Frustrated and Concerned. This is the best my camera can do?

[Light Artisan]

VR won't help with moving objects, it only helps with camera shake. Aperture priority mode isn't the problem, shooting manual isn't a fix all - it's another mode, and not always the best answer.

Try shooting in shutter priority with wildlife and set it to 1/500th and see what happens. Turn Auto ISO on as well and cap it at 1600, you'll appreciate it with a slower lens like the kit lenses. These were shot at f/5.6 which is wide open for your lens, and about the best you could do in these circumstances. A faster lens may have helped (f/2.8 or better).

I'd much rather remove some noise than have blurry photos (in general), and the D3100 is quite good at handling noise.

 

[bumpylemon]

yes i shoot in raw. good info you guys posted!!! one thing i do love is DOF photos. that is a main goal i try and do. im heading into boston now with a friend to shoot some stuff with him. ill practice more. i have a lot of trouble blurring out the back.

 

[atabrem]

i don't suggesting keeping anything on manual mode on your camera. nothing on my camera stays on auto. even tho i only have a d40, i know my camera very well. if you truely want better images, i really suggest learning ALL your manule settings. it takes time, but you'll see much improvement.

 

[bumpylemon]

Don't get frustrated, just shoot all the time and eventually you'll become more accustomed to what works and what doesn't. I'm still new to photography so I'm sure others will have more to say, but here's my .02.

1:
The problem here is focus, which is what you choose. Autofocus picks up on things, but in the end you have to make sure it has picked up on the right things. The bird's rear is in focus, but I doubt you wanted that as the subject

2:
With this photo the downside is the crop. Since the subject is looking left, the photo should be cropped so that there is more space on the left and the subject is more towards the right. This way it gives space for the subject to look. If the turkey were looking towards the right in this photo it would look much better.

Other than that, I would play with it more in post. What are you using for software (if anything)?

3:
Nothing bad to say here. Is this the quality you're hoping for? Do you feel better about this shot than the others? If that's the case, then look at your shots like this and don't beat yourself down.

i didnt crop or PP anything. just shot and uploaded. the last picture i really liked. i wanted more depth of field but thats my weakness and what im trying to learn

 

[bumpylemon]

i don't suggesting keeping anything on manual mode on your camera. nothing on my camera stays on auto. even tho i only have a d40, i know my camera very well. if you truely want better images, i really suggest learning ALL your manule settings. it takes time, but you'll see much improvement.

yeah. i mostly shot on M. but i tried A so i could do the DOF which i thought I could achieve in A mode.

 

[atabrem]

"blurring out the back".. you mean BOKEH. the larger MM you use the more bokeh you get, with a larger fstop.. as in f1.8 at 85 mm will give you crazy bokeh
if your using your lens at 200 mm.. lets say at. f4 even, you'll still get some crazy bokeh.. as long as your at least 10 ft from your subject or close enough to get the whole subject in fame.. play play play!

 

[nonamexx]

One thing I forget to mention: the more beautiful your composition, the less the technical details will stick out.

So go for beauty. I managed to take some beautiful holiday pics on an old Canon Powershot S50 (you can find some in my Flickr photostream). So definitely the subject will matter as much. You'll notice a dramatic improvement in "quality" once the subject matter is improved. Great Switzerland scenery taken on a humble P & S will definitely look "better" than dreary and drab subjects taken on an SLR camera.

Not deriding your choice of subjects here obviously as you're doing some testing. But thought I'd share that.

 

[Light Artisan]

My style is the exact opposite of atabrem, I believe manual mode is good for learning how everything works and for tricky lighting situations, other than that the camera does a fine job these days, and I'm still in control of my photos - thank you very much.

This is good though, you're getting 2 completely different opinions - there is no 'right way', just the one that works best for you.

The one thing we agree on, is practice. You'll get better and understand what different situations will require from you.

Just remember - it's all about light.

 

[sanpan]

<>I feel the more you zoom in, the more is the need for VR.
<>Also you might want to shoot in shutter priority when shooting wildlife / sports.
<>For DOF, use aperture priority with a low f-number, compose the frame, move away and zoom in to the frame you had composed earlier and then click. This should work as per my experience.
<> Avoid using Manual, either use AP or SP. That gives you one less setting to worry about and also puts your 800$ worth camera to work.
Please note that I am currently using a Canon S3IS which is a compact super-zoom but these techniques should also work on a DSLR.
All the best for your boston pics. Do upload the pics.

 

[bazooka]

A good rule of thumb is that you want to be AT LEAST at a shutter speed equal to your focal length.... in this case 1/200th would be the aboslute minimum you should be shooting at or you WILL see camera shake.

Don't forget the crop... D3100 has a x1.5 crop so you actually need at least 1/300 @ 200mm.

Bumpy, you're images will also be sharper if you 'stop down' to a smaller aperture. Cheaper lenses are particularly affected by loss of sharpness when shooting at the extreme ends of both zoom and aperture. So expect to lose sharpness when zoomed all the way in, all the way out, and when wide open, or below f/16 (f/18, f/22). Each lens is different, so you might want to print out a test chart and do some experimenting with your lense to see where your lens has the greatest issues and work around them.

 

[flea77]

I have to agree here that the problem you are running into are NOT the fault of your equipment, it is more you need to learn how to use what you have better. Your camera and lens is a very sophisticated piece of technology, it takes time and practice to get to where you want to be.

I would NOT suggest you trade in your lens for the VR version. You will gain much more by learning propper holding techniques than spending money on VR.

Allan

 

[KmH]

Frustrated and Concerned. This is the best my camera can do?

You don't yet know how to 'drive' the camera and lens, but will.

How you hold and handle the camera has a lot to do with the quality of your photos: How to Hold a Digital Camera

Many people getting their first dSLR camera find out there is much more involved in making good photographs than they realized.

 

[itf]

Ok. First of all, why's everyone telling him to sell his lens? A lot of people do fine without the VR. Second, i just think he missed his focus or it was camera shake from slow shutter speed. Just set the widest aperture, bump up the ISO and try to get a shutter speed faster than 1/100 and you'll be fine. Manual focus would probably be good in these conditions, if you're focusing on the wrong thing.

 

[wtdeane]

Ok. First of all, why's everyone telling him to sell his lens? A lot of people do fine without the VR. Second, i just think he missed his focus or it was camera shake from slow shutter speed. Just set the widest aperture, bump up the ISO and try to get a shutter speed faster than 1/100 and you'll be fine. Manual focus would probably be good in these conditions, if you're focusing on the wrong thing.

All great suggestions, but I am amazed that no-one has mentioned the obvious.

The shooter is doing landscape shots. The best tool in this situation is a TRIPOD!

Unless you have amazing glass and perfect light, your best friend is a tripod.

Cheers,
Tyler

 

[white]

The aminals would probably be gone by the time he set up his tripod.

The only technical issue I see is blur. Probably due to motion. As others have said, holding the camera correctly is important, as well as selecting a shutter speed that will freeze motion.

The larger issue is light. Hard light can produce interesting shadows, but it can also flatten out textures and make images look drab.