Curious about this DSLR photo in poor light

[YellowBudgie]

Hi Everyone,

I haven't had much time to test shoot with my new Canon EF 100-400 IS USM Lens and Canon 40D. Just a few hours so far. It's been a bit too cold to risk the camera LCD cracking when the light and weather has been good in the mornings. (-12C this morning)

I went out as it was starting to get dark but enough light in the branches. The Goldfinches were resting in the tree and the downy woodpeckers were still feeding. The light on the feeder tree suet side was dark for photos I'm used to taking and the sun was visible but obscured by trees as it was setting.

I was experimenting with manual shutter speeds for action photos.

This was taken in poor light, with a high shutter speed (1/160) and ISO of 800. The photo looks good without cropping. The cropped downy isn't too sharp. Is this normal for the poor light, high shutter, ISO 400 and JPEG?

Opps,
Think I just found out why. Just as I was typing the settings in I checked the camera and the picture style was set to Portrait. It makes sense now the JPEG isn't as sharp. I've been shooting in JPEG until I get some good results and then can start shooting jpeg+raw.

Should sharp photos be obtainable if I was shooting at the end of the day in raw with enough light to take down the ISO to 600 or less? If so any advice would be great.

Here's the setup and settings:
Canon 40D w/ Canon EF 100-400 IS USM Lens (no filter) on a Manfrotto 055MF3 Tripod with 501HDV Head. Hands off using electronic shutter release.
Camera Settings: JPEG, Shutter 1/160, F/5.6, ISO 800, Spot Metering, AF Point: Center Dot, Focal Length 400mm, Auto White Balance, Focus Mode: One Shot

Here's what the photo looked like cropped down some and the cropped close up Downy Woodpecker.

Thanks!

Dana

[GR Triever]

Just bought this lens myself, so I'm sort of in the same situation you are. From what I've read, the lens is going to be a bit soft at f/5.6, sharpening up very well around f/8. I've also read that there's a rather steep learning curve for this lens, but once you get used to it the shots are very sharp...

[YellowBudgie]

Just bought this lens myself, so I'm sort of in the same situation you are. From what I've read, the lens is going to be a bit soft at f/5.6, sharpening up very well around f/8. I've also read that there's a rather steep learning curve for this lens, but once you get used to it the shots are very sharp...

Thanks GR,

Thanks for the tip on getting a sharper image at f/8. Normally I would never shoot in this light being used to my digiscoping setup but figured may as well give it a try with a higher ISO and see what happens.

Thanks,

Dana

[YellowBudgie]

While I'm practicing with just JPEG does anyone recommend a sharpness setting for a custom Picture Style? Sharpness can be set from 0 to 7. Practicing with raw can fill up a card pretty quick.

Thanks!

Dana

[Harold Stiver]

Were you shooting with a tripod? if not, 1/160 is probably too slow a SS to use handheld.

That combination is certainly capable of delivering wonderfully sharp images but technique is especially important when you get near shooting limits.In the image you posted, it would be very easy for your camera to focus on the tree behind your subject, your chances are always improved with more contrast between subject and background.

[YellowBudgie]

Were you shooting with a tripod? if not, 1/160 is probably too slow a SS to use handheld.

That combination is certainly capable of delivering wonderfully sharp images but technique is especially important when you get near shooting limits.In the image you posted, it would be very easy for your camera to focus on the tree behind your subject, your chances are always improved with more contrast between subject and background.

Thanks Harold,

I was shooting with a tripod with a good stable fluid head and using a remote shutter release. I went out today with better light and was able to improve some. I decided to shoot in jpeg+raw on some shots but not all.

I took some photos of a Nuthatch and these came out better than the Downy, it must have been the contrast of the Nuthatch gray on the darker bark like you said. Increased contrast with a red belly also helped to get a better image as well.

It seems ISO is much more of a issue at these high zoom levels when shooting a bird. Is this the norm?

Here are a few photos from today.

Thanks again,

Dana

[Harold Stiver]

It seems ISO is much more of a issue at these high zoom levels when shooting a bird. Is this the norm?
Dana

Not actually, I think that it would seem that way because you will be using higher ISO as light conditions deteriorate. The fact that resulting images are generally poorer is a result of the actual conditions rather than the camera setting.

For example if you shot at high ISO, perhaps 800, in good lighting conditions, I think you would still be expected to obtain better focus results.

Does that make sense?

[YellowBudgie]

Not actually, I think that it would seem that way because you will be using higher ISO as light conditions deteriorate. The fact that resulting images are generally poorer is a result of the actual conditions rather than the camera setting.

For example if you shot at high ISO, perhaps 800, in good lighting conditions, I think you would still be expected to obtain better focus results.

Does that make sense?

That makes sense. I'm ready with my plastic zip lock bag and my cold weather clothing this morning.

I've been able to get some great shots in the morning light at this tree side digiscoping. I'll post a few digiscoped photos to give you an idea of what I've been able to get in the morning light with the digiscoping setup.

The Downy photo was neat to get. It was mating season and you could tell he was busy in some type of cavity that left this dirty brown stain on him.

Thanks!

Dana

[YellowBudgie]

Hi Harold,

One thing I noticed this morning was the sun was rising a bit more to the south. As a result I didn't get great light on the feeder side of the tree. I've noticed the same issue this time last winter as the days went by. I never really thought about it.

I asked a friend who has an interest in astronomy and he explained how the sun will keep rising a tiny bit to the south until December 21st when it will start to rise a little more each day to the north again. At some point past December 21st I'll have good light again on this side of the tree in the morning.

I should say the sun is rising in the east still :) but east and tiny bit to the south.

I did get some close photos of the Blue Jays in the tree branches waiting to dive down and grab a some whole peanuts. These photos came out great. I had a good number of photos where the jays head was moving and out of focus a bit. I had the camera's shutter set as fast as I could at a lower ISO this time. Shutter: 1/30 f/8 ISO 160.

I do have one question if anyone can fill me in. I did notice the sharpness on this lens was softer when lower than f/8. How does it perform at higher f-stops when birding?

I'll attach a few Blue Jay photos from this morning.

Thanks!

Dana