Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS Mark II

datawiz2012 wrote in post #11837110
I am using 7D and usually I rely on the spot AF mode. But today (other than the bird shots), I mostly used the Automatic AF mode (default mode). And I was in AI Servo mode most of the time.

I suggest you just try AV mode, ISO 400, centerpoint focus, 1 shot AF, Evaluative metering, & if its overcast or extremely cloudy bump your exposure in camera up +1.

AI servo mode was O.K. to use for the bird shot but you dont need it for the other captures. Probably not even for the slow flying sea-gull to be honest.

Do you shoot in Raw & convert to jpg in DPP?

Your not using Auto ISO are you ?

What is your in camera sharpening & contrast set to ?

Regards,

Silverfox1 wrote in post #11838725
Your not using Auto ISO are you ?

What is your in camera sharpening & contrast set to ?

Regards,

I shoot Raw and jpg both and always decrease the size and quality of Jpegs to post them here. I have recently started working on Raw. Yes, I mostly shoot with Auto ISO. Should I stop doing that?

I have not touched any of the built in camera settings for sharpening & contrast. Any suggestions in this regard would be highly appreciated.

Something is wrong? This is with a 2x

Try shooting manual with the light meter and set the shutter to 1/250-1/500 sec at about ISO 200 center focus with spot or evaluative metering....

datawiz2012 wrote in post #11838764
I shoot Raw and jpg both and always decrease the size and quality of Jpegs to post them here. I have recently started working on Raw. Yes, I mostly shoot with Auto ISO. Should I stop doing that?

I have not touched any of the built in camera settings for sharpening & contrast. Any suggestions in this regard would be highly appreciated.

Try in camera sharpening at +5 & contrast +1 just for starters, and shoot some static subjects with IS on and use the 2 sec. delay timer along with the above suggestions i mentioned.

Also try manual mode as Rich suggested.

Which DSLR did you own prior to your present body ?

Each body + lens combo has its own unique learning curve so dont get frustrated. Once you find the proper parameters & then apply some simple tweaks dependent on the variable ambient lighting conditions outdoors your going to be just fine !

Regards,

Thanks for the suggestions & recommendations. I had a 50d prior to 7d. The AF system is quite different on the 7d

Rich S wrote in post #11838769
Something is wrong? This is with a 2x

Your right, something is wrong. That is terrible...

Rich S wrote in post #11838769
Something is wrong? This is with a 2x

That is just plain disgusting IQ !!!!!!!!!

You definitely have these Hummers down pat enough i think you could do this with your eyes closed.

Regards,

Very nice capture of the Blue & Gold Macaw !

datawiz2012 wrote in post #11838764
I shoot Raw and jpg both and always decrease the size and quality of Jpegs to post them here. I have recently started working on Raw. Yes, I mostly shoot with Auto ISO. Should I stop doing that?

I have not touched any of the built in camera settings for sharpening & contrast. Any suggestions in this regard would be highly appreciated.

Yes, take it off Auto ISO. Try to use the lowest ISO possible that will get you the shutter speed that's acceptable for the shots that you are trying to take.

And also make sure that the camera is not picking the auto focus point for you. Try out One Shot AF using only the center focus point for now.

I would try again using AV mode. Use F2.8, ISO 400. See if this will get you shutter speeds > 1/250. If so, your shots should look better than the ones that you have posted thus far.

Good luck

What was your point of focus?

datawiz2012 wrote in post #11842161
Is this better?

The EXIF data shows you used the flash for this capture.

Do you have an external Flash or just using the pop-up on the camera ?

If you have an external flash simply use the below guide i normally tell folks and they soon start taking pretty nice indoor shots.
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Indoors always shoot with your camera in "Manual Mode" when the external flash is attached. For starters simply set your camera parameters at f5.6, 1\100, ISO400, and your external flash to ETTL Evaluative mode. Take a test shot and then you can adjust the FEC + or - to your tastes on your foreground subject. The in camera settings above is a starting point for the background ambient lighting which you can also re-adjust dependent on the existing ambient light. The FEC + or - is simply exposing the right amount of light on your foreground subject.

Here is a link for folks to read that should help:

http://photonotes.org …les/eos-flash/index2.html
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Personally when i shoot outdoors in late afternoon light i always use AV mode, which with the external flash attached creates fill flash.

Regards,

datawiz2012 wrote in post #11842161
Is this better?

It's better but not quite at the level of what this lens is capable of. Looks like it's not as sharp due to motion blur.

I looked at your EXIF and the parameters are as such:

ISO 400
F2.8
1/50 sec

Looks like your shutter speed was too slow and it was compouned because you shot this at 200mm focal length. You'll need a faster shutter speed to compensate for your little girl's tiny movements.

Can you shoot this in better light that will allow for at least 1/250 shutter speed? Just want to determine that it's not the lens that's causing the blurry pictures. Either that or raise your ISO to 1600 which will add some grain to your shots.