Pictures with new 75-300mm lens

[EpcotKilterFan]

Well a few months ago I purchased the Rebel XTI. Played around with it and decided that I definately needed a bit on length! So I purchased the Canon 75-300 mm f/4-5.6 III USM lens.

I took around 50 shots with it this past weekend and ended up with 3 that I liked Still have ALOT to learn about this camera as well as the lenses. But I keep shooting.

Here they are:

Mr. Cardinal

Mr. Goldfinch

Mr. Hawk

Debbie

 

[Furgus]

Some nice pictures, but can I offer one piece of advice? I noticed in the EXIF data that most of these were at 300mm and yet your shutter speed was well below that. Now I do not know if these are handheld or on a tripod, but one rule of thumb is, make sure your shutter speed is around the same number as your focal length. ie, 300mm=1/250-1/300.
Give that a try and see if they come out a little bit sharper.

Good start though, all the birds on my feeder get scared when they see my lens coming at them

 

[EpcotKilterFan]

Some nice pictures, but can I offer one piece of advice? I noticed in the EXIF data that most of these were at 300mm and yet your shutter speed was well below that. Now I do not know if these are handheld or on a tripod, but one rule of thumb is, make sure your shutter speed is around the same number as your focal length. ie, 300mm=1/250-1/300.
Give that a try and see if they come out a little bit sharper.

Good start though, all the birds on my feeder get scared when they see my lens coming at them

Thanks! I will try that. The learning curve is great And I was using some settings in a book

Debbie

 

[ktulu]

Nice first pics!

I always use a tripod with my 75-300mm, but I'm planning on getting the 70-300mm IS this summer, unless my wife wants to get me some L

I need to get out and shoot with mine more, but I'm having fun with my 28-135mm IS

 

[mabas9395]

I'm definitely no expert but maybe these comments will point you in the right direction.

Photo #1 & #2 - You shot both of these at very low shutter speeds (as was mentioned above) but you also shot them at a very low ISO, only 100. The 1 over focal length rule you've heard is good. The way to get there in this case is to boost up your ISO some. You can shoot at 400 when needed no problem. If you go to 800 or 1600 ISO, you may notice some graininess to your photos (called noise).

Photo #3 - Your shutter speed is above the 1/focal length, which is good. But it is probably higher than you need for a stationary subject at 1/1,000 (I don't know obviously, he could have been bouncing around a lot so maybe it was needed). And you got that higher shutter speed by changing the ISO to 1600, which may have been higher than you needed. The aperture was also set to 11.0, ,which is probably going to give you better quality at 300mm than 5.6 would, but again it forced you to use the higher ISO, which for me is the last resort.

If I were shooting these scenes, I probably would have gone with ISO 800 and 1/400 on the first and ISO 400 and 1/500 on the second. In my opinion, a shot with too much grain is better than too much motion blurr because grain can be touched up, blurr not as much. On the last I would have gone with ISO 400, 1/500 shutter and f/8.0 aperture. But you got to check your histogram regularly and adjust from there.

The first step with a dSLR is knowing how shutter speed, aperture and ISO all work together. Then you got to understand the limits of each of the three. Lastly (and most importantly) you got to get out and practice to SEE them all in action and get a feel for what works best in which conditions and learn when do you sacrifice one for the other.

But your photos look great for just getting the lens. I wish I had something that long. Keep posting your pictures.

 

[Tuffcookie]

Debbie,

I am thinking about getting that same camera! Can I ask where you purchased yours from? I told myself when I got the Canon S-2 a year ago that I would use it for 2 years. Now seeing everyone's photos over here I'm getting camera envy!!! I have 2 trips planned for this year and my grandkids first trip in Nov. I will be breaking down and getting the Rebel in the near future!

I'm sure I won't be happy with the 55mm lens that intially comes with the Rebel and will upgrade to the lens you are trying out.

I know you will be using your new "toy" on your upcoming cruise. You are smart to get it now and have lots of time to practice!

TC

 

[deletedpenguin]

I'm sure I won't be happy with the 55mm lens that intially comes with the Rebel and will upgrade to the lens you are trying out.

TC

Once you've got a feel for the camera, hit me up if you're interested in the same lens they're using. I'm selling my 75-300. Not looking to really make money off it, but would rather like to see someone get the same use I got out of it and recoup some of my cost. It's in good shape.

Also, check out:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php

There's always people selling their Digital Rebels etc. here. If you're learning, it's a good place to get lightly used equipment for cheaper than retail prices. I've bought quite a bit off of people on the forum, including a new camera bag just yesterday.

 

[Tuffcookie]

dp,

Thanks for the info!

TC

 

[EpcotKilterFan]

I'm definitely no expert but maybe these comments will point you in the right direction.


But your photos look great for just getting the lens. I wish I had something that long. Keep posting your pictures.

Thank you for the tips! I was shooting on a very overcast day (normal Ohio weather) in the shade, so I thought the ISO should be lower. But what you said makes sense. The hawk picture literally was taken from inside the car as I pulled over when I saw him I will take those notes and try again!

Debbie,

I am thinking about getting that same camera! Can I ask where you purchased yours from? I told myself when I got the Canon S-2 a year ago that I would use it for 2 years. Now seeing everyone's photos over here I'm getting camera envy!!! I have 2 trips planned for this year and my grandkids first trip in Nov. I will be breaking down and getting the Rebel in the near future!

I'm sure I won't be happy with the 55mm lens that intially comes with the Rebel and will upgrade to the lens you are trying out.

I know you will be using your new "toy" on your upcoming cruise. You are smart to get it now and have lots of time to practice!

TC

Hey TC... I bought mine online at B&H photo. It was a good price. I would also keep an eye on Cord Camera (closest one to you is in Macedonia, near Towncriers house). Last week they had a great deal on that camera!

Yes I am practicing before my cruise. We may have to meet during the summer so I can show off the pictures from the cruise.


Oh and these were all taken handheld with bracing on a fence. Picture taking was kind of spur of the moment thing that day So the tripod was not in the car LOL hopefully this weekend will be better and I will head on out again

Debbie

 

[jann1033]

Thank you for the tips! I was shooting on a very overcast day (normal Ohio weather) in the shade, so I thought the ISO should be lower. But what you said makes sense. The hawk picture literally was taken from inside the car as I pulled over when I saw him I will take those notes and try ...

just thinking of that this morning when i ran outside to during the 5 min break in the clouds to try to get a hawk in my backyard( perhaps watching my bird feeders?) but missed him...and the sunny sky

 

[Magix]

My 75-300mm is virtually the only lens I use with my 10D. Started using it with a Rebel G 35mm camera years ago. Still going strong. I don't own a tripod. Not really necessary, in my opinion. No IS on mine, either. But, my subjects tend to be moving (sometimes extremely quickly). Perhaps I'm too new-fangled, but I like to let the camera handle all the settings and I just point the lens and make sure I get the shot framed just so. Everything else can be fixed in ACDSee Pro (or any other editing program). I always shoot at 100 ISO (except in very dark weather) as well, for the best quality.

Have fun with your lens! I'm certain you'll get some great shots with it - I surely have with mine.

 

[gruZ]

When using the 1/focal length guideline for shutter speed, make sure you take into account the crop (or zoom) factor of your camera. The Rebel series uses a 1.6x crop factor. So at 300mm zoom, you actually need 1.6 x 300 = 480, or 1/480 or fashter shutter speed to avoid camera shake when handholding.