A 68 help

[Ed at Ridersite]

The wattle bird looks good - nice and sharp. I'm guessing the 1/640 shutter helped. I usually shoot manual with my 70-400mm - 1/400, f8, auto ISO between 100 and 3200 and auto WB. Aperture setting depends on the lens. I sometimes use f5.6 or f4. If I can brace against a tree or other stable object, I'll use 1/250 shutter to get lower ISO. 1/160 seems a little low to me - even if you are pretty rock solid holding the camera.

For exposure on the wattle bird, it would have helped to up the EV (button behind the shutter button) to +1 or so.

Wildlife is a challenge because you often need to change setting on the fly to get the best photo. You can also use presets. There are three registers available on the mode dial (top left on camera). You can enter any settings you want, use the menu to register and then quickly access them using the mode dial. I have one set for flying birds against a clear background (sky for instance) - 1/1600, f5.6, EV +1.5, wide AF, 8 FPS, SSS off, auto ISO, auto WB ...

You are off to a good start with the A-68. It's a great camera. It just takes time to learn how to use.

 

[Oswald74]

Which "Creative Style" are you using? (Standard, Vivid, Neutral, etc.)

Make sure you are NOT using Vivid!

The A68 has a bug in this style.

Looks like sharpness on "0" is in reality "-3".

MfG L.E.

 

[FrancoD]

The next step for me will be setting a couple of custom functions . given that the only challenging shots I like to take are birds , it will be birds in flight and birds on ground.

My main concern so far with the A68 was to get the lenses to work with it.

 

[FrancoD]

Which "Creative Style" are you using? (Standard, Vivid, Neutral, etc.)

Make sure you are NOT using Vivid!

it's on std, I don't plan to fiddle with that. I never did before with other cameras.

The A68 has a bug in this style.

Looks like sharpness on "0" is in reality "-3".

For sharpness , do you mean the focus point ?

if so, yes I set it to -3. That was the problem I had at the start with not having anything in sharp focus.

MfG L.E.

 

[Lensmate]

I went to take some shots of Bert (the kestrel) to see how it compared with the A37 shots.

I want to see more shots of Bert...love those birds.


Kenny the Kestrel

-Martin P

Martin Passchier

Explore Martin Passchier’s 973 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

 

[FrancoD]

this is Bert, taken with the A37







his (her ?) hunting area is next to the bike path I use. I see people going by but they don't see the bird.

Takes off every couple of minutes to hunt. If he catches something small ,that will be eaten on the spot. Larger bits he takes back to one of the fence poles. I now can get to about 6 metres from him when there is nobody else around. his mate hunts about 100m away.

This is his mate :



Slightly smaller . Note that Bert has a yellow 'ball" on the lower left of the beak. That is how I can tell them apart but they don't swap hunting grounds.

Bert always sits in the middle of the pole, the mate often sits on the side like above.

 

[dkeller]

Very nice set. Great to see you have it figured out. Keep those great photos coming.

 

[Lensmate]

this is Bert, taken with the A37

his (her ?) hunting area is next to the bike path I use. I see people going by but they don't see the bird.

Takes off every couple of minutes to hunt. If he catches something small ,that will be eaten on the spot. Larger bits he takes back to one of the fence poles. I now can get to about 6 metres from him when there is nobody else around. his mate hunts about 100m away.

This is his mate :

Slightly smaller . Note that Bert has a yellow 'ball" on the lower left of the beak. That is how I can tell them apart but they don't swap hunting grounds.

Bert always sits in the middle of the pole, the mate often sits on the side like above.

Nice series...you probably want to get them sharper around the eyes They look soft or unfocused.

Keep them coming!

-Martin P

Martin Passchier

Explore Martin Passchier’s 973 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

 

[FrancoD]

this is Bert, taken with the A37

his (her ?) hunting area is next to the bike path I use. I see people going by but they don't see the bird.

Takes off every couple of minutes to hunt. If he catches something small ,that will be eaten on the spot. Larger bits he takes back to one of the fence poles. I now can get to about 6 metres from him when there is nobody else around. his mate hunts about 100m away.

This is his mate :

Slightly smaller . Note that Bert has a yellow 'ball" on the lower left of the beak. That is how I can tell them apart but they don't swap hunting grounds.

Bert always sits in the middle of the pole, the mate often sits on the side like above.

Nice series...you probably want to get them sharper around the eyes They look soft or unfocused.

Keep them coming!

-Martin P

https://www.flickr.com/photos/photosauraus_rex/

it's an amateur lens but good enough for me .

Originally I bought it just to record the various birds visiting my country property (I'm mo longer there) . I recorded more than 50 types.

 

[dkeller]

Sometimes, if you take multiple shots, some will come out sharper than others due to small changes of focus point. If only the eye is soft, Photoshop Element has a "spot sharpening" tool that will really help touch it up for printing. Your tern looks pretty good. Another great trick to sharpness in photographs is--JUST SHOW THE SHARP ONES. LOL

 

[Ed at Ridersite]

this is Bert, taken with the A37

his (her ?) hunting area is next to the bike path I use. I see people going by but they don't see the bird.

Takes off every couple of minutes to hunt. If he catches something small ,that will be eaten on the spot. Larger bits he takes back to one of the fence poles. I now can get to about 6 metres from him when there is nobody else around. his mate hunts about 100m away.

This is his mate :

Slightly smaller . Note that Bert has a yellow 'ball" on the lower left of the beak. That is how I can tell them apart but they don't swap hunting grounds.

Bert always sits in the middle of the pole, the mate often sits on the side like above.

Nice series...you probably want to get them sharper around the eyes They look soft or unfocused.

Keep them coming!

-Martin P

https://www.flickr.com/photos/photosauraus_rex/

it's an amateur lens but good enough for me .

Originally I bought it just to record the various birds visiting my country property (I'm mo longer there) . I recorded more than 50 types.

It's not the lens. Focus on the eye of the subject. It's a rare instance when eye focus isn't best when shooting wildlife. If eye focus isn't convenient, pick a place that is in the same plane as the eye.

 

[FrancoD]

Sometimes, if you take multiple shots, some will come out sharper than others due to small changes of focus point. If only the eye is soft, Photoshop Element has a "spot sharpening" tool that will really help touch it up for printing. Your tern looks pretty good. Another great trick to sharpness in photographs is--JUST SHOW THE SHARP ONES. LOL

Occasionally I do get it right but I still post some of the others if it has to do with identifying a bird or illustrating a point, given that I don't pass myself as a "photographer"