Woodduck

gopher78

I would really like some comments on this shot. I took this using a Pentax K10D and a Tamron 70-200 F/2.8 One of the very first shots I took with the new lens. My first thought when looking at the picture is I really missed on the focus. The picture looks terribly grainy etc. But the more I looked at it, the more I thought it has some redeeming qualities and part of the grainy look is all the green water and green pollen floating and coating the waterfowl. Opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Maestro

Could you post your EXIF and possibly a bigger pic? That would help in trying to figure out what happened.

gopher78

Maestro wrote:

Could you post your EXIF and possibly a bigger pic? That would help in trying to figure out what happened.

Sorry, I had trouble uploading that picture in the first place. Not sure what you mean by EXIF. Be happy to do it if you can explain how. All the other attempts said the picture is to large

Shane422

EXIF is the data buried in your image file about your camera and the shooting conditions that you used. You can view some of the data in Windows, but you can see all of it using something like Opanda. Just google Opanda to find it. Its free.

From the EXIF data, I can see that you shot this at ISO1600. That is the reason for the grain that you are seeing. Your exposure data says that you shot at 1/750, ISO1600, 200MM, and f8. I'm guessing that you could have gotten down to ISO400 and still have gotten a decent shot. Something like 1/200, f4. The point is that it is a fine image for ISO1600. Unless you are shooting one of the newer sensors, ISO1600 will always be quite grainy. It has nothing to do with your new lens.

Maestro

Shane422 wrote:

EXIF is the data buried in your image file about your camera and the shooting conditions that you used. You can view some of the data in Windows, but you can see all of it using something like Opanda. Just google Opanda to find it. Its free.

From the EXIF data, I can see that you shot this at ISO1600. That is the reason for the grain that you are seeing. Your exposure data says that you shot at 1/750, ISO1600, 200MM, and f8. I'm guessing that you could have gotten down to ISO400 and still have gotten a decent shot. Something like 1/200, f4. The point is that it is a fine image for ISO1600. Unless you are shooting one of the newer sensors, ISO1600 will always be quite grainy. It has nothing to do with your new lens.

Very well said and that is probably the cause of the grain in your picture.

evil eggplant

gopher78 wrote:

I would really like some comments on this shot. I took this using a Pentax K10D and a Tamron 70-200 F/2.8 One of the very first shots I took with the new lens. My first thought when looking at the picture is I really missed on the focus. The picture looks terribly grainy etc. But the more I looked at it, the more I thought it has some redeeming qualities and part of the grainy look is all the green water and green pollen floating and coating the waterfowl. Opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Looks grainy and out of focus. At the least, you should be shooting high quality jpegs, or better yet, you should shoot RAW, at the lowest possible ISO.

I'm not sure why, but the AF on my 20D had a heck of a time on wood ducks. I was told this would happen, and it did. Out of hundreds of shots, I got a handful that were acceptably sharp, and only a few that were tack sharp. My buddy was shooting the wood duck with a 600/4 and Id2N and had the same problem. Wood ducks are tough.

Besides, shooting birds is hard, if was easy, everyone would be doing it:cry Our eyes send incredible detail to our brains, our brains are used to seeing birds that way, and unless you're looking for some artistic effect, bird photographs should be very sharp, with accurate color, and as free from artifacts as possible.

Just my .02.

Cheers

Ric Grupe

evil eggplant wrote:

at the lowest possible ISO

Yep!

I forget that sometimes, myself. If you have the light...use it.