DSLR Shots and Discussions

Huck · 04-02-2013, 08:25 AM

I have to agree, the American black duck is a great shot, I love how you can see every detail in his feathers. What speed were you shooting at?

Sent from my iPizzle using magic and new-fangled science stuff

NickTurnon · 04-02-2013, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huck

And let me ask you guys a question. During night shots, if I'm looking through the viewfinder, the camera has no problem focusing. But after it focuses it won't shoot, and it blinks the flash symbol at me. Then without moving or anything, I'll switch to live view and it has a lot of trouble focusing. Once I get it focused (or almost, as you can see in the first pic above) it will take the pic no problems, no flash. What I resorted to doing was looking through the viewfinder, focusing, then turning off the auto focus and switching to live view to take the pics. It was kind of a pain. What am I doing wrong? For reference, I'm shooting with a D5100, stock lens, and the settings were 100 ISO, 5.6 aperture, shutter speeds between 15 and 25 seconds depending on the shot, and an auto white balance. Suggestions?

This happens to me all the time!

Cmike2780 · 04-02-2013, 11:02 AM

You guys should also look at the focusing modes. The D5100 has three servo modes.

AF-A (automatic)
AF-S (single)
AF-C (continuous) for action shots

You then also have the AF area modes:
-Auto
-Single point
-Dynamic
-3D

I'm not 100% sure but the Live View has a few different focus settings on it's own like facial recognition that may mess with what you're doing. If you're not able to fire the shutter, it might still be searching for a focus point.

cgust · 04-02-2013, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huck

I have to agree, the American black duck is a great shot, I love how you can see every detail in his feathers. What speed were you shooting at?

Thanks for the kind words! This was shot with my D300 and a Nikon 300mm f2.8 VRI plus a 1.4x teleconverter. ISO400 ~ f5.6 ~ 1/4000 ~ EV-0.67

RandyD · 04-02-2013, 09:05 PM

a couple from my road trip

blackcherry20 · 04-02-2013, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cgust

Spring is finally arriving to Minnesota! And with it comes the waterfowl. Now that I'm done with school it will be a challenge to get the time to scout and take photos but here are some from the past two springs. Thanks for looking!

Common Merganser (female)

Greater Scaup

Blue-winged Teal skimming water

American Black Duck

Green-winged Teal

Amazing! Thx for sharing

6spd · 04-02-2013, 10:01 PM

RandyD, the white balance of your shots is great! That dish is f'ing awesome too!

HKYStormFront · 04-02-2013, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6spd

RandyD, the white balance of your shots is great! That dish is f'ing awesome too!

this^

onzedge · 04-03-2013, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6spd

RandyD, the white balance of your shots is great! That dish is f'ing awesome too!

Quote:

Originally Posted by HKYStormFront

this^

Titan1080 · 04-04-2013, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huck

And let me ask you guys a question. During night shots, if I'm looking through the viewfinder, the camera has no problem focusing. But after it focuses it won't shoot, and it blinks the flash symbol at me. Then without moving or anything, I'll switch to live view and it has a lot of trouble focusing. Once I get it focused (or almost, as you can see in the first pic above) it will take the pic no problems, no flash. What I resorted to doing was looking through the viewfinder, focusing, then turning off the auto focus and switching to live view to take the pics. It was kind of a pain. What am I doing wrong? For reference, I'm shooting with a D5100, stock lens, and the settings were 100 ISO, 5.6 aperture, shutter speeds between 15 and 25 seconds depending on the shot, and an auto white balance. Suggestions?

Can't really add to what was already posted in reply, but from an astrophotography perspective, night shots can be tricky, especially in metropolitan areas. I had all sorts of trouble trying to get a good shot of Comet Pan-Starrs a couple weeks ago from my deck and truely dark skies are a long drive away from me. Definitely pick up a remote trigger if you don't already have one and use the bulb setting for exposure length.

I used this shot to establish where the comet was since it was still fairly light out and the thing was already low in the sky, it's roughly centered above the trees: 28mm lens f/4.5 ISO 800 4-ish seconds.

( Click to show/hide )

Once I knew where it was, I switched to my 70-300mm and zoomed in: ISO 800, f/5.6, 2 seconds. I would have liked to have gone longer but at that level of zoom I would need a tracking mount....someday!

( Click to show/hide )

This one is a good illustration for getting out to the sticks. Car is a little out of focus but I was mainly wanting the stars in focus and the aperture setting I wanted couldn't get both. I was in a fairly dark rural area outside town and the nearby city lights still ruined the sky on exposures as short as 7 seconds like this one. I used an amber filter on my speed light and fired it manually a couple times to light up the car and foreground, the rest is light pollution. Also, I didn't see the powerlines at all until after I parked and my eyes adapted, definitely invest in a red flashlight so you can somewhat see in the dark without ruining your night vision: 28mm lens, ISO400, f/2.8, 7.5 seconds

( Click to show/hide )

onzedge · 04-04-2013, 10:51 PM

^^^ Nice work, Mr. Titan.

Titan1080 · 04-04-2013, 11:04 PM

Thanks! I'm wishing Nikon made a competitor to the EOS 60Da, too much $$$ into Nikon now to defect...

MJB · 04-07-2013, 12:42 AM

MJB · 04-07-2013, 12:52 AM

onzedge · 04-07-2013, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJB

Nice work.

04-02-2013, 08:25 AM	#1681 (permalink)
Huck A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Cocoa, Florida Age: 42 Posts: 5,075 Drives: Pantydropper machine Rep Power: 33	I have to agree, the American black duck is a great shot, I love how you can see every detail in his feathers. What speed were you shooting at? Sent from my iPizzle using magic and new-fangled science stuff __________________ VLEDS \| Evo-R \| Moddiction \| CF Hood Struts \| F.I. CF CBE & LTH \| Stillen CAI \| NST Pulleys \| UpRev \| Z1 \| M7 \| Status \| Forgestar \| PSS \| Whiteline \| SPL \| SPC \| Kenwood \| Zenclosure \| Kicker \| Alpine Type R

04-02-2013, 11:02 AM	#1683 (permalink)
Cmike2780 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Long Island Posts: 5,059 Drives: slowwww Rep Power: 29	You guys should also look at the focusing modes. The D5100 has three servo modes. AF-A (automatic) AF-S (single) AF-C (continuous) for action shots You then also have the AF area modes: -Auto -Single point -Dynamic -3D I'm not 100% sure but the Live View has a few different focus settings on it's own like facial recognition that may mess with what you're doing. If you're not able to fire the shutter, it might still be searching for a focus point. __________________ [09][MB][6-Spd MT][Touring][Stillen Gen III][K&N][Borla CBE][Evo-R] [ArchitTEK Photography]

04-02-2013, 10:01 PM	#1687 (permalink)
6spd A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: South Florida Posts: 3,001 Drives: Q50RS Rep Power: 25	RandyD, the white balance of your shots is great! That dish is f'ing awesome too! __________________ -Jay- jonathanjamesphotographer.com

04-04-2013, 10:51 PM	#1691 (permalink)
onzedge A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Battle Lake MN Age: 64 Posts: 183,964 Drives: 370Z 240Z Rep Power: 2684736	^^^ Nice work, Mr. Titan. __________________ Koni\|Swift\|Michelin\|Motordyne\|Berk\|RJM Performance\|Gates\|SPL\|Motul\|Technafit\|Ate Super Blue\|Hawk Tommy Kaira\|Momo\|Optima\|Hella\|Hotchkis\|Red Line\|ZSpeed\|Stillen\|B&M\|H&R

04-04-2013, 11:04 PM	#1692 (permalink)
Titan1080 Enthusiast Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Mill Creek, Wa Posts: 495 Drives: 04 Nissan Titan 4x4 Rep Power: 372	Thanks! I'm wishing Nikon made a competitor to the EOS 60Da, too much $$$ into Nikon now to defect... __________________ 2009 370Z w/ Sport

04-02-2013, 09:05 PM	#1685 (permalink)
RandyD A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Potomac Falls, VA Posts: 2,977 Drives: 2010 370z 7AT Roadst Rep Power: 20	a couple from my road trip

04-07-2013, 12:42 AM	#1693 (permalink)
MJB A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Tacoma, WA Age: 41 Posts: 1,498 Drives: a POS truck Rep Power: 496	__________________ 09 Nismo #0483 sold. Viper or C7 next time around.

04-07-2013, 12:52 AM	#1694 (permalink)
MJB A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Tacoma, WA Age: 41 Posts: 1,498 Drives: a POS truck Rep Power: 496	__________________ 09 Nismo #0483 sold. Viper or C7 next time around.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
DSLR advice	Red__Zed	Photography	48	08-29-2013 10:04 PM
AUDIO : Bose w/o Nav Upgrades Discussions	Mr_Z	Audio & Video	14	06-24-2013 02:06 AM
Fluid Swap Discussions	'10Anamoly	Engine & Drivetrain	8	05-18-2012 10:33 AM
Best Lens for Nikon DSLR?	tmjohansen	Photography	5	01-25-2011 05:54 PM
Winter Prep + New DSLR	toxik	Nissan 370Z Photos / Spyshots / Video / Media Gallery	8	11-27-2010 06:16 PM