Auto promura 300mm ...Galahs

[mo]

This is my first go at capturing birds in flight,I had a normal tripod but had it's legs together and swiveled as I took the shots.it was overcast early evening.I set it at infinity and hoped for the best...not bad I think??I wish I was better at this as I know they are out of focus and not crisp.Always room for improvement.





This is in the middle of a cricket pitch where they were feeding on some grass.shame you can not hear the noise they make when gathered in large flocks!

[Attila]

Very grainy, looks made with a toy camera. Which film did you use ? Scanner ?

[mo]

I am using the Kodak gold 400(bought cheap so using as my test film) so I know I have to get some iso100 but very hard to come by where I am.
I use the shop to scan negs to disc then to computer.I recently had my old pre 2000 negatives scanned which are iso 100 and the difference is noticeable in the grain.

[Attila]

Yes, unfortunately this is not the way what you have to go.

If you need speedy film, try to get expired , but cold stored Fuji 400 pro. Cheap too and difference is huge, huge.

[mo]

Thanks Attila,I have 4 rolls left of the kodak so I will be looking for the fuji.

[Excalibur]

***not bad I think??I wish I was better at this as I know they are out of focus and not crisp.Always room for improvement.Smile***



Well you were optimistic on an overcast early evening, using a 300mm lens for a moving target.

[mo]

[marty]

On the screen they look not that bad as overall effect. Shooting with such long focal can be tricky for several reasons, 1st of all the weight and bulk. Then should be taken in account that very careful focusing is needed since with long focals the DOF is very shallow. I'd also use a cable release to minimize the shake, or if not available the self timer (of course if using a tripod, would be pointless otherwise). If you chose a 100 ASA film (or less) the tripod will be almost mandatory at every time. At 400 (or more) in full daylight is sometimes possible to go hand held and get satisfactory results.
The key is the fastest possible shutter speed. As for the grain matter is to be seen primarily what is the final target, that is if you are going to have the pictures printed or just scanned or whatever. On a traditional RA-4 print the grain of a properly exposed Gold 400 should be of no concern. Working on a scan could pose some problem. As Attila pointed out a professional film is usually less grainy (provided it's fresh or if not properly stored at least).

Cheers, Marty.

[mo]

Marty I really appreciate your thoughts on how to improve my techniques and your explanations.
Thanks

How do you focus on a flying bird....do you do as I did and just set it at infinity and hope for the best or is there another way to do it? I suppose a greater lens range (and better lens) would have helped as I think I was right at the Promura's limit.

[Excalibur]

[mo]

I suppose you could with a lot of patience as these birds are like little nutters...very unpredictable....and tend to take off unexpectedly.I do have a few other lens in the 70-230 range(Vivitar , soligor) but I thought the longer lens the better for birds?

[Attila]

No birding below 300mm , most of the time need long as you have.

[hasan]

Hmm, looking at the shots, which I like actually, I'd guess they were just scanned with poor settings?

Or is the film the real problem here?

[Attila]

[marty]

[mo]