Best settings

[mdougals]

Originally Posted by haraki74

It might have already been said, but you should really be using a tripod....

Not an option for where i do most of my shooting.

[sbp]

Originally Posted by mdougals

Not an option for where i do most of my shooting.

Then why not take chance and use M mode. you already knows what F stop do you want use just increment shutter speed from what camera suggesting.

[CincoJoe]

Originally Posted by sbp

Then why not take chance and use M mode. you already knows what F stop do you want use just increment shutter speed from what camera suggesting.

Exactly. Try it. you might be surprised just how easy M is to use especially if you already know what aperture you want to use.

[mdougals]

Originally Posted by CincoJoe

Exactly. Try it. you might be surprised just how easy M is to use especially if you already know what aperture you want to use.

I will give it a try. That bird was nesting in the bird house so if they are still there i will have an oppourtunity to try all of these suggestions.

Thanks Again
Matt

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by Fotographie-Junge

Yeah I heard that you cant shoot any slower shutter speed than the focal length you are shooting at. For instance, if you are shooting at 100mm, then anything below 1/100th of a sec. will be too slow to hand hold...at least thats what I have heard..IDK!

Maybe with some slam/bang dSLRs but a hight end rangefinderr will allow hand holdig down to 1/15.

[Photogasim]

Getting outstanding bird photographs is an incredible challenge. They are seldom as close as you would like for them to be. So, you are probably working with a Long, Slow, Lens, unless you are fortunate to have one of the Big, Fast, ones. But, You can buy a nice used car for what they cost. So most of us shoot with what we have, lenses that are f3.5 at best.

Birds are never still for more than a second or two. They move in, and out of focus, and in, and out, of the light. Just about the time you get everything right they take off, and leave you with nothing but out of focus, poorly exposed photos that you wind up deleting.

I don't have a great number of bird photos. But the ones I am showing, are not too bad, if I say so myself. Put out some feeders, just to get them to show up. But I am not a big fan of shots of birds eating out of the feeders. Try to catch them in the trees. So I set up my stuff, on a tripod, in an open window (No Glass), or in a chair outside, keeping very still. If you have food, and you don't pose a threat to the birds, they will show up, even if you are sitting out where they can see you. If you can afford a blind, they are a great tool for getting close to birds. The key is to get close. Otherwise, you are at the mercy of that long, slow, lens, at a relatively fast shutter speed, (250/sec or better).

The last thing I try to do, is to shoot in the morning around 9:00, where the light is relatively bright, but not as harsh as mid day, or later in the afternoon around 4:00. I try to shoot at as low an ISO as possible. I know ISO-100 sounds impossible under the conditions that have been mentioned above, but if you if you want outstanding results, that is what to work with. You are most likely going to be cropping out of a very large frame. So, you are going to have more noise than a rock concert if you are shooting at ISO-400.

Good Luck. Paul

[wildone]

I really appreciate this post. I've been having the same problem shooting with a 70-300mm lens. I was very frustrated yesterday - shot over 300 photos and only a few were in focus. I have a monopod and I will try that because I think my problem is camera shake but the other tips sound great as well.

thanks