Please post some, did you shoot raw or jpg? The back of your camera will look better than on the pc some times.
Please post some, did you shoot raw or jpg? The back of your camera will look better than on the pc some times.
Denise....I found the 100-400 frustrating also...a tough lens to learn. It has quite a few limitations, e.g. low light situations, focusing in low light, long distance focusing (inherent in long lenses) bokeh, etc. Aside; I found the 7D helped the 100-400 lighting issues exponentially over the 40D.
My suggestions to you is first; don
Thank you so much everyone!!!
Steve, most definitely I could use a glass of wine (or three) right about now!!
Bill - You are so right in regard to alot of what you mentioned! I am trying to reach farther than what the 100-400mm can provide for me and it is extremely frustrating! I did do some manual focusing with the extender and I thought they looked better than what they ended up being on my computer. I also put a CPL on but it took longer to auto focus and by the time it did the bird was good so I took it off.
Sean - I am getting closer and closer to figuring it out every day. I think I
Denise,
I feel your pain. Don
This is a few of them ...I still need to edit the others.
Thanks for viewing!
Denise
Denise, I have never had a chance to shoot ABE, but I can tell it
Originally Posted by Steven23
I always shoot in raw but I guess may main frustration is due to there being so much detail lost because of the distance that 400mm cannot cover. I used the extender but only for alittle while when he was sitting in the tree but only for a few shots.
Denise
Hi Denise, thanks for posting the images. I like the down the beak look on that second last bird. But you really should have climbed the tree and set up a flash so you could get rid of that beak shadow. LOL.
And I like the second shot, the shape is nice it just has a bit too much blue sky under him, maybe crop it a bit, resize and put a frame around it and I think it would look really good in the 6x9 format. Is it 6x9? That panorama size and cropping?
I wouldn't give up yet, you are a lot further along this path than most of us.[Y]
Steve
Steve U
Wine, Food and Photography Student and Connoisseur
Denise
Buying a new 1D Mark IV and a new 500mm will make you feel better. (500mm because the current 600mm is to heavy, unless you get the new 600mm II) It will help get better pictures as well, I can attest to that, but it won't solve the main problem.
Getting close to wildlife is another skill unto itself and thats the real problem for all of us. Going where the game is, and shooting the easy ones that every one can see those are the soft targets. Spending several days staking out one spot that is prime on the river waiting for the eagle to drop down in front of you, just so you can get one chance at one set of shots, thats a different game. Big lenses give you a better chance, but getting close that is the game.
I will share some frustration with you. A few weeks ago when the lakes here were frozen someone told me about a lake where eagles were. I went out to check it out. The lake was not big at all. Probably didn't cover more than a half square mile. I saw a spot that looked good, but didn't stop. Went over by a dock about two hundred yards away. I hadn't even taken my camera out of the backpack and a male went right over our truck. It landed right in front of where I had originaly thought about setting up on the ice. I hurried to get the camera out, the eagle was jumping up and down on the ice trying to break it. I took a series of pics, of course not checking the settings I just ended up with a black and white mess. Then took a few but it was really to far away. I tried to sneak closer but he would just move further away. So that day no luck, I could see him out on the ice all day but he wouldn't get close.
So I went a few Saturdays later. Staked out a spot almost all day and,,,,,,nothing. I had a lot of fun. To me its catch and release hunting.
On the harder to get wildlife, the fun is in the chase. If the chase gets to where it isn't fun then I will probably quit.
Have Fun
Rick
<span style="font-size: small;"]Denise,
<span style="font-size: small;"]Wait, dont, stop, please don't do it----Nothing is that bad-----<span style="font-size: medium;"]Put the credit card on the ground and step away!!! <span style="font-size: small;"]Seriously, Go ahead and get the big guns, I know I want too for exactly the same reasons you do. I literally had over 10,000 shots of sandhills shot over 3 years and maybe 5 or 6 were really keepers. I spent two weekends going through all of them and sending most to the recycle bin. Many were shot with the same combo you have. So I feel your pain girl. Like others said that 100-400 is a beast and tough to get right, but when it is right----it's a great lens. One suggestion---when at all possible, use a tripod andfocus live view X10---Its amazing what the lens is capable of. I never really appreciated how good that lens was until I shot my H-birds---and that took me all summer just to get a few keepers. I saw the biggest gain in IQ when I went from my aluminum bogan manfrotto tripod to the gitzo. I don't know what others have discovered, but a solid tripod at 400+ mm makes all the difference in the world. Unfortunately, to date, I have yet to get the AF on the 100-400 dialed in, It's close, but never as good as the lens is really capable of. So, take another day off tomorrow, and go chase those eagles----.
<span style="font-size: medium;"]<span style="font-size: small;"]Btw---I thought your shots were pretty good----I certainly would be proud to have them in my collection.
<span style="font-size: medium;"]<span style="font-size: small;"]One last thing----Wanna guess what the UPS man delivered as I type this------My brand new 100L IS---I know, you already have one,but it's always nice to get new toys delivered to your door step. Now go have a glass of wine or two, get on cabella's web page and order you some camo so you can get closer to those dang birds.
<span style="font-size: medium;"]<span style="font-size: small;"]Bob
Bob
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