Found Osprey

[wackii]

I finally ran into this guy and able to capture some in-flight shots... It was a good day. Pictures are not as sharp as I like. This guy was way high. These are my first pictures ever with Osprey in-flight. I was excited at the time and just snapped away. I was not as stable as I would like (got anxious and excited). I didn't even zoom in at 500mm that's how excited I was at the time when I saw him coming by. I need CoastalConn's expertise... Any help to improve shots like these will greatly appreciated..

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

 

[Aloicious]

nice sequence, I like #2 best, #4 seems a little OOF to me, though it could be the old and terrible hospital monitor I'm at right now.

 

[coastalconn]

I could feel the Osprey light out there searching for me I think these look pretty good actually... How much are they cropped? Looks like you had nice light and a pretty good shutter speed... Probably can't pull out too many more details until they fill more of the frame...

 

[wackii]

nice sequence, I like #2 best, #4 seems a little OOF to me, though it could be the old and terrible hospital monitor I'm at right now.

Your monitor is fine... It's OOF a little. I didn't plan my feet right. I felt like every shots my hands moved a little... I guess I need practice.

 

[wackii]

I could feel the Osprey light out there searching for me I think these look pretty good actually... How much are they cropped? Looks like you had nice light and a pretty good shutter speed... Probably can't pull out too many more details until they fill more of the frame...

They were cropped quite a bit. I didn't zoom in to 500mm (mistake). I didn't use 1.3 crop factor provided on the D7100 (mistake). Hands/body was not as stable I'd like (need practice). Osprey was quite high. What I did good was run to the spot where I have the sun behind me and in front of the Osprey so I got good sun light. It was actually almost sunset time. I had my tripod at the time with ball head but I took it off and use it as hand help for better free range of motion. I am wondering if a monopod is more suitable for this type of shots. I have the monopod in the car.

Edit: Do you use live view or viewfinder for these type of shots?

 

[Aloicious]

They were cropped quite a bit. I didn't zoom in to 500mm (mistake). I didn't use 1.3 crop factor provided on the D7100 (mistake). Hands/body was not as stable I'd like (need practice). Osprey was quite high. What I did good was run to the spot where I have the sun behind me and in front of the Osprey so I got good sun light. It was actually almost sunset time. I had my tripod at the time with ball head but I took it off and use it as hand help for better free range of motion. I am wondering if a monopod is more suitable for this type of shots. I have the monopod in the car.

honestly I wouldn't even be using the 1.3 crop setting for this stuff, it doesn't add any additional 'reach' since it doesn't affect the pixel density, its just an in-camera crop, I'd rather use the full frame and crop it myself afterwards, less chance of clipping a wing or foot or something that way (at least IMO).

as far as the monopod, for lenses that can be handheld, I prefer to hand hold for the BIF stuff, at least thats what I like...

its a really good series you got here, I still have yet to see an osprey around here.

 

[coastalconn]

I agree with aloicious. 1.3x crop factor no difference in pixel density (although you would get 1 extra fps). Other than songbirds in my backyard I ALWAYS shoot handheld which will be a real challenge with my 5# hunk of glass Some people say that OS/VR/VC doesn't do anything at shutter speeds over 1/500, some people say it hurts, some people say it's neutral but steadies the viewfinder. Might want to have a play with that at some point. Always use the viewfinder. Unless Nikon magically transform live view into a fast workable AF system (which it isn't) and it would be awful hard holding your camera and your 500 at arms length to look at the screen

But I must commend you for running to the spot with good light, that my friend is the real key....

 

[Aloicious]

I typically shoot with VR on even at higher shutter speeds when handheld. however, if there is a normal vs active switch on your lens, I keep it on normal most of the time it is on. the way I like to think about VR settings is turn it off (or use 'tripod' mode if you have it, but normally only the super mega teles have that like the 500 and 600s) when on a tripod, use 'normal' when you're the only thing that will be causing movement (i.e. general handholding), and use 'active' if another significant force is acting on you that will cause movement (i.e. you're shooting from inside a vehicle that is running)...though good technique will limit the perceived 'need' for VR, I find I have a slight higher percentage of keepers when using it, regardless of shutter speed, so IMO even with good technique, VR is a good tool to have available.

 

[JacaRanda]

But I must commend you for running to the spot with good light, that my friend is the real key....

Soooo true. I have had issues with not getting to the right spots. Or, birds half in sun and half in shadows of leaves. PAIN IN THE REAR!!!

 

[wackii]

They were cropped quite a bit. I didn't zoom in to 500mm (mistake). I didn't use 1.3 crop factor provided on the D7100 (mistake). Hands/body was not as stable I'd like (need practice). Osprey was quite high. What I did good was run to the spot where I have the sun behind me and in front of the Osprey so I got good sun light. It was actually almost sunset time. I had my tripod at the time with ball head but I took it off and use it as hand help for better free range of motion. I am wondering if a monopod is more suitable for this type of shots. I have the monopod in the car.

honestly I wouldn't even be using the 1.3 crop setting for this stuff, it doesn't add any additional 'reach' since it doesn't affect the pixel density, its just an in-camera crop, I'd rather use the full frame and crop it myself afterwards, less chance of clipping a wing or foot or something that way (at least IMO).

as far as the monopod, for lenses that can be handheld, I prefer to hand hold for the BIF stuff, at least thats what I like...

its a really good series you got here, I still have yet to see an osprey around here.

Although it doesn't add any reach, I thought since it cropped the image in camera and made it appeared larger therefore it'd help AF since I have a bigger area to focus on? No? Thanks for your comments and advices.

 

[wackii]

I agree with aloicious. 1.3x crop factor no difference in pixel density (although you would get 1 extra fps). Other than songbirds in my backyard I ALWAYS shoot handheld which will be a real challenge with my 5# hunk of glass Some people say that OS/VR/VC doesn't do anything at shutter speeds over 1/500, some people say it hurts, some people say it's neutral but steadies the viewfinder. Might want to have a play with that at some point. Always use the viewfinder. Unless Nikon magically transform live view into a fast workable AF system (which it isn't) and it would be awful hard holding your camera and your 500 at arms length to look at the screen

But I must commend you for running to the spot with good light, that my friend is the real key....

I use VR with tripod most of the time especial w/ birds. It looks quite sharp with tripod + VR. It don't think it hurts according what I've experienced. However, I do turn it off when I shoot landscape or long exposure since there's really no movement. At least, this is what I am doing. And yeah, I am glad that I ran to the spot of good light. I've learned to look at the light direction and place myself accordingly for better light to my subjects.

 

[wackii]

But I must commend you for running to the spot with good light, that my friend is the real key....

Soooo true. I have had issues with not getting to the right spots. Or, birds half in sun and half in shadows of leaves. PAIN IN THE REAR!!!

Don't we all hate that, but sometime there's not much we can do... half shadow or not, I still click it... knowing that bird might not be around next time...

 

[Aloicious]

Although it doesn't add any reach, I thought since it cropped the image in camera and made it appeared larger therefore it'd help AF since I have a bigger area to focus on? No? Thanks for your comments and advices.

not really, it doesn't make anything larger, or appear larger, so it really doesn't help with AF so to speak, it'll just cut the edges off the image, so the active AF area stays the same, while the image size is reduced, so you might think that it helps with allowing the AF focus points to go all the way up to the edge of the frame....but in reality, you could use the exact same focus point, in the exact same shot, and just crop it to your liking in post, and that way you reduce the chance of cutting something off (especially if you're focusing that close to the edge of the frame anyways).

don't get me wrong, the 1.3x crop mode does have some advantages, like smaller file sizes, and with smaller files, you get a small boost in the fps, and I *THINK* a small increase in the buffer. another benefit of crop modes for example is what I use on my D800 at events, I use a crop mode that is in the correct final aspect ratio that I want to use if I'm shooting an event or something (I cover automotive events regularly and if I'm shooting in the final aspect ratio that I'm going to use in publication, it vastly reduces my time spent in post processing when everything is already the correct ratio). but alot of false claims and misunderstandings surround crop modes, and crop factors, and equivalent focal lengths, and stuff like that. I've even read several 'professional' reviews that make incorrect statements....

 

[wackii]

Although it doesn't add any reach, I thought since it cropped the image in camera and made it appeared larger therefore it'd help AF since I have a bigger area to focus on? No? Thanks for your comments and advices.

not really, it doesn't make anything larger, or appear larger, so it really doesn't help with AF so to speak, it'll just cut the edges off the image, so the active AF area stays the same, while the image size is reduced, so you might think that it helps with allowing the AF focus points to go all the way up to the edge of the frame....but in reality, you could use the exact same focus point, in the exact same shot, and just crop it to your liking in post, and that way you reduce the chance of cutting something off (especially if you're focusing that close to the edge of the frame anyways).

don't get me wrong, the 1.3x crop mode does have some advantages, like smaller file sizes, and with smaller files, you get a small boost in the fps, and I *THINK* a small increase in the buffer. another benefit of crop modes for example is what I use on my D800 at events, I use a crop mode that is in the correct final aspect ratio that I want to use if I'm shooting an event or something (I cover automotive events regularly and if I'm shooting in the final aspect ratio that I'm going to use in publication, it vastly reduces my time spent in post processing when everything is already the correct ratio). but alot of false claims and misunderstandings surround crop modes, and crop factors, and equivalent focal lengths, and stuff like that. I've even read several 'professional' reviews that make incorrect statements....

Ah, okay. Thanks for the info.