[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by dcstep

It's interesting to observe, in some forums the mention of ETTR can set of religious wars. The flat-earth group declares all kinds of sinister reasons that it can't possibly work, while I find myself in the group that say, "try it, you may like it."

Dave

I've done some good thing with ETTR. I had to use it for a vacation photos, yesterday actually. The camera was metering against a bright area in the top center portion of the frame and missing most of the shadows. So setting changed for one stop right and bam. It looms great.

ETTR is also the only way to get photos of black racecars on a bright day.

[M_Six]

I just wish Canon would get off their butts and make EV+/- with auto-ISO standard. Seems such a simple request.

[Itsed65]

Originally Posted by M_Six

I just wish Canon would get off their butts and make EV+/- with auto-ISO standard. Seems such a simple request.

Get a 7D2 and you have it, although ou have to use some custom settings to make it work easily. I'm guessing the 5DIV will be the same.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by M_Six

I just wish Canon would get off their butts and make EV+/- with auto-ISO standard. Seems such a simple request.

In Av or Tv mode on the 7D MkII, if you set your parameter and then put ISO into the "Auto" zone, it'll auto-adjust ISO, when you run out of room on the other parameter. If you've got + or - EV dialed in, it'll consider that in the adjustment.

I'm not a big user of auto-ISO, but I have done it a time or two and it works. It's been a long time since I looked at that menu, but I think that you can set a maximum ISO.

[M_Six]

I know on the 5D MkIII and 6D if you set Auto-ISO and then try to dial in EV +/-, the option isn't there. It will only set a bracket. But I haven't tried setting EV+/- and then setting auto-ISO.

[happos2]

Originally Posted by dcstep

DPReview just posted Part 1 of a 2-part article about noise. This is one of the best discussions of Shot Noise that I've ever seen, with a clear explanation of why ETTR (Expose To The Right) can help reduce noise. See http://www.dpreview.com/articles/818...mpaign=generic

Awesome article. It is nice to understand noise and methods of reducing it. I do that for my job as an engineer (all be it all different kinds of noise vs controls).

Being new, I also investigated the EV button because of this article. I haven't really played around with the EV as I didn't really know what it did nor when to use it. So I learned two things today! Productive for me!

[M_Six]

Boy, did they screw up Flickr or what? Hate all the white space.

[ddk632]

Yeah not sure what they are attempting to achieve. Flickr just seems so irrelevant these days.

[BrokenVert]

I havent bothered with Flickr for years. I only use it to share photos on this site.

[- Paul -]

Now then - long time no post. I've just switched to a D610 and took it out with the 70-300 yesterday to have a go at shooting some raptors etc.I'll post up some results shortly but I think I'm doing something wrong. I had fast shutter speed and ramped the iso up to allow f7 plus shooting but wondering if I should have had it higher aperture? Need some advice from my fellow bird shooters on FF.

Bird of Prey Centre Huby_16May2015_0149 by Paul Rowan, on Flickr

Bird of Prey Centre Huby_16May2015_0014 by Paul Rowan, on Flickr

They don't seem sharp enough? Does that make sense?

[Weebl]

You start losing detail with the iso @ 1600. It could also be the lens. If you want really sharp birds then you have to get those really expensive lenses. I use a Canon 300/4 and it gets good to great but not "knocks your socks off". Just like Dave and his old/new 500/4, there is quite a difference.

Also, if the focus is just slightly off it will do the same. The farther your subject is away, the more pronounced the oof will be. I fidget with my microadjusting all the time.

[dcstep]

The close-up of the hawk is VERY sharp, in the eye. The shallow DOF is what's killing the feather detail on the side of the head. I generally don't go beyond f/11 and the sweet spot of most telephoto lenses is usually around f/8. I shoot Canon, but I'll bet that camera will produce great detail up to ISO 1600. Be careful with luminescence NR, it'll kill detail. I lower the level and put up with a little grain in the background.

The flying hawk actually looks okay, but it's a real odd pose. It's back lit and I suspect that you had to crop it quite a bit.

Shoot lots and lots of shots. I find poses that I like and then reject anything that doesn't have a super-sharp eye. For BIF, pay attention to where your AF is hitting. I'm always disappointed that I don't get more right on the eye. I miss the whole bird a bunch, but the AF system can be amazingly forgiving if you've put the AF point on the bird for part of the time and you're using Servo Mode (I think Nikon calls it Tracking).

Lenses do make a difference in this league. Start saving for a prime 300mm or 400mm. The top Nikon shooters that I work with use the 300mm and 600mm primes. Still, I see some decent shots from the Tamron 150-600mm. All these lenses demand practice and paying attention to technical details. Stick with hand holding and you'll get better and better. Plan to shoot hundreds of shots every outing. If you have a subject cooperating, keep milking it until it moves on.

Here's one of 50!! Damn bird never did anything interesting, but I was nice and close, with a 700mm setup on a crop sensor camera. f/8 and be there:

Meadowlark Posing by David Stephens, on Flickr

[Weebl]

Clarity which does not come cheap.
Excellent shot.

[dcstep]

Thanks.

Sad but true. Canon's 500/f4 II may be the best super-telephoto lens ever made. The MDF chart is almost flat, meaning it's as sharp at f/4 as at f/8.

[M_Six]

More temptations from Fujifilm

Fujifilm X-T10

I wonder if it has the separate zoom window in the EVF for focusing. What makes this the "little brother" to the X-T1?

I'd love to see the bokeh from that new 90mm f2 prime, too. Probably a killer portrait lens, if a little on the long side.

[Itsed65]

The big differences are no weather sealing and a lower res EVF, and of course it's physically smaller. Image quality should be identicle as its the same sensor.

[druu]

Originally Posted by M_Six

More temptations from Fujifilm

Fujifilm X-T10

I wonder if it has the separate zoom window in the EVF for focusing. What makes this the "little brother" to the X-T1?

I'd love to see the bokeh from that new 90mm f2 prime, too. Probably a killer portrait lens, if a little on the long side.

Mark, definitely get the x-t1. The viewfinder alone is worth the price of admission. I know! I seent it!

[NEFARIOUS]

Well, I'm on a budget and kinda rusty, not to mention the 70D didn't have quite the features I wanted, especially for videos. I still wish my ex-landlord wasn't so childish as to steal my 60D I only had for a few months after my birthday and only took 3 noteworthy pictures with, plus the cops didn't do s**t, but what's done is done and it is what it is.

So I just settled on a T6s... But I still can't wait for it to come in! Yeah yeah, I know pentaprism > pentamirror, but still...

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by NEFARIOUS

Well, I'm on a budget and kinda rusty, not to mention the 70D didn't have quite the features I wanted, especially for videos. I still wish my ex-landlord wasn't so childish as to steal my 60D I only had for a few months after my birthday and only took 3 noteworthy pictures with, plus the cops didn't do s**t, but what's done is done and it is what it is.

Pics please. Tell us about the hand-on 70D/T6s differences.

[happos2]

Oh boy, just bought my first non kit lens! Woot Woot! Nikon 70-300mm. I figured this would be a good starting lens to shoot wild life and nature scenes. Now I can get friendly with the birds on the birdfeeder from afar!

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by happos2

Oh boy, just bought my first non kit lens! Woot Woot! Nikon 70-300mm. I figured this would be a good starting lens to shoot wild life and nature scenes. Now I can get friendly with the birds on the birdfeeder from afar!

Congrats.

That is a good focal length range for wildlife. It also works extremely well for portrait, many landscapes, automotive, etc.

Try to shoot the birds when they're on limbs near the feeder, waiting to feed, not on the feeder. Try to get a highlight in the eye and reject your shots with the head turned away or tail feathers in flight. Take hundred of pictures at a time and expect less than 10% keepers. Enjoy and be sure to share with us.

Oh, I almost forgot, with any zoom, use digital lens optimization to correct for geometric error, chromatic aberration, vignetting, etc., automatically at every focal length and every aperture. Lightroom has add-ins to do this. I haven't used it, but I can't believe that Nikon wouldn't include it in the RAW conversion software that ships with the camera. I use DxO Optics Pro for my RAW conversion and it's included DLO since before 2009. DLO can be so good that it make zoom images so sharp that you can't tell them from prime lens images.

Dave

[allachie9]

Originally Posted by happos2

Oh boy, just bought my first non kit lens! Woot Woot! Nikon 70-300mm. I figured this would be a good starting lens to shoot wild life and nature scenes. Now I can get friendly with the birds on the birdfeeder from afar!

Congratulations on your new lens, a great piece of kit for your wildlife shots.

A nice long lens, wide aperture and out of focus background makes even our most common of garden birds stand out.



Hope to see your pics with the new lens soon.