Tried again today [3 pics] *DELETED*

[MARINERMAGNUM]

Post deleted by MARINERMAGNUM

[Steve Foss]

MM, if these are unpp'd as you say, you've got some very nice work right off the bat. Easily as sharp as a lot of ducks in flight that are posted on this forum, and your colors are rich and with nice contrast.

Did you leave the truck running while you were shooting? I've found that the vibration of even a perfectly tuned vehicle or boat motor can add enough shake to images that sharpness is compromised.

[MARINERMAGNUM]

yes,it was running. i would have caught he$* if her prized "McNuggets" would have gotten cold. i also kinda wondered if the heat "mirage" coming out of the truck window might affect things also? possible? i used part of the 2nd one for my avatar,but it looks weird resized. like i said,i was a long ways away and i could have got closer had i been alone. no, no pp. if we have sun tomorrow i will try to do better. it is cold here. thanks for the kind words! is it cold where you are?

[Steve Foss]

MM, yes, heat waves coming out of a truck or house window in cold weather will distort images, so there's that to watch out for. When McNuggets are not a question on future shoots, it's good to roll that window down, shut off the truck and wait for the heat to dissipate before shooting. If you just can't wait, you can stick your camera/lens as far out the window as possible and that will take you past much of the worst of the distortion from heat waves.

It is -26 right now at our house, with -40 forecast tonight and -38 tomorrow night. Yep. Cold.

[MARINERMAGNUM]

i was also gonna ask you Steve,which is mode would be better to use for panning birds in flight when NOT using a tripod. manual says mode 1 stabilizes in all directions,while mode 2 stabilizes while panning. wouldn't you want mode 1 when hand held,even panning handheld?

[Steve Foss]

Well, my guess (I haven't been able to find out the answer from an authoritative source) is that in mode 2, since there's less stabilization needed, some of the saved energy may go into running the autofocus motor even faster than it already does. Just a guess. Try both and see which you like. I do little duck-in-flight panning, since there just aren't many ducks up here except for a couple weeks in the spring and fall, but I've had a lot of success panning side-to-side in football with mode 2.

[Dbl]

I'd say those are looking good MM. Nice work. I have found good success with mode 2 in panning situations handheld, which is 99% of my shooting.

[MARINERMAGNUM]

Post deleted by MARINERMAGNUM

[Jim Almquist]

Nice looking shots MM and yes it is all one big learning curve but alot of fun trying The only thing I can shoot in flight is nuthatchs and chickadees

[Swimmer]

Nice work MM. I will try mode two when I actually get a chance at a pan shot.

[MARINERMAGNUM]

Post deleted by MARINERMAGNUM

[Steve Foss]

Nice, MM. I always shoot with a lens hood when one's available. When facing toward or angling toward the sun, it prevents lens flare (all those sunbeams and light circles you can get), and it also keeps snowflakes and the occasional raindrop off the lens.

I also need it to mount the waterproof sleeve I designed out of a castoff piece of camo pvc raingear. Cost: Essentially nothing but for a few pieces of duct tape. But no hoody, no waterproofy! You can see I'm using it in the avatar, but here are a couple closer looks.