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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RJM" data-source="post: 1429243" data-attributes="member: 66340">Don't worry about metering as it makes little difference unless your target is heavily backlit. Let's address the different types of blur possible. I took a look at the pic data and your shutter speed in every case was certainly fast enough to freeze normal bird motion (1/320 to 1/1250sec!). Maybe even for flight too. Obviously then, lowering exposure compensation helped and ISO80 was as high as you needed to be for these pics. So sensor "noise" blur is not the culprit.  There might be some chromatic blur with the Gulls due either to the fieldscope lens (less likely at 24x) or camera lens (most likely) but nothing can be done to solve that in your hardware. There are software solutions but usually require a RAW image to work. Using a cable release or timer will help remove mechanical vibration induced blur from the list of usual suspects, the only mechanical culprit left being a lightweight mount affected by wind. You did not mention if you used the shutter release timer function for these pics. But again your shutter speeds were pretty fast and the longest focal lengths were with the Gulls so I think there is minimal impact from mechanical blur. If you did use the timer to trigger the shutter, then you were just too far away for a 60mm scope (most likely culprit) and/or perhaps the scope's focus was just a little off. To get more detail you should zoom in more as the data indicated you shot ~800mm - 1750mm. At the shutter speeds you had for these shots, you have room to zoom further in.  If after zooming in more, and assuming the shutter speed stays high, you are still not getting the feather detail you want, you either need to get closer or use a 80mm aperture scope. Finally, it is important to get in the habit of checking the shot data displayed by the camera when you depress the shutter button half-way to lock focus. Pay attention to shutter speed. As long as it stays above 1/30sec (1/125sec is ideal), you have some room to zoom and/or use a higher powered eyepiece to get more detail. hope this helps,Rick</blockquote>

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