A new Camera

[Chevin]

I have used a Panasonic Lumix DFC F250 camera for quite a few years and have found it to be a useful camera to take on my world travels being as it is relatively light and has a 420mm lens. However, last year I had a major operation on my spine and after I had recovered, I decided to treat myself to another camera and a much bigger lens. I finished up buying a Canon EOS 700D coupled with a Tamron SP 150-600mm lens. I am absolutely delighted with the results I am getting and below is a picture I took of a frog in my garden pond.

 

[steve2]

I use the same lens on my Nikon, very good value for the money. Use it mainly for wild life photos.

 

[Chevin]

I use the same lens on my Nikon, very good value for the money. Use it mainly for wild life photos.

Me too, and I have recently added a CamRanger unit to my set up, but I am still learning how to use it.

 

[steve2]

My son use all cannon equipment, you might be interested in his web site
cadephotographic.wordpress.com. He is a full time school music teacher, part time amateur photographer.
Gets him away from the pressure at school.

 

[Chevin]

My son use all cannon equipment, you might be interested in his web site
cadephotographic.wordpress.com. He is a full time school music teacher, part time amateur photographer.
Gets him away from the pressure at school.

Thanks for that Steve, it's an interesting site. I would like to take night time pictures of some of the buildings around the world, but we are so far from anywhere here in Perth, I have stuck with wild like almost by necessity. We have one big firework display in Perth each year but I have not been to it as I am not very mobile due to spinal problems. However, I can hide myself away and allow my subjects to come to me, so I just make the most of that.

 

[steve2]

Good luck with the photography. Makes a change to see pictures that aren't of fish.

 

[Chevin]

Having taken lots of still life pictures with the "New" camera, I have recently begun attempts at photographing moving and action subjects. Being as I have plenty of subjects in the back garden I have started there and being as the birds are pretty tame, it is not too difficult. I used the Canon 55-250mm lens.

The back ground is not very good, but the birds are fairly tame so I can get them to move as when I want them to. Perhaps I will be sufficiently well practiced for when I am close enough to wild birds. The shutter speed for these pictures was 1/1328 sec at F4.97

 

[Ray Roberts]

You say the background isn't very good but sometimes blurred background is preferred. If you want to make the background sharper then you need to use a larger f number. This will increase the depth of field. If you also want to have a fast shutter speed to freeze the action then you can increase the ASA a bit. You can also lock the focus on a static object such as the orange feeders so as the bird lands the camera is pre focused. Personally I usually prefer the background to be blurred but it does make focusing more critical.

This little chap was snapped at dusk and the camera was focused on the rod rest head. I used a fill in flash to brighten up the Robin while leaving a dark background. Keep practicing and experiment with different settings. The beauty of digital cameras is that it's free to make cock-ups and you can try different settings to get the effect you want. Have fun, Ray.

 

[Chevin]

You say the background isn't very good but sometimes blurred background is preferences. If you want to make the background sharper then you need to use a larger f number. This will increase the depth of field. If you also want to have a fast shutter speed to freeze the action then you can increase the ASA a bit. You can also lock the focus on a static object such as the orange feeders so as the bird lands the camera is pre focused. Personally I usually prefer the gbackground to be blurred but it does make focusing more critical.

Thanks for that Ray. I was talking of the content of the background rather than its composure. As you could see, the feeders are what attract to the birds to that place and we have them close to the house so we can watch them through the kitchen window. It would be good if I could just have trees as the background. I agree with you regarding a blurred background behind the subject in many pictures. However, I am trying to deliberately get different effects and being as I am not very good at reading manuals I am turning to Simon Walker (one of ****'s sons) for advice on this kind of thing being as he also has a Canon with the same features as mine. I had a note from him today telling me how to go about getting a high speed with a better aperture size by using a higher ISO.
I am always grateful for advice and appreciate that you took the time and trouble to help me.

 

[Ray Roberts]

You're welcome.

 

[robtherake]

You say the background isn't very good but sometimes blurred background is preferred. If you want to make the background sharper then you need to use a larger f number. This will increase the depth of field. If you also want to have a fast shutter speed to freeze the action then you can increase the ASA a bit. You can also lock the focus on a static object such as the orange feeders so as the bird lands the camera is pre focused. Personally I usually prefer the background to be blurred but it does make focusing more critical.

This little chap was snapped at dusk and the camera was focused on the rod rest head. I used a fill in flash to brighten up the Robin while leaving a dark background. Keep practicing and experiment with different settings. The beauty of digital cameras is that it's free to make cock-ups and you can try different settings to get the effect you want. Have fun, Ray.

Clever use of a 2 light set-up on the quivertip, Ray. Wish I'd thought of that!

 

[Chevin]

I am still playing around with the camera and birds that I see in my garden, but there was an unusual visitor in a neighbour's tree the other day. I had to use the big Tamron lens to get a decent shot but I am pleased with the result.

 

[coooky]

blurred background makes them stand out and is how pros do it so dont worry about that amazing pics

 

[steve2]

Nice picture, looks to be some type of Night Heron.
I have not made much use of my cameras recently can't seem to find the time since I retired. I will have to join my Son on some of his days out.

 

[ken more]

You say the background isn't very good but sometimes blurred background is preferred. If you want to make the background sharper then you need to use a larger f number. This will increase the depth of field. If you also want to have a fast shutter speed to freeze the action then you can increase the ASA a bit. You can also lock the focus on a static object such as the orange feeders so as the bird lands the camera is pre focused. Personally I usually prefer the background to be blurred but it does make focusing more critical.

This little chap was snapped at dusk and the camera was focused on the rod rest head. I used a fill in flash to brighten up the Robin while leaving a dark background. Keep practicing and experiment with different settings. The beauty of digital cameras is that it's free to make cock-ups and you can try different settings to get the effect you want. Have fun, Ray.

Does anyone think that the reflection in the Robins eye might be of the camera ? I'm probably wrong but i like to think that it is

 

[Chevin]

Nice picture, looks to be some type of Night Heron.
I have not made much use of my cameras recently can't seem to find the time since I retired. I will have to join my Son on some of his days out.

Sorry, I intended to identify it as a Rufous Night Heron.