What am I doing wrong? (Page 2): You are getting good ideas for sharper images. Consider: Moving the feeder/or yourself so that it is about 5 to 7' away from you. Fill you viewer with...

Jay Pat Loc: Round Rock, Texas, USA

You are getting good ideas for sharper images.

Consider:
Moving the feeder/or yourself so that it is about 5 to 7' away from you.
Fill you viewer with the hummer.
Block the "petals" you don't want the hummer to use.
Maybe, cut off the perch. Hummers will come in, drink, back away a couple of inches and go for another drink.
Position yourself/feeder to have a different/better background.
Post results.
Good luck!!!!
Pat

uaeluor1949 Loc: Polk City, Fl

Jay Pat wrote:

You are getting good ideas for sharper images.

Consider:
Moving the feeder/or yourself so that it is about 5 to 7' away from you.
Fill you viewer with the hummer.
Block the "petals" you don't want the hummer to use.
Maybe, cut off the perch. Hummers will come in, drink, back away a couple of inches and go for another drink.
Position yourself/feeder to have a different/better background.
Post results.
Good luck!!!!
Pat

Thanks Pat, good advice, I'll do that..

uaeluor1949 Loc: Polk City, Fl

I don't know what I did or how but I have the EXIF info for any photo now.

Gitchigumi Loc: Wake Forest, NC

rafikiphoto Loc: Spain

uaeluor1949 wrote:

Thanks Jerry, yes, I focused on the part of the feeder that the Hummingbird was feeding on.

The part that is in focus is just the bottom edge of the front feeding rose. The DOF is either very narrow or all in front of the feeder. You need to focus more accurately at that aperture or stop down more. Perhaps the lens needs calibrating.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

uaeluor1949 wrote:

Using a D200 I took a photo at 800 ISO, 1/1600, f7.1 300mm, older 70mm-300mm lens on a tripod without legs extended. It's not in focus nor sharp. What am I doing wrong?

Also when viewing a photo in Preview on a Mac Mini I no longer get the EXIF unless I go to 'Tools' and click 'Show Location' for every photo taken with a P900. I can't get 'Show Location' nor the EXIF for photos taken with a D200. What am I doing wrong?

Subject was approximately 50' away.

Get closer, 15'-20' at furthest. HBs will tolerate you much better than most birds. Lower the ISO and Shutter speed. You can easily get by with 1/500s. Use a flash to bring out the colors when lighting is not ideal. Remove the perches from the feeder to get the bird hovering. Flowers have no perches. Crop to eliminate the feeder when ever possible.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-477762-1.html

tinplater Loc: Scottsdale, AZ

taking an image of a 2 inch bird from 50 feet is a challenging project. I would start by setting up a target (I actually have a little 3 inch bird made of colored feathers) and take shots at various distances, on tripod, fast shutter speed and determine what sharpness your lens/camera outfit is capable of. I think you will find you need to be much closer to your object.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

uaeluor1949 wrote:

Thanks cmc65, I was using center spot, speed was 1/1600, I was sitting (as I can no longer stand in one place very long). I'll move the feeder closer and try again. I do gently squeeze the shutter so that I wouldn't shake the tripod. I did pre focus. I should have added all of this info at the beginning, thanks, all good info.

Center spot?? But the feeder is not in the center? Did you crop it or recompose?
Either could be a culprit.
That camera only has about 10 mp to work with and that hummer is the size of you pinkie! You need to try and fill as much frame as possible with birds.
Most here think the camera doesn't matter. Try the same shot with a D850 and see if it's any different?
Maybe it's the camera?! Good luck
SS

Shootist Loc: Wyoming

Could be a combination of things. High ISO, shooting at the extreme end of the zoom range (notorious for being least sharp but I am not sure about your lens) and tripod not at optimum stability (legs not extended). If shooting from a deck just moving a foot while shooting the frame can jog the tripod enough to add blur. I suggest you set up your rig and camera settings exactly as you described with the tripod extended and shoot a few frames of the feeder using the timer setting. If they are sharp then you will know it is technique and not equipment. If the equipment is not the issue then you could begin to eliminate technique issues as suggested by the many posts here. I wish you the best in solving this problem, a good image of a hummingbird is worthy of your efforts.

uaeluor1949 wrote:

Using a D200 I took a photo at 800 ISO, 1/1600, f7.1 300mm, older 70mm-300mm lens on a tripod without legs extended. It's not in focus nor sharp. What am I doing wrong?

Also when viewing a photo in Preview on a Mac Mini I no longer get the EXIF unless I go to 'Tools' and click 'Show Location' for every photo taken with a P900. I can't get 'Show Location' nor the EXIF for photos taken with a D200. What am I doing wrong?

Subject was approximately 50' away.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

It looks like the camera focused on the rear side of the transparent plastic container rather than the front, throwing the bird out of focus. I do not see any obvious signs of camera shake. I think if you had placed to focus point slightly lower on the feeder or directly on the bird, you wouldn't have had this issue.

Szalajj Loc: Salem, NH

uaeluor1949 wrote:

Thanks cmc65, I was using center spot, speed was 1/1600, I was sitting (as I can no longer stand in one place very long). I'll move the feeder closer and try again. I do gently squeeze the shutter so that I wouldn't shake the tripod. I did pre focus. I should have added all of this info at the beginning, thanks, all good info.

I think you may have answered another question that hasn't been asked yet.

Do you have a wired or wireless shutter release?

I think that you are inadvertently adding to the problems in this shot by manually depressing the shutter release button with your finger. I'll have to go back, enlarge your shot, and look at the picture a little more carefully.

As good as most tripods are, they don't completely eliminate shake or vibration when triggering your shutter manually.

kubota king Loc: NW , Pa.

I use to use the 70-300mm on my canon . The same shot you took at the same distance would of been about the same results . I was never happy with the photos I took with that lens when it came to sharp images , at any range . I moved on to better lenses .Good luck .Tommy

turp77 Loc: Connecticut, Plainfield

uaeluor1949 wrote:

Using a D200 I took a photo at 800 ISO, 1/1600, f7... (show quote)

I was able to pull up your EXIF data

bbrowner Loc: Chapel Hill, NC

IMHO... even if the focus was corrected to spot-on... the viewers eye goes directly to the white in the background... and is in direct conflict with the subject... the hummer and feeder.

Barry

bbrowner Loc: Chapel Hill, NC

IMHO... the softness notwithstanding... The white in the background is a problem. The viewer's eye goes right to that spot instead of the main subject... the hummer & feeder. A different angle would be an improvement... assuming that were possible.

Just how I looked at it.

Barry