Timiskaming Birds Forum

Here's another tip for getting sharp bird pictures for all you aspiring bird photographers.  Do not let your camera choose the ISO setting. If your camera has a "Full Auto" mode, and you use that setting, then the camera makes all of the technical choices for you: shutter speed, aperture and ISO. The name of the mode may vary from camera to camera, but whatever it's called, it's the "Point-and-Shoot" mode - set it there and you don't have to think about anything except finding the subject in the frame.  The problem with this mode is that most cameras (except the pro cameras, of course) set the ISO far too high for sharp, noise-free detail, especially if you're using a telephoto lens, and even in good light.  But as your ISO setting gets higher, your images get noisier, destroying fine detail in the process.  Your cameras do this because the camera manufacturers assume that you are a "typical" photographer, taking pictures of your kid's 8th birthday party, and don't really care too much about all the fine detail, as long as your kid's face is in focus.  They assume you'll only be using your images "full-frame" rather than cropping, and that you'll never want a print bigger than 4"x6", that is, if you ever print the photos at all.  In short, they assume you're NOT a bird photographer.

Now, the main reason your camera wants to set the ISO higher is to give you a fast shutter speed. Shutter speed is important, especially if you are shooting with a telephoto lens (which you will be if you're trying to shoot birds), and even more especially if you are shooting hand held (ie. without a tripod or other camera support). The typical Rule-of-Thumb is that you should use 1/(focal length) as your minimum shutter speed when shooting hand-held. Focal length here should be read as "focal length in 35mm film equivalent". So, if you are shooting with the equivalent of a 400mm telephoto lens, then your shutter speed should be at least as fast as 1/400 of a second in order to stop any camera movement when shooting hand held.  In many lighting conditions, you will need to raise your ISO setting to acheive that shutter speed, even with your aperture wide open (ie. at its smallest number setting).

Now, those of you with image stabilisation in your camera or lens can get away with a bit better than that. You could probably get away with using the formual 1 / ((focal length)/4) as your "Rule-of-Thumb", and still get reasonable results. So, if you are shooting with the equivalent of a 400mm telephoto lens, then your shutter speed should be at least as fast as 1/100 of a second, but that's pushing it with a 400mm equivalent lens, even with image stabilisation. However, that would let you shoot with a lower ISO setting.

Your best bet, though, is to forget about hand-held shooting and always shoot from a tripod or other sturdy, rigid camera support that does not permit your camera to move at all. Then you don't need a rule-of-thumb. You can shoot with as slow a shutter speed as you like.  The only limiting factor now will be using a shutter speed fast enough to stop the motion of the subject, because camera vibration will no longer be a factor. That means you can probably shoot most subjects at "base ISO", which is the lowest ISO setting your camera is capable of. That will give you sharper images with less noise.

Of course, you can only take advantage of this if you take your camera out of Auto mode and start making some of the technical decisions for yourself. As a first step, try putting your camera in "Programmed Auto" mode (the "P" setting on most camera makes). On this setting, your camera will still set both the shutter speed and aperture automatically, but will only use the preset ISO setting that you have set manually. Now, go and manually set your ISO to your camera's base ISO (usually about 80 or 100), and leave it there.  If you shoot in P mode now, you will always be shooting at the setting that allows your camera to capture images with the minimum amount of sensor noise.

However, now it becomes even MORE important to always shoot from a tripod mounted camera.  You will always get the sharpest images when shooting from a tripod at base ISO. If you are in dim light with a quickly moving subject, you will still have to raise your ISO setting to get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the subject - but now YOU are the one making the decision to do that, and not your camera, and in full realization of the trade-offs of doing so.

 I shoot primarily wth a dslr so it's a little different then the point and shoots. I have a monopod and a tripod with a gimbal head but still shoot a lot of shots handheld.

Here's what i do, in decent light

 - always in aperture priority, with the aperture wide open f/4 or lower(may point and shoots support this mode)

- iso set anywhere from 200 - 1000 - the new cameras have remarkable noise performance plus in software(like lightroom) a lot of the noise can be controlled

This will often give me shutter speeds of 1/1000 to 1/2500s which is more then fast enough for hand held operation

my two cent

 Regards

Markus

Most of the "point and shoot cameras" - meaning cameras without a flip up mirror and pentaprism - do not have a true moving shutter that is controlling "shutter speed". The shutter is an "electronic shutter", and this type of shutter control technology usually cannot achieve speeds faster than 1/1000s. This, combined with the generally terrible noise performance at higher ISO settings with these smaller sensor cameras means that the techniques described above are essential for these types of cameras. As you say, though, many of the newer dSLR cameras do not require use of these techniques.  Nevertheless, even with these dSLR cameras, these are good techniques to know and have in your arsenal, and are still required in anything less than ideal light conditions.  I contend that regular use of them will still improve the quality of your photos and the number of "keepers", even with a good dSLR.  Keep in mind, too, that we often can't get close enough to fill the frame, and often need to crop heavily with bird photos. All of these problems, including noise issues and camera shake, are exaggerated when you start looking at small portions of the captured image, and this is just as true for good dSLR cameras.

I often have a concern re: depth of field. If you are reasonably close to a bird with a "big lens" your depth of fleld may be enough of a concern that you'd like to get an extra f-stop or two - another reason to use a little higher ISO at times. And while birds and other wildlife sometimes pose perfectly they do tend to be moving and sometimes the branches on which they are perched may be ever so slightly swaying so for me I often like to have a shutter speed that is on the higher end and I am willing to use an ISO of 400 or even 800. One thing that makes all of these even possible is the capability of modern technology. These high end sensors blow every thing I grew up with out of the water in terms of resolution, "range" and colour. I remember when the only decent film was either "ASA" 25 or 64. Kodachromes were "red" and ektachromes were blue and if you dared try ektachrome 400 for a little speed (NO image stabilizing technology) you had to accept bad grain AND horrible colour rendition. These new high end dslr cameras and lenses are spectacular by comparison!

I heartily agree. I grew up using Kodachrome 64 as my film of choice. By the time Fuji Velvia was becoming a dominant choice amongst nature photographers, my photographic exploits had become few and far between. Today's newer sensors, much as we like to quibble about their fine points, largely make our old film constraints seem downright crippling in comparison.  I've recently pre-ordered a new camera that has been announced but won't be available in Canada until late November. It's specs would have read like total science fiction just a few years ago. Still, I developed techniques in the old film days that I won't easily abandon - they still have their place. After all, a camera is still fundamentally just a light tight box with a light sensitive recording medium and some glass in front. Many of the old basics still apply.

Kodachrome 64 was also my slide film of choice. In high school when I did a great deal of photography for fun I was using ilford and agfa black and white film in bulk and spending all my time in the darkroom. Even slide film was expensive then - and no option to shoot 100 and delete 95!! That has to be the single greatest improvement - being able to review your shots to see if you "got a good one" before waiting nervously for the slides to be returned a week or two after you take the photo. I was really "out of active photography" for many years - including the velvia years. In fact until very recently I had been opting for high end point and shoot (primarily because I wanted compactness when I traveled). Now I have done the opposite - I just wasn't happy with resolution over the zoom ranges of those cameras so went for a dslr and a great deal of high end glass up front - weighs a ton but the quality is fabulous.