Hummingbirds; second attempt

[Crimzon]

Ok so day 2 of using this camera. It's very grey/dull skies with light rain.Ive taken a few tips from Tonydee :D thank you. Although I still have much to learn. After experimenting with shutter speed I found 1/1250 to work pretty good ISO is 1600 for all shots this time. With Ap at 5.6 I got it down further but it sseems this mode or speed it wont go further. Ok enough talk heres the goods.


#1 I moved the feeder to a new location The background is a bit boring, but the subdued sunlight deosnt glare off the feeder as much
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3354/3511575212_a32b01e210_b.jpg

#2 I changed my position again to try and get a more interesting backgound, but theres more glare off the feeder.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3329/3510765571_c171e2d944_b.jpg

#3 I think this is a nice shot of it's wing
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3658/3511578560_b77170efdc_b.jpg

#4 A closer veiw of a red HB. A bit boring but, I think the detail is good.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3309/3511579054_137c202da6_b.jpg

#5 I moved again. Experimenting with the lattuce, thought it might look cool. It's a bit busy though? I think the pic itself turned out better though, no?
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3628/3511580596_bdcc563fd0_b.jpg

#6 This is the only one I took [well showed you anyway lol ] of a higher shutter speed 1/2500 Quite a bit darker, But the colors are truer to their actual tones. ..... If only the bird came out better.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3652/3510772091_883c5c3c2a_b.jpg


Better this time around?

Also how do I combat the graininess? With the size flickr lets you use it's hard to tell but, when I zoom in with photoshop you can definatly tell. This is because of the high ISO right? I know because of the action shots I'm taking a higher ISO is better, but would it help to turn it down a bit and then adjust the shutter. Even at lower shutter speed theres not too much motion blur, so I definatley have room to play with.

Set a lower shutter speed to let more light in, and have a lower ISO to make less blur... is that correct? Or does Aperture have something to do with it... or all of the above?

[Crimzon]

I screwed up the links they are fixed now :)

[tonydee]

They look good... hope you're pleased :-). Re noise: yes, you need to lower the ISO, which means either using a wider aperture (from f/5.6 I think you said your lens can go to f/4? Is that zoomed in? - would be one "stop" which lets you half the ISO) and/or a slower shutter speed.

If I were you, I'd think - and prepare the camera settings - separately for the shots where you're trying to "freeze" the moving bird v.s. those where it's landed and stationary. For the latter, you can use a much slower shutter speed, and dial the ISO down to 400 or even 200 to get minimal noise.

All just a matter of fine tuning that balance now... ISO vs shutter speed. You only need avoid your widest aperture if you find it "soft" (meaning the pictures always look blury), or the depth-of-field is too shallow to fit the bird inside (whether because it's not as "deep" as the bird is, or because the bird's moving too unpredictably to focus on easily).

For what it's worth, some software can also do "noise reduction", which attempts to remove the noise from images, but also tends to confuse some accurately recorded image contrasts for noise and smooth them undesirably. Worth learning how to do it long term though - of course, it depends on the software you're using.

Well done. Cheers, Tony

[Crimzon]

(from f/5.6 I think you said your lens can go to f/4? Is that zoomed in?)

It seems when I zoom, it automatically resets to 5.6 even though I'm using "M" So I guess 5.6 is max

If I were you, I'd think - and prepare the camera settings - separately for the shots where you're trying to "freeze" the moving bird v.s. those where it's landed and stationary. For the latter, you can use a much slower shutter speed, and dial the ISO down to 400 or even 200 to get minimal noise.

I'd like to do that But its hard to switch settings fast enough. As most of my presets have restrictions :( like in ''P" it auto sets the shutter speed which frustrates me, because that seems to be the only mode I can save RAW files in. What mode could I switch to for still shots? Like going from "M" as my action shot mode to...... Av Tv ect and turn those settings to my liking?

As for editing I'm using photoshop elements 5.0, but getting to know that is a whole nother ball of wax :)

And yes I'm much happier thank you :D

[lindsaytblum]

Great improvement! I really like #3

[Sisyphus]

These shots are definitely an improvement over your first effort. An acceptable amount of graininess depends on what you plan to do with the photos. That is, if all you plan to do is display the images in sizes no larger than you've posted here -- or if you plan to print the photos not much larger than snapshot size, then you can probably get away with cranking the ISO up fairly high. ISO 1600 doesn't look too bad here. But enlargements and full-size images will begin to suffer. Or if you'd like to start making some tighter crops, you're more limited using the higher ISOs.

[tonydee]

Many zooms will have a narrower maximum aperture when zoomed in... f/5.6 zoomed in sounds right, f/4 was suspicious. Tends to be the more expensive ones that stick to one value throughout their range (and of course, have a wider value).

Re switching settings... yes: tricky. All the M, Av, Tv, and P modes should save RAW - it's just the "Green Box" and scene modes (sport, night, no-flash, whatever) that refuse to. When the bird is still, and assuming you still want RAW, you can stick to the same mode (e.g. Av) but change the ISO as quick as you can... your shutter speed will get slower but the noise will be reduced. If the bird is in and out too quick, then perhaps forgo the chance to get a fast-shutter-speed shot, and set say ISO200 and wait for it to be still.

I've never used Elements... a quick google turned up articles suggesting it has noise reduction, e.g. http://www.photokaboom.com/photography/learn/Photoshop_Elements/noise_reduction/1_noise_reduction_introduction.htm

Cheers, Tony