Novice Question #1

[Gratris]

Hi all,

Apologies in advance.

I had a couple of small birds on a feeder in my garden this evening, about 5 yards away. The light was not great but it wasn't dark by any means. I had the camera set in 'M' mode, when I took the photo the display showed nothing but black...lol

If you were to shoot in the early evening what setting would you opt for for a similar shot? Or is the question too vague?

The lens was a 75-300, the camera is a Canon 500d.

Regards
Gratris

[GeoffWessex]

I wouldn't use Manual mode unless I were really expert in lighting conditions - OK, Manual just means you need to align your shutter speed and aperture together until your camera's meter matches them up. Can be fiddly and unnecessary. So why not use Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority in the first place?

So, to your small birds in 'not great' light.

1. You're going to need a higher ISO to give you something to 'play with' ....... start with ISO400.

2. For Shutter Priority...... If the birds are moving around, you're going to need at least 1/125th of a second, or faster if you're at the top end of the zoom range. (There may be some 'Shake Reduction' in your camera, so you might even get away with something a little slower, but I'd stick with 1/250th). So if you're in Shutter Priority mode, dial 1/250th in........ the aperture will try to match it. Unless you've got a fast lens (one that opens to a wide aperture, which are very expensive) your 'best' aperture could well be f/4 at the 70mm end and f/5.6 at the 300mm end..... and it's possible that even f/4 will not be wide enough. So see what Aperture your camera gives you for your chosen 1/250th - it may not be enough to give a good exposure..... so, you then have a choice of two things......
a. if your birds are static enough, you could put the camera on a tripod and then you could use a longer shutter speed. This, in turn, may mean that your f/5.6 is now enough to give a good exposure. If the birds are active and fast, you can rule out the tripod.
b. The Canon 500D apparently gives good high-ISO performance, so going up to ISO800 would give you another 'stop' to play with. That might allow the 1/250th on the shutter, and maybe even 1/500th, which would freeze the action..... or allow a slightly smaller aperture, say f/8, but that's not what you need right now.

3. With a moving target like birds, Aperture Priority, where you're really just controlling the Depth of Field, is of no great use unless you're watching what's happening to the shutter speed all the time. Hence the 'Shutter' (speed) is your priority, not the Aperture.

Practice - check what results you're getting in the rear screen - modify the settings to suit, but, in the case of your camera, don't be afraid to go up to ISO800 (or more).

[Gratris]

Thank you for a very informative reply, I do appreciate it.

I'ts a bit dark now so I try again tomorrow and hopefully have some success.

Once again, thank you.



Regards
Gratris

[wavemachine]

Good advice from Geoff there most of the time I switch to aperture or shutter priority to be honest I will only use manual when I want to hold the exposure settings or shoot with flash.

Even at a reasonable time of day you do need to up the ISO a tad to get a decent shutter speed as I found last night when trying to grab a shot of a starling that was nesting in a neighbours roof, it proved trickier to capture that I thought:-



And the same bird tonight (not as sharp as last nights though but more bird in the frame):-

[Gratris]

Thanks for advice and help guy's, it is appreciated.


The starling photo's are great, what set up was used to capture that?

[wavemachine]

Originally Posted by Gratris

Thanks for advice and help guy's, it is appreciated.


The starling photo's are great, what set up was used to capture that?

Shot handheld Canon 7D with a Tamron 70-300 VC lens, 300mm, ISO 320, F5.6 at 1/250 shutter speed in Aperture Priority mode.

I watched the starlings for a while and got an idea of there behaviour which was pretty consistant which made the shot a little easier.

[Gratris]

Thanks, just one more question, how far were you from the target subject?

I'm trying to figure out if some photo's are direct copies off the camera or do people zoom in and crop them to show just the target? Does that make sense?


Regards
Gratris

[wavemachine]

I was about 20 feet away but I did crop the image to make the bird more prominant, starlings are quite small so some cropping was necessary. If possible I will get everything correct in camera but sometimes it is just not possible depending on how powerful the zoom is.

This of course is not an excuse to make a poor composition, it is important to think about the composition even if you are anticipating where the subject is going to be of course when dealing with birds you need to be quick allowing focus time etc which you can again speed up by focussing based on where you think the subject will be whether you choose to use auto or manual focus.

[Gratris]

The detail is excellent on those photos.
Now this leads me ask the following......

Is my set up capable of such photo's? Basically, what is letting me down, is it my camera/lens or is it my inexperience and ability, or a combination of them all?


I won't be offended by your answer


Thanks in advance
Gratris

[OldBoy]

Don't be fooled by what your eyes can see. A camera can't match that, so sometimes you can see something clearly but the camera can't. When you come to shoot the same shot again use P mode and see what settings the camera chooses.