Problems, Problems...problems!! Help needed. (1 Viewer)

Hi everyone,

After trying digiscoping for a while, i decided to upgarade to something better, so i bought a Nikon D40, paired with the sigma 55-200 F4-5.6 DC lens, and a X2 converter.

I know the lens is not the best for nature photography, but my aim was, since im new to this, was to build up some experience of working with Telephotos, whilst remaining in budget, and upgrade to a 500mm later in the year, and when finances would allow.

Hence the Converter.

The thing is, when the converter is used, everything is rather dark, especially so in woodland, where the pics are just black.

Ive tried using the built in flash to compensate, but this makes very little if any difference.

Like i said, i am new at this, and apperture settings, ISO numbers, whitebalence ect, is confusing.

Any suggestions?

Cheers

Den B

I've not used a Nikon DSLR but in general terms the a couple of things spring to mind.

Firstly using a 2x converter is seldom a good idea on anything less than a fast prime lens. It would help to know what converter brand it is as quality can vary a lot and whether it's an auto converter or not. In addition using a 2x convert means you lose two f-stops or in other words quarters the shutter speed you'd have had without it fitted. Even in good daylight you may get slow shutter speeds - in dense woodland I wouldn't even consider using one tripod mounted with a f5,6 lens as the best apertur you could hope for would be f8 in what would be gloomy conditions anyway.

Even using a 1.4x converter on a fixed telephoto lens leads to some loss of image quality. Using a 2x leds to even more. Using a converter with just about any zoom lens gives even poorer image quality especially with a 2x.

It seems strange that your photos are coming out black though. You should be getting some image even if it's just very blurred which makes me wonder if the teleconverter is defective though even if it was incoorectly reporting the settings to the camera you'd expect some sort of image still.

Have you tried boosting the ISO setting to ISO800 or even ISO1000? Results will be grainy but you may still get an image at least - though I suspect even then you'll need a sturdy triopd in woodland as shutter speeds will be low.

Hi Ian, and thanks.

Not all the images come out black, it only occurs if i try to compensate the loss of light with the flash.

In all truth, in Woodland, ive started to use the lens without the converter since most subjects are relatively closer. In sunny glades, i will revert back to it, but its all really trial and error, and dependent on the light conditions.

Ive adjusted the ISO settings, even trying 1000 or more in manual.

The converter is a cheap jessops one.

Another problem i get, and it occurs in AF aswell as manual, is that when i take a shot of an overhead raptor, the bird comes out dark against a blue background. Again, i guess this can be put right by adjusting the ISO/apperture settings?

Im really a novice at this, and even the operating manual is daunting!!!

Den,

Don't take this wrong but it sounds as if you are trying to run before you can walk

To start off with put the camera onto its fully automatic setting (its a little green square with canon - not sure with nikon) put the convertor in a drawer and take some pictures - but not ones of flying birds! This should get you used to handling the camera, composing images and using the auto focus
To progress, either take your time to go through the manual which should eventually make sense or get one of the plethora of books on digital wildlife photography which will explain the different settings, what they do and how they interract with each other.

Oh and when you've got a spare moment take the teleconverter back to the shop, find the assistant who sold it to you and place it where the sun doesn't shine, its useless. :-C

paul goode said:

Den,

Don't take this wrong but it sounds as if you are trying to run before you can walk

To start off with put the camera onto its fully automatic setting (its a little green square with canon - not sure with nikon) put the convertor in a drawer and take some pictures - but not ones of flying birds! This should get you used to handling the camera, composing images and using the auto focus
To progress, either take your time to go through the manual which should eventually make sense or get one of the plethora of books on digital wildlife photography which will explain the different settings, what they do and how they interract with each other.

Oh and when you've got a spare moment take the teleconverter back to the shop, find the assistant who sold it to you and place it where the sun doesn't shine, its useless. :-C

Click to expand...

Not taken the wrong way at all, Paul. And you are right, i am maybe being a little inpatiant....

Im taking pics of other wildlife subjects like Butterflies, which is helping me work out the settings. Im getting some quite good results aswell.


By the sound of things, i think the converter would proberly work better in its box!

Another thing to try when doing overhead shots: go into the menu somewhere (I dont have a dSLR, so cannot be more specific) and set the measuring mode to spot. If the spot that the camera measures coinsides with the bird, then most likely the bird will be correctly exposed at the cost of a overexposed, white looking sky. The default in most cameras is to use some type of evaluative measurement, which try to get both the sky and the bird correct but is bound to fail at least one. May also be a help in other conditions if you do bird photography, but evaluative is probably better for those family reunions.

Re the dark images in the forest with flash: the shutter time probably changes to something faster when you turn on the flash, and the built in flash is not strong enough to light up the bird under those conditions. There may be some settings it is possible to play around with.

It sound like a book with general photography tips might come in handy for you.

Niels

Thanks for the advice Neils, its very welcome and helpfull. On the subject of a good book, what would you, or anyone else recommend?

I haven't got this book but I believe it is a good starting point
http://www.amazon.co.uk/RSPB-Guide-...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214817092&sr=1-1

paul goode said:

I haven't got this book but I believe it is a good starting point
http://www.amazon.co.uk/RSPB-Guide-...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214817092&sr=1-1

Click to expand...

David Tipling has done one or two decent books but I would suggest a general book on photography for beginners would help alongside a dedicated book. your less likely to drool over the pictures8-P