Hey folks, new guy needing feedback....

Joemess

This is the first day I have gone out with my 30D. I took quite a few shots, however they all seem to have a grainy nature that I am not wanting. If youfolks would be so kind, please take a look at the phot and then the settings and tell me where I am wrong. Thick skin here so don't hold back.











aperture: f/5.6
iso: 1000
focal length: 200mm (guess: 777mm in 35mm)
exposure time: 0.0008s (1/1250)
flash: flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
exposure program: manual
exposure bias: 0
exposure mode: 1
white balance: auto
colorspace: sRGB



Thanks, Oh, the lens was a 28-200 Quantaray (yeah, I know I need a new lens, but I have gotten great shots out of thisone on my rebel)

Andrew

Osprey Whisperer

My guess would be a combination of that high ISO....that not so great ZOOM lens and shooting it wide open (f/5.6)..or pretty wide depending on the max ap. That and you really need to nail exposure at higher ISOs. Did you use your histogram to help with correct exposure? This looks underexposed...hence some more of the "noise" (grain) problems. You might check your white balance/colors..as this GBH looks too blue (they are more gray actually).

Your 30D should be good with high ISO and lack of noise. It's more to do with technique and your lens. You should get better results.

Here is a shot at ISO 1600, 400mm f/5.6 lens (no noise reduction added) full frame.

http://www.pbase.com/blindmustangpilot/image/73496638

Harryb

The main problem that I see here is exposure. The shot appears to be at least 1/2 of a stop underexposed. Its a killer when you are shooting at a high ISO and you underexpose the shot. The result will have a good deal of noise which this shot appears to have. When I shoot wildlife I used manual aperture and do EV adjustments based on the scene and the subject.

The auto WB is also off in the shot and it appears to be too cool. The heron is way too blue (they are usually a slate grey). If you are shooting in RAW you can normally (unless you blow a color channel) correct the WB during your RAW conversion. If you're shooting jpeg its is much harder to correct and the end result is not all that great even if you can correct it.

The heron is also not that sharp (can't be 100% sure because of the exposure). Your shutter speed was high enough so either you didn't lock focus or there was some camera shake.

Finally, you can get good results with the Quantaray but its not a fast lens and it won't handle low light shots very well which this shot appears to be.

Joemess

Bird Man Photographer wrote:

My guess would be a combination of that high ISO....that not so great ZOOM lens and shooting it wide open (f/5.6)..or pretty wide depending on the max ap. That and you really need to nail exposure at higher ISOs. Did you use your histogram to help with correct exposure? This looks underexposed...hence some more of the "noise" (grain) problems. You might check your white balance/colors..as this GBH looks too blue (they are more gray actually).

Thanks,

Lets ignore the lens for a moment, I am in the proccess of writing a research grant that will allow me to get a Canon model (thinking 70-300 but I am not decided yet). I mainly shoot flowers as I am a botanist and I need representations for the herbarium and for that I am using a Canon f2.8 100mm. I shoot with a high F stop (>15) and use a tripod. For these birds I was wanting a fast shutter speed to reduce blurring, yet I was getting images that were much to dark. To aid this I bumped the ISO which resulted in the noise...which you pretty much described to a T.

So, understand that I am asking this from a position of someone who is still learning this, yet would like to avoid reinventing the wheel. THese were my conditions. Bright morning sun coming from the side and slightly to the rear. Bird was approx 20-30 meters from me moving away.

What is a good ballpark figure for settings that will get me headed down the correct road that I can then systematically manipulate to learn the effects? When I had the Rebel, I would use the cheater modes but I am determined to learn the M, AV,TV,P....



Thanks in advance.


Andrew

(oh, I did read the manual )

Harryb

Joemess wrote:

Thanks,

Lets ignore the lens for a moment, I am in the proccess of writing a research grant that will allow me to get a Canon model (thinking 70-300 but I am not decided yet). I mainly shoot flowers as I am a botanist and I need representations for the herbarium and for that I am using a Canon f2.8 100mm. I shoot with a high F stop (>15) and use a tripod. For these birds I was wanting a fast shutter speed to reduce blurring, yet I was getting images that were much to dark. To aid this I bumped the ISO which resulted in the noise...which you pretty much described to a T.

So, understand that I am asking this from a position of someone who is still learning this, yet would like to avoid reinventing the wheel. THese were my conditions. Bright morning sun coming from the side and slightly to the rear. Bird was approx 20-30 meters from me moving away.

What is a good ballpark figure for settings that will get me headed down the correct road that I can then systematically manipulate to learn the effects? When I had the Rebel, I would use the cheater modes but I am determined to learn the M, AV,TV,P....



Thanks in advance.


Andrew

(oh, I did read the manual )

Hey Andrew,

This may be of some help http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1958634

Also take a look at the Tips and Resources and the Ask Ron Reznick stickies at the top of this forum.

Joemess

Harryb wrote:

Hey Andrew,

This may be of some help http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1958634

Also take a look at the Tips and Resources and the Ask Ron Reznick stickies at the top of this forum.

Super, Thanks!