Focus/Sharpness question for the birds...

[TwoTwoLeft]

What can I do to get the birds head & body in #2 sharp like the closest duck in #1? Do I need to use a faster shutter speed? Am I focusing wrong (I was using AI SERVO in both)? Or does my panning just suck? Both were shot with the canon 55-250mm IS kit lens with a UV filter & IS on.


ISO 250, 250mm, f9, 1/400


ISO100, 250mm, f7.1, 1/500

 

[The_Traveler]

Come on, you know the answer here.
Birds wings move fast.
You want to stop motion.

got it.

 

[TwoTwoLeft]

What can I do to get the bird's head & body in #2 sharp

:thumbup:

I like the wing blur... What I'm wondering is with this lens, is this as sharp as the head and body can get with out stopping the wings? Is the shutter speed I was using enough to stop the body when panning? Was the AF mode I was using wrong? I'm just not totally sure where the loss of sharpness is coming from.

It looks lot sharper in 640x427... It's really bad in full screen on my laptop.

 

[vtf]

I'm not seeing a great loss of sharpness on the bird's body, just wing motion blur in which you don't mind. A faster shutter will bring the wings and panning more stationary. From what I've read the Canon 55-250 is decent lens, not great. Lenses at their max capacity tend to have softer images.

 

[TwoTwoLeft]

I'm not seeing a great loss of sharpness on the bird's body, just wing motion blur in which you don't mind. A faster shutter will bring the wings and panning more stationary. From what I've read the Canon 55-250 is decent lens, not great. Lenses at their max capacity tend to have softer images.

Cool thanks, so my thinking was on the right track. I just wan't sure if it was me or I was asking too much of the lens. Time to go experiment some more!

 

[Forkie]

I can't see much wrong with the second image, if I'm honest! But here's some pointers:

Fast shutter speeds - at the very least 1/640. Unless the bird is stationary, I always use Continuous focussing, not sure what Canon calls that. Also, obviously keep your focus point on the head!

 

[djacobox372]

You need very fast shutter speeds to freeze a bird in motion. I'd say at least 1/1000, 1/2000 if you want it to be tack-sharp.

This was taken at 1/4000, any lower and I'd probably have some blur:

 

[kundalini]

This was taken at 1/4000, any lower and I'd probably have some blur:

I'll see that 1/4000........... and raise you another 1/4000.

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[MissCream]

"According to all known laws of aviation, there's no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wing are too small to lift its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway - because bees don't care what humans think is impossible."

This was taken at 1/4000, any lower and I'd probably have some blur:

I'll see that 1/4000........... and raise you another 1/4000.

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