c40/400f5.6 ai servo disaster

[tzanampeths]

Hi everybody,
yesterday I've spent several hours with the stilts in the hot blazing sun.
I also used ai servo for the first time, The results?

About 15 ACCEPTABLE pictures out of 700+ !!!

The camera was handheld, speed @ 1/800 (Manual setting)

I attach one of the precious 15 (heavy pp), she/he is nesting, and a sample of the 690+ crap.

I'll give it a go today with a tripod anyway.

Needed to share this guys...

All the best

Takis

[tdodd]

Heat haze?

[IanF]

Looks like heat haze to me as well. There's not a great deal you can do about it. Warm windless days are worst especially near water/marsh. Early mornings and sometimes later in the evening are worth sticking to. Getting as close to the subject as posssible helps minimise it.

[Roy C]

I use a 40D and the 400mm f5.6 in AI servo mode all the time (hand held 95% of the time) Could not be more pleased. I find I am getting far more keepers than I did with the 30D.

[stu78]

Hi Taki,
I use the same lens and find that when hand-holding at 1/1500 shutter speed my shots are usually sharp, and at 1/2000 speed they are all sharp. Under 1/1000 well over half my pics are fuzzy.
Maybe I have poor technique or wobbly hands or maybe there is a lot of heat haze here!
Actually I don't even think about technique and don't really worry about keeping the image steady in the viewfinder as I know that with the fast shutter speeds the shots will be fine. I use ISO 400 as standard but frequently need to use neat image to clear up the noise. I'm sure that if I was back in England then I would be forced to think about technique due to the crappy light!
As to whether a faster shutter speed would help with heat haze, my guess is yes it would, tho it is just a guess!
I only use AI servo for birds in flight, tho I have missed shots whilst changing my settings (one shot-> AI servo, adding +1 exposure compensation, changing from centre focus points to all 9, changing aperture etc). If I see something good I go into a little panic and start pressing the wrong buttons lol. I need a second DSLR really!!
Stu

[GYRob]

I/8OO with that combo is right on the limit handheld im not suprised you did not get many keepers add heat haze too and your not in with much chance .
I doult a faster SS will make any diffrence cutting through the heat haze , its a pic killer thats for sure.
Rob.

[Roy C]

I only use AI servo for birds in flight, tho I have missed shots whilst changing my settings (one shot-> AI servo, adding +1 exposure compensation, changing from centre focus points to all 9, changing aperture etc). If I see something good I go into a little panic and start pressing the wrong buttons lol. I need a second DSLR really!!
Stu
Not sure what Camera you are using Stu but if it is the 40D then the three 'C' switches are a godsend for this. If you couple these with the normal AV switch you can have 4 different sets of settings available in a split second.

[stu78]

I have a 400D and don't have the custom buttons :-(
If it is as easy as you say to change settings then maybe I will think of an upgrade in a few months. I just read a review of the 40D on dpreview and am still unsure what you mean by c buttons. The 40D has more buttons,wheels and knobs than the humble 400D plus many more options on the menu screen.

[Roy C]

I have a 400D and don't have the custom buttons :-(
If it is as easy as you say to change settings then maybe I will think of an upgrade in a few months. I just read a review of the 40D on dpreview and am still unsure what you mean by c buttons. The 40D has more buttons,wheels and knobs than the humble 400D plus many more options on the menu screen.
On the main dial where you have the different modes: e.g.P, Tv, Av, M you also have C1, C2 and C3. Just set the camera to what you want, say, 1 shot, ISO 400, Partial Metering, f5.6, centre focus point and then simple register those settings to, say, C1. C2 could have,say, the same but AI servo and C3 could have AI servo , EV +2 or what ever you want. Whenever you want those settings just switch to the applicable C number.

[stu78]

Ah yes I see what you mean. That would certainly be VERY useful!
I assume you can still change settings when you are in one of the c modes, say a quick change to the ISO or f number, as if you were in Av mode. Well it would be pretty stupid if you couldn't and the people at Canon are far from stupid.
This is definitely a major advantage of the 40D when it comes to bird photography. I am sure that spot metering, 6.5 fps and a decent viewfinder all help too.

[Roy C]

Ah yes I see what you mean. That would certainly be VERY useful!
I assume you can still change settings when you are in one of the c modes, say a quick change to the ISO or f number, as if you were in Av mode. Well it would be pretty stupid if you couldn't and the people at Canon are far from stupid.
This is definitely a major advantage of the 40D when it comes to bird photography. I am sure that spot metering, 6.5 fps and a decent viewfinder all help too.
You can still change any setting in a C mode But it will only stay in effect until the next time you switch or hit the shutter button after the display has gone blank - rather annoying but there we are.

[tzanampeths]

Hi everybody,
much better today! I cranked up the ss to 1600 AND used a tripod AND held my breath!!!
Result: almost nothing but keepers.
So I guess it was not haze but shaking. Today we had the same weather as yesterday, temp above 30oC but with a breeze.

Stu I do the same actually, count on fast ss to get the details. Lesson learned, 1/800 not fast enough...

I've never used neat image. I've tried the noise controls of Adobe's CR, but decided that I prefer the grain over the loss of detail, so I'm not using them at all.

One problem I do have is to make out the quality of the picture on the camera's LCD, maybe it's time to wear glasses at 47.

Now about the stilts. I'll let them be for a couple of weeks. I guess by then nesting will be over. They are very protective parents! Today they where giving dogfights with the crows to protect their nests. (No I didn't even try to take a shot as I was literally buried inside a bush with the tripod).

Thanks for baring with me. This is my comeback to photography. Last slr used was a nikom fe circa 1983 and there was no AF at the time. All this talk about canon af problems hasn't really inspired confidence about my equipment, in the sense that I always think I might've gotten a lemon.

All the best.

PS. A picture of the nest

[hollis_f]

Hi everybody,
much better today! I cranked up the ss to 1600 AND used a tripod AND held my breath!!!
Result: almost nothing but keepers.
So I guess it was not haze but shaking. Today we had the same weather as yesterday, temp above 30oC but with a breeze.
The breeze would tend to lessen the heat haze, so I still reckon that was your previous problem.

[Roy C]

Hi everybody,
much better today! I cranked up the ss to 1600 AND used a tripod AND held my breath!!!
Glad you have had more success. I guess everyone is different but I can get sharp shots with this combo in AI servo mode at 1/800 (and even slower) hand held with no problem.

[tzanampeths]

Glad you have had more success. I guess everyone is different but I can get sharp shots with this combo in AI servo mode at 1/800 (and even slower) hand held with no problem.

I appreciate the feedback Roy. My experience is nil with a long lens, so the feedback from you people is very helpful. Without it we rediscover the wheel on by one.

I'll work on my technique and maybe one day I'll also be as steady as Roy the tripod ! ;)

All the best

Takis

[gmax]

I appreciate the feedback Roy. My experience is nil with a long lens, so the feedback from you people is very helpful. Without it we rediscover the wheel on by one.

I'll work on my technique and maybe one day I'll also be as steady as Roy the tripod ! ;)

All the best

Takis
Well, you've said that :t:... it's amazing what kind of shots at very low speeds you may bring back home with a good tripod technique, nothing you cannot learn though, just .. practice,practice and eventually you'll have Roy's bionic arm ;)
Cheers,
Max

[Bhoggy]

thanks for your comments on the C modes Roy - just had one of those "should have read the instruction book" moments!

nah, when I get my next camera I'll have a proper look ;)