Black-shouldered Kite

[Prashant Jois]

Hi All,

This is my first posting on Indiawilds. Hope you guys would like it. Please feel free to pass on your C&C

Body - Canon 7D
Lend - 100-400

Focal length - 400
ISO - 100
Shutter speed - 1/320s
Aperture value 13 in aperture priority
Metering - Center-Weighted

[Bhargava Srivari]

Prashant,

Welcome to Indiawilds! Nice image.

I am fine with the composition. However, the image doesn't come about as real sharp, if you know what I mean. I have always had a feelong that the 100-400 len is sharp only upto f11 and at further narrower apertures, the IQ isn't great. In fact, in this scene, I guess an aperture around f8 or f10 would have sufficed. I wish there was headturn in the opposite direction so that more light would have fallen in the eye giving you a fabulous eye contact. Nothing that you could have about it though, except may be try moving a bit to the left/right after getting a few shots, so that you may have had better lighting in the eye.

tfs and look forward to your active participation in the forum.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

With all the diffraction limited talks, any loss in sharpness can only be seen in very large prints or on dedicated tests. It should not show up in small sizes.

The shutter speed here is 1/320. The normal rule of thumb says that the shutter speed should be 1/focal length. Though one can get sharp shots due to IS and better handholding techniques. It is better to sacrifice some depth of field in favour of shutter speed. A higher shutter speed is likely to result in better sharpness.

You were clicking at ISO 100. These days I use ISO 100 only in very specific cases, as the noise in higher ISOs are acceptable. ISO 100 and 200 are barely distinguishable. So you can easily use ISO 200 in your 7D. Increasing the ISO to 200 would have immediately doubled up your shutter speed. That would have also helped in freezing the leavings and giving an overall perception of sharpness.

Is this a cropped image?

At the moment, the bird is at the centre of the image. Central composition often makes the image static. To start with one can explore the rule of thirds as a compositional guideline.

Opening up the shadows a bit will also strengthen the image. Look forward to more images of this beautiful bird with red eye.

You may check this article on achieving sharp images: Indiawilds: Land of the Tiger. Conservation, Wildlife Photography, Communities (http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=268)

For exposure you may check this article:
Indiawilds: Land of the Tiger. Conservation, Wildlife Photography, Communities (http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2006)

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Dr. Kalpamoi Kakati]

Welcome.
Nice perch & composition.Eye contact is fine.I don't think one need to go for such a narrow aperture in this kind of image.F/8 or 9 would have given a faster shutter speed & more sharpness to the image. TFS

[Mrudul Godbole]

Hello Prashant,

Welcome to IndiaWilds..!!

Nice first post. The red eye looks nice. Is this a crop, as there seems to be some loss of details. Agree a higher ISO like 200 or 400 can be comfortably used in 7D. I have been using 100-400 for last 3 years at various apertures and have not found any change in the sharpness, but that is my personal view :-). Thanks for sharing.

P.S - I think there is a dust spot on the left edge near the bottom.

[Prashant Jois]

Thanks you all for your valuable comments and suggestions. I learnt a lot for them. Surely, I will keep this in mind going forward.

This is a heavy crop image and hence the loss of details.