and one shot mode as opposed to servo focus. Here are a couple shot at fairly close quarters with a 70-200 plus 1.4TC Walter so you have at least some idea as to the benefits of moving in closer, these are at about 2.75mtrs but even something around 5/6 mtrs will give you much better results.

 

[wallyboy]

It looks to me like your focus is okay, but I think you need to up the ISO to get a faster shutter speed. I think 1/160 is too slow. Are you using a zoom at it's maximum of 300mm or is it a 300mm prime?

had a funny feeling shuter speed was to slow, zoom is max

You need to be a lot closer, move your feeder.

i think i will we get some decent birds in garden

As above 1/160 is too slow for birds but you're also shooting at F11, at that distance you don't need that for decent DOF so unless that is the absolute sweet aperture of that lens (I'm a Canon guy!) I'd open her up a stop which will help you with your shutter speeds as well.

i will give this a try

Hi Walter and welcome, as mentioned you do not really need F11 to obtain sharpness. I am guessing that the feeder in relation to the first shot is at the bottom of the garden :shrug: If it is then what sort of distance are you looking at? To me it looks about 40ft plus :shrug: Anyway as suggested get as close as possible, your lens should be more than capable of producing a satisfactory image. My other suggestion would be to ditch the remote if that`s what is coupled up in your pic. For starters try using single focus point and one shot mode as opposed to servo focus. Here are a couple shot at fairly close quarters with a 70-200 plus 1.4TC Walter so you have at least some idea as to the benefits of moving in closer, these are at about 2.75mtrs but even something around 5/6 mtrs will give you much better results.

thanks for info rich, why would you get rid of remote shutter release mate
nice pics by the way

 

[hollis_f]

And another bit of advice you can take from Rich's fine shots is to set up a natural perch near your feeding station. Much better than shots of birds on metal perches.

 

[u8myufo]

thanks for info rich, why would you get rid of remote shutter release mate

Simply because you will want your focusing mark on the eye of the bird Yes you will get a few keepers with a remote, but if the light forces you to use say an aperture of around F5.6 to keep the shutter speed up, then your dof will be more shallow and thus you will need to be even more critical of nailing the focus on the eye. That imo is something you cannot control very well with a remote.

 

[wallyboy]

Simply because you will want your focusing mark on the eye of the bird Yes you will get a few keepers with a remote, but if the light forces you to use say an aperture of around F5.6 to keep the shutter speed up, then your dof will be more shallow and thus you will need to be even more critical of nailing the focus on the eye. That imo is something you cannot control very well with a remote.

thanks rich

 

[Oggy]

It looks to me like your focus is okay, but I think you need to up the ISO to get a faster shutter speed. I think 1/160 is too slow. Are you using a zoom at it's maximum of 300mm or is it a 300mm prime?

Agreed, but also birds move quite quickly which is another reason to go for a fast exposure.