Some questions to get me started better.

[J.A.F. Doorhof]

As you might know I have switched from my HP-850 to the 10D.

Although I'm VERY VERY pleased with the camera I have some questions.

I was out today with the 10D and a EF 75-300, 4-5.6 III lens, and almost all pictures are very bad (moved).

I aimed for the P setting and a ISO of 100.

When I want to shoot at 300MM I would however rather have to choose AV with an aperture of arround 4-6 and ISO400 to get solid shots with good focus without a tripod.

Is this correct ?

With the HP 850 I used a Raynox 1.54x convertor giving me the same zoom as the 300 on the canon and I could shoot at ISO 100-200 without having focus problems (aperture at 3-6).

The HP850 lens however was a 2.8.

Could someone point me in the right direction ?

My opinion is (at the moment).
That when shooting without tripod on 300mm I have to choose AV option with anything under 7 and ISO400.

Greetings,
Frank

Example made this afternoon.
http://www.webphotoforum.com/user_images//L/33278.jpg

[J.A.F. Doorhof]

Exposure time 1/750s
F number : 9.5
ISO 400
Shutter speed 0.001333s
Aperture value 6,49585
Max aperture value 4.97086


By the way this is a 1:1 crop of the original, no resizing !!!

[Roger_Cavanagh]

Frank,

You might be better off using shutter priority mode to ensure that you don't get too slow a speed.

If your lens does not have IS, then work out the minimum speed to set as:

1/(focal x 1.6)

For example, at 300mm you should set:

1/(300 x 1.6) = 1/480 = 1/500 sec

Some people like to be even more cautious and use 1/2xFL. If this speed does not give a usable aperture, then increase ISO until the camera says OK.

Of course, you still need good technique to hold the camera steady, and some people will do better than others.

I'd also do some tests using a tripod, so you can assess what image quality should be like when you eliminate the possibility of camera shake and can ensure that focus is accurate.

Regards,

[rdenney]

J.A.F. Doorhof wrote:
I was out today with the 10D and a EF 75-300, 4-5.6 III lens, and almost all pictures are very bad (moved).



When I tried out the 75-300 lens, I found that I could not get a sharp image at 300mm at an aperture wider than f/11. I also found that I had a hard time holding the lens because so much of it rotates during focusing. For this reason, I returned the lens and bought a shorter 70-200/4 L zoom. If I ever really need the 300, I'll get the teleconverter. The lens handles so much better that I can shoot slower shutter speeds with better stability.

And it's sharper wide open than the 75-300 at f/11. Even at f/11, I got a blue smear of chromatic aberration on the 75-300.

A bird on the wing in sunlight needs an exposure of 1/X at f/16, where X is the ISO speed. This is called the Sunny 16 rule, and I live by it.

I think that 1/750 is the slowest I could hold the 75-300 while at 300 and get a sharp image.

Thus, to shoot at f/16, I need an ISO of 800. To shoot at f/11, an ISO of 400 will do. I would not use Program mode, because it might not choose these combinations. Instead I would use Av with the aperture at f/11 and the ISO at least at 400, or Tv with the shutter at 1/750 and the ISO at least at 400. Either way should get you approximately the same results.

But if it isn't brightly sunny, you'll run out of light in a hurry. This was a major reason in my rejection of the lens.

Rick "who would happily shoot the 70-200/4 with a 1.4 tc wide open at 5.6 to get high enough shutter speeds" Denney

[MarkH]

I have the same 75-300 III lens and have used it to take some pics of birds on the wing.

Check:
http://arrdee.net/%7Eflyinass/markpics/Web/Gulls.htm
and
http://arrdee.net/%7Eflyinass/markpics/Web/Gulls2.htm

Most shots were at 1/640s to 1/1250s and f10 to f13.

I tend to only try shooting stuff like this on bright sunny days. I would buy a better lens, but there is no better lens with that zoom range and price tag.

[CyberDyneSystems]

I am concerned that the image above looks to have an unusually high amount of what I would think looks like ISO noise?

But at 400 ISO on the 10D that should not be the case?

I have shot many images at 1600 without such highly distracting artifacts.

Your exposure data tells me that the shutter was fast enough at 1/750

Very confusing?

Birds in flight are very tricky. I have probably near a five hundred shots of birds in flight,... and I bet that maybe 40 of them are very good :(

[J.A.F. Doorhof]

CyberDune,

The picture is sharpened but even without that it has some noise.
This is the uneditied version.
http://www.xs4all.nl/~itc/fotos/meeuw%202.jpg

This is a 1:1 crop from the full picture so no resizing is done, this one is STRAIGHT from the camera.

The noise is not visible on this one, but the bird is to dark, perhaps that's the problem.

@ the others.
I will try today to shoot a TV with a shutterspeed of 1/750s.

Thanks for all the help.

Greetings,
Frank

[RichardtheSane]

My observation on that bird it that it is simply out of focus. I have done a lot of seabird shots with the 10D and only a few came out in sharp focus. The servo mode is good but you have to be tracking the subject perfectly to get continous focus.

Here are a couple in sharp focus
http://www.richardlindley.co.uk/wales/coastfarm_0080.htm

http://www.richardlindley.co.uk/wales/coastfarm_0090.htm

http://www.richardlindley.co.uk/wales/coast_0070.htm

http://www.richardlindley.co.uk/wales/coastfarm_0083.htm

To get those three in sharp focus I took nearly 30 frames. Reason being is because if the bird would just slip awayfrom the active focus point the lens would slip a little out of focus and not pick up again till I have the bird in the focus point again for a second or so. You will also see that my apature was always fairly wide and shutter speed over 1000th. I personally prefer to make sure the head is in focus and not be as concerned about the wingtips. You will see that trend from my exif data, and you will also see they are at ISO400, so there is no noise.
Keep trying :)

[MarkH]

I also think it's out of focus.

This is a crop of an original image with no processing at all, taken as large JPG with 0 sharpening. 1/640sec, F9, ISO400, 75-300 III at 300mm. Mine seems noticably sharper, not that all my shots that day were in focus, of course.

http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~markh/IMG_2182b.jpg

[J.A.F. Doorhof]

Hi,

I found the problem allready with that shot, it was indeed the focus and the metering.
The new ones are much better, thanks for the comments.

Greetings,
Frank

[CyberDyneSystems]

Be carefull with the sharpening too... too much is not a good thing. Try "Unsharp mask" as opposed to regular sharpening. The difference is much more subtle,. you may not even see it at first but it does wonders.

[J.A.F. Doorhof]

Hi,

I use the highlight sharpening.
Making a seperate layer with a highlight, sharpen that and overlay this over the original.

Or
I only sharpen the Y channel

Or
I use a action for midtone sharpening.

USM has some very unnatural feel over it.

Greetings,
Frank