Tina

I have a Cannon 7D with a 70-200mm/2.8 IS lens . My pictures are not as sharp as I would like especially, when I handhold the camera. I was just reading some information about minimum shutter speeds and focal lengths. The author suggested that if the camera doesn't have a full frame sensor that the crop factor should be considered in the equation as well. The minimum shutter speed should be the inversion of the focal length times the crop factor when handholding. The problem becomes more pronounced with telephoto lens. For this rule of thumb, I suspect that the length of any teleconverter needs to be added as well. I understand about tripods, cable release and mirror lockup.

I'm working on the manual settings to capture waterfowl with a good depth of field (DOF) and shutter speed, it's been tricky. Trial and error works better when I can pinpoint any shortcomings and enjoy the process (lol). The question is two-fold: 1) Is it really that complicated? Has anyone else heard about and included all of these factors? 2) What's the best settings to capture waterfowl? Including AF point?

ebaribeault Loc: Baltimore

I dont take into account the crop factor of the camera I would treat your lens as a 200mm and select a shutter speed of 1/2ooth of a second or faster. I try to use an aperature of F8 or higher remember when you meeter you might have to adjust to a lower Fstop to stay above the 1/200 shutter speed. I would make sure the IS is on its VR for me. The final thing is I keep the ISO between 200-400 might need to push the iso to 400 to help with the shutter speed setings and aperature settings. I know it sounds like a lot but its easier than it sounds

Swamp Gator Loc: Coastal South Carolina

What kind of waterfowl are you photographing?

Ducks floating in a backyard pond, or cormorants and anhingas fishing and flying around a marsh?

For action shots you should try to keep your shutter speed up as high as possible. Fast action=over 1000.
In addition to stopping the action, a fast shutter speed will cut down the possibility of soft images due to camera shake and movement while panning.
If the birds are not super close DOF is not a huge issue.
5.6, 6.3 is fine.
Select an ISO that will give you a similar lens opening at the shutter speed required for the lighting and subject matter.

Birds just sitting or floating do not require a super fast shutter speed, just fast enough to prevent lens/camera shake.
Birds busting up out of the water with a fish do require a fast shutter.

I use center point expanded on my 7D for birds and wildlife.

Also...you are walking around out there with over $3,000 worth of camera gear...you should learn how to spell Canon. :P :D

Tina

Thanks, I appreciate the advice. One of my issues has been using too shallow a depth of field.

Tina

I take pictures of all waterfowl in different levels of activity at a nearby lake. In most of my shots the fowl are feeding or swimming, so there is some movement. I'm not sure what you meant by spelling Canon. I use a black strap rather than announcing Canon. Also, I carry bear spray for human predators and potential thieves. I also, scan the area before I pull out my equipment so, I'm watchful. LOL

Swamp Gator Loc: Coastal South Carolina

Look at the first sentence of your original post.

Photog1 Loc: North America

Handholding a telephoto can be problematic at almost any zoom length. Here's a free tip - shoot in burst mode. It's digital, who cares how many exposures you make, and you're liable to get at least one or two keepers when you shoot a quick burst of five or seven.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

To eliminate incidental hand-held camera movement, your shutter duration should not be longer than 1/(length of lens).

Manually focusing on a moving bird can be challenging. I use the smallest center spot for A-F.

FilmFanatic Loc: Waikato, New Zealand

You do need to take crop factor into account

Tina

[quote=Swamp Gator]
Look at the first sentence of your original post.[/quote

Swamp Gator,
Please pardon me for the oversights, I thought you were making a joke that i didn't catch. I do know how to spell the brand name, Canon. Thanks, Tina

Danilo Loc: Las Vegas

I must disagree. The focal length of the lens does not actually change when the lens is mounted on a "crop sensor" camera. Nor does its magnification change. So the formula of 1/FL should suffice, given steady hand-holding techniques.

Tina

I appreciate everyone's advice and I will take all of your input into consideration. I'm going to have to take notes.
Photog 1: I'm incline to agree on both accounts:shooting handheld with telephoto can be problematic and burst mode does improve the amount keepers, shots in sharp image. I do find that my lens is heavy so, I'll probably return to using my tripod. In fact, most of the best photographs of birds I've seen in photography magazines usually done using a tripod.
Douglass, I was referring to manual mode with automatic focus although, I've tried both ways. You're right, manual focus does work best on stationary subjects not birds.
Chris, thanks for letting me know that adding the crop factor has worked successfully for you.
Now, that I have proven reference points to work from I have a better appreciation of where I need to make changes.

FilmFanatic Loc: Waikato, New Zealand

The crop factor effectively magnifies the image, making motion blur more apparent, therefore you need to use the effective focal length to calculate minimum speed.

Or should I say... if the image is cropped by the sensor, then any movement will be across more of the frame therefore more noticeable

Turbo Loc: Raleigh, NC

Tina, make sure you learn how to use the Auto-Focus options on your 7D. You can SPOT focus, CENTER focus ...etc. that will determine exactly where the camera will focus.

Also, the Ai servo mode will make the auto-focus system follow the object ( bird, race car ...etc ). That comes in real handy with fast moving subjects.

Next is the stability of the lens/camera. A good tripod is invaluable, along with Mirror lock up, remote shutter and lots of practice.

dabram Loc: The Woodlands, Tx.

Hi Tina, I also have the 7D, wonderful camera. I love mine. Here is something that I ran across and purchased. It greatly improved my focusing technique (which I had none) my pictures are starting to show improvement. Of course, I use a 50mm walk around lens. However, I think that if your not using a tripod this could help.

http://james-brandon.com/tack-sharp-a-step-by-step-guide-to-nailing-focus/

hope it helps,
Dawn