bird help

[Winona]

Looking for some serious help to grow. Had some good subjects today and hoping to go back next weekend. It was noon and quite cloudy...not good. I have had good results with my lens on bright sunny days. Struggles under cloudy conditions. But, I want to rule out anything I may be doing. Another no, no-handheld. But, we were just on a bike ride and happened to see these and pull out the camera. All taken with a Canon 80D and Tamron 100-400. I'm pretty sure all were with TV set at 1/1250 and auto ISO EXCEPT the nest which was probably AV with auto ISO and widest aperture of 6.3. Other nest photos were attempted with shutter priority and ended up quite dark. For example-the nest photo. The birds seem fuzzy-not sure if its focus or noise or? The osprey in the tree needed better light-could I have tweaked any of my settings? The BOF-I know this needed shutter speed probably 1/2000? Any help appreciated. Looking at these I probably should have set the ISO a little higher, huh. Usually the camera puts the ISO too high so I'm surprised looking at it.
Cropped, TV 1/1250, f6.3, ISO auto 160. 400mm

TV 1/1250. f7.1, ISO 100 (auto). 269mm

ISO 160 (auto) f 7.1, TV 1/1250. 400mm

I think AV. f 6.3. ISO 125, 1/500 400mm

 

[Jeff15]

Good set.......

 

[Photo Lady]

wow very nice captures........

 

[K9Kirk]

I think they look pretty good, especially for with a zoom lens on an overcast day. That's pretty much how it is on days like that I'm afraid. Of course there are little things you can try like changing your white balance to cloudy or use VR if you have it to lower your shutter and increase the light a little. There's also your exposure compensation, you could increase it in increments to see what looks best. GL.

 

[Winona]

Thank you all. I think brighter days and a tripod would help. I really struggle with moving objects. Or a 10k lens! Unfortunately, it is supposed to be lake effect SNOW this weekend so might not get to practice this weekend. They are good subjects.

 

[weepete]

1 and 3 need the shadows lifted a bit, the birds underexposed though you've held the exposure for the sky well. Backlit birds can be like this, you can either shoot for the best overall exposure and lighten the shadows in post or forget the background and shoot for the best exposure on the bird, both are valid choices.

Difficult to tell about finer points sharpness with the resolution of these. Could you perhaps post a 100% crop? The eyes seem sharp from ehat I can tell, though a slight focus miss would still be possible.

At 400mm and 1/1250th I'd expect the shutter speed to be OK, certainly on the perched birds and it usually enough to capture large birds in flight especially if they are gliding. So I wouldn't be overly concered about that.

 

[K9Kirk]

Thank you all. I think brighter days and a tripod would help. I really struggle with moving objects. Or a 10k lens! Unfortunately, it is supposed to be lake effect SNOW this weekend so might not get to practice this weekend. They are good subjects.

If you want to capture birds in flight better I would suggest using a "gimble head", they're great for that. I got a real sturdy one for cheap. It didn't turn as quick as I liked so I replaced the grease inside (piece of cake) and then it worked more fluidly.

 

[Winona]

Weepete( and everyone else), thanks for your suggestions. I’ll try to post a 100% crop tomorrow. I’m taking note of all the suggestions and practiced on the dog. K9kirk-we have the same Gimbal, but I have not greased it or bought the plate yet. Sigh. Most people are bored, but I’m as busy as ever.

 

[K9Kirk]

Weepete( and everyone else), thanks for your suggestions. I’ll try to post a 100% crop tomorrow. I’m taking note of all the suggestions and practiced on the dog. K9kirk-we have the same Gimbal, but I have not greased it or bought the plate yet. Sigh. Most people are bored, but I’m as busy as ever.

Forgot about that. GL.