I have been trying to photogragh wild birds with Canon 75 - 300 Lens In Flower Mode I get no depth of field and image is not pin sharp. In Portrate Mode I get a tiny bit of DOF but not enough if there are two birds behind one another ie One is in forcus the other is not. I have tried almost everything I can think of in every mode and still get only one good sharp image per roll of film.

As a novice I have made all the common mistakes ie Hood with flash and camera shake etc.

I now use a tripod and remote trigger for all shots but need help in getting clear pin sharp pictures with more DOF.

I have bought photography books and magazines and I still dont seem able to get the results I want.

Later this month I am going on a photography course but I fear that even this wont be enough to help.

I read the manual almost every night so I can try and understand every aspect of the camera but the more I read the more confused I get.

What is the best of the 3 focus settings to use for bird photo's etc.

If any one can help and your advise works I will be gratefull.

I thought that as the camera has 3 different types of light metering that I would not need to buy a hand help light meter.

Any help for the desperate and ignorant.

-- Jeffrey Alan Herrington (jeffreyherrington@hotmail.com), February 07, 2002

Answers

Personally, if I were you, I'd get some basic books on photography and learn a little more about how lens aperture and shutter speed affect an image.

The camera's built-in icon (PIC) metering modes aren't really the best way to learn more about this. The idea behind them is to make it quick and easy for a beginner to take photographs without learning how cameras work. But they also don't teach you anything.

For instance, one thing that you need to know is that telephoto lenses always have very narrow depth of field. So if you're shooting birds at 300mm wide depth of field isn't going to be easy. You could stop down the aperture, since a smaller aperture results in deeper DOF, but then less light reaches the film and you have to have slower shutter speeds. And then you'll get blurrier photos if the bird is moving.

Another grim reality, I'm afraid to say, is that the 75-300 lens isn't really cut out for good bird photography. It's not long enough to get closeup photos of wildlife (bird photographers typically use 400-600mm lenses regularly) and it doesn't let in much light at 300mm, so you have the shutter speed problem. Finally, all the 75-300 lenses have slow focussing motors so it's hard to focus in on a moving animal.

And yes, this sucks. Since a good lens for wildlife photography costs huge amounts of money. But that's how it goes. I'm not saying it's impossible to do wildlife photography with a 75-300 - just that it's going to be something of a frustrating experience, and your hit ratio is likely going to be disappointingly low.

Anyway. This is probably a negative-sounding post. But you've taken on a big challenge - wildlife photography is a difficult field. I'd say persevere, read up on basic photo techniques, learn how to use shutter (Tv) and aperture priority (Av) modes and abandon the icon modes, use fast film (ISO 800) to keep shutter speeds high as possible, keep using the tripod, and keep at it.

-- NK Guy (tela@tela.bc.ca), February 07, 2002.

This may help: http://www.birdsasart.com

Arthur Morris is one of the best at bird photography, and his books on the subject are highly recommended (should also be available on Amazon).

Check here for more book recommendations: http://bobatkins.com/photography/books/index.html

Don Baccus (ex photo.net moderator) shoots lots of birds and this may be of interest: http://donb.photo.net/

-- Kenneth Katz (socks@bestweb.net), February 08, 2002.

I have 3 EOS cameras and none of them have ever had the dials turned into the PIC modes. Those modes are useless for decent photography. Stop using them and if you use them only use them for snapshots.

Most serious photographers use manual or aperture priority modes. A few use shutter priority and fewer still will use the program mode on occasions. Since you are entering into a photo course of study later this month, you will certainly learn the basics and this will begin to make some sense to you.

Bird photography has become a passion with me in the last year or so. It cannot be done consistently well without first mastering a basic understanding of photography in general.

-- Lee (Leemarthakiri@sport.rr.com), February 10, 2002.