Please Critique! New photos with my new 300mm f/4!

[Brendan7]

This saturday I have had the chance to take my 300 f/4 for a test run. I did some shooting of the birds in my backyard and feeder (Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania). It was freeezing....


Note: None of these photos have been post-processed. However, they are a heck of a lot sharper than they look on TDP.


Oh well, please give any comments and suggestions you like. I need advice! Still learning how to operate my new equipment.


Am I using correct shutter, ISO, aperture, etc for this use?


thanks for your help!


brendan b.





chickadee in tree


EOS 7D & EF 300mm f/4l IS USM at 300mm, f/4.0, 1/800 and ISO 640. Manual Exposure, No flash, handheld.


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white breasted nuthatch at feeder


EOS 7D & EF 300mm f/4l IS USM at 300mm, f/4.0, 1/800, ISO 640. Manual Exposure, no flash, handheld.


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Titmouse about to take flight


Same exif except mounted on cheapo promaster tripod.


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[Brendan7]

any and all criticism is appreciated [H]

[wickerprints]

#1. You are a bit underexposed, and a bit far away. Try changing your settings to f/5.6 @ 1/250 @ ISO 640, that's just a ballpark guess. The 300/4L IS likes to be stopped down a bit from f/4, although performance at f/4 is still very good. You'll want to keep this lens from f/4-f/8 most of the time, and f/5.6 gives the sharpest results in the field of focus.


#2. Check your white balance, as it should not be quite so blue. I tend to prefer having the correct WB for the subject, and let the background go where it may, especially in shots like this where the background is blurred. The subject appears to be in the shade and receiving only indirect sunlight, so while in a sense what we see is faithfully captured as a bluish tone, it is often more pleasing to bring it closer to neutral. Similar to #1, try f/5.6 @ 1/400 @ ISO 640.


#3. I'm not sure how to comment on this one. Clearly you can't slow the shutter here--if anything 1/400 wasn't fast enough. You probably needed something like f/4 @ 1/1600 @ ISO 1250, in which case you're not going to see a lot of benefit from shooting from a tripod. The focus is a little bit in the front.


All in all, I like #2 the best, as it got you the closest to the bird and is the most clear. Keep practicing with this lens--it takes a while to get used to it. The challenge I tend to face with it is that it is sometimes hard to sight the subject through it.


Oh, and here's is one of my shots taken with this lens. []


5D2 + 300/4L IS @ f/6.3 @ 1/500s @ ISO 320, EC +2/3, handheld.


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[Brendan7]

Check your white balance, as it should not be quite so blue.

I was shooting in the shade, with WB set to "daylight". That was probably my mistake (?).

[wickerprints]

If you shoot RAW, you can just change your WB in DPP, regardless of what was set in camera. I basically leave it on Auto WB 99% of the time, and change it later. The RAW image data is the same regardless of what WB setting was used.

[Brendan7]

If you shoot RAW, you can just change your WB in DPP, regardless of what was set in camera. I basically leave it on Auto WB 99% of the time, and change it later. The RAW image data is the same regardless of what WB setting was used.

I shoot JPEG because I use the 8fps burst of the 7D all the time so need the extra power. Bad idea?

[HiFiGuy1]

Yes. Your 7D can do the burst speed with RAW for at least a second, I think. You need to be shooting at least RAW, if not RAW+JPEG of some resolution. In my opinion.

[Mark Elberson]

I shoot JPEG because I use the 8fps burst of the 7D all the time so need the extra power. Bad idea?

You can still obtain 8fps when shooting RAW. The only difference is that you can maintain that speed for approximately 15 consecutiveframesvs. 94 when shooting jpeg. Those figures are from the 7D manual by the way and will vary based on what ISO, whatyou are shooting and what speed of CF card you are using. The point is though that unless your typical bursts last more than 15 frames then you should definitely take advantage of the countless benefits of shooting RAW!


As for your pictures...I think you got some good captures. wickerprints definitely had some good suggestions. I believe your 300 f/4 has IS rated for 2 stops so on your 7D you can probably lose the tripod unless you are shooting less than 1/125th or so. Keep shooting and be sure to share your results!

[Brendan7]

You can still obtain 8fps when shooting RAW. The only difference is that you can maintain that speed for approximately 15 consecutiveframesvs. 94 when shooting jpeg. Those figures are from the 7D manuak by the way and will vary based on what ISO you are shooting and what speed of CF card you are using. The point is though that unless your typical bursts last more than 15 frames then you should definitely take advantage of the countless benefits of shooting RAW!

thanks!

[wickerprints]

Here's another shot I took with the 300/4L IS...of a broad-billed hummingbird, near minimum focusing distance. I heart this lens.


5D2 + 300/4L IS @ f/4 @ 1/40s @ ISO 320, handheld, no flash, 25% crop. (Yes, that is 3 stops of image stabilization.)


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