Sept 26 new UPDATE on Nikon 500mm PF + TC1.4x iii RESULTS (Page 3): So in your opinion these are WORKING images? When I do wildlife, I don't use a tripod UNLESS I am on the side of the...

alphadog

CHG_CANON wrote:

For unprocessed text on a gas can, looks great! Now, transfer this to wildlife.

So in your opinion these are WORKING images?

When I do wildlife, I don't use a tripod UNLESS I am on the side of the Lake doing Ospreys... most times, it is out of my SUV window, and yes, I can put the camera to rest there, and DID SO OFTEN with the Heavy Canon 500mm f4Li lens... but having obtained now a very light combo, don't see why I should need to do this. It does have VR and at speeds of excess of 1/1250 shake should not be a factor.

I usually handhold and shoot at speeds of 1/3000+ for BIF and action.

I can deal with f8, f11, but what about the auto iso? Do you recommend fixed and what max on 800e will work best, other than as LOW as possible?

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

alphadog wrote:

I only shoot with the TC on, so your rec of f7.1 is incorrect, the lowest f-stop possible is F8.. and as to your other suggestions, thanks for your input.

in the original post alphadog wrote:

Ferruginous Hawk was taken with Canon 5Dmkiii, TC1.4ii - 24mb f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 200 [auto iso]"
Attached are two images from this morning, with TC on Tripod, one in A mode, one in M mode

in your latest post you wrote:

A mode: 1/350, f8, ISO 200
M mode: 1/500, f8, iso 200

We can see this now in the EXIF information. Without the TC the lowest possible aperture setting is f/5.6. It's the TC that makes it f/8.

Your second (manual) exposure actually used the correct settings for broad daylight.

But if your intent is to severely crop the result, why not just switch the camera to Dx mode and aim more carefully? If you do that you will be able to use an aperture of f/5.6.

The raw file with be less than half the size of an Fx raw file. and you will be able to adjust the exposure and ISO to get less noise.

As for Auto ISO, if you are shooting in broad daylight you simply don't need it. Just use Sunny 16 (LV 14.7) or 1/3 stop darker as you did in your M mode exposure. This will always work for the whitest feathers even in sunny Florida.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

alphadog wrote:

So in your opinion these are WORKING images? br ... (show quote)

Personally, I shoot manual with a fixed ISO. But, my older EOS 5DIII doesn't have the modern AUTO-ISO with EC in Manual that the newest DSLRs and MILCs provide. Do what is easiest for you and that your camera supports. I think AUTO-ISO with EC in Manual is the cat's meow, a configuration I can use on my Sony a7II with MF film-era lenses. This is the feature I look forward to most when I retire my DSLRs.

alphadog

selmslie wrote:

We can see this now in the EXIF information. With... (show quote)

When I do nature, and birds, I am looking to fill the frame mostly, not long-distance shots... [ usually] but I always CROP, even my landscape pics are cropped some.

BOTH these images were taken with the Crop Mode in camera setting. One is the M mode [ underexposed] and the other is A mode, properly exposed.

When I do stationary birds in past times, I used high speeds and did get High Isos, but the images were very sharp... I can use lower ISO and somewhat lower speeds, but the image for me must be just as sharp... attached is where I am now, this morning. No processesing,

(Download)

alphadog

CHG_CANON wrote:

Personally, I shoot manual with a fixed ISO. But, my older EOS 5DIII doesn't have the modern AUTO-ISO with EC in Manual that the newest DSLRs and MILCs provide. Do what is easiest for you and that your camera supports. I think AUTO-ISO with EC in Manual is the cat's meow, a configuration I can use on my Sony a7II with MF film-era lenses. This is the feature I look forward to most when I retire my DSLRs.

I will be going out later and will see IF I can get this working for me. Thanks for your input, most folks now have suggested I shoot in Crop Mode on the 800e to reduce my tendency to CROP images anyway. Plenty of UHH commenters have told me it should work fine, as they have the same gear... so I am encouraged there, but YET on my monitor...

regards, Richard

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

alphadog wrote:

BOTH these images were taken with the Crop Mode in camera setting. One is the M mode [ underexposed] and the other is A mode, properly exposed.

It depends on how you define "properly exposed". You can't tell just by looking at the camera's JPEG. You need to watch for highlight warnings and pay attention to the JPEG histograms.

If you are going to develop from the raw file on your computer, properly exposed means you did not blow any highlights where you want to see detail. The initial result might look a little dark.

The scene below has a 9+ stop dynamic range. Even in broad daylight I seldom see such a wide DR.

The day was overcast so I used aperture priority and highlight weighted metering. The initial view in RawDigger shows it as a bit dark even though about 0.5% of the [featureless and unimportant] highlights in the dull sky are blown.

With development the shadows are easily recovered and the clouds still have some tonality.

Using LV 15 in direct sunlight (1/3 stop darker than Sunny 16) I don't need to worry about what the camera's meter sees. The brightest white feathers do not get overexposed. I have used this approach with lots of white birds in bright Florida sunlight.

For more about this see Light Value (LV) 15.

(Download)

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

alphadog wrote:

... but YET on my monitor...

If you pixel peep on your monitor you are going to see stuff that will never be visible in a normal print, no matter how much you blow it up.

mikeroetex Loc: Lafayette, LA

alphadog wrote:

Friend, your good intentions are appreciated, I have been at this for a LONG time... I am now working with a few UHH responders to correct camera settings. First off I only shoot with the TC on, so your rec of f7.1 is incorrect, the lowest f-stop possible is F8.. and as to your other suggestions, thanks for your input.

Not saying you are inexperienced, but your comparison example was an f7.1 photo with a lower ISO. If that wasn't yours, then how can you use someone else's work to compare your lens in the field? My point is you must have the same parameters to do an accurate comparison. And if you are handhold at 700mm with TC, you must have the steady hands of a surgeon. At that magnification, the slightest breadth of movement can create tremendous motion blur.

alphadog

selmslie wrote:

It depends on how you define "properly expose... (show quote)

Friend, the "properly exposed" meant... I used the A mode. Not that I thought it looked properly exposed. This posting is part of a long set of responses TO OBTAIN maximum sharpness, I was NOT concerned at all about the color histogram and data... I am aware of these parameters... the purpose for ME here is to get a sharp image, not properly exposed or matched for color range, etc... I do appreciate your input.

alphadog

I wasn't asking for someone to compare the photos, I was using ONE as an example of what sharp was v NOT sharp.
Thanks, I can take it from here... regards, richard

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

alphadog wrote:

Friend, the "properly exposed" meant... I used the A mode. Not that I thought it looked properly exposed. This posting is part of a long set of responses TO OBTAIN maximum sharpness, I was NOT concerned at all about the color histogram and data... I am aware of these parameters... the purpose for ME here is to get a sharp image, not properly exposed or matched for color range, etc... I do appreciate your input.

"A" mode only means aperture priority. It sets the shutter speed based on the ISO setting and the meter's measurement. If you use Auto ISO it might also vary the ISO.

But there may be four metering modes - spot, center, matrix or highlight weighted. Each of those modes modes has a scene type where it can fail. In the case of a bird against a light or dark background there is a very good chance that none of them will work.

It's safer to leave the camera's meter out of the loop. An incident meter or an educated guess would probably be better. In any case, look for highlight warnings.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

alphadog wrote:

I was NOT concerned at all about the color histogram and data... I am aware of these parameters... the purpose for ME here is to get a sharp image, not properly exposed or matched for color range, etc... I do appreciate your input.

One of the things you MUST understand is PROPER exposure is one of the things that leads to getting the most sharpness possible ! There are other things that exert a greater infuence - but proper exposure is the icing on the cake as it were.

alphadog

I will endeavor to make a proper image with appropriate exposure.

alphadog

This evening tried again... this is one that is closer to acceptable quality finally. The hawks were NO shows, but this little guy blessed me by giving me a lot of practice images.

Data: 1/500, f11, iso 800, in manual mode... handheld, processed as I usually do, hopefully NOT overly done and cropped some

(Download)

Dalek Loc: Detroit, Miami, Goffstown

agreed