shooting settings

[Rahul Bera]

I find it difficult to shoot birds at dusk, the reason being if I keep the shutter open for a longer time then the little details get blurred , on the other hand keeping the shutter open for a smaller time results in poor light...can anyone suggest a way to solve this problem...which setting in terms of shutter speed and ISO would be the ideal for shooting when the sun is down??

[Jonners]

Hi Rahul and welcome to WAB
I reckon that as the light deteriorates, you will generally have to sacrifice something from your ideal setup, unless you are able to use some kind of artificial lighting. You could increase the ISO, and whilst this might allow you to use a higher shutter speed, the quality of the photo will become grainier as the ISO increases. Or you could use available light and lose the detail of the birds, but maybe have a silhouette instead. I guess it depends what you're trying to photograph. If a bird is very still, you could tripod mount your camera to allow for a slower shutter speed, but as you point out, any movement by the bird will result in blur. I did try taking some photos of seagulls in the setting sunlight like that last Winter, hoping to get some blurred flying images against a coloured sky, but I wasn't overly impressed with my results. Might try it again though

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by Rahul Bera

I find it difficult to shoot birds at dusk

We all do!

I don't even bother - an image taken in dull lighting will usually turn out to be a dull image!

For birds, you need a long lens. For poor lighting conditions, you need a fast lens. For the combination, you need a big bank balance!

Jim

[Rahul Bera]

Thank you Jonners and Jim for your suggestions...currently I'm using a 300mm lens....maybe I'll graduate to a 500mm one in another year or so, I hope to get better results with that one...the NikonD3000 I'm using currently doesn't produce good result with an ISO setting of 400 or more...does this vary from one model to other? I mean are the better models capable pf compensating this grain that creeps in with a higher ISO setting or is it something which can't be negotiated?

[Jim Ford]

Regarding the D3000, dpreview found there's:

"Very little control over high ISO noise reduction"

So maybe you need to suppress the noise in PP.

The full review of the camera is here:

Nikon D3000 Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review

Jim

[momji1971]

Unfortunately you get what you pay for. Yes, as you go up the ladder with Nikon they get more impressive at dealing with noise. A D3s is about as good as it currently gets. Kinda shooting in near darkness springs to mind but at £3500+

reards.
Stu.

[wizzo]

The Nikon D700 will do just as good a job in lowlight, but at half the price! Happy days eh?

[momji1971]

Hi Wizzo. D700 is a great image maker but the D3s is a stop better and AF is better too. If your not sure about that claim, hire one, i did and then went back to using my D300. I can't afford the 600mm VR + tele you need to go full frame. It's an amazing camera! shame about the price

regards.
Stu.

[Rahul Bera]

Hi momji!...If I want to hire a D3s for say a week or so how much would that cost me?? Is it compatible with sigma lenses?

[SteveHL]

You might want to try using a flash with the extender to lighten the subject and give you a decent shutter speed.
Regards