Birds In Flight... My Way

[dabhand]

Great tutorial, Joe. Your results prove it works.

I copied it in a Word document and will keep it as a handy reference when I head your way in late NOV/early DEC. Many thanks!

Got to second that - a clear explanation - priceless !

Though birds aren't a real target of mine I've followed Bud's example and popped your tutorial into a word doc so I can at least practice some of the elements as I go about my work.

Thanks

steve

[ied]

Most informative. I'm gleaning all i possibly can and realize I've a long ways to go to obtain even acceptable captures.

[Wavelength]

Your images are beautiful than my imaginations really great

[Otavio]

Amen to that. It is easy to get wrapped up in the technical aspect of things and lose one's way. First and foremost ss and f-stop should be set to achieve the desired result. If one artificially forces a tighter aperture to hit the "sweet spot" of the lens, the minute improvement can be offset by 1) loss of sharpness due to slower ss 2) loss of detail due to noise at higher ISO 3) busier BG due to increased DOF

One can easily ruin an otherwise fine image in an attempt to gain a miniscule improvement in lens performance that likely isn't noticeable anyway. Shooting architecture or something more akin to lab targets may be different.

Joe and Dan: Very interesting discussion, about the "wide open" issue. I fully agree we shall use the wide open aperture, specially when we do need it! As Joe mentioned, in the first hours of the day, for example;

Anyway, If: 1) we are not limited to light issues, AND 2) we have the desireable SS, AND 3) BG bokeh is what we want, THEN (only when 1 AND 2 AND 3 are true) maybe it would be wise going 1/3~1 F-Stop away from wide open point. Then, using Dan's "equation", we would achieve the improvement by using the "sweet spot" of the lens, but without paying the price of the 3 offsets mentioned by Dan ( 1) loss of sharpness due to slower ss, 2) loss of detail due to noise at higher ISO, 3) busier BG due to increased DOF).

I think this does make sense...

Cheers,

[deetheturk]

Joe, thank you again for sharing your knowledge with us in this great thread, much appreciated!

David...

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Joe,

That's a brilliant explanation of the metering needs of the subject vs background for EC.

I use the Nikon 70-300mm VR lens and with that lens, I find there is one scene combination where I find it necessary to stop down as much as two stops
Not so much for the sharpness of the subject, but the quality of the background.

This combination is when a mid-grey to dark bird is against a sunlit reed bed a few tens of feet behind, that renders the bright stalks into a very bad place for the bokeh on this lens and if I were to sharpen the entire image, it results in double images of the stalks, due to their width coinciding with the sharpening radius needed for the subject.

Thanks,

[nikon66]

Beautiful images. Each recording has something special, well done.