Testing the D7000

[ScoutR]

Hi Everyone. I haven't had time to get out and do any real shooting with the new camera, but I have managed to get a few quick shots of some birds in the backyard. Here are a couple from today. Both are shot at ISO 1600. I am posting the original SOOC and also a crop from the same shot that has had my usual editing done on it.

I realize neither of these shots is going to win any prizes, but I would like some thoughts on how they look for noise considering the high ISO and large crop.
I've also posted EXIF with the original and any coments and suggestions are welcome. I already know that I should have increased exposure on both of them and perhaps spot metered on the bird instead of Matrix metering, those are things I will have to experiment with on this camera.
Anyway I'm back to school so pixel peep away, and let me know what you think and how I can improve on this type of shot. Birds and florals are my favourite thing and there aren't many flowers around right now, so I'd really like to improve on the bird shots.

#1. Bluejay SOOC



#2. Bluejay cropped RAW processing, Noise Reduction in Lightroom and Elements and sharpened


#3. Chickadee SOOC



#4. Chickadee cropped, RAW processing, Noise Reduction in Lightroom and Elements and sharpened


#5. Chickadee, same as above without the second round of Noise Reduction in Elements. On my screen the second round on NR seems to have blurred the detail in the feathers and I'm not sure which I like better.


Anyhow, let me know what you think. Are these acceptable results for this camera, and how can the operator improve.

Thanks
Wendy

Edit: Well, I can't see the pics. I've posted them they way I always have and have requested help. I'll update when I get it figured out.
Sorry

Edit 2: OK they should be there now. Let me know if they are not showing.

[jiro]

Hello, Wendy.

The problem you are encountering is with the way your computer is linking your image for uploading. I am not so sure if it is the image server you are using (execulink.ca) or the method of upload you are doing. No offense to you. Here is the issue I found:

1. Looking at the page source of your post, the image is linked this way:


"http://www.ftp.execulink.com/~wfsweb/Images/BackyardBirds_158-2.jpg"

The problem with this method of linking is that the link is using two distinct internet protocol that can't go together. One is "http" and the other "ftp". Each works on its own.

"The purpose of HTTP is to serve as a means of accessing the world wide web. Websites are accessed using http with the help of browsers."

"FTP, as the name implies, is used in transferring files from one computer to another. It is a less popular protocol due to small number of people who actually use FTP, and even fewer people who know that they are using it."

(Quote taken from this source: http://www.differencebetween.net/tec...-ftp-and-http/)

If I will modify the above link you used to upload your image, I can actually see your image using this:


http://www.execulink.com/~wfsweb/Images/BackyardBirds_127-2.jpg

and here is the actual image you uploaded based on this address.



If I will put the above web address on a blank tab in Firefox and paste it on the address bar, I can see your image. I uploaded the extracted image to my Flickr account and link it here.

The simplest solution is to drop the "ftp" from the image address and you'll be fine (I guess since I was able to view your image.)

As for the shot, I think the noise is just fine. The D7000 is known to have good noise performance even at ISO 1600.

Hope this helps. If not, I hope others who are more knowledgeable about web protocols could help you.

[ScoutR]

Jiro, you are a genius, Thank you so much. I did what you said and it works, and thank you for the explaination, it always helps if I know the WHY rather than just the HOW.

I'm not sure what happened that changed because I always typed in the full ftp address and it's always worked before.

My space here is full so I've been using the space allocated with my ISP account untill I find another (inexpensive) way to store shots for the forum, and ftp is the only way I know to transfer them.

I can't thank you enough for the help. I guess I better check some of my old posts and see if the images have gone missing. I know they used to be there.

Wendy

[Letrow]

They look good to me Wendy, so experiment on. No noise that is bothering me and the lighting seems to have been handled well.

[ScoutR]

Thanks Peter, I was hoping someone else would take the time to comment. I'm not that good at spotting things sometimes, but I didn't think they were bad for noise at all. So if I can shoot at ISO 1600 and be able to crop this much with decent results, it opens up a lot of possibilities especially when it comes to bird shots. I know I couldn't have done this with the D3000 so I'm pretty happy with this camera so far.

Thanks again for the feedback, and for all the other help you've given regarding the D7000

Wendy