just pictures Loc: Little Rock Arkansas

My experience has taught me that shooting through windows produces soft images no matter how good the lens.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

I do not have any experience with the camera you are using now. I will make some comments based on my experience only.
The majority of focus errors are operator's errors.
Some lenses are faster than others when it comes to focus. Usually the most expensive lenses are better in that respect. If the shutter speed is high enough I tend to disable VR to make my camera react faster.
I do not know what type of 70-300 lens you have but my old 70-300 VR has a good, precise and fast focus with my cameras.
The images of both birds are not in focus. The first one has back focus and the second one front focus. The movement you see in the last image is due to a slow shutter speed compared to the speed of the squirrel.
When I shoot wildlife like everybody else I tend to shoot portraits but the animals or birds look better showing more of their environment. Your images are too tight in my humble opinion. When photographing action leaving some room in the direction the animal is going makes for a better visual design.
I see a combination here. Slow shutter speed for some of the subjects, erroneous focus and images too tight.
A D7200 is a better camera than what you have now and there are better lenses but if your technique is the same do not expect better images.

leftj Loc: Texas

Your advice is fine for someone who just wants to take snapshots however many folks want to pursue photography as a passion and get pleasure from that.

chaman

Even snapshots need clarity and good focus. IMO, that advise comes from mediocrity, not only low standards.

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

Next time please include your settings. I played with the second, the bird, and it was 1/800, f/8 ISO 6400 shot at 300MM(although that's 450 on a crop sensor). Unless you were worried that the bird would fly, 1/800 is way to fast. 1/100 or 1/250 at most. That would at least take you ISO down. But ISO is not the issue but DOF. You have a very thin DOF and why the birds head is not in focus. You used spot focus but your spot was not on the birds head. I would guess in this shot your focus was either side of the bird. Here is a DOF calculator. Plug in your numbers to get an idea of DOF with a tele. http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

steve_stoneblossom Loc: Rhode Island, USA

Using your calculator, depth of field using D3400 at 300mm from 100 feet is almost 11 feet, is it not? I don't believe 1/800 is too fast for skittish little creatures, either. With proper technique, you might get away with 1/250, provided you time the shot well.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Low contrast always presents problems to auto-focus systems. And then our eye doesn't have sharp detail to focus our attention on either. For an experiment in the extreme, point your camera at a bland cloudy sky and watch the auto-focus go crazy. The focusing algorithm assumes the subject is the closest thing and it has to be able to differentiate it from everything else in the scene. The ideal might be manual focus on a tripod using Live View and zoom in on your intended subject. Not so easy with animals though.

davyboy Loc: Anoka Mn.

I think you should perhaps put it in auto see if the images improve then see what settings the camera used might give you a starting point

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

Say it's 10 feet, that's 5 in front and 5 in back IF you spot the birds head. If the head was missed the focus point could be many feet behind. Remember tele's compress such that what looks very close could be 10 or more feet behind. Bottom line, the head was not the focus spot. This can easily be tested placing an object at the 100 feet, using the same settings on a tripod. I'd also place an object 5 feet in front and back.

agillot

YOU DONT TAKE THAT KIND OF PICTURE AT 1/ 80 SEC .1/250 would be minimum .you would have had same pictures with a gas attack camera with same settings .the lens is fine , just look at the squirrels , just perfect .if you want to test your focus at the birds , just look at the ground , in this case the part where the birds seat is in focus , before and after is not .small birds usually have quick head moves , that is why one has unsharp head , body is ok .

steve_stoneblossom Loc: Rhode Island, USA

OP stated that entire bird filled the focus point when shooting.



See above.



Agreed. The last thing I would want to use for a focus test is a rapidly moving object. Unless I was testing the auto focus speed of the lens.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

You rarely need more than one (1) focus point. In fact, if you were using 11 focus points, then some of them were not focusing on the subject but on the foreground therefore the subject is not quite in focus. So make sure you use 1 focus point especially on animals and try to focus on the head or eyes. Next, open up the aperture. You were at f/5 on one image but f/8 on some of the others. Why not open up all the way. It will let more light in and get you a faster shutter for freezing the action. One last thing about your settings that I can't tell by looking at the EXIF is are you using continuous focus or one shot? It needs to continuously keep focusing. Next thing I noticed is that you were not at 300mm on some shots and they seem to be cropped way in. You will net better results on those animals that are further away at 300mm and will require less cropping. Cropping in too far eliminates some of the detail. Know you lenses limitations. If the animal is too far away, you are not going to get a sharp image. Being patient and letting the animal come to you or waiting until another time to get a closer subject is always going to get a better picture. Try to keep you ISO as low as possible. But when shooting at 300mm try to keep your shutter at a minimum of 1/600th or higher. If you know the animal is slow or stationary, that's different. Or if the lighting conditions are really low, you can try to shoot with a slower shutter, but put the camera in burst mode and take a lot of pictures in hopes to get one sharp image. In fact, most of the time you should shoot in burst mode and pick the best of the sequences then discard the rest. Yes, you'll have a lot of throw away images, but the chances of getting the animal in the best pose and tack sharp increases.

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

I understand what the OP said but let's just say, I have my doubts. With spot focus one has to be real careful. That said even if the bird moved 1/800 would cover it.

tinwhistle

I did not take the time to read all 5 pages of reply's, so I hope I'm not repeating advice already offered, however it should be noted that wildlife photography is not the same as landscape. Wildlife are constantly on the move, especially birds. Capturing birds will take you a long, long time to master. If that's your passion, go for it, but keep in mind you have a long way to go, a lot to learn, and a lot of exterminating. In the end it will be worth it... In answer to part of your question: wildlife photography benefits greatly by good (read expensive) equipment.

swartfort Loc: Evansville, IN

Thank you all. I LOVE that I have much to learn. It really is what I am enjoying the most. I'll keep playing and I'm sure I will have many successes and near misses. Thanks to all