I made my Purchase finally! Now I need HELP!!!!

[Canosonic]

canosonic: my manfrotto 680b is listed as being able to hold 10lbs which is way more than enough for the 50d + 2.8 (IS or not).

I screwed up. I admit my defeat and I quit. :lmao:

 

[chammer]

maybe you just have steadier hands than I do, but I try to keep faster shutter speeds than that even if the bird isn't moving at all. Otherwise I get no definition in the feathers. I'd like to see pictures that you've taken at 1/250 that have frozen motion in birds and have good definition in the feathers. it might inspire me to give slower shutters another try again.

it was only an example. it really depends on what the bird (or subject) is doing. i dont have a lot of pictures of birds, and the only one i have online (and access to right this moment) was shot at 1/1000 f/5.6 ISO 400 in the early morning.

however...



...was f4 @ 50mm iso 400 at 1/500. (yes, i know the front paw is blurred a bit...obviously i needed to be just a touch faster than 1/500 in this particular case)

however...



...was at f5.6 @ 300mm iso 100 at 1/500.

[URL="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jchristianh/3894700673/meta/in/set-72157622153756513]

[/URL]

...was at f5.6 @ 300mm iso 100 at 1/400.

the bird thing is not important. its how fast a subject is moving. in his case he shot at 1/200...which just happened to be too slow to freeze the bird, but 1/200 could be used to freeze something else at another time.

i've just not heard anything that says you must be at X shutter speed, else the shot wont work. i think it really depends on a lot of factors.

 

[robertwsimpson]

yeah other stuff is different from birds. at least for me, to make a bird picture stand out, you need definition in feathers... I'm sure it can be done at lower shutter speeds, but I know I can't do it, and I've not seen it done either... especially with a telephoto lens. Generally, birds are smaller than all of the subjects that you posted, and to get detailed parts of birds, you have to do more than just freeze the motion... you have to freeze the motion with great detail. not saying it can't be done, just saying it's different.

 

[robertwsimpson]

this is the closest I've gotten to getting a "good" picture of a bird flying, but he was too far away... it's a heavy crop and the shutter speed was 1/640

it's 1 out of probably 10 that I rapid fired of this bird flying, and this was the only picture that stopped the motion out of the 10 or so that I took...

 

[bigtwinky]

Might just be me, but in looking at your image, its not just the bird that is blurry but the entire scene.

Shooting at 1/200 is fast enough to freeze the water and the lillypads. So if your issue was with a slow shutter speed or a fast moving subject, then the rest of the image would be clear and sharp and only the bird would be blurry, which is not the case.

I'm thinking its more camera shake / movement then slow shutter speed / fast subject.

 

[chammer]

yes, i understand, and i dont have as much experience shooting birds. i was speaking general for action. im sure birds are different and something i will get a chance to play with a lot here soon (the only birds i've found so far have been very uncooperative).

i just meant that from my experience thus far (which isnt much) with shooting random things here and there, that there's no hard rule saying you have to be at X shutter speed else the shot will fail. i think its completely variable, and is something that you will have to learn.

for him 1/200 was too slow. 1/1000 that you stated could be a starting point, but then again that may be too fast (under exposes the image and a slower shutter speed would have caught the same)...or maybe 1/8000 would have been needed. from where he froze the bird its really hard to tell if it was taking off or landing. taking off the bird would be slower, so a slower shutter speed could work. if the bird is landing they are generally moving a lot faster so that a faster shutter speed would be needed. thats all i was trying to say.

edit:
forgot to add too...

panning is yet another variable. if you lock speeds with a flying a bird (lets assume they are gliding and wings are fixed in place) you could probably get by a LOT slower (1/60-1/200) than if you just sit there with the camera static as the bird flies through your scene.

 

[robertwsimpson]

Might just be me, but in looking at your image, its not just the bird that is blurry but the entire scene.

Shooting at 1/200 is fast enough to freeze the water and the lillypads. So if your issue was with a slow shutter speed or a fast moving subject, then the rest of the image would be clear and sharp and only the bird would be blurry, which is not the case.

I'm thinking its more camera shake / movement then slow shutter speed / fast subject.

especially with the telephoto lens and a 2x teleconverter. camera shake is magnified x a billion!

 

[robertwsimpson]

yes, i understand, and i dont have as much experience shooting birds. i was speaking general for action. im sure birds are different and something i will get a chance to play with a lot here soon (the only birds i've found so far have been very uncooperative).

i just meant that from my experience thus far (which isnt much) with shooting random things here and there, that there's no hard rule saying you have to be at X shutter speed else the shot will fail. i think its completely variable, and is something that you will have to learn.

for him 1/200 was too slow. 1/1000 that you stated could be a starting point, but then again that may be too fast (under exposes the image and a slower shutter speed would have caught the same)...or maybe 1/8000 would have been needed. from where he froze the bird its really hard to tell if it was taking off or landing. taking off the bird would be slower, so a slower shutter speed could work. if the bird is landing they are generally moving a lot faster so that a faster shutter speed would be needed. thats all i was trying to say.

edit:
forgot to add too...

panning is yet another variable. if you lock speeds with a flying a bird (lets assume they are gliding and wings are fixed in place) you could probably get by a LOT slower (1/60-1/200) than if you just sit there with the camera static as the bird flies through your scene.

lol @ birds being cooperative. they NEVER are.

I agree, and maybe I used the wrong words. I'm not saying that 1/1000 is the only shutter speed that will work, but it is closer to the value that you need than 1/200 to freeze birds... keep in mind that you're not just worried about tracking the motion of the bird's body, but also their wings... you'd be shocked at how fast those wing tips move.

 

[robertwsimpson]

wow, I'm looking at my pictures and noticing that they're all slower than 1/1000... I guess I was wrong lol. Anyway, I maintain that a faster shutter would have done you right!

 

[shortpballer]

I hand-hold my gripped 30D with the 70-200 non is all the time. You just have to hold it by the lens so it is balanced and just lightly hold the camera. Its not that bad at all. If you are holding by the camera then it is VERY heavy due to the fact that the weight is distributed on the other end.

 

[rwphotography]

Yeah it's not attached to the camera, but to the lens.

Test5: f/5.6 1/200 ISO 160

Maybe, after reading one of the posts, I should up the shutter speed?

What focal length did you use for this photo? Did you use the 2X teleconverter with this photo?

Yes I was using the teleconverter, hence the f/5.6 I am absorbing all of this information provided and will try another crack at it again on Thursday. I am having a problem with the camera shake. My hands are not that steady apparently. How can I be effective using a monopod or is that out of the question?

I understand that I need a faster shutter speed and try to hold the camera steady. This was just an example being I'm not going to be primarily using this lens for shooting birds. It was just a try. These are the only examples I have of using the lens so far and wanted to share.

 

[rwphotography]

I hand-hold my gripped 30D with the 70-200 non is all the time. You just have to hold it by the lens so it is balanced and just lightly hold the camera. Its not that bad at all. If you are holding by the camera then it is VERY heavy due to the fact that the weight is distributed on the other end.

Thanks for the info. I have been just holding the camera and not the lens & camera. I will try this and see the results.

 

[Plato]

I'm thinking its more camera shake / movement then slow shutter speed / fast subject.

especially with the telephoto lens and a 2x teleconverter. camera shake is magnified x a billion![/QUOTE]

Haven't you been told a bazillion times not to exaggerate?

 

[robertwsimpson]

lol my bad

 

[Village Idiot]

I hand-hold my gripped 30D with the 70-200 non is all the time. You just have to hold it by the lens so it is balanced and just lightly hold the camera. Its not that bad at all. If you are holding by the camera then it is VERY heavy due to the fact that the weight is distributed on the other end.

But hand holding your 70-200 with a 2x convertor will start to become a problem if it's not stabilized or you don't have fast enough shutter speed.

I hand-hold my gripped 30D with the 70-200 non is all the time. You just have to hold it by the lens so it is balanced and just lightly hold the camera. Its not that bad at all. If you are holding by the camera then it is VERY heavy due to the fact that the weight is distributed on the other end.

Thanks for the info. I have been just holding the camera and not the lens & camera. I will try this and see the results.

You should need to do this with the mono pod. I haven't seen it and if some one hasn't said it, I'm surprised. There's a guide line for a clear shot without motion blur and it's that your shutter speed should be equal to or high than the focal length you're shooting at.

say 70-200 @ 200 mm on a 1.6x crop body with a 2x teleconvertor.

200mm x 2 = 400
400 x 1.6 = 640

At 200mm zoom with your setup, it's effectively 640mm. You should be shooting at a shutter speed of 1/640 or higher to not get camera blur. The monopod will help this out some, but shooting at less than 1/500 is not going to be ideal.

A smaller sperture and higher ISO combination would be good for what you're shooting. I mean, as long as the photo is properly exposed, the higher ISO's shouldn't pose a problem.