Nikon DSLR "Picture Of The Day"

[lightinsky]

Is this the new VR lens?

No... this the sigma... wish i can play with it sometime and see for myself the good things said about it

F8 (this is the sweet spot)
ISO200 (much cleaner than ISO800)
Spot metering - Spot metering shouldn't have the exposure (what people think is an) "issue". Spot metering here because you're shooting a white bird. It will help keep the detail in the feathers and you can always brighten it up in PP a little if need be.
I always use -1/3 EV. But, I never change it, regardless of metering mode (mostly in matrix) and it seems to do fine.

thanks for the advice... i'll try it out next time...

however..

I personally use Av mode. So does my friend. We constantly check the shutter speed and if it's lacking, then we up the ISO...but, only then.

but if you're shooting flying birds, you wouldn't have the time to do it?? so do you meter off a stationary bird first, check and see if the shutter speed is ok??

Your method actually isn't bad. I think it's just the F14 thing...and ISO800 on what looks to be a fairly bright day.

i think i definitely dont need the ISO800 after the discussion here, f/14 to f/8 gives me almost 2 stops, don't think i need 1/1000 too.. that should also lower the need for ISO

thanks swgod!!!

[lightinsky]

wooooo... just saw your pic, swgod.... awesome!!!!

[swgod98]

but if you're shooting flying birds, you wouldn't have the time to do it?? so do you meter off a stationary bird first, check and see if the shutter speed is ok??

Actually, I don't bother being too accurate. I meter off of things in the horizon...or, off of other birds on the ground...the trees in the distance If the birds are in the sky, meter off something that has lots of sky behind it. If there is background (trees?), meter off that. As long as I'm about 1/500 or better, I don't bother too much. Usually I get lots of sky in the background, so if anything I end up with faster shutter speeds anyways.

It's typically when the clouds roll over the sun when exposure can change drastically. That's when I'll be sure to verify the shutter speeds I'm getting and change the ISO as needed.

But again, that's me. You should continue to try your method (just use F8 and possibly 1/500 and see how it works!).

i think i definitely dont need the ISO800 after the discussion here, f/14 to f/8 gives me almost 2 stops, don't think i need 1/1000 too..

I think F14 to f8 is about 1 stop. Then 1/1000 to 1/500 is another stop. 2 total.

1/1000 definitely isn't necessary, but I've found it a nice goal if possible without compromise, because I've seen wingtips blur at 1/500th and slower.

[K1W1]

On the way to Mushroom Rocks



D50
18-55 @ 23mm
f 3.8
1/20 sec handheld

[Classic96]

Shot hand held through a fence.

D50 w/70-300mm
Focal Length 300mm
f/5.6
1/250
ISO 200

[lightinsky]

No way!!!

how close was it and how much did you crop???

awesome!!!

[Rooz]

very, very nice ! could use some levels/ curves adjustment to highlight the eagle head a bit more from the background.

[Classic96]

I was actually pretty close, somewhere around 10ft away. However shooting through the fence required zooming in quite a bit to get a reasonable focus on the bird and blur out the fence. I was hoping to get my hands on the new 55-200mm VR lens today but no one local had it, so my cheapie 70-300 had to do the job. Results were acceptable for a $140 lens.

I haven't edited the curves as I don't have a lot of experience with that type of processing. Any tips are very welcome.

[Rooz]

2 versions. one is an aggresive L&C and the other is a very mild L&C.
no sharpening or any other adjustments done in capture NX.

if you can tell me how to take a photo of my desktop, i'll take a pic of the levels and curves adjustment.

[lightinsky]

wow.. seems like i need to graduate from picture perfect into capture NX.. downloaded the trial, but the resistance to too many icons/tabs/buttons left me not exploring it much... now the trial is ending... damn..

there is a way... if you can find a key on your keyboard that says "Print Screen", press that and open document, say in MS word, and right click, then paste, like you would any other stuff... it'll paste literally the picture of the screen., and then you can say as jpg etc...