cybermomm

Tried out a new lens yesterday. Sigma 150-500mm, f 5-6.3. Camera is a Nikon D300. Had the camera on shutter speed priority, because I was filming birds in the wildlife refuge, and as you know, they don't hold still. Conditions: bright sunlight, so ISO at 100. The camera should have chosen the appropriate aperture, but it doesn't seem like it did. These are overexposed and have a pinkish cast. Is the camera having trouble communicating with the lens, and has anyone else run into this problem? Also, I looked at the EXIF data, and EVERY ONE shows aperture at 6.3.

Second question: When working with a long telephoto, conventional wisdom says it is best to put the camera on a tripod. How in the heck are you supposed to have a camera on a tripod when you are trying to get pictures of moving objects? Swivel heads won't do, either, because they go from side to side. It seems like long lenses are needed for wildlife photography; but because they are long and heavy and need to be moved quickly and easily to catch action (read hand-held), the shots don't come out very well. What do people on this forum do to get those good shots, especially of moving wildlife, when using a long telephoto without a tripod?

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

It almost looks to me like you had your white balance set to "cloudy", that would explain the overexposure pretty easily.

The best head for wildlife by far is a ball head. The Bogen 3055 and 3038 are excellent examples that do just what you need them for.

cybermomm

Wish it was that simple. The white balance was set to AUTO.

Thanks for the tip on the ball head. Does a ball head roll in all directions, and not just side to side?

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

No idea about your exposure problem then, try it in P "program" and S "shutter priority" modes and see what results you get with those.
Pro model ball heads like the 2 suggested roll unlimited in all directions, as well as having slots to allow full 90 degree rotation to the side for portrait shots and 90 degree straight down for overhead shots. I use the Boden 3055 on all my tripods, studio as well as field.

docrob Loc: Durango, Colorado

changing the WB does not effect exposure - what it does is change the color cast.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

I suggest you try taking some shots on a sunny day with the WB set to cloudy, thats just exactly the result you get, overexposure.

docrob Loc: Durango, Colorado

Can't say about the lens - but your exposure is OK - it's what the camera picked - little light? yeah probably but nothing serious in terms of some camera malfunction and F6.3 seems normal to me it is a variable aperture lens is it not? So that tells me camera and lens are talking..... Tripods - well I don't shoot wildlife but my subjects are nearly always moving.....ball heads seem to work best for the kind of work your describing - best not get a cheap one....Foba, Kaiser, Arca Swiss, Right Stuff......all good heads.....and one other really important ingredient - ok two - patience and practice.

docrob Loc: Durango, Colorado

dude I do this all the time - sometimes I set the WB to Direct sun even though I am shooting in deep shade, or maybe go to Flash even though I am not using a flash -- changing the WB does not change the exposure it changes the color cast.....go look that up in the manual. A different color cast is NOT the same as a different exposure value.

iresq Loc: Annapolis MD

Might also consider a monopod. Quick horizontal alignment. Vertical can be a bit trickier.

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

There are many folks in here who are expert at the type of wildlife photography you are speaking of, hopefully one or more will weigh in on this thread. It might be helpful if you gave the focal length you were shooting at, the shutter speed you had selected, and the exposure mode your camera was set for. Your aperture was wide open, which means you were shooting at the extreme range of your telephoto, perhaps racked out at 500mm. To handhold at that focal length your shutter should be at least 1/1000 sec. And that's if you are rock steady. A quick fix would be to raise the ISO considerably so you have both a fast shutter and a smaller aperture than 6.3, giving you some depth of field to play with. You should also try setting your exposure mode to a center or spot metering which may help. One other point, for birds in flight you might consider "panning," which would enable you to shoot successfully with a lower shutter. Do a search in the forum for panning and you will learn how. The suggestion of trying a monopod is a good one. Sports photographers routinely use them. Good luck and I hope some of this helps. 8-)

cybermomm

Good suggestions. Thanks so much! They make a lot of sense to me.

Erv Loc: Medina Ohio

As far as taking birds in flight, I use something like this with my long lenses. It makes your lens almost perfectly balanced.
Erv

tkhphotography Loc: Gresham, Or, not Seattle

Those are easy to fix by adjusting the histogram a little. When you look at the first pix, all the info is bunched in the middle, which if you remember, it looks as if it was a bright day. From that pix there wasn't a full tonal spread, though your camera did the best it could.

If you shoot more of the same in the future, try setting an exposure bracket adjustment on your camera by 1 stop and you should be fine. Or just adjust in PP. You got the shots there, good job....now you just have to adj. the output a little.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

Ball heads suck at this. You need a gimbal mount as Erv described.

Expensive, but it IS the answer. Do NOT waste your $ on anything else. Better to handhold than use a ball head.

ronz Loc: Florida

A gimbal mount will or should solve your problem but suggest you not depend on the Auto to get properly exposed photos. A camera is easily fooled especially when shooting into the sky or with bright sunny day. In the old days we would meter the grass if we didn't have a gray card handy. This requires you to use M or AV or TV and begin learning. You will much more fun shooting....