MikWar Loc: Chicago, Western Suburbs

I enjoy taking pictures of birds so not long ago I splurged and bought the Canon 100-400 L II lens for my Canon T3. I've taken several hundred shots with the new lens and about 5 of them have been crisp and sharp. Normally when birding I hand-hold so I understand that there will be some camera shake for a lens that heavy. Today I used a tripod and got similar results - not sharp. My camera was set up with AI Focus and 800 ISO. I turned off the Stabilizer on the lens and set the focal length to Full. Below are some of the results (no PP). Note that I typically crop bird pics at least 50% but I swear that doing so with my 55-250mm lens got better results. When cropping (and to a lesser extent on these uncropped) I notice vertical branches in the background appear ghosted - that is two parallel unfocused lines instead of one unfocused line. Please let me know what I can do to get crisper pics. Thanks

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SteveR Loc: Michigan

I can't tell you, but a UHH member (although inactive) uses this series of Canon cameras and this lens and gets wonderful shots, so you've got the right equipment.

dirtpusher Loc: tulsa oklahoma

Are you spot metering

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Stability or lens issue.

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All captures show the same thing.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Forum

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imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Your subject is way too small and shrouded in an AF confusing fog of branches, leaves and weeds ! If you have a "protective filter, take it off. Do a focus test and calibration ! - on an unshrouded subject - oops, no fo-cal on a T3 - but you still need to TEST and send to Canon if need be. Use the focus center spot ONLY. Your expectations and technique are out of whack !

Finally, hand holding at 250mm is MUCH easier than at 400mm ! The ONLY time I recommend hand holding @400mm is for BIF.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Use a tripod, get closer and use single point focus.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Turn the IS (stabilizer) back on and shoot at 1/1000 or 1/500 and see if your results are better. The EXIF data on your last shot shows 1/80 sec which is WAY too slow, especially with no IS. And forget AI Focus mode - use AI Servo instead.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

1. too far away - I too had to learn a long lens didn't mean that I could be in the next county
2. shutter speed way too slow (1/100 on the first pic), you need a minimum of 1/400 and better yet even faster
3. a lot of camera movement so for hand held use at least 1/800 SS and off a good solid vibration free tripod at least 1/400 or 1/640
4. IS should be turned off only on the tripod or at SS above about 1/500 or higher
5. never use AI Focus, the little bitty processor is trying to decide between One Shot and AI Servo so the shutter often clicks
while it is focusing. Most high end cameras don't even have AI Focus as a choice, more than a few I know are wondering
why Canon put it on the 7DII. Set the camera for the shutter to not fire unless exposure is locked. At least for the first shot in a burst. It will slow things down or even keep the shutter from firing but it is better than a shot taken while the lens is focusing.
6. open that shutter up to f/8.0, f/7.1 or even f/5.6.

My usual setup for birds is 1/1000 SS, f/8.0 and ISO on auto. In shade or poor light or slow birds I will drop the SS to 1/640 or so. I will open the f-stop to f/5.6. For fast birds (like hummers or BIF) I go up to as fast as 1/2000 and open the f-stop to the max. I have my ISO limited to either 3200 or 6400 depending on which body I am using. Knowing I will need to use noise reducing software unless the light was real good. (Yes fast birds/SS and an f-stop for great depth of field will drive even sunlite shots to high ISOs.

Either my 6D with the 100-400L mk II or my 7DII with the 100-400L mk II (sometimes with the 1.4x III extender).

cameranut Loc: North Carolina

I noticed the ss on the first photo was only 1/100 sec. Way too slow for anything moving faster than a statue.
I have never had much luck using aperture priority, although many here use it. Try using AI servo and manual mode. Set the ss for 1/500 or higher. F-7.1 or F-8.0 might be better than F-10. Most lens have a "sweet spot" where they perform better. If you bring the ss up, F-10 may under expose.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Use single shot focus while testing and make sure you get it on the subject !

If these were shot on a tripod, you may need a new, bigger, better tripod !

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Are you shooting from a car? Is the engine on? There is a lot of vibration. If so, turn the engine off! If not, try taking some photographs with a tripod and a cable release to stop all motion (turn of image stabilizer when on the tripod). It could be that the lens needs to be "tuned" to the camera, but it is probably other factors.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

You are shooting into two much crap. Isolate, isolate, isolate. Your camera is finding a lot of things to focus on except the bird.

cmc65

In addition to the advice already mentioned it would be good to review your manual for the lens with re to the three stabilizer settings on the lens itself. I find that 2 works well and sometimes 3 but have no luck on 1 when shooting wildlife.

crazydaddio Loc: Toronto Ontario Canada

..took all the words right ouy of my mouth...
Crank that shutter.

I have found that my 150- 600mm needs to be north of 1250ss to get consistent results for sports. Still subjects u can go lower but if you are getting blur, first place to try is jacking up the shutter speed.