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First real field test with Nikon 105mm F/2.8D.

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GemmaJF View Drop Down
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    Posted: 07 Mar 2014 at 8:39am
Interesting!

This is why I still love this forum, different approaches and techniques.

For getting close-up I'm totally the opposite. There is no rush at all, in fact I can be in the same spot not even moving for an hour! 

Your sport mode technique is how I use Tv mode. But I will set ISO manually for light conditions. I use this as I approach the animal, not trying to get too close at first. As I approach I will get on the ground and start to crawl towards the animal! Even through the nettles and brambles. When I'm really close I switch to Av mode. Here I go for the smallest aperture opening I can for increased DOF, again manual ISO is pretty essential in anything but the brightest sun, else shutter speed can be too slow for a useable shot.

What one finds if you can get 'in the habitat' with the animals, sooner or later they figure out you are not there to eat them, I got some shots of a lizard yesterday in the garden, it was coming up to inspect the lens! The key thing is to be there when they are warming up in the morning. Their urge to get up to operating temperature will overcome their instinct to flee until they get use to you being there.

Hope the insight to my own methods is of some help. (It helped to remind me what I use to do if nothing else!)

Looking forward to the adder shots Smile


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Testudo Man Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Mar 2014 at 9:53pm
Originally posted by Tom Omlette Tom Omlette wrote:

@ tm - fair dooz if the scene modes work for you then you can't say fairer than that, and they are very good images. the first one is amazing for iso 1800!!!

when i jumped from pocket sized compact to dslr a pro photographer friend of mine gave me some advice - "you've spent a lot of money on a very sophisticated piece of equipment, learn how to use it or else you'll just have a very very expensive point and shoot camera!" i thought it was a bit ott at the time but know what he meant now and am glad i took it on board. 

but as you say, sometimes good to get a few shots in when you can, knowing they'll be ok then worry about getting everything exactly how you want it if you get the chance.

@ gemma apart from the herp a day thread haven't seen many pics from you for ages. looking forward to seeing many more this year.

tom


Thanks for your comments.
In Sports mode, ISO max's out at 1600. But in Manual mode ISO could be anywhere!
I dont set ISO for specific numbers, i have ISO on Auto. My reason for this is the light/weather changes constantly. One minute the sun is out, next minute its cloudy! so rather than mess around with too many settings(and by doing this, theres a good chance of missing the shot) i want my camera to shoot fast. As you know, you come across a snake in the wild, and as a rule, you dont have a lot of time before the snake slithers off fast(especially with my close up style) so i need to get in quick, capture some images, and move on.
I often forget about composition as well, i have to remind myself mid shoot, to think more about the composition of the image. Embarrassed

As ive said before, i'll be the 1st to admit that ive only "scratched the surface" of the capabilities of a DSLR...but im getting there Wink

Ive shot some very interesting adder images over these last couple of days(using this 105mm macro lens) so hope to start to process/edit them soon enough. They could just be, my best adder images to date!


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tom Omlette Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Mar 2014 at 10:08pm
@ tm - fair dooz if the scene modes work for you then you can't say fairer than that, and they are very good images. the first one is amazing for iso 1800!!!

when i jumped from pocket sized compact to dslr a pro photographer friend of mine gave me some advice - "you've spent a lot of money on a very sophisticated piece of equipment, learn how to use it or else you'll just have a very very expensive point and shoot camera!" i thought it was a bit ott at the time but know what he meant now and am glad i took it on board. 

but as you say, sometimes good to get a few shots in when you can, knowing they'll be ok then worry about getting everything exactly how you want it if you get the chance.

@ gemma apart from the herp a day thread haven't seen many pics from you for ages. looking forward to seeing many more this year.

tom
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Testudo Man Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Mar 2014 at 11:46am
Some other images shot on the 22/2/14.
All these pics have been cropped, just another experiment, to see how the pics cope with various size crops. Same lens used as 1st images. Cropping could have been anything up to 50% of originals. It would seem that this lens allows quite a large crop into the image, whilst maintaining a good result. However most of my re-sized images are small files(typically approx 600 x 450) for most of them. If i displayed these cropped images at their full cropped size, then they would probably lose quality.

This was shot in manual - 1/2000 F8 ISO 1800.




This was shot in Sports mode - 1/1600 F7.1 ISO 400.



This was also shot in Sports Mode - 1/1000 F4 ISO 800.





Edited by Testudo Man - 02 Mar 2014 at 11:49am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Testudo Man Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Mar 2014 at 11:30am
Originally posted by Tom Omlette Tom Omlette wrote:

yes you mentioned both things i just wasn't being alert!!!

definitely worth weening yourself off the modes and taking control of the camera yourself. it really does't take that much getting used to. a couple of years ago i knew next to nothing about photography now i would never trust the camera to set more appropriate settings than i could myself. 

in camera processing isn't as good as most post processing software either so shooting raw has advantages too. 

just my opinion and what works for me.

impressive shots though and looking forward to seeing more. 

tom


Sports mode for me, works well in most situations, for my chosen subjects. As you know with wild life, you come across it, then you have a small window in time to capture some decent shots, before the creature runs/flys/slithered off!!...So once i have shot several record/decent shots of a subject, i then put the camera into manual/aperture mode, and finish off shooting pics of the subject, using various settings. I agree with you, manual mode is better, get to know your camera and its optimum settings, and utilize what works best for you. Its definitely all about experimenting, until you find the right settings, for the right situations.

As I mentioned in Wills post, i know Raw files are superior to Jpeg files. In fact, I shot some side by side images late last year, of a female adder(using my Nikon D7000) to once again compare Raw against Jpeg. I just have to get around to spending some time, sorting through those images, post processing/editing them, and comparing the outcome.
Personally for me, since i have never printed any of my my images, shown any of them as full size files, Jpeg works for my current needs. If i should to choose to print images, or show large full size files, then i would spend that extra time it takes, and edit my images in Raw, because that would be the best option in that situation. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Testudo Man Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Mar 2014 at 11:08am
Originally posted by will will wrote:

@testudo man - I'm a JPEG guy too! (partly too much of a dinosaur also I have a thing about manipulating images aside from the odd crop...)  camera body was Nikon D3200 now for this season I sold my other kidney to pair the macro with Nikon D7100.  So the only reason for poor photos will be the camera operator...   


I did a test some years ago, shot both Raw an Jpeg images of a common lizard. I edited both types of files(as i normally would) resized down to my normal file sizes, that i upload on the Web/Net. Compared them side by side for images quality, and i struggled to choose which type of file/image was best.
Thats not to say that they are the same, i would agree that RAW files are superior, but it all depends what you choose to do with your final images.

Once again Will, you have almost travelled the same path as me with your Nikon bodies.
Your D7100 is not that far off of a FF D600, so you have a great camera there mateWink
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote GemmaJF Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Mar 2014 at 11:06am
Originally posted by Tom Omlette Tom Omlette wrote:

yes you mentioned both things i just wasn't being alert!!!

definitely worth weening yourself off the modes and taking control of the camera yourself. it really does't take that much getting used to. a couple of years ago i knew next to nothing about photography now i would never trust the camera to set more appropriate settings than i could myself. 

in camera processing isn't as good as most post processing software either so shooting raw has advantages too. 

just my opinion and what works for me.

impressive shots though and looking forward to seeing more. 

tom

It was starting out with macro photography that got me off the auto-settings and into using RAW, DOF again, darker pictures for increased DOF were easier to rescue in post processing when shot in RAW.

Got a bit lazy of late, use the macro more as a portrait lens and shoot 90% in JPEG - I might make an effort this year to get back into 'taking control' and exploring macro again.

I get a real buzz out of watching peoples photography exploits on the forum Smile

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote will Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Mar 2014 at 9:01am
Thanks Tim, appreciate your advice as always- it's probably laziness on my part to let the camera do the processing with JPEG rather than me doing it with RAW...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tom Omlette Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Feb 2014 at 9:28pm
@ will. if you shoot in jpeg there is still processing but the camera does it for you. i'd rather do it myself afterwards than trust the camera tbh. 

traditionally all digital images have been a little soft and absolutely require a bit of sharpening under all circumstances. however, your d7100 is one of the first to have to antialiasing filter removed from the sensor which has apparently improved sharpness straight out of the camera. a little sharpening may still be required though.

noise reduction is also more effective post rather than in camera and that can be important. 

tom
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tom Omlette Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Feb 2014 at 9:22pm
yes you mentioned both things i just wasn't being alert!!!

definitely worth weening yourself off the modes and taking control of the camera yourself. it really does't take that much getting used to. a couple of years ago i knew next to nothing about photography now i would never trust the camera to set more appropriate settings than i could myself. 

in camera processing isn't as good as most post processing software either so shooting raw has advantages too. 

just my opinion and what works for me.

impressive shots though and looking forward to seeing more. 

tom
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