Posted by Isabel Cutler on February 5, 2008 at 4:02 PM
Five days of intense handheld (heavy) shooting in Florida visiting too many refuges. Next trip will concentrate on ONE location! So important to be there are the right time of day with the best light condition!
After I overcame the problem I had with the lens refusing to focus if I set it at 400mm (turned on focus search in Custom Function III in the 40D)I was happier and nailed more distant images.
I was a little disappointed with some of the bokeh, but have found Photoshop Mama's focus blurs action helped a lot - quick to use with no selection first necessary.
If you would care to visit the gallery I'd love to hear from you - and especially would appreciate bird identifications! (The books are on the way from Amazon!)
http://www.pbase.com/isabel95/birding_in_florida
Isabel
Posted by Steve Foss on February 5, 2008 at 4:50 PM
Glad you're getting used to the lens, Isabel. There is a learning curve, all right.
I've found bokeh excellent on the 100-400, but that may be a matter of differing backgrounds and shooting styles.
Maybe you know all I'm about to say and if so, sorry.
While it won't open past f5.6, I've found that the separation between the subject and the background (as well as distance from me to the subject) matters more than aperture. The closer I am to the subject, the narrower the DOF and better the BG bokeh, and of course the farther way the background the same thing.
As an example, at 400mm, if I set up in my backyard blind with a perch 6 feet away, just beyone the lens's minimum focus distance, and the background is 30 feet past the subject, my bokeh is smooth and buttery (8-blade aperture helps there). Just beyond MFD, the lens DOF is at its shallowest. I often shoot the lens at f8 to sharpen it up a bit, and even at f8 the DOF is quite thin at 6 feet.
If I'm still at 400mm and my subjects are farther away, then the BG has to be much farther away as well to get good bokeh because DOF is deeper with distant subjects. So if I'm shooting heron shots with the subject 75 feet away and the background is 100 feet beyond the subject, my bokeh isn't near as good because that increased DOF is picking up more background detail.
And of course if I back the lens off to 300mm or 200mm, my bokeh won't be as rich as it is at 400mm.
I looked at your gallery and there are some excellent pictures in it. Can't really comment on bokeh and DOF in those images because I'm not sure which BGs may have been altered as you'd already detailed and which have not.
Posted by Don George on February 5, 2008 at 5:01 PM
Isabel,,,Looks like you kept busy,,,some great shots. Have you tried other lens on your 40d like wide angle etc. If so how did it perform?
Posted by Don Mullaney on February 6, 2008 at 8:31 AM
Nice shots Isabel!......Wakodahatchee and Green Cay are my hangouts and I can help with some of the IDs.
1303 Female Anhinga
1241 White Ibis
1217 Juvenile White Ibis
1200 Male Anhinga
1174 Black-crowned Night Heron (this nocturnal feeder is tough to find)
1074/72/68/19/18 Snowy Egret
2064/57 Great White Egret
Hope that helps!
Don Mullaney
Posted by Don Mullaney on February 6, 2008 at 9:43 AM
I missed a couple down at the bottom of the page.
1111 Red shouldered Hawk
2329 American Coot
Your shore bird, 2264/7, I not sure but my best guess is Solitary Sandpiper
Discussion
4 repliesAfter I overcame the problem I had with the lens refusing to focus if I set it at 400mm (turned on focus search in Custom Function III in the 40D)I was happier and nailed more distant images.
I was a little disappointed with some of the bokeh, but have found Photoshop Mama's focus blurs action helped a lot - quick to use with no selection first necessary.
If you would care to visit the gallery I'd love to hear from you - and especially would appreciate bird identifications! (The books are on the way from Amazon!)
http://www.pbase.com/isabel95/birding_in_florida
Isabel
I've found bokeh excellent on the 100-400, but that may be a matter of differing backgrounds and shooting styles.
Maybe you know all I'm about to say and if so, sorry.
While it won't open past f5.6, I've found that the separation between the subject and the background (as well as distance from me to the subject) matters more than aperture. The closer I am to the subject, the narrower the DOF and better the BG bokeh, and of course the farther way the background the same thing.
As an example, at 400mm, if I set up in my backyard blind with a perch 6 feet away, just beyone the lens's minimum focus distance, and the background is 30 feet past the subject, my bokeh is smooth and buttery (8-blade aperture helps there). Just beyond MFD, the lens DOF is at its shallowest. I often shoot the lens at f8 to sharpen it up a bit, and even at f8 the DOF is quite thin at 6 feet.
If I'm still at 400mm and my subjects are farther away, then the BG has to be much farther away as well to get good bokeh because DOF is deeper with distant subjects. So if I'm shooting heron shots with the subject 75 feet away and the background is 100 feet beyond the subject, my bokeh isn't near as good because that increased DOF is picking up more background detail.
And of course if I back the lens off to 300mm or 200mm, my bokeh won't be as rich as it is at 400mm.
I looked at your gallery and there are some excellent pictures in it. Can't really comment on bokeh and DOF in those images because I'm not sure which BGs may have been altered as you'd already detailed and which have not.
1303 Female Anhinga
1241 White Ibis
1217 Juvenile White Ibis
1200 Male Anhinga
1174 Black-crowned Night Heron (this nocturnal feeder is tough to find)
1074/72/68/19/18 Snowy Egret
2064/57 Great White Egret
Hope that helps!
Don Mullaney
1111 Red shouldered Hawk
2329 American Coot
Your shore bird, 2264/7, I not sure but my best guess is Solitary Sandpiper
DM