TomV Loc: Annapolis, Maryland

Test the lens on a tripod with a flat, stationary object at the same distance and then you can tell if it is your lens. Try manual and autofocus to see if it is your focusing system.

Birds on tree branches are always subject to movement caused by breezes. This requires a much faster shutter speed than normally required for the hand-held 1/focal length setting used as a rule of thumb for telephoto lengths.

Birds with branches are hard for the autofocus system to handle in general. What to choose, branches, birds or sky?

To me your photo is out of focus. As others suggest, a smaller aperture would increase the DOF and give you a fighting chance of most of the desired objects being in focus. With that said, I shoot birds in trees only with a center spot focus which reduces the chance of focusing on an unintentional target. If your focusing technique uses a spread of points, then you are getting an average, in this case some on branches and others on the sky. In your example nothing was in focus.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Well, it looks like the experts are at it again. The clue here should have been "auto focus". There is nothing wrong with the lens or hand held or any of that. You see, a camera hunts for focus be comparing contrasts. There is plenty of it in the branches and the auto focus is looking at them rather than the bird itself even using spot focus. This is very common with birds up in the trees even with sparse foliage. This photo could have been tac sharp even in a 20mph wind if set to manual focus and the correct shutter speed. Simple.

Szalajj Loc: Salem, NH

Your 60D, is a crop sensor camera. With Canon crop sensor cameras, take the longest length of your lens and multiply it by 1.6 to get the minimum shutter speed that you should be shooting at for hand held shots.

300 × 1.6 = 480
135 × 1.6 = 216

Use the next highest shutter speed that your camera has, and increase the shutter speed from there!

The longer the lens length, the higher the shutter speed you'll need to use.

I agree with the previous posters that you also need to increase your focal length by pushing your f-stop to a higher number with a minimum of f8 or higher. This could also require you to move to a higher ISO setting. Welcome to the world of manual settings for shooting birds! Because if you try to use any auto settings, when you are trying to make any of the other adjustments, the quality of resulting shot will be off. The camera will compensate for you, often with less than ideal results.

Try taking a stuffed animal and place it in a tree somewhere and experiment with your camera settings to see what you end up with!

When trying to obtain your focus on a subject and then framing your shot, there us a quick two step process you should try.

With your center focal point, place that on the birds eye, and depress the shutter release button half way and hold the button down while you now refrain your shot for composition. Now, take your shot. If your auto focus gained a sharp focus on the eye, you should have a much better chance of the birds head being in focus.

I agree with others about using a tripod. At times I'll use my tripod with all of the head adjustments loose to track my subject. This adjustment allows for fluid movement, but it eliminates some of the shake from hand holding. It's not ideal, but it helps if you don't have steady hands. Years ago I could hand hold at a 30th of a second, now it's closer to a 100th of a second with my short lens, age has caught up with me!

A monopod is another option for birding.

With my Canon T5, I try not to shoot higher than an ISO of 400 before I to start getting a lot of noise or grain in the shot.

With my 100-400 lens I can shoot a little higher, because it's a better quality lens with better glass than my two kit lenses. I haven't experimented with it to find out just how far I can push it yet. I guess I have my next assignment to test that lens!

Starphotog

Motion is the issue here! Camera shake/movement. Try a faster shutter speed and a steady hand then compare shots!

Doug RC Loc: Western Massachusetts

I agree with "Orrie" ... looks like a bit of motion blur here ... with a long lens it is crucial
to 'freeze' that camera .. motion can be caused by the slightest things at Telephoto ...
even pressing the shutter button, breathing, wind, heartbeat, passing car (or train) etc

donrosshill Loc: Delaware & Florida

If you use the download and the increase size button, you will see that you definitely have movement. Look closely at the highlight in the eye. It's a shame because the photo is otherwise beautiful.

StanRP Loc: Ontario Canada

[quote=stevenh0027]Hi,
I took this photo with my Canon 60D using the Canon EF 75-300 (this is the kit lens I got with my Canon 350D).
The settings were 1/400 sec at f5.6 with 300mm zoom and ISO 100
Auto focus was on. The lens does not have inbuilt stabilisation.

To me the shot does not look sharp.
Is it me? My eye? My technique? Is it the lens?

Hi:

Looking at the focus points ( Uploaded a screen clip showing them) the camera is averaging these points and this includes infinity and the tree branches that are closer to you. This means that the focus point is somewhere between these points and with this being empty space and aperture being 5.6, nothing is in sharp focus.

A simple check to confirm that your lens is OK - take a photograph, using the same camera and lens settings, of a flat surface such as a building.

StanRP

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

It is well known that the majority of focus errors are due to operator's fault. It is also known that the longer the focal length span of a zoom the weaker it will be at its higher magnification especially with cheaper lenses.
It is also a fact that sharpness depends primarily on photographic techniques.
A tripod is a necessity not an accessory. It is well understood that a tripod cannot be used at times and that is when IS plays an important role in the sharpness of the photograph.
For wildlife photography high shutter speeds are a must and many times to obtain such high shutter speeds the ISO setting is also set higher. Cameras today do very well up to ISO 800 but in sunny days ISO 400 along with an opening between f5.6-8 usually results in very good images from the subject. Those high shutter speeds freeze motion and are invaluable when it comes to sharpness.
Paying attention to the selected focus bracket when focusing will result in great focused shots and the bracket is usually shown in red to make life less complicated for the photographer.
As you can see technique dictates how sharp your photography will be.

tshift Loc: Overland Park, KS.

Sorry the bird is not sharp at all.

Tom

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

[quote=StanRP]



Sharp focus begins with locking your focus point on what you want in focus, For me, locking focus on the bird eye and holding steady is job 1, then all the other settings mentioned come into play.

tgreenhaw

All of the above. Too low a shutter speed, too shallow f-stop, and incorrectly set focus point.

Try a sports mode multi shot, where you get several captures in a few seconds time.

When I purchased a new camera recently, I decided to micro focus my lenses. They didn't really need that, but the tests were very instructional. Get a focus chart like "Andy's handy focus chart". Set your camera on a tripod and make test shots at different aperture settings to get a handle on depth of field. Try to do this in the lighting conditions you will be shooting at. Once that is done, do handheld tests at the desired aperture(s), but with different shutter speeds (by varying ISO). Once you go through that exercise, you have a good handle on what works best for you. If there is something wrong with your equipment, that will jump out too.

I use spot focusing for many kinds of shots, but you should try doing some tests using all your focus patterns. Once you get a formula that work really well for you, Program the "C" setting on your mode dial.

Consider trying an upgrade to the 80D; it has a much more advanced auto focus system that will work better with your awesome long lens. It also has two custom mode settings too. My 70d cannot focus with my 100-400 with the 1.4 extender. I tried an 80d and it focused great with that combination. You may be running into something like that.

Dds82

Nice work Dngallagher, case solved......how did u get focus points to show up on someone else's photograph.

cthahn

Hand holding a telephoto lens is a good way not to get a good picture. You can not do it regardless of how good you think you are. Don't use a telephoto lens if a tripod is not used for support.

StanRP Loc: Ontario Canada

Hi,

I downloaded it and put it into the Apple Aperture photo program. One of the options is to show the focus points the camera used. I assume they are included in the digital picture file.
( deleted it afterwards)

StanRP

bigwolf40 Loc: Effort, Pa.

You have both bad focusing and motion blur. I tried to sharpen it up some but still not quite sharp as you can see here....Rich

(Download)