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birdseye:

Lyceel... amazing shot of the group of ducks flying...what did you set your camera at on this shot? i have chances for shots like this daily, and i never get it right...love to see photos like this, look just like what they looked like in the field. great job.

Thanks for the compliments, everyone.  Here's the data:

Nikon D300, 70-300mm AF-S VR, f/8, 1/640", Aperture priority at -0.67 EV, matrix metering.  Focal length was 300mm.  If I remember correctly, I quickly switched to 51-point AF mode just as the ducks went airborne, and trusted the camera to get them in focus for me.  It didn't let me down this time 

Picture was shot in JPEG Fine, cropped from 12 Mpx to 2250x1600, subtle sharpen applied, and I slightly warmed up the color balance (had the camera on Auto WB, which tends to go a bit cool for my taste).  Finally, it was rescaled for posting.

wow, my camera only has a 7 point AF.. well i am leaving right now to go to the lake..about a mile away.. i will use your info as a reference point.. I know no 2 times and situations are identical, but this is a good starting point... thanks

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http://whatbird.com/forums/photos/early_summers_birds/
IM: oldguyrich

birdseye:

wow, my camera only has a 7 point AF.. well i am leaving right now to go to the lake..about a mile away.. i will use your info as a reference point.. I know no 2 times and situations are identical, but this is a good starting point... thanks

birdseye make sure you have the autofocus set to AI Servo that will give you continous focusing on moving objects such as flying ducks. and set to burst mode

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My New Avatar is in memory of Nancy my darling wife of 10 years who passed away on Monday November the 16th 2009 after an illness

My photo gallery http://thekiwi.org/photography/index.php

well, so much for that idea... did't get one good shot...only flying shot i got was a killdeer...i hate DSRs...just shows that ya gotta be smarter than the camera... anybody got an old brownie?

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http://whatbird.com/forums/photos/early_summers_birds/
IM: oldguyrich

ok what are you doing birdseye

are you using an IS lens (if so make sure the IS is turned off or it will try and compensate for the panning motion) have you set the auto focus to AI Servo.

upload an image here and we may be able to help you

what do you have the metering set to ie if spot then focusing will have a harder time trying to keep up.

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My New Avatar is in memory of Nancy my darling wife of 10 years who passed away on Monday November the 16th 2009 after an illness

My photo gallery http://thekiwi.org/photography/index.php

this is good stuff

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Latest Birds: Black-throated Green Warbler, Pine Warbler, Eastern Kingbird, Rufous-backed Robin, Crissal Thrasher

Well I still hava a photo or two of birds in flight that I will share...

Fraser

birdseye:

well, so much for that idea... did't get one good shot...only flying shot i got was a killdeer...i hate DSRs...just shows that ya gotta be smarter than the camera... anybody got an old brownie?

What are you shooting with?  Maybe we can help.

I actually went four years or so with my D100 until I realized it had a dynamic focus mode.  As soon as I turned that on, getting flight shots got so much easier.  Sometimes it's just that one setting that makes the difference.

lyceel... thanks.. i can use all the help i can get.(. 1st off, i am old, so i don't learn like i use to.)..i got a canon eos xs.. 10mp... and a canon 70-300 zoom lens..I have gotten "decent shots" with it, but not any good ones...I should got a nikon... more people here shoot with one , than they do canons...any suggestions would be appreciated..

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http://whatbird.com/forums/photos/early_summers_birds/
IM: oldguyrich

thekiwi:

birdseye make sure you have the autofocus set to AI Servo that will give you continous focusing on moving objects such as flying ducks. and set to burst mode

I actually used single-shot focus for the Teal shot.  This was to give the priority to the autofocus instead of the shutter release.  In continuous mode, the camera typically gives priority to the shutter, which means the image might not be in focus when the shutter fires. 

I guess if you take several frames in burst mode though, your odds of getting a good shot go up.

The Nikon vs. Canon debate is much more a religious argument than a real technical merit one.  Both companies make superb cameras and lenses.  The EOS XS looks like a pretty nice camera, probably on par with Nikon's D60.  I doubt that changing from Canon to Nikon will help.  All it will mean is that you have to start over learning a new system.  Kiwi can probably tell you all about this

When you said you didn't get any good shots today, what was wrong with them?  Was it focus/sharpness, or was it exposure (too light or dark)?

here is some of the photos.. i dont know if picasaweb gives enuf exif info, but..

http://picasaweb.google.com/home
thanks

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http://whatbird.com/forums/photos/early_summers_birds/
IM: oldguyrich

birdseye:

here is some of the photos.. i dont know if picasaweb gives enuf exif info, but..

http://picasaweb.google.com/home
thanks

Birdseye that link you gave takes you to picasa's web site not to your images tou will need to supply the full web address to your piece of picasa

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My New Avatar is in memory of Nancy my darling wife of 10 years who passed away on Monday November the 16th 2009 after an illness

My photo gallery http://thekiwi.org/photography/index.php

oops...

http://picasaweb.google.com/oldguyrich/2009_03_28#

not sure about the " # " on the end, but...

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http://whatbird.com/forums/photos/early_summers_birds/
IM: oldguyrich

birdseye:

oops...

http://picasaweb.google.com/oldguyrich/2009_03_28#

not sure about the " # " on the end, but...

Thanks birdseye I took alook sent you an email  but I forgot to they you the reason for the last one in that gallery.

Filename: IMG_0884.jpg
Camera: Canon
Model: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS
ISO: 800
Exposure: 1/50 sec
Aperture: 5.6
Focal Length: 300mm

The thing that really stands out here is the shutter speed 1/50sec this is very slow and that is the reason why this one is blurry it is motion blur as a general rule with a 300mm lens hand held you need at min a shutter speed 1/640 that is what they say anyhow you could get away with 1/400 as you are panning

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My New Avatar is in memory of Nancy my darling wife of 10 years who passed away on Monday November the 16th 2009 after an illness

My photo gallery http://thekiwi.org/photography/index.php