Newbie needs help and motivation

Darren Nonis · 28th October 2004

Hi I need a little motivation to move on. I use a D70 and I went to the zoo last weekend - I used a Tokina 70 - 300mm zoom. Half of my photos were not very clear. I thought the P mode would assist me in this area - not really. Example, once the animal moved - I get a blurred image - Is there something I'm doing wrong.

Falcon · 28th October 2004

Originally Posted by Darren Nonis

Hi I need a little motivation to move on. I use a D70 and I went to the zoo last weekend - I used a Tokina 70 - 300mm zoom. Half of my photos were not very clear. I thought the P mode would assist me in this area - not really. Example, once the animal moved - I get a blurred image - Is there something I'm doing wrong.

Could be due to slow shutter speed. So when the animal moved, you will get motion blur.

gtsoh · 28th October 2004

I presume you used the 300mm end most of the time. I instead of P, you should use at least 1/300 or more (usually 1/500) Tv. This is a general rule. Anything lesser than the reciprocal of your focal length will yield shaky/blurred images. Go try it.

ericp · 28th October 2004

Program mode is deceptively simple to use, and is very good most of the time, but you gotta keep an eye on the camera settings.

I'm guessing that the day wasn't too bright, and you shot at the long end of the zoom.

Next time, do the following :

1. Don't go to the end (300mm), pull a bit back. Just a touch, to maybe 280mm or so (there's no mark there, so you just guess).

2. In "P" mode, what does it tell you ? If shutter speed < 1/250, will likely get blurred photos (rule of thumb ... for sharper pics, do not go less than 1/focal length in shutter speed).

3. What is your aperture ? Wider apertures (less light) will result in lower depth of field, but at the long end of the zoom, should not be that much of a problem.

Experiment with different focal lengths (you can always crop). Always shoot at the highest resolution you can for this purpose.

majere2sg · 28th October 2004

Depends on your focal length.. try to keep the shutter speed to 1/focal length.. eg.. if you shoot at 300mm, keep it 1/300.. also it varies between people.. If shutter speed too slow, increase the ISO.

espn · 28th October 2004

I believe probably you were using it at 300mm at f/5.6. You might want to increase the ISO to maybe 400-500 and also take note of the 1/[F * 1.5] shutter as mentioned by many others.

One thing I feel personally, is the len' build. It's too light, too hard to hold stable and there's no VR

Anyway feel free to drop by NC anytime during the weekdays and look for us, we can share tips and see your shots.

Cheers!

Garion · 28th October 2004

Hi there Darren,

Did you hand held or did you use a tripod? If hand held for all or most of the shots, probably the blurness is due to handshake cooupled by insufficient shutter speed. A general rule of thumb to obtain reasonably sharp images while handholding is to achieve a shutter speed of at least 1/focal length. e.g you are handholding it at 300mm, you need at least 1/300 shutter speed, anything slower than that might result in non-sharp pictures.

It would help also if you could post your settings from the EXIF so its easier to pinpoint the cause and help u resolve the problem.

In short, if you are going 200mm and above in focal length, for best results, use a tripod/monopod.

King Tiger · 28th October 2004

Nothing much for me to add.

It is very nice to see so many Nikonians giving helpful advise.

espn · 28th October 2004

Originally Posted by King Tiger

Nothing much for me to add.

It is very nice to see so many Nikonians giving helpful advise.

Pssst KT, the one that replied before your post is not a Nikonian ... quick!! Do your work.

28th October 2004

Hey there,

The zoo always seems like a great place to take photos but then, as you have discovered, it's actually quite a difficult place too. Animals move around a lot and unless you've got loads of light to enable you to keep the shutter speed fast, you'll be disappointed with the sharpness of your pics.

I suggest you practise with something more stationary until you master the controls and a greater understanding of the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Try a park or gardens where you can shoot plants and flowers - they move a lot less (unless it's blowing a gale of course).

Why not look at the Photography 101 for beginners - you can download it from the front page. That will introduce you to some basic techniques. Otherwise just keep reading the forums...

Hope it helps!

duckizz · 28th October 2004

bring tranquilizer gun and shoot them b4 u take
then when they stone stone quick take a few snaps..

but this can only work for the 1st couple of animals

because after that u gotta run away before u get caught and thrown into jail

Garion · 28th October 2004

Originally Posted by espn

Pssst KT, the one that replied before your post is not a Nikonian ... quick!! Do your work.

espn

MooEy · 28th October 2004

curious, does dslr actually compensate for the flm when choosing the shutter speed? for example, on my f70, when i shoot at 70mm, the camera will switch to 1/60. in the case of a dslr with the 1.5x flm, does the camera choose a shutter speed that is 1.5x? eg, 70mm setting, does the camera choose 1/60 or 1/90?

i have noticed in some consumer digicam, the camera doesn't do so, when shooting at 50mm(35mm equivalent), the camera actually choosed 1/8 which is the actual fl of the lens >.<

~MooEy~

RiStaR · 28th October 2004

Originally Posted by MooEy

curious, does dslr actually compensate for the flm when choosing the shutter speed? for example, on my f70, when i shoot at 70mm, the camera will switch to 1/60. in the case of a dslr with the 1.5x flm, does the camera choose a shutter speed that is 1.5x? eg, 70mm setting, does the camera choose 1/60 or 1/90?

i have noticed in some consumer digicam, the camera doesn't do so, when shooting at 50mm(35mm equivalent), the camera actually choosed 1/8 which is the actual fl of the lens >.<

~MooEy~

The focal length doesn't change... it's a crop factor not really a focal length multiplier... 70mm focal length but a 105mm picture angle.

Darren Nonis · 28th October 2004

Hi Everyone

Thank you so much for all your advise - I really appreciate it. I have printed out all you advise and digest it slowly.

Finding ClubSnap was the best thing - all of you are really helpful.

Once again, thanks a lot

MooEy · 28th October 2004

who cares whether the focal length change or not. u are not going to tell me that since it's going to be a crop factor, so i'm going to print at 6R instead of 8R.

the main thing is that u will be blowing up the image bigger than what u would normally get, thus one should shoot at a slightly faster shutter speed to prevent any blur.

personally i feel the shutter speed of the digicam are offensive. shooting at 1/8s for a 50mm(35mm equivalent) setting is totally unacceptable.

~MooEy~

RiStaR · 28th October 2004

Originally Posted by MooEy

who cares whether the focal length change or not. u are not going to tell me that since it's going to be a crop factor, so i'm going to print at 6R instead of 8R.

the main thing is that u will be blowing up the image bigger than what u would normally get, thus one should shoot at a slightly faster shutter speed to prevent any blur.

personally i feel the shutter speed of the digicam are offensive. shooting at 1/8s for a 50mm(35mm equivalent) setting is totally unacceptable.

~MooEy~

The "cardinal rule" is 1/focal length... if the focal length doesn't change, why should the camera compensate the additional 1.5x? Afterall I haven't been affected by it. In any case, all the camera does is meter for a proper exposure, it can't be blamed if the ISO sensitivity is set too low and the lens aperture isn't large enough. If it compensates, will you complain about underexposed pictures then? If you're asking for fully sharp pics everytime i think point-and-shoots should be for you.

EDIT: just realize it should read additional 0.5x :P

T50JOHN · 28th October 2004

After reading, may I ask is this possible.

Shoot in raw, under 2 stop to get the shutter speed.

Push up again using Nikon Editor.

What will be the plus and minus?

sehsuan · 28th October 2004

Originally Posted by T50JOHN

After reading, may I ask is this possible.

Shoot in raw, under 2 stop to get the shutter speed.

Push up again using Nikon Editor.

What will be the plus and minus?

you may lose some of the details in the shadows of the photos.

RiStaR · 29th October 2004

Originally Posted by T50JOHN

After reading, may I ask is this possible.

Shoot in raw, under 2 stop to get the shutter speed.

Push up again using Nikon Editor.

What will be the plus and minus?

It's like pumping up the ISO, you get noisy shadows

Guess you can't have it all heh.

28th October 2004	#1
Darren Nonis Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Rivervale Posts: 52	Newbie needs help and motivation Hi I need a little motivation to move on. I use a D70 and I went to the zoo last weekend - I used a Tokina 70 - 300mm zoom. Half of my photos were not very clear. I thought the P mode would assist me in this area - not really. Example, once the animal moved - I get a blurred image - Is there something I'm doing wrong.

28th October 2004	#5
majere2sg Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Singapore (SengKang) Posts: 2,992	Depends on your focal length.. try to keep the shutter speed to 1/focal length.. eg.. if you shoot at 300mm, keep it 1/300.. also it varies between people.. If shutter speed too slow, increase the ISO. __________________ -Express yourself not in words- Majere2sg's Digital Photography

28th October 2004	#7
Garion Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: West side of S'pore Posts: 5,513	Hi there Darren, Did you hand held or did you use a tripod? If hand held for all or most of the shots, probably the blurness is due to handshake cooupled by insufficient shutter speed. A general rule of thumb to obtain reasonably sharp images while handholding is to achieve a shutter speed of at least 1/focal length. e.g you are handholding it at 300mm, you need at least 1/300 shutter speed, anything slower than that might result in non-sharp pictures. It would help also if you could post your settings from the EXIF so its easier to pinpoint the cause and help u resolve the problem. In short, if you are going 200mm and above in focal length, for best results, use a tripod/monopod. __________________ [ deviantart selections \| Photoblog ]

28th October 2004	#8
King Tiger Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: In the heart of SengKang Posts: 4,976	Nothing much for me to add. It is very nice to see so many Nikonians giving helpful advise. __________________ War is one of the most regrettable human activities.

28th October 2004	#15
Darren Nonis Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Rivervale Posts: 52	Really Apprciate It Hi Everyone Thank you so much for all your advise - I really appreciate it. I have printed out all you advise and digest it slowly. Finding ClubSnap was the best thing - all of you are really helpful. Once again, thanks a lot

28th October 2004	#3
gtsoh Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 69	I presume you used the 300mm end most of the time. I instead of P, you should use at least 1/300 or more (usually 1/500) Tv. This is a general rule. Anything lesser than the reciprocal of your focal length will yield shaky/blurred images. Go try it.

28th October 2004	#4
ericp Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 577	Program mode is deceptively simple to use, and is very good most of the time, but you gotta keep an eye on the camera settings. I'm guessing that the day wasn't too bright, and you shot at the long end of the zoom. Next time, do the following : 1. Don't go to the end (300mm), pull a bit back. Just a touch, to maybe 280mm or so (there's no mark there, so you just guess). 2. In "P" mode, what does it tell you ? If shutter speed < 1/250, will likely get blurred photos (rule of thumb ... for sharper pics, do not go less than 1/focal length in shutter speed). 3. What is your aperture ? Wider apertures (less light) will result in lower depth of field, but at the long end of the zoom, should not be that much of a problem. Experiment with different focal lengths (you can always crop). Always shoot at the highest resolution you can for this purpose.

28th October 2004	#6
espn Deregistered Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Planet Nikon Posts: 22,045	I believe probably you were using it at 300mm at f/5.6. You might want to increase the ISO to maybe 400-500 and also take note of the 1/[F * 1.5] shutter as mentioned by many others. One thing I feel personally, is the len' build. It's too light, too hard to hold stable and there's no VR Anyway feel free to drop by NC anytime during the weekdays and look for us, we can share tips and see your shots. Cheers!

28th October 2004	#10
Phildate Guests Posts: n/a	Hey there, The zoo always seems like a great place to take photos but then, as you have discovered, it's actually quite a difficult place too. Animals move around a lot and unless you've got loads of light to enable you to keep the shutter speed fast, you'll be disappointed with the sharpness of your pics. I suggest you practise with something more stationary until you master the controls and a greater understanding of the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Try a park or gardens where you can shoot plants and flowers - they move a lot less (unless it's blowing a gale of course). Why not look at the Photography 101 for beginners - you can download it from the front page. That will introduce you to some basic techniques. Otherwise just keep reading the forums... Hope it helps!

28th October 2004	#11
duckizz Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: East Posts: 211	bring tranquilizer gun and shoot them b4 u take then when they stone stone quick take a few snaps.. but this can only work for the 1st couple of animals because after that u gotta run away before u get caught and thrown into jail

28th October 2004	#13
MooEy Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 170	curious, does dslr actually compensate for the flm when choosing the shutter speed? for example, on my f70, when i shoot at 70mm, the camera will switch to 1/60. in the case of a dslr with the 1.5x flm, does the camera choose a shutter speed that is 1.5x? eg, 70mm setting, does the camera choose 1/60 or 1/90? i have noticed in some consumer digicam, the camera doesn't do so, when shooting at 50mm(35mm equivalent), the camera actually choosed 1/8 which is the actual fl of the lens >.< ~MooEy~

28th October 2004	#18
T50JOHN Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: West Zone Posts: 105	After reading, may I ask is this possible. Shoot in raw, under 2 stop to get the shutter speed. Push up again using Nikon Editor. What will be the plus and minus?