Advice please

[Daisy M]

Went off today to try to capture the Little Grebe, took some others while there with the below results. The Mallard was iso 1000 (dull day, heavy cloud), F8, 1/200, 421 mm. The Grebe same settings but at 600mm. Both on a tripod. The mallard to me seems (not up to all your standards) fine, but the Grebe is soft & not really a keeper. What am I doing wrong?

4S7A1062 (2) by David Miller, on Flickr

4S7A1067 (2) by David Miller, on Flickr

[TonyT]

Re: Advice please

The Mallard is more or less stationary, the Grebe isn't, I would say lack of shutter speed and using a longer reach on the lens exagerates any movement even on a tripod, as lens will also try to weathercock and move in the wind etc, A good practice is to put ones hand on the top of the lens furthest away from the camera to add a bit of stabilising pressure, but a faster shutter speed would probably sort it.

BTW, nothing wrong with the Mallard, I would be tempted to lighten it a bit around the head, but that's all.

[ctrollen]

Re: Advice please

I agree with Tony. If it were anything other than a combination of movement and too slow a shutter speed then I would expect at least some of the shot of the grebe to be in focus, but it isn't. I try to remember to use a shutter speed at least the reciprocal of the focal length, so at 420mm you need a minimum shutter speed of 1/420. Of course, in low light and using a small aperture this can cause issues, so you need to up the ISO as well.

And yes, the mallard is not a bad shot at all given the conditions.

[Daisy M]

Re: Advice please

Thanks Tony & Chris.

[Dawesy]

Re: Advice please

Agree with Tony , a little more shutter speed would have helped and most zoom lenses lose a bit of sharpness and their full focal length , this combined with less than ideal lighting conditions undoubtedly contributed .

[Trev B]

Re: Advice please

Agree with Tony Chris & Steve - shutter speed,Mallard was a sitting duck!!!, Grebe was on the move