Blurry subject: I’ve always had an issue when shooting with my telephoto lens. I have a canon 70-300mm when shooting at 300 at something that is lest say a bird pretty high up in the...

jvnsuffolk

I’ve always had an issue when shooting with my telephoto lens. I have a canon 70-300mm when shooting at 300 at something that is lest say a bird pretty high up in the tree it always comes out blurry. I could use some pointers pls. Thx

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

jvnsuffolk wrote:

I’ve always had an issue when shooting with my telephoto lens. I have a canon 70-300mm when shooting at 300 at something that is lest say a bird pretty high up in the tree it always comes out blurry. I could use some pointers pls. Thx

Post a sample picture and click on (store original). That will let us see the camera settings and enlarge the picture.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

jvnsuffolk wrote:

I’ve always had an issue when shooting with my telephoto lens. I have a canon 70-300mm when shooting at 300 at something that is lest say a bird pretty high up in the tree it always comes out blurry. I could use some pointers pls. Thx

This is not a good start. You should accompany a request like this with example pictures, making sure to check "(store original)" so that someone can download it to his/her computer to examine it.

rdubreuil Loc: Dummer, NH USA

jvnsuffolk wrote:

I’ve always had an issue when shooting with my telephoto lens. I have a canon 70-300mm when shooting at 300 at something that is lest say a bird pretty high up in the tree it always comes out blurry. I could use some pointers pls. Thx

Could be a number of things, a couple that come to mind off the top of my head, the lens may just be soft at it's extreme or if shooting without a fast enough shutter speed (rule of thumb, SS equal to or greater than focal length) you're getting motion blur. I'm not sure how many stops the IS on that lens is capable of compensating for when using slower shutter speeds. A third that comes to mind is that the lens may be front or back focusing and just missing the spot you intended to be sharp. You should post a sample(s) of the images you're getting, be sure to check off store original so they will be downloadable for review.

Sirsnapalot Loc: Hammond, Louisiana

jvnsuffolk wrote:

I’ve always had an issue when shooting with my telephoto lens. I have a canon 70-300mm when shooting at 300 at something that is lest say a bird pretty high up in the tree it always comes out blurry. I could use some pointers pls. Thx

In most cases when shooting up in a tree, you're dealing with an extremely bright background, that can be a problem. In some cases a flash will help, but I also find keeping a tight depth of field helps too.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

If the tree limbs are blurry also, it's camera movement. A faster shutter speed MAY help.
If you are hand holding, a tripod would be in order.
As stated earlier, a picture would help with the diagnosis.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

jvnsuffolk wrote:

I’ve always had an issue when shooting with my telephoto lens. I have a canon 70-300mm when shooting at 300 at something that is lest say a bird pretty high up in the tree it always comes out blurry. I could use some pointers pls. Thx

In addition to other comments it would be helpful to know exactly which lens, which camera, IS mode, and focus modes you are using.

billnourse Loc: Bloomfield, NM

When shooting at 300 mm you will need a shutter speed of at least 1/500 sec. if you are hand holding. A good rule of thumb is to shoot at a speed that is equal to or greater than focal length. Since many cameras don't have a speed between 250 and 500, you need to go up to 500 to insure that you don't get motion blur. Or you could set up on a tripod.

The 70-300, if it is the L lens, is pretty heavy so that will make it even harder to hand hold especially shooting up at a bird.

Bill

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

jvnsuffolk wrote:

I’ve always had an issue when shooting with my telephoto lens. I have a canon 70-300mm when shooting at 300 at something that is lest say a bird pretty high up in the tree it always comes out blurry. I could use some pointers pls. Thx

It's a good chance the camera is focusing on a tree branch instead of the bird.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Sample please. Click store original.

jvnsuffolk

I have the same issue when shooting big. Against a clear blue sky. I’ll see if I still have the most recent pic.

jvnsuffolk

Well I don’t have it anymore. Next time. I’ll keep It and post it. Thx

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

jvnsuffolk wrote:

I’ve always had an issue when shooting with my telephoto lens. I have a canon 70-300mm when shooting at 300 at something that is lest say a bird pretty high up in the tree it always comes out blurry. I could use some pointers pls. Thx

Use a tripod, spot metering ensuring that there is nothing else around for the meter to grab on to, and refine your technique. You lens most likely has a more basic IS.

Ira

Shoot with very fast shutter speeds, when your zoomed in any camera shake is amplified. It might be movement blur and not soft focus.

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

jvnsuffolk wrote:

I’ve always had an issue when shooting with my telephoto lens. I have a canon 70-300mm when shooting at 300 at something that is lest say a bird pretty high up in the tree it always comes out blurry. I could use some pointers pls. Thx

I am guessing that you are shooting through some branches. In that case your camera may be focusing on one of the branches and not the bird. Go to SINGLE spot focus using only one focus point and put that single spot on the bird. That should do it.