White rumped shama

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

White rumped shama male with nesting material. Shot at Matheran, Maharashtra.
Camera Model Name Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
Shooting Mode Auto
Tv (Shutter Speed) 1/160
Av (Aperture Value) 5.7
ISO Speed 800
I have more images of this same bird if you want to see them. Light was too bad for higher shutter speeds, I tried Shutter Priority mode too. Please comment.

[Mrudul Godbole]

Hi Abhishek,

Thats nice action captured. Would have liked it better if it was perched on something more natural than the wires. There is some noise because of the high ISO 800. You could have possibly tried increasing the exposure by 2 stops and keeping the ISO around 400.
In the other photographs could you manage to get a better angle?

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

I have a few with the bird at ground level. I also have one with the bird in the nest hollow, however these have a bit more noise. I'm not very good at guessing which ISO to use when, could you give me some tips, including which ISOs usually tend to create more noise etc? Also, in bad light, how do you know whether to increase exposure by Tv & Av or by ISO?

[AB Apana]

Abhishek, this is a nice record shot. However, the bird is small in the frame and the BG is cluttered.

In general try not to cross ISO 400. And shoot on Av, opening aperture for increased shutter speed.

Apana

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Thanks so much everyone. And thanks AB for the tips. I've already started clicking photos with ISO generally below 200. However, I have also started extensively using Tv mode nowadays, after understanding some of my mistakes from the Matheran trip. Is it better to use Av mode like you say?

[AB Apana]

For wildlife it's Av. A bigger aperture (smaller f stop) throws the BG OOF. A smaller aperture (bigger f number) creates more DOF and may bring the BG into focus.

Apana

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Thanks AB. Will try this out as soon as I can.