JayB Loc: Northeast US

Cool! Didn't know that. Thanks!

49er Loc: Applegate, Oregon

I have a Canon D-60 and I mostly shoot with the 100x400 L lens. I largely shoot birds and other wildlife so moving around looking for wildlife and often only have a mere seconds to get a shot off, I don't use a tri-pod which would produce clearer shoots, especially when cropped. I am a rookie and know little and you may very well know about any tip I could give.

Here is what I have found. I don't shoot manual yet. I started shooting in full auto and got lots of blurry bird shots because the camera often focused on twigs and branches leaving the bird out of focus. Now I shoot in TV or P or AV that is mostly auto. I then removed the nine focus points in selected the one point in the center option and that has allowed me to avoid focusing on twigs and on the bird instead.
What I have found is that I get both sharp and soft pictures. This lens only goes down to a 4.5 to 5.5 Aperture. When shooting on cloudy days or in the shade this lens does not do well. I think that makes the camera shoot at an ISO speed that is too high and softens the picture. However, that shouldn't make them just plain blurry. I have been told this lens works best shooting at an aperture around 8. So that means in low light your shutter speed will be low where holding the camera steady is essential. Wlthout a tripod this is not easy and takes practice and concentration. I have got some surprisingly sharp images hand holding at 1/60 or slower. I recently got a zippered pouch device from a company called Grizzly. I put heavier particles in the lower half like rice. And lighter, softer things like buckwheat hulls in the top portion. I use my car as blind and place this thing over the side door and its works better than hand holding. If I get out of the car to get a shot I can place it on the car hood, a fence post, a log, or even on the ground. It won't take the place of a tripod but it's better than hand holding and is quicker and easier to carry than a tripod.
I have been told that shooting our lens at 380 gives better results than fully zoomed to 400. Haven't tested it yet. I have so much to learn I get overwhelmed and discouraged at times. I can't afford classes from an expert. Wish I had some wise old mentor to help me learn. Wish you the best, Terry.

JayB Loc: Northeast US

Thanks for the thoughtful and helpful post. I can still count the number of sessions I've had with my 7D on one hand so of the two of us I think you come closer to the wise old mentor. It's a little hard to look at gorgeous photos and think, Wow! and then see your own and think, what happened? But wanting something badly is a good teacher, and when you take a step back from the process, it's actually pretty wonderful. I like that feeling of my mind and body going to this different place while I'm photographing, and if the photos aren't wonderful for awhile, I guess I can live with that. There's always somewhere to learn something new about picture-taking. Thanks for the pointers on the lens. They make good sense.

Lorendn Loc: Jackson, WY

49er - I don't think that 380 vs 400mm makes much of a difference but you are correct that this zoom lens, like most longer zoom's suffer at their longest focal length. Both image quality and speed (f/5.6) make them trickier to use fully extended. As I and others mentioned increase the ISO to 400-800, keep the aperture smaller f/8 - f/11, and the shutter speed above 1/500 and it will serve you well. If you put it on a (stable!!!) tripod, turn the IS off, use a remote shutter release, and consider mirror lock-up or the 2 second delay. You will get some great shots.

Wabbit Loc: Arizona Desert

Hey Doc ..... I didn't change yours, I changed the copy I made of yours ..... tried to give your dull pic some life ..... funny that you couldn't even tell what I did until I pointed it out .....

..... BTW yours are not underexposed, they're too light or on the verge of overexposed .....

..... did ya get a signed release from the bird ? ha,ha,ha,ha,

jimtidd Loc: Kitchener Ontario Canada

You are correct I didn't see what you did at first as I was using my cell phone. It's seems you just don't get it or your ego is so big that it doesn't allow you to think about what you did and then apologize. I didn't ask for a critique of my photo I published it to help someone else who had requested help. I often find that rude offensive people use humour to mask their rudeness so I will assume that's what you are doing with your cartoon characters?

Wabbit Loc: Arizona Desert

Hey Doc ..... when ya post pictures expect criticism especially when they're dull .....

..... would you call this rude doc .....

jimtidd Loc: Kitchener Ontario Canada

No problem anymore! I read some of your other posts. Great stuff on gun control and how you butchered the poor Brit who didn't agree with you. I now know who I am dealing with so you won't hear from me again.

RichardSM Loc: Back in Texas

Hello
Can you get to f8 or so this might help a lot!

JayB Loc: Northeast US

It's something to think about. I just realized that my 7D has a focusing beep that works with manual focusing as well as auto. Generally I'm not a pro-beep sort of person, but it's worth checking out. I was wondering how these great bird photographers take amazingly sharp photos with 600mm F4 lenses with 2x teleconverters. Well, aside from using tripods and gimbals that cost as much as my camera. 8-)

Lorendn Loc: Jackson, WY

The biggest thing I have learned about the long telephoto's is to crank up the ISO. All of the other things discussed in the post help but they key is fast shutter speed and good depth of field. To get that you need a higher than usual ISO (400-800, usually.)

jimtidd Loc: Kitchener Ontario Canada

Why would I increase shutter speed and ISO to take a photo of a bird sitting still? Google Arthur Morris 7d manual. It will cost you less than 30 dollars and I guarantee he is not going to suggest increasing shutter speed and ISO for static birds or BIF. I cant find any suggestion of his where he set ISO above 400 using the 7d. He will give you a couple of memory settings to use and when required adjust from there. Arty is probably in the top two or three bird photographers in the world. He also has a blog where he publishes bird photos and tells you how it was done daily. He is also well experienced on the 7d

Lorendn Loc: Jackson, WY

I just looked at his blog and I was wrong - the ISOs for the blog photos were from 400 to 3200. That is a little high for my blood and I try to stick to the 400-800 range when I shoot hand-held with a long telephoto lens.

Obviously, the goal is not a high ISO but rather a moderate aperture (f/8-f/11) and a fast shutter speed (>lens focal length) for stationary birds (is there such a thing?) and faster for birds in flight.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

If you were hand holding or on a monopod, or in low light, or you wanted to stop movement of any kind, you would certainly have to consider it ! - Most of "Artie's " work is done from a tripod or lying/sitting on the ground.

Michael O' Loc: Midwest right now

That wabbit's ahwight, eh !