First surf shots w/ 400 mm f5.6L

[Bimmerfest]

What do you think?

I think I need to upgrade to a better camera body... :)

[butcha27]

Nice waves! What is it you arent happy about? The pictures do have a little bit of a grainy or noisy look, what were your settings? The compostion and timing is great though

[Crashoran]

They look like film scans to me

[Stav_98]

What ISO setting Bimmerfest?

[Choderboy]

A better camera won't do much. Not even much of a challenge for the autofocus system - the surfers distance from the camera only changes relatively slowly and there's plenty of contrast fot the camera to work with.
These pics look either badly compressed or high ISO. I notice file size is 100kb and 79kb. I find for surfing pics about 150kb - 200kb required for pics to look reasonable. They seem to need a bit larger file size than a lot of pics - I think it's all the detail in the spray.
I'm curious as to the ISO you used also.

[Galaxy99]

maybe noise ninja will be able to work it out?!

[Topalov Djura]

EXIF:
1. ISO 400, 6.3, 1/800
2. ISO 400, 5.6, 1/800.

I thing you have digital noise because you underexpose pic and then corrected in some software. 350D is good body, and 400mm is good lens. If you buy new body there will be no improvements in picture quality. Send us original picture, no pp, directly from camera to see what is wrong.

[Yeoer]

Have you cropped them alot...?

[superdiver]

I am betting they were underexposed as well, since the ISO 400 is still pretty good on a 350D. I shot at ISO 1600 all the time in basketball and it worked just fine.

Dont dump the XT yet...I bet you can make this work just fine...

[Ballast]

They look very grainy to me, just like scanning a picture or a magazine. I've never had that much grain at iso400 on my 300D.

[SurfKahakai]

Nice, sunny day at Jalama...I miss surfing there. Like everyone else said...too much noise. You should drop the ISO to 100 and keep your shutter between 1/500 and 1/1250. I typically shoot around f/5.6 and it yields good results.

[Bimmerfest]

Hmmm... I did have the iso cranked up a bit -- it was very early (pre-sunrise) when I started shooting. It also got foggy as the morning came on. I didn't think iso 400 would be too high...

I've been taking lots of decent surf pics for a while now http://surf.jonshafer.com, but have never run into this "graininess" issue before; just with this brand new 400 mm lens!

In a separate discussion, what are the member's thoughts on the Tv vs. Av issue?

I sorta like the results that I usually get by using aperture priority, but am I just fooling myself?

Also, what is the best metering mode for shooting surf pics?
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/images/smilies/iono.gif

I normally use evaluative; should I be using partial?


Here's a better shot from the batch I just took...

[superdiver]

That last shot is much better! Was that with your 400 and 350D?

I really dont think it was the ISO that caused this. Like I said, i shot much higher ISO with my 250D and never had this much noise, UNLESS it was underexposed and i lightened it up in DPP....

I shoot almost exclusively AV. Most will tell you that indoor sports have consistent light and that you should shoot in M and leave the settings alone....hogwash IMO....LOL

I fond that the lighting is all over the place in these gyms. Very bright right under the lights and then tapering off for a while to very dark until you get back under another light, and then the banners, and backboards cause shadowing...anyway, the light is all over the place...LOL

As for surf shots, I would think that as you move from area to area and have the reflection off the water at different angles all the time with the wave formations that the light would shift alot as well, at least where the camera is focused, so my first instinct would be to shoot in AV. But then again, thats ALWAYS my fisrt instinct....LOL

[Bimmerfest]

I still don't understand how my exposure on the others got so messed up...?
(besides the iso 400 setting)

Before I bought the 400, many posts I read spoke of poor performance in low-light situations.

Is this what I'm looking at (in the earlier pics above)?

Maybe this one isn't so bad...

[SurfKahakai]

Bimmerfest...can you post an original, unedited shot for evaluation? It might help determine where the grain is coming from.

[paulgolf5]

Hi Bimmerfest. I purchased the same 400mm lens yesterday and posted a few pics within this Aussie thread. Go to the last and second last pages of the thread. Gives some comparison, albeit with a different camera (in my case 20D)

http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=222151&page=196

[Bimmerfest]

Bimmerfest...can you post an original, unedited shot for evaluation? It might help determine where the grain is coming from.

You've got it. "Right Click/Save as": http://jon.bimmerfest.com/images/img_4232.jpg
(1.47 MB file)

One other intervening variable maybe - I had the circular polarizer on, but there wasn't much light...
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/images/smilies/iono.gif

Lastly, I repeat my query re: metering. The 350D only gives me 3 options: evaluative, partial, and center-balanced. What is optimal for usually backlit fast-moving waves & surfers??

[SurfKahakai]

Looks like your lighting was bad because of the fog burning off. I used to get shots like that at Jalama all the time. The sun would be up in the east, cloud deck to the west, but the haziness still remained over the water...I hate that about the west coast, and especially, Jalama. My guess is that all the grain is from your post processing to make up for the haziness. Unfortunately, it's just one of the effects of shooting while the fog is burning off.

One thing I like to do in those situations is just convert to black and white then the grain looks cool.

As far as metering goes, I don't remember what mine is set at but I want to say center balanced. I only use my center focus point and meter/focus off that point, then shift my lens to get the composition I want.

[Bimmerfest]

Hi Bimmerfest. I purchased the same 400mm lens yesterday and posted a few pics within this Aussie thread. Go to the last and second last pages of the thread. Gives some comparison, albeit with a different camera (in my case 20D)

Wow, great pics Paul!!

Looks like your lighting was bad because of the fog burning off. I used to get shots like that at Jalama all the time. The sun would be up in the east, cloud deck to the west, but the haziness still remained over the water...I hate that about the west coast, and especially, Jalama. My guess is that all the grain is from your post processing to make up for the haziness. Unfortunately, it's just one of the effects of shooting while the fog is burning off.

One thing I like to do in those situations is just convert to black and white then the grain looks cool.

As far as metering goes, I don't remember what mine is set at but I want to say center balanced. I only use my center focus point and meter/focus off that point, then shift my lens to get the composition I want.

You know, I bet you're right.... Thanks for the spot-on analysis... :)

[ak_powder_monkey]

my first thought was: woo way underexposed

[psurrette]

Bimmerfest, Use center balanced metering, I like AV mode for exposure. Not sure what program you are using for post processing, I downloaded your full file into Photoshop. I did a levels adjustment, resize to post and sharpened.

http://www.petesurrette.com/FMPics/img_4232%20adjusted.jpg

[Bimmerfest]

Use center balanced metering, I like AV mode for exposure. Not sure what program you
are using for post processing, I downloaded your full file into Photoshop. I did a levels adjustment, resize to post
and sharpened.

THANK YOU so much psurrette for the metering info ~ had been unable to get straight on that,
and it makes a lot of sense when you really think about it...
(I had been using evaluative)

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/images/smilies/worshippy.gif

Please feel free to offer any additional advice. I've been surfing for 33 years, taking surf pics for 6 mos...

I took this one on my first trip to Rincon with DSLR in tow...

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/images/smilies/aim-angel.gif

[SurfKahakai]

The whitewater looks a little blown in that last shot. I like the photo though. I think it would look great in B&W.

[Bimmerfest]

That last pic was taken with an old moldy Tamron zoom. When I first bought the cam I purchased the body only to save money, and my dad had a couple of old Canon mount lenses laying around. Next I bought the 28-135 IS which worked well when the waves were small, breaking closer to shore. Then I bought the 100-300 which also worked well. Then I got bitten by the "L-glass bug"... And, now I'm in big trouble...

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/images/smilies/uhoh2.gif

These were taken with the 100-300 (back before I understood about exposure)...

[Bimmerfest]

These are better examples. The learning curve is pretty quick with the instant feedback of digital, thankfully!

[rgaya]

for your tv vs av question... go manual... if your shooting with a digital body .. why not?

[Trevi]

I generally use Av... but have been known to use M on occasion....

Av is easier :)

Its looking better Bimmer..... :)

[niro750]

last photo there is great - nice capture, love the lines cut into the waves! keep up the good work!

[superdiver]

I find Av easier as well. I want to determine my DOF and what ISO for the most part and let the camera figure out the rest...

[hooookup]

As far as surf photography goes, shooting in AV es no bueno por mi.. Blown highlights galore. M iso 100, f/5.6 1/1250" is my starting point and I adjust from there.

[Bimmerfest]

As far as surf photography goes, shooting in AV es no bueno por mi.. Blown highlights galore. M iso 100, f/5.6 1/1250" is my starting point and I adjust from there.

This is a great discussion.... I need to hear more of it...

Assuming I can manage the shift from Av to M, how do I determine what adjustments need to be made from there, when the surf is going off and my adrenaline is pumping? Histogram??

hooookup, what is your preference for metering mode as well?

[Bimmerfest]

Rincon had some surf today finally, so I tried out the 400 again.

http://photos.surfline.com/albums/userpics/11732/normal_george.jpg

[ErikM]

Do you shoot RAW or JPEG? Your images lack the 'pop' that L lenses are known for... I am guessing you are shooting raw and not doing much post processing. I also noticed your posted JPEG is only 70kb. Try saving a higher quality JPEG.