I agree with David's comment about distance. If you're zooming in on an image
to see a bird that's tiny because it was a fair way off, then you're enlarging
the grain too. Shots like that can be improved enormously by viewing them at a
smaller size on the screen. The detail isn't there to be seen, so why zoom in
to reveal the defects?
When you're close enough to get the bird full frame you can get away with a
much higher ISO setting. I often use 1600 when I'm that close, if I need to
because of the light, but try to keep it much lower for long distance shots,
preferably ISO 100.
And what exposure mode are they using? If they've set it up so it's way
underexposed, it'll be grainier when they brighten it on the computer than if
it was exposed correctly.
I'd advise trying some test shots using various ISO settings, and compare the
results. And don't forget that the perfect shots you're comparing theirs with
might well be taken with a lens so big it would dwarf yours, and taken after
waiting for perfect light conditions, etc.
If you have a look through some of the photos at http://www.aviceda.org/abid
you're likely to find many photos more comparable to yours, because they're
often taken in "real" conditions where the photographers took photos in the
half dark, of birds that appeared unexpectedly.
Peter Shute
> -----Original Message-----
> From:
> On Behalf Of David Stowe
> Sent: Friday, 30 July 2010 11:19 AM
> To: Greg Little
> Cc:
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] ISO setting
>
> Hi Greg,
> Alistair's response is right on the money (and more detailed
> than I could go into!).
> The critical question here is what camera is your friend
> using? The upper limit in terms of ISO/image quality will be
> decided by that factor.
> Don't worry about trying to convert ISO/ASA etc as it's
> really not relevant. Its all about finding the ISO where he
> is happy with the image quality. Obviously 1200ISO is too
> high as evident by the lack of image quality.
> Laurie's point about filament feather detail is much more
> about subject distance rather than ISO in my opinion. eg - If
> you are 30m away from a robin you won't get fine feather
> detail regardless of ISO, but get to 5m away and the detail
> is able to be captured beautifully.
> (From then its as much about optics and camera quality as
> ISO.) Appropriate shutter speeds are another thing again and
> will vary from person to person in terms of what they are
> able to hand hold etc.
> Cheers
> David Stowe
>
>
> On 30/07/2010, at 9:32 AM, Greg Little wrote:
>
> Gooday birders
>
>
>
> A friend of mine has a digital SLR camera on which he sets
> the ISO at 1200 to take bird photos with a 100 - 400 zoom
> lens. However the images seem a bit grainy, in old speak, or
> noisy in digital speak. We have tried to get closer to the
> bird subjects but the images seem to lack the sharpness and
> richness of colour and detail that I have seen produced by
> some of the photographers on birding-aus. So, could you
> people who produce the superb digital images of birds please
> offer some advise on ISO settings. If possible could you
> relate the digital ISO settings to the ASA settings of film.
> There may be something else he needs to know so any advise
> would be appreciated. For myself I do not have a digital SLR
> camera and probably won't get one for a while yet.
>
>
>
> Greg Little
>
>
>
> Greg Little - Principal Consultant
>
> General Flora and Fauna
>
> PO Box 526
>
> Wallsend, NSW, 2287, Australia
>
> Ph 02 49556609
>
> Fx 02 49556671
>
> www.gff.com.au
>
>
>
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