Juvenile Eagle

[mountaindew]

I went outside on my lunch break, went out for a drive through the back roads, just to see what's going on. And there he was..just sitting on the tree. Managed to get a couple of shots, but then took off swooping down for the fish. All were cropped at 50%

Shot them all with the 100-400 lens, 1/800 sec., f5.6, Exposer Compensation 0, ISO 100, centerweighted average metering

I know it's nothing like buzzsaw's hawk which is so clear and sharp! The picture is taken in moderate lighting..cloudy. I'm still trying to figure out to get extra sharp. Wonder if it has something to do with what kind of metering mode?

[Steve Foss]

MD, these are nice captures.

The 100-400 is not as sharp as the 300mm f2.8 prime lenses that buzz and finnbay and Dbl use. I've gotten nice sharp images at f5.6, but the 100-400 is noticeably sharper stopped down one stop to f8.

In this case, you also were at more of a disadvantage because you were a lot farther from the subject than buzz was with his hawk, as evidenced by your need to crop out 50 percent to get something close to full frame while buzz was able to make a full-frame capture.

You iso is quite low, and bumping iso to 200 in this case would have allowed you to retain 1/800, which is a nice shutter speed and fast enough for what you were doing as long as your steadying technique is good, but also allowed you to stop down to f8, helping in the sharpness category. And bumping iso to 400, or leaving it at 400 habitually, will not deliver much digital noise with that sensor and will allow you to boost shutter speed more.

Were these shot through the car window? If so, was the window down or up? And if down, did you stick the lens far enough out the window to push past the heat waves coming out of the car? Those heat waves can distort and discolor an image.

I ask that because there's a strong blue cast to these images. It could have come from oversaturation in post processing, from incorrect white balance (easily corrected on a RAW image in pp), distortion caused by window glass or heat waves, or from a type of chromatic aberration called "purple fringing." The 100-400 shows from very little to no chromatic aberration, though, so I'm leaning toward one of the other causes.

[finnbay]

Good shots! Too bad he wasn't coming towards you on that last one - it would be a dandy! These are close enough exposure wise that some processing will make them look better. I think you're asking for some C&C so will add that I would have probably cranked the ISO up and increased my shutter speed. That might have sharpened these up a bit. All in all, I like the shots, though. Good job!

[buzzsaw]

MD, first off, congrats for getting a fishing shot!

Secondly, keep working at it and I can tell you you will be happy with your efforts. We all get better with effort. The BIGGEST key for me was realizing how to get into the right position to be successful. The camera settings stuff was easy.... keep snapping away and I'll bet you look back in a year (or less) and see a big improvement. (I say that not meaning anything negative about your shots, just stating the natural progression you'll make) So keep up the good work.

[JayinMN]

Nice shots, these are not bad images at all, I like the first one the best. Another thing to do if possible is turn off the engine. It can cause vibration and an unclear image.

[Steve Foss]

Good point, Jay, and one I forgot to mention. Even a well tuned motor running evenly at idle will introduce vibration.

[mountaindew]

Steve, Mike, Jay and JayinMN, thanks! And yep, it's right out of the window of the truck. I had the window down about a 1/4 mile away cruising slowly looking around when I saw the eagle. I slowed to a stop, with my foot on the brake and took the shot hand held making sure the lens were way out of the window. I kind of rested the camera body onto my shoulder when I took the shot to keep it steady and still.

I knew there was some settings I should have made on the camera! Wasn't sure. Next time. I'll be more prepared.

You're right. I noticed blue. I over saturated it. Duh oh! When you stare at the screen for a while blue becomes white to you! I should have took a break and come back to see the real colors.

Thanks for the advice!

[MN Shutterbug]

Those aren't bad at all. You've read some expert advice. I'd like to add one thing. When attempting to shoot birds in flight (bif), try and maintain a minimum of 1/1250 sec. shutter speed. Of course, if they're flying directly towards or away from you, you can get by with a slower shutter speed.