Whatbird.com

I don't know why people think that because you have a DSLR, you have to change lenses every time you see a bird in a different setting. Or that you have to set up the shot with a DSLR. With the zoom lenses that are available now, there is no reason to change lenses unless you are using a prime lens. When I go out to shoot pictures, I am already set up with the lens I want to use. Its usually my 70-300mm VR lens. The camera is on automatic with aperture priority and I know that I can shoot pictures faster than any point and shoot camera no matter how advanced that camera is. I don't have the shutter lag that the advanced point and shoot has. I know that at a distance, my pictures are going to be much sharper that the advanced point and shoot. I will have more weight to carry around, but, the zoom lenses are much lighter now than they used to be. The camera is fully automatic, so, there is no set up time involved unless I want to put it on manual and do the focusing myself. A DSLR can be just as easy as an advanced point and shoot if you want it to be with better quality from the DSLR. Just my opinion.

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Southwestern New Mexico

raptrlvr:

I don't know why people think that because you have a DSLR, you have to change lenses every time you see a bird in a different setting. Or that you have to set up the shot with a DSLR. With the zoom lenses that are available now, there is no reason to change lenses unless you are using a prime lens. When I go out to shoot pictures, I am already set up with the lens I want to use. Its usually my 70-300mm VR lens. The camera is on automatic with aperture priority and I know that I can shoot pictures faster than any point and shoot camera no matter how advanced that camera is. I don't have the shutter lag that the advanced point and shoot has. I know that at a distance, my pictures are going to be much sharper that the advanced point and shoot. I will have more weight to carry around, but, the zoom lenses are much lighter now than they used to be. The camera is fully automatic, so, there is no set up time involved unless I want to put it on manual and do the focusing myself. A DSLR can be just as easy as an advanced point and shoot if you want it to be with better quality from the DSLR. Just my opinion.

raptlvr I totally agree with you and if you purchase a decent lens and you have a large awary of focal lengths and besides it really doesn't take all that long to change lenses.

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In loving memory of Nancy my darling wife of 10 years who passed away on Monday November the 16th 2009 after an illness

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Absolutely!  Very well said, Raptrlvr!

I'll also add that anyone who says they use Manual mode for every single shot paid a lot of money for features that they don't use (no offense intended, just my opinion).  Today's cameras (even the point and shoots) have meters that are so smart that they pretty much make manual mode obsolete for all but the most challenging lighting situations.  It might be worth it in a studio when you're dealing with creative lighting, but not in the field when your subjects are less patient than an unpaid supermodel.  I only used Manual once in a blue moon on my D100, and I've used it even less often with my D300.  Most of the time, I'm on Aperture priority, and I may toss in a little exposure bias if my subject is particularly light or dark.  The meter handles the rest.  There just isn't time to fiddle with manual settings when a warbler is jumping around in the bushes waiting for his close-up.

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 ok... here is what i keep coming up with. Aperture setting.Canon 70-300 lens.Canon XS. tripod. 25 yards away. evening sun, to my left. to me, the picture is soft, and not detailed. the reflections on the grass and water are harsh., and overbearing. if i increase the exposure comp, it is too dark, decrease it, and it blows all the highlight out...I shoot 95% of my shots at this time of day, and get this type of photo. What am i doing wrong? how can i improve it? the shot looks fine in the viewfinder,.. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thanks...

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

First of all, your ISO is at 800, which will lead to noise.  It should be unnecessary to have it so high at that time of day.  I'd keep it at 200 if you can, 400 is probably OK if you need it.  You can probably drop the aperture back to f/8 if you need to get some shutter speed back.  Also, your subject was mostly in shadow, it would help if it were lit better (obviously, you can't do much about this except wait for it to move, or find another subject).  1/125" is pushing it at that focal length, even with a tripod, unless you're tripping the shutter remotely.  If the problem is camera shake, the simplest way to counter it is to use continuous mode (Canon might call it "burst mode") and rip off three or four shots at once.  With this, you have a decent chance of getting one frame that's significantly sharper than the others (and memory cards are cheap!)

You said the sun was evening sun, but it does look a bit harsh and contrasty, as if there is still a couple of hours before sunset.  The dynamic range (the difference between the brightest highlight and the darkest shadow) drops as the sun gets lower.  Your camera (anyone's camera, really) can only deal with about 3-5 stops of dynamic range.  Any more than that and some of the pixels will end up bright white or solid black.  You can either wait for better light, or pick a setting that is not as contrasty (either all fully lit or all shaded, without mixing the two).

Third, you probably have to accept the fact that your lens isn't the best lens on the market (my best lens is the Nikon equivalent of yours, so don't take this as me being snobbish ).  Anyway, it's going to be soft at max zoom.  The only way to compensate is to get closer to the subject so the softness doesn't matter as much.  You can also back off on the zoom, but to me this kind of defeats the purpose.  The best possible situation is that you get close enough that you don't need to shoot at 300mm, but this doesn't happen often.

Don't get discouraged.  A lot of the shots I take look just like yours (I just don't ever show them to anyone ):

it was about 7:45, and it got dark in about an hour on this shot...i shot it at F because i was getting too little depth of field , focusing either too close or too far behind  all the time with a bigger aperture. the ISO, and the shutter were set by the camera....it was shot on burst, and this shot is one of 10.. the clearest of the 10 too...if i increase the shutter speed, with the aperture being set at F,  it will raise the ISO even further, right? if i use the exposure compensation, same thing right? I have alot of canon stuff, and believe me, if i had to do it all again, i would go nikon...thanks for the help man

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

Ah, OK.  If you were setting aperture explicitly for DoF, then you probably had it right. 

I typically avoid Auto-ISO.  The D100 didn't have it, and I only enable it on the D300 when I'm traveling and don't care as much about quality.

Not sure what else to say.  It seems like the subject and setting just weren't good for photos here.  Maybe someone else has some other ideas, but I can't think of anything else.

raptrlvr:

I don't know why people think that because you have a DSLR, you have to change lenses every time you see a bird in a different setting. Or that you have to set up the shot with a DSLR. With the zoom lenses that are available now, there is no reason to change lenses unless you are using a prime lens. When I go out to shoot pictures, I am already set up with the lens I want to use. Its usually my 70-300mm VR lens. .

 

300mm isn't nearly enough zoom for me.

LauraC:

 

300mm isn't nearly enough zoom for me.

I think you are right on there... 300mm doesnt get me close  enuf...  i have a new XS and I would trade it anyday for a good P&S...i can't hold a 300 steady enuf as it is...i can't imagine going any higher (heavier)...So after all this good advise, and 3 self help books on photography, countless hours reading on the net- I am back to square one- a camera i can't use...(doesn't help with my wife whispering over my shoulder, "With your S3Is you could a got that shot easy..".. she is right, as usual...

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

How much zoom do you think you are getting with your point and shoot camera? And at what quality? I had a nice point and shoot Fuji camera {S7000} for several years and it was no where near the zoom or quality of my DSLR. If I want more zoom, all I have to do is change to a bigger lens or add a teleconverter.? Can you do that with your point and shoot? If you took the a picture of anything with your point and shoot and then took the same picture with a DSLR, which do you think would be the better quality even if it was at a distance.

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Southwestern New Mexico

ya know Raptrivr,  until i got a DSLR that is how thought. but my S3Si has more zoom than my XS. 12x (486mm) compared to 300mm...
 http://www.whatbird.com/forums/photos/early_summers_birds/picture102910.aspx  the shots are labeled canonxs.jpg , and canonS3Is.jpg
there are 2 shots there, one from the Xs and one from the IS... both same location. etc...I don't know how to get it to display all the exif info like i see some folks do, but...i am not saying DSLR's are not for anyone, just not for me. You can obviously hold it steady enuf to shoot by hand, i can't.  and i miss the video...

 

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

My camera {Nikon D200} has a 1.5  crop factor {meaning its not a full frame camera} which automatically makes the 300mm lens into a 450mm lens without doing anything at all. Then if I add the 1.4 teleconverter, the lens becomes a 630mm. Even with your 12x or 18x zoom, you will never get the quality of a DSLR. Thats why DSLR cameras are used by professionals and not point and shoot cameras. No offense meant. My camera does not have video, but, some of the newer DSLR's do. Really it all depends on what you want to do with your camera. If you want excellent quality, then you go with a DSLR. If you want normal pictures with so so quality, then a point and shoot camera is fine. Not that you can't take some good pictures with a point and shoot because you can. I have had them both and the DSLR is far superior in quality.

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Southwestern New Mexico

Changing to a bigger lens/adding a teleconverter means the bird is gone.  You might get a nicer pic but I'll bet I get more of a variety.  I'd sure hate to miss a bird because I was changing lenses.  I still think it's a matter of whether you stand there and wait for the birds to come to you or you go walking around with a camera looking for whatever you might find that day. If you are setting up and waiting, I'll agree with you.  I also think it's why so many great small bird photos are taken at feeders.

LauraC i agree with you.... I will never be a pro photographer, most of my shots are so i can identify them later, if can't in the field. of course i like to get perfect shots, but believe me, the percentage of good to bad is way way higher with my point and shoot canon S3Is...for the majority of my shots, i use the "P" mode.. but you can get into the more advanced when you want to, adjusting the vaious settings in the TV and Av  or manual modes...one vote for a good point and shoot for all around use, and usability....only very slightly lagging behind by the smallest degree in quality of shots.

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

LauraC, there is no way you can out shoot any DSLR with a point and shoot. With a zoom lens on a DSLR, I can get more varities than your point and shoot any day. I don't have to change lens and the quality will be much better with my DSLR than your point and shoot. My DSLR has a much faster shutter speed and better aperture than your point and shoot which allows me to take in flight shots that your point and shoot would have a tough time doing. You can't shoot nearly as fast as a DSLR and you have to contend with your shutter lag. I am not one for sitting in one place to have birds come to me, so, most of my shots are taken while I am walking around. I am not a pro photographer and never will be, but, compare your shots with just about any DSLR taken shots and you will easily see the difference.

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Southwestern New Mexico