grumpy52

Took this Eagle photo last week of the eagle sitting on the nest up on Lake Erie at Magee Marsh in Ohio.

Nikon D3100, set on Fine image quality, Shutter Priority, ASA 400, Nikor AF-s 18-300 DX lens,1/2000sec, f5.6 auto focus. Single focus point in middle. Original pixel size of 3468 x 2304. Was as close as I could be. I cropped the image as close to subject in Photoshop Elements. Image size now is 1733 x 1262. Focus point was on the base of the eagle, at least that is where I saw the red dot blinking The nest seems to be in focus, but the eagle appears to be out of focus. I know there are a very lot of twigs shooting up from nest and the nest is very large. Could that have been why the eagle seems soft up there or is it because of the image cropping causing it to pixelate. What gives and any suggestions? Have a few weeks before the leaves fill in on the trees to try again.

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Original

swartfort Loc: Evansville, IN

You had everything right for freezing the image with shutter speed. ISO 400 left you a bit underexposed. The focus issue has to do with your DOF (depth of field). With the aperture set wide open like that, your focal plane is VERY shallow. If you focused on the front of the nest, the eagle is probably over a foot deeper (maybe 2 feet) than that....beyond the focal plane.

The ISO of 400, even a a fairly extreme crop should not be your issue on softness. I think the bird is out of focus. You did a great job focusing on the nest. Best practice is to focus on the nearest eye. IF you use back button focus and the bird is not moving much, you can focus and then use multiple exposures to just keep shooting in volume. Even if your keeper rate is lower, pixels are free and you can delete those that don't work.

In that vein, If you can shoot over some time, Try all kinds of setting combinations. Increase the ISO, decrease the aperature... Slow the shutter and increase the...... you get the drift.

My humble suggestion:

Play with your lens a bit. I find that 7.1 or 8 aperture gives a good DOF for birds, but every lens is different. I shoot with auto ISO and let the camera determine that part of the equation. (I do set the parameters however. If you look at your directions, it is in the menu setup).

I will attach a pic of a hawk I took on Aperture priority with a shallow depth of field. Hawk looks great, but if you look at the snake he is eating, it is out of focus. It was only about 8 inches closer, but you can see the DOF issue.

(Download)

swartfort Loc: Evansville, IN

Also, In looking at the picture, If you silhouette against a bright sky, You can try to add a step or two of exposure compensation to help bring out the highlights/textures of the birds face. If you shoot against a darker sky, then you can try to step down a step of two in exposure compensation..... Just a thought

Joe Blow

I agree with swartfort on the DOF. I also think you are correct in some of the branches may have caused fore-focusing. Using an aperture of f6.3 to f9.0 will go a long way to giving a decent DOF while still giving you some shutter speed.

This is a problem all photographers go through. You think you got a great shot until you look at it on your computer. I just shot a ton of softball photos. I would be thinking I got a great shot of a player diving into the bag until I see that the focusing picked up a nearer player. Poop happens.

Old Timer Loc: Greenfield, In.

I agree with the above comments. The first one it look like the focus is on the nest. I shoot eagles on a nest similar to your shot at about 300 yards. The nest is about five feet across and the bird is setting in the middle and at that distance it looks like she is closer to the out side and also small twigs sticking up get in the way of your focus. I use a gimble head and shutter release and try to focus on the head. At the distance you can not do it hand held unless you get lucky. I usually shoot shutter priority F8 center point. The tree has a lot limbs and as the summer goes along and the leaves get heavy you have a problem getting good focus. When she is on the nest about all you can see is the head which is not a very large target. Any camera shake at the distance will cause problem with the focus.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

There is nothing surprising about that, if you put the focus on the nest, the nest will be in focus! Should have put the focus on the bird, if you want the bird in focus!
At that distance, an aperture of 5.6 makes for a very shallow DOF!

DaveC1 Loc: South East US

Analysis of this would be easier if you had made the image(s) downloadable.

Gitchigumi Loc: Wake Forest, NC

The shallow depth of field is also dependent on the distance to the subject. With the D3100 and the zoom at 300mm, f5.6 and assuming a distance of 50 ft, the DOF is 1'9". At 100 ft, the DOF is 7'2". So, the longer distance, the larger the DOF when all else stays the same. I can't imagine you were closer than 50 ft. So, this leads me to think that the problem is the focus point being the outer part of the nest (nearest the camera) not the bird (farther away).

Given the stationary subject (bird on nest), you could use a tripod, zoom in using Live View and manually focus the lens. Tedious, but will likely produce the best result. Steve Perry, a member here, may chip in. Wildlife photos are his thing so would be the best resource, if needed.

Good luck!

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

On my D7000, the focus indicator holds steady when it locks on. Is the D3100 just the opposite?

Toby

I don't think DOF is the problem. At this time of year in a National park I would be surprised if you would be allowed to even get within 100' of the nest. I would shoot with a higher speed and ISO and use a tripod or support.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Forgive me but when I look at your photo of the hawk I notice the snake AND the hawk are out of focus but an area of grass just behind the hawk, is in perfect focus. Possibly your lens is not in its best focus adjustment.

Dennis

SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

I'm glad I'm not the only one that noticed that.

swartfort Loc: Evansville, IN

Yes.... When I went to attach a pic, I found one that demonstrated DOF better, but I did not change the text of my response. Good on you for seeing it

rdubreuil Loc: Dummer, NH USA

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Yes, it could be 2 things. First, you don't have enough reach with that lens and it's probably not the sharpest lens Nikon makes. 2nd, the twiggs do get in the way and your focus point could be just a couple of inches short of being on the birds head. It's very important to get the head and/or eye of an animal to be the sharpest.

Buy a longer lens and try to get closer to your subject. Even long lenses have limits. Don't expect to get tack sharp images of a bird that is 100 yards away. Not going to happen.