Frosty Hike in the woods

The_Caper · Nov 23, 2007

Went on a chilly -7 degrees celcius hike today. I am currently unhappy with the results of my new 70-200 F4L :grumpy:

I have not yet got a sharp image. Today was very gloomy and cloudy but I bumped it up to 400 ISO and was shooting around 400 to 650/sec. Might have to bring her back I guess.

Here are 3 images from today.

1.

2.

3.

Alex_B · Nov 23, 2007

2 and 3 seem to suffer from the ISO a bit.

as for the sharpness, did you use a tripod or monopod, maybe there is some shake, that comes more easily when cold outside.

did you try to stop down a bit? if you shot wide open, a little bit of softness would be normal I think. But then again I never used that lens.

Alex_B · Nov 23, 2007

oh, but I still think the images are nice

in particular the first one.

The_Caper · Nov 23, 2007

Thank you very much Alex.
Yes I was wide open F4 all the way. I had too as it was quite dark for 2pm - 3pm. All my shots were hand held with no support and I may have been vibrating a tad bit but for the most part I thought things looked steady through the view finder.

Alex_B · Nov 23, 2007

The_Caper said:
Thank you very much Alex.
Yes I was wide open F4 all the way. I had too as it was quite dark for 2pm - 3pm. All my shots were hand held with no support and I may have been vibrating a tad bit but for the most part I thought things looked steady through the view finder.

with my 300mm f/4 on 35mm full frame I always need at least a monopod to get them really crisp sharp (ok, unless at really fast shutter speeds around 1/1000 or above). Also, whenever possible I stop down a bit to get a tad more DOF.

The_Caper · Nov 23, 2007

Thanks again Alex. You are probably right as I was at 200mm wide open shooting at about 1/400. To get any faster I would have needed to bump up to 800 ISO it was so darn dark.

Alex_B · Nov 23, 2007

just test the lens on a tripod with a cable release and no wind... then you will know if it is the lens or you

The_Caper · Nov 23, 2007

Can anyone tell me a good make and price in Canada I could expect to pay for a Monopod and where I can get it?

Thanks all.

AIRIC · Nov 24, 2007

The first shot is nice. Looks like the light was pretty low.

Eric

TCimages · Nov 24, 2007

The first shot looks pretty darn good to me. Just keep practicing. I have also noticed that when it's extremely cold, your shutter does in fact actuate slower. The conditions you were in certainly shouldn't be used to determine if you have a sharp copy.

Dynamic · Nov 24, 2007

I agree with all the comments above. IMO, you've got to get at least a monopod. Without IS or VR, its extremely difficult to get a crisp shot in such low-light conditions. I've done it a few times with my 300mm (no VR) where I'd go out, take a LOT of pictures and maybe 2 were ok - rest suffered from shake.... very discouraging.
I don't know what the price difference is between IS version of your lens but bottom line is that you can still take decent shots with what you have, except it will be a lot harder. Don't get discouraged, try a monopod and keep on shooting. (With the weather we've been having around here lately, I don't leave my house with a monopod).
Nice buck picture btw !

TCimages · Nov 24, 2007

one more thing to add to all of this, and the biggest reason I rarely use a monopod or a tripod (not that it doesn't help)..you're shooting a moving subject and the only thing you can do is get the shutter speed up or keep snapping until you get one where there is no movement. I don't know how many shots you take in bursts, but in situations like this, it really pays to take several in a burst and often times you will get lucky.

The_Caper · Nov 24, 2007

Thank you all for the advice,

I am going to Henry's tomorrow to pick up a pro monopod. Manfrotto at roughly 129.00 Canadian and heading back out on another hike.

I also discovered that there is a reserve not far from where I live called the Haliburton Forest & Wildlife Reserve - Haliburton Highlands Ontario Wilderness Adventure Centre

I am going to go check it out as I believe they have wolves and other wildlife that I can Shoot (Camera that is)

Take care all.

Roger · Nov 26, 2007

good shots despite the iso and slight drop in sharpness....I have the same lens and have never had a problem with sharpness, however others have. Canon do recommend having L series lenses calibrated to your body for best results if there is a problem. I've been lucky with my L lenses on both bodies I've used them with, currently 30D. That said, as suggested it could be shake due to lighting conditions and the purchase of a monopod never goes astray! Hope you get it sorted.