shots from my yard

[Kawarthabob]

I really don't have to travel too far to get these shots:angel:

[Iguanasan]

Very cool stuff, thanks for sharing. Most of what I see around Halifax are pigeons, crows, and starlings. I know there are others out there and I catch glimpses of them from time to time but city is lousy with these other beasts.

[MoinMoin]

About such wildlife in my garden I only can dream! :o

[Kawarthabob]

I am very fortunate to have nature at my door step. But, like everything there is a opposite.

[Mad Aussie]

I sure wish my garden had such a variety of critters! Nice.

Hey KBob ... I wonder why you seem to be struggling with focus though? I notice that many of your photos seem soft.
That osprey shot would have been magnificent if it was sharp.

[edG]

nice set - I also have to agree they seem a little soft.

[Kawarthabob]

I sure wish my garden had such a variety of critters! Nice.

Hey KBob ... I wonder why you seem to be struggling with focus though? I notice that many of your photos seem soft.
That osprey shot would have been magnificent if it was sharp.

Yeah i see what you mean. I wonder if its because I have my camera set to only one focal point? Any thoughts?
Also I have been using a tripod and a remote shutter release. Maybe I'm transfering these images in a low res?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I hope to buy a teleconverter in the near future.

[Mad Aussie]

Yeah i see what you mean. I wonder if its because I have my camera set to only one focal point? Any thoughts?
Also I have been using a tripod and a remote shutter release. Maybe I'm transfering these images in a low res?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I hope to buy a teleconverter in the near future.
Although they look large, they are well under 250 kb so I don't think we can blame the attachment process here at ph.ca. And using a tripod and shutter release should work of course, UNLESS, the tripod is a bad one and you are getting movement created by the mirror slap or something. Possible with a long lens attached.

Can you supply us with some EXIF data? Mainly just the fstop, shutter speed, and ISO. And focal length.

Are you using manual or auto focus?

Is your lens a Image Stabilizer?

Using a single focal point is the right thing to do. Make sure it's on the critters eye.

[Michaelaw]

Great Osprey shot :highfive:

[Kawarthabob]

Although they look large, they are well under 250 kb so I don't think we can blame the attachment process here at ph.ca. And using a tripod and shutter release should work of course, UNLESS, the tripod is a bad one and you are getting movement created by the mirror slap or something. Possible with a long lens attached.

Can you supply us with some EXIF data? Mainly just the fstop, shutter speed, and ISO. And focal length.

Are you using manual or auto focus?

Is your lens a Image Stabilizer?

Using a single focal point is the right thing to do. Make sure it's on the critters eye.

the attachment process i am using is through picassa, i try and focus with one focal point on the eye if i can. My iso speed is usually 100 and f11 1/200th sec. I've tried both auto and manual focus.
I'll try next with locking the mirror and not extending the height of my tri pod as it does tend to wobble in the wind. oh and the images have been cropped and zoomed in.

[Mad Aussie]

Cropping in too much will obviously result in shots that look unsharp.

Maybe drop the tripod ... go to handheld ... up the ISO to about 400 and shoot with shutter priority (up around 1/800th or more if you can) on auto focus for a few shots and see what happens. Using these settings it should be possible to get sharp shots fairly easily.

Do you get sharp results if you shoot something easy like a cup on an outdoor table in good light?

[Hillbillygirl]

I think, from what I can see, it is a combination, (as you have said MA), of slow shutter and cropping too much. Though I mostly suspect the cropping.
Could you post a couple uncropped just for us to see. Don't need to see the subject largely, just an uncropped version of any of these shots.
As for getting crisp clear shots. Yes he can, see link below. This is also an indication of why I think it is mostly heavy crop prob's.
http://www.photography.ca/Forums/f11/time-reflect-8628.html

[Kawarthabob]

yeah they are heavily cropped. it seems when i view the "target" at 300mm it is very close, but when viewed on my computer the image is not so close due to sensor size ( maybe?) The osprey is about 60 feet away and maybe 30ft up a tree. Time of day is usually when the sun is coming from the southwest casting a shadow on the subject as the osprey hunts from a perch on a crescent shaped island we have.

[Marko]

Very nice shots indeed!

I'm with MA here, first thing to check is shutterspeed and I too recommend 1/800 or faster, though cropping may well be adding to softness here.

If possible, always try to focus on the eye even manually if possible...that way we know who is responsible for the focus. The camera often gets it wrong on a general AF mode. You eye, will never get it wrong if your vision and focus are good and there's enough light to easily focus with. AF has a piddly little brain compared to ours and it works on contrast alone AFAIK. It has no idea if it's looking at a bird or a building, so using it improperly is a sure way to miss many shots. :twocents:

[Kawarthabob]

I was second guessing myself after the softness comments. It is because of cropping. I am saving for a lens extender and we'll see what happens.