A Rare Treat: Otters!

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Theraphosa

Senior Member
During a recent visit to Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge, I got to watch a family of nine otters play and hunt for over half an hour. I took a lot of pictures, these are some of the best. I'm still not satisfied with many pictures I take in direct sunlight.

I used the AF on the lens (Tamron 150-600), and maximum focal length for these, so I'm not totally surprised they're a bit soft, but I'm just not sure what I can do to get consistently better pictures under these conditions. Finding the wildlife is turning out to be much easier than getting the pictures I want.
Helpful suggestions would be appreciated.

20141102Muscatatuck 026.jpg20141102Muscatatuck 105.jpg
 
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mikew_RIP

Senior Member
Good catch,i notice you are using ISO 200 giving you a shutter speed of 1/125 sec even if you are using a tripod that is a very slow shutter speed for wild life,i dont know how your camera will handle higher ISOs but i think thats what you need to try so you can up the shutter speed.Hand holding my Tamron i never go below ISO 500 and often 800 or a 1000,a bit of noise can be dealt with but if not its always better than an un sharp image
 
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paul04

Senior Member
Nice pictures,
And this is what I like about photography, you are learning all the time, from camera settings and lighting and camera angles
(Good tips from @mikew)
 
D

Deleted

Senior Member
MikeW made a useful point. You may like to check in your manual for the setting that does not allow the shutter speed to go lower than the lens focal length.

On my camera, it's under IOS sensitivity settings, Maximum shutter speed (set to auto).
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
The few times I've spotted River Otters here in NJ they've never been cooperative enough to pose. Nicely done.

Mike (et al) is correct regarding shutter speed. A good idea with a lens that has the focal length sweep of the Tamron is to use Auto ISO with a minumum setting of 100, a maximum of whatever you feel is appropriate for the camera (I use 6400 on my D7100), and Auto Shutter Speed with the speed setting set to 1 or 2 clicks towards the FAST side. This way you'll always have a shutter speed that will take out minor lens movement. Even with VR it's a good idea to keep the shutter speed at or above 1/focal length. If the D5200 has U1 or U2 presets (I'm too lazy to hunt it down) it's a good idea to use one of them so you can simply dial that up as a "Wildlife Setting". I have U1 set for wildlife and U2 set for slow speed shutter priority to do panning shots (the one thing my camera is never set up for by default).
 
Vixen

Vixen

Senior Member
In direct sunlight, I tend to use shutter priority, and set my shutter at 1/1000 or 1/1250, and auto ISO. I have my ISO set to NOT go over 2000. I find that in this situation my ISO rarely goes over 500.

Alternatively, in lower light eg late afternoon or dull days, I'll use Aperture priority at f6.3, auto ISO. I find tho that in some situations my shutter speed will be quite low, so I am still debating with myself which settings are best.

I also use tracking focus as it seems I shoot lots of birds (still struggling with BIF at 600mm tho)

Anyway, some options for you to consider :D
 
Vixen

Vixen

Senior Member
BackdoorHippie said:
The few times I've spotted River Otters here in NJ they've never been cooperative enough to pose. Nicely done.

Mike (et al) is correct regarding shutter speed. A good idea with a lens that has the focal length sweep of the Tamron is to use Auto ISO with a minumum setting of 100, a maximum of whatever you feel is appropriate for the camera (I use 6400 on my D7100), and Auto Shutter Speed with the speed setting set to 1 or 2 clicks towards the FAST side. This way you'll always have a shutter speed that will take out minor lens movement. Even with VR it's a good idea to keep the shutter speed at or above 1/focal length. If the D5200 has U1 or U2 presets (I'm too lazy to hunt it down) it's a good idea to use one of them so you can simply dial that up as a "Wildlife Setting". I have U1 set for wildlife and U2 set for slow speed shutter priority to do panning shots (the one thing my camera is never set up for by default).
Click to expand...

Thanks Jake. I keep forgetting this function is available on the D7100. Must use one and set to my most used bird shooting settings :D
 
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Simonhep

New member
Hi shutter speed is probably the key If these are taken hand held at that speed you have done amazing try higher iso I use an old 170 500 on a cropped sensor camera and have had good results using a heavy duty monopole which works well have not yet used the Tamon so don't know how good the lens is but the reviews seem good I also find that practice usually works so don't despair just keep on shooting and you will get there nice picks and well done for spotting them you can be the most technically gifted photographer and never get in to the places or have the patience to site and wait to get the shot
 
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photogramps

Senior Member
Agree with much that has already been sai
With my 150-600 I am rarely if ever below 1/640 and often 1/1250 or faster with f8-f11 where light permits. Obviously a lot depends on how your camera handles low-light so high ISO may or not be an option but as Mike said, better a sharp image with a little treatable noise than a soft uncorrectable image :)
 
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mikew_RIP

Senior Member
Pretzel said:
Then I'm not as "behind" as I thought. ;)
Click to expand...

The thing is ime happy with the way i work,i know the majority of the time it will be iso 500 for me,with the odd occasion of 800 or 1000,i just decide when i arrive at the park with a few test readings,500 is my new 100 :D.
 
Vixen

Vixen

Senior Member
mikew said:
The thing is ime happy with the way i work,i know the majority of the time it will be iso 500 for me,with the odd occasion of 800 or 1000,i just decide when i arrive at the park with a few test readings,500 is my new 100 :D.
Click to expand...

Same here except 400 is my new 100. I only turn back to 100 for longer shutter times on tripod, preferring to get faster shutter times for general handheld camera shots, and with the 150-600 Tamron of course even faster as I only use it hand held ATM.
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
You guys and your ISO's. LOL With these new sensors I don't even think about it unless I want to. I'm amazed at the difference in noise in the 4 years I've been shooting. With my D7000 I would jump through hoops to tame noise over 800. Hand to God, what I get at 6400 or even 12800 is about the same with my D750. Our job keeps getting easier.
 
Vixen

Vixen

Senior Member
BackdoorHippie said:
You guys and your ISO's. LOL With these new sensors I don't even think about it unless I want to. I'm amazed at the difference in noise in the 4 years I've been shooting. With my D7000 I would jump through hoops to tame noise over 800. Hand to God, what I get at 6400 or even 12800 is about the same with my D750. Our job keeps getting easier.
Click to expand...

I know everyone says they will handle so much higher ISO's but to be honest I still find the noise horrible and as a consequence keep it down as much as possible. Being new to DSLR's, I have nothing to compare too so my expectations may be way too high, but I know what I like and I don't like noise. I also don't really know how to use noise reduction software, and to be honest can hardly tell whether it makes any difference. I really need to do a PP course of some kind to be shown what is/isn't acceptable. For all I know I may be looking at all the wrong things when I try to do this stuff :D
 
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mikew_RIP

Senior Member
BackdoorHippie said:
You guys and your ISO's. LOL With these new sensors I don't even think about it unless I want to. I'm amazed at the difference in noise in the 4 years I've been shooting. With my D7000 I would jump through hoops to tame noise over 800. Hand to God, what I get at 6400 or even 12800 is about the same with my D750. Our job keeps getting easier.
Click to expand...


I just dont find it that easy to tame :D
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
With the D7100 it becomes a little rougher after 1600, but still, it's not horrible, and when it's the difference between getting the shot and not I'll take a little noise. It's funny, but when you look at photos that win big wildlife contests they almost always have some level of noise. We internet forum denizens worry about it a little too much. Acceptable noise really depends on the photographer more than the audience. Capture a shot correctly and it lives above any noise that might be there.

And yes, Vixen, knowing how and when to deal with it in post is of utmost importance. There are some great tools available. I've got to sit down with my brother and debrief him on the method he used to profile each of his cameras for noise levels at various ISOs. Essentially he worked settings for each sensor and ISO level within Nik Dfine 2.0 so it reduces Color and Contrast noise just enough without going into the "over smoothing" stage (defaults are always at 100, but for most ISO's I can bring Color down to about 30 and Contrast in the 60-70 range). I do it first, with no sharpening in LR/ACR, after only a basic levels adjustment to get the overall light right. Then I do the rest of my post work, which will only amplify any noise.
 
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