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Okay couple more from Australia Zoo. I would be interested in knowing which is the better of the two rock wallaby pics.
And as for the parrot - well I just liked the look as it was a bit different.








Linda

Hi Linda,

I don't want to be overly harsh here, but what sort of camera are you using ? These images seems softer then they should be and at this stage I'm not sure if that is technique, lens softness or possibly even due to resizing for the web, but I feel these shots should be far sharper then they are. Possibly you didn't have enough light, so the shutter speed was slower then it should be, if you could post some EXIF data, camera model and lens, we could help narrow down the reason for the apparent softness.
Softness aside they would be all nice images, I hope you take all of this in the spirit it was written.

Alpha_7 wrote:I don't want to be overly harsh here, but what sort of camera are you using ? ....... if you could post some EXIF data, camera model and lens, we could help narrow down the reason for the apparent softness.
Softness aside they would be all nice images, I hope you take all of this in the spirit it was written.

I'm still smiling Alpha_7 - wouldn't have posted if I didn't want critique.

Camera - D80, 70-300 kit lens. Camera settings - ISO 400, Aperture priority mode - f5.6.


Linda

Linda,

As Craig has suggested, the images look a little soft. I notice from the EXIF data for the images you had the following settings for each image:
1) 1/250s 180mm
2) 1/250s 300mm
3) 1/125s 300mm

The rule of thumb for shutter speeds for hand held images is 1 over the focal length as the slowest, but ideally you need to be a good deal faster than that. For the first shot, you are pretty close to the rule of thumb, but even if your hand holding technique is perfect, 1/250s may still be too slow for 180mm. For the second shot, the shutter speed is slower than it should be and for the third way slower. If the lens has VR (Vibration Reduction) and you had it turned on, you can go a bit slower, but you may still get some movement evident in the pictures.

Ideally, you want to set a shutter speed a lot faster than 1/focal length or better still use a good tripod.

Other than the lack of sharpness, these are all good images with good composition.

Edit: I just checked and the 70-300 has VR. Did you have it switched on?

Hi Linda,
Were you using a tripod?
I have a very hard time trying to hand hold my 70-300 at the longer end.
You may wish to try shutter priority so that you have a speed that is easier to work with?
Just my 2c
Regards Colin

Colin_12 and ATJ - thanks for the tips - now for a dumb question - should I be using shutter speed rather than aperture for taking shots like these?? I had been led to believe at a day course I did, that aperture was for every day kinda stuff like these pics and shutter priority was for sport and movement.


Linda

Linda,

Using aperture is fine, you have to be aware of what your shutter speed will be when shooting at when you select your aperture.

Lens: The 70-300mm kit lens is notoriously soft at the max focal length and wide open, which you had. That lens is best at 70-200mm range with aperture f8. Sometimes you need to boost your ISO, which you did here. Certainly use it to 300mm, I've used it myself at that focal length but make sure you have a fast enough shutter and close the aperture a bit.

The parrot is a very nice capture but I usually prefer to have the eye in focus. Using a smaller aperture would have helped here so that you wouldn't have had a shallow depth of field.

In the end, it is a balancing act, sometimes you have to compromise and make choices that allow you to get the picture.

As I said, I quite liked the compositions on these photos, but the softness detracts from the image.

HTH,

André
(not sure if you have VR version or not of the lens)

Myrtle wrote:Colin_12 and ATJ - thanks for the tips - now for a dumb question - should I be using shutter speed rather than aperture for taking shots like these?? I had been led to believe at a day course I did, that aperture was for every day kinda stuff like these pics and shutter priority was for sport and movement.


Linda

Nice pics but they could be improved as those above have suggested.

The 70-300mm lens is best used at about F8 when it is at it's sharpest. It is possible to take good images with this lens, but you will have to be aware it needs lots of light to do so.

Aperture priority is good but always be aware of the shutter speed that the camera is suggesting. If it's too slow and it's too dark then maybe you will have to increase the ISO a bit to compensate so you can use a faster shutter speed for the aperture you have told it to use

Experiment. That's the best thing to do.

Andre and Killakoala - thanks for the helpful hints - muchly appreciated


Linda

Linda - I'm glad everyone came back and have answered your questions already, I look forward to you next set of shots, hopefully if your newly acquired information you'll see your shots improve