Achieving crystal clarity.

lewis.arrand

lewis.arrand

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Lewis.
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Hello people!
Just a few pointers wanted really as a relative beginner to photography having had it handed down to me. Im quite lucky in that i come into contact with a lot of nature many dont whether through farming, shooting, fishing etc. Having just got hold of a 70-300mm lens for my Nikon I'm beginning to take my camera along with me.

The issue im finding is in the split seconds you often only get to capture the wildlife i encounter, im struggling to get the crystal clear levels of focus on the subject i require. Any tips?

Greatly Appreciated!
 
Hi! I'm new here too haha! :)

I've struggled with this in the past, but as you get more used to your camera and all it's settings you get half an idea where it needs to be set for the conditions you're in. By learning what aperture and ISO to have your camera set at, you have won half the battle with getting good pics in a short time frame. it sounds boring to learn but it's helped me to get some better pics. :)
 
which 70-300 do you have ?

Have to be honest and say that having a fast focusing lens can save the day with wildlife, I have on many occasions just had to point and shoot, as you say some creratures don't hang around long enough to give you time to think ;)
Normally have the camera set on single point focusing and spot metering when I'm out and about and take the occasional test picture to make sure the settings are right.
A fast shutter speed with also help if the subject is moving
 
I smell the beginning of that obsession we all have that inevitably leads to drooling at top-end bodies and long lenses... and enquiring which countries it is legal to sell a kidney in :D
 
I reckon regardless of lens size you still have to be as physically close as you can get to your subject plus IS or the fastest shutterspeed over and above your focal length makes for the best results if hand held shooting that is.
Sat in the comfort of a hide with your kit mounted on a tripod plus remote shutter release and mirror lock etc is a different kettle of fish entirely of course.
John
 
Decent levels of details come from two things really.

Preparation and practise.

Preparation gets you close enough to your subject to be able to choose whereabouts to focus.

Practise gets you in a place where you can focus and shoot quickly and smoothly and reliably, while having confidence that your settings are correct for the job in hand.

As Ingrid said - single point focus goes a long way to help with this as you are deciding where to focus not relying on the camera to get it wrong.
 
If your 70-300 is like mine, it tends to get a bit soft above 200mm. Try stopping down to between f/8 and f/11 to get maximum sharpness.
 
One thing I am surprised nobody has mentioned is that you need to maintain a fast shutter speed, even on a tripod you need to keep it fast so hand held it is even more important.
You may find that your focus issues are actually not focus at all but caused by camera shake or movement of the subject.

On a 70-300 you will need to keep above 1/320 and ideally above 1/500.
Many wildlife photographers keep avove 1/1000 when possible.

To achieve this you will need to keep your lens on a wide aperture, this will allow more light in and also help isolate the subject by giving a narrow depth of field. So set your camera on Aperture priority and dial in say f 4 or f 5.6.

If you still cannot get a fast enough shutter speed then increase the ISO until you can. It depends on your camera how high you can push the ISO before you start getting noise issues on your images. On mine I can typically get away with up to around 1000

Personally I use spot focus and spot metering so then just aim at the subject and when AF locks on you have your shot though you may need a little Exposure compensation, you will need to judge this according to your camera and lens. Alternatively meter off the grass (or similar tone) and use manual exposure and this should make the subject about right.

For birds in flight an aperture of f8 will help keep it in focus.
 
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