"PWW" wrote in message
...
On 4/10/05 6:11 PM, in article
,
"Kate" wrote:

For the hide in the garden I have now bought a camping toilet tent
and
have draped the frame with the camouflage net we already have. As
it
is free-standing now, I have been able to move it closer to the
bird
feeders, but the wretched birds haven`t been back since so I
haven`t
been able to see if my images will be better.

It takes a little while for them to get accustomed to a new object
near
their feeders. You might not need the camouflage net. They will get
use to
almost anything. Plus you need to make sure the netting doesn't flap
in the
breeze. As movement like that can scare the birds.

Do you know the trick of putting a small branch or twig within a
foot or two
of feet of the feeder. Many birds will fly to and from this branch
to go to
and then leave the feeder. Take the pictures when they land and fly
off this
branch. This also makes the bird portraits look a lot more natural
and not
so obvious that it was shot at a feeder. Plus you can change the
branch
every so often for different looks. Put it into the best position
for great
bird portraits.

I have started using RAW mode, although it is agonisingly slow
through
the buffer. It may be that I have been losing some sharpness by
the
way in which I was processing the images, but until I can get some
more shots from this new hide, I cannot tell for sure. There is no
getting away from the fact that a better lens would make a lot of
difference, but if I can improve my technique with the lens I have
at
the moment, it should stand me in good stead for the future.

Make sure that incamera settings are set correctly. It could be that
your
camera is set for "No Sharpening."

Good lenses are very important.

--
PWW (Paul Wayne Wilson)
Over 1,000 Photographs Online at,
http://PhotoStockFile.com


The hide has been in the garden for several weeks, and it is only
recently that we have built a portable one. Previously it had been
fixed to the fence, but was too far away from the feeders for sharp
pictures. I have pinned the camouflage net down with tent pegs to
stop it flapping. The idea of using a twig for the birds to perch on
prior to visiting the feeders is a good one. However, what seems to
happen is that the birds fly into the garden from the trees at the
back and straight on to the feeder perches, then back the way they
came.

Today I was able to get some better shots of a greenfinch, and some
even better ones of a robin. The greenfinch was about 10 feet away
but the robin only about 6 ft. It does seem as though at 6ft, objects
are _much_ sharper, but as the distance increases, sharpness drops
off. This is all at 300mm BTW. The in-camera sharpness setting was
plus 1, so I have pushed it up to plus 2 and hope noise isn`t
increased.

My tripod, although a heavy one, _is_ a bit unstable, particularly as
it is standing on loose gravel, and I did take two identical shots,
one with IS enabled and one without, both with the camera on the
tripod. The light was good and I was able to shoot at 1/200th f/8.
There was very little difference, with maybe just a little more
sharpness with IS turned on. I did read the manual grin regarding
turning IS off if the camera is tripod-mounted, but surely wobbly is
wobbly, whether hand-generated or tripod-generated. I haven`t yet
tried with the camera resting on a solid object, but will do so
shortly. I expect when I go out in the field, I shall have to use a
monopod, as carrying a tripod as well as camera and lens(es) will be
difficult, as will hand-holding the camera for any length of time
because of the arthritis in my hands.

Regarding shutter speed and f stops, I have read that, as birds move
so quickly, even when feeding, anything less than 1/160th will not do.
Elsewhere I also read that the "sweet spot" for sharpness is f8.
Also, that to increase DOF, an f stop of between 11 and 13 is
necessary. I do try to shoot at above 1/160th and at around f8, but
sharpness always seems to come down to how far away I am from the -
admittedly - small subject. As I mentioned above, 6ft seems ideal
with this lens at maximum zoom.

Roger : does the minimum focussing distance of the 300mm prime remain
the same, then, whether a TC is attached or not, please? As I always
seem to be shooting at 300mm, it does seem rather pointless to have a
zoom after all. Also, will AF still work with this lens and a 1.4x TC
attached to a Canon EOS 300D do you know?

My husband is getting a bit grumpy with me because I want a new lens,
a new tripod, a new this, a new that, and I`ve only had this camera
and lens since Christmas!

Thank you for your help.
Kate