This guys talks more sense than most other tutors. What his advice says to me, is that those who think sharp images can be obtained straight out of the box are living a fallacy. Technical set up and application, technique (standing, holding, breathing and rolling the shutter), and training/practice are all key to a sharp image as well as editing technique. Great video.
Best thing about this (and similar) videos is when you show your shots that aren't perfect. Usually all we see are the amazingly crisp shots (usually after processing even) and so us casual shooters with less skill and less high end gear can think there is something wrong with our gear. Good to see even those with the best gear and best skill get plenty of bad shots for various reasons.
Yes. I guess we can shape our own perception on the net by what we post, so we tend to only post the best, but that's only like 1% of what we actually shoot :)
For an absolute beginner at bird photography this is a superb tutorial. All the basics which need to be considered are explained clearly. And I’m sure the impact of using them will be great. Magnificent job of simple, direct communication.
Well organized, thoughtful, practical, and sufficiently detailed to make a real difference. A lot of "tips" videos are so superficial that they are just useless. Not so here. Excellent job from someone who has a deep knowledge of the subject. Thank you.
Wide open apperture is actually spot on, I usually have taken pictures with zoom lense wide open, but when comparing pictures taken with 4.0 and 8.0, the difference is huge with 8.0, crisp clear 👌 I'm happy I found your channel ☺️
I'm certainly guilty of over-cropping images, and I have noticed that that tends to increase the appearance of noise. A possible tip from astrophotography (which I have followed in the past): using faster shutter speeds may help decrease heat haze; astrophotographers need to take long exposures, which can suffer from the same kinds of atmospheric phenomenon that causes heat haze. What they do is take many shorter exposures and then stack the ones that seem less blurry. A practical thing that has helped me is to try not to take a photo unless I can see that the bird is in focus; too often the camera will focus on a stick or leaf near the bird (even in the spot focus mode), but when I try to wait until I'm sure that the focus is on the bird, then I get better results. Sometimes I need to manually focus to achieve the right focus if there is a stick in front of the bird. What programs do you and others recommend for noise reduction?
I use DXO Pure RAW for NR. Yes, the more you crop the noisier images will look. Interesting tip about heathaze. I suppose it makes sense, since the shorter exposure allows less time for the air to ruin the shot
The image may still be slightly warped, like looking into a mirror that is bent. Fast shutter speed limits the "blur" caused as the warping effect changes
An excellently produced tutorial; well spoken & articulated. Thank you for all the valuable information in this video. Greatly appreciated. I'll be watching more of your teachings with eagerness.
The best common sense approach to sharpness I have ever seen and presented with such calmness! Much appreciated and a lot learnt about benefits of mirrorless. Mines on order!!
Hi Jan great video, what I really enjoy is not only the interesting contents but the time you take to respond each of the comments of your viewers so you show respect for your audience thanks
Thank you for the great information on this video! I removed my uv filter off my 600mm sigma lens and WOW! What a difference! I thought my camera was not good enough. I was wrong. I never knew the uv filter was so limiting! High iso noise is down a lot and my auto focus works better!
TIPS for Sony users, the advice given on the "Setting the right ISO" hqve in-build function. This is the SS[A]ISO, meaning Shutter Speed when Auto ISO. Be on Aperture mode "A", set your aperture (example f/8) put your ISO on Auto and define your ISO range (example 100 to 12800 ISO) and I recommand to setup a bouton to select your shutter speed with the SS[A]ISO (example 1/2000s). With these setting it will setup your ISO within the range at f/8, 1/2000. If it's over your ISO range, it will dozngrade the shutter speed to match with your ISO max. You can easily change your Aperture and Shutter Speed without using Manual mode. This avoid when change a setting to not have manually compensate with another setting for the same exposure level.
Brilliant tips video, so many things I've battled with over the years have just been cleared up. Always been afraid of high ISO and getting focusing correct is a problem but you've just made things so much clearer for me. Thanks so much 👍
I was also using auto ISO on my new Nikon D500 but as I get accustomed to the camera I find I can change aperture, shutter speed, EV compensation, and ISO very quickly as all controls are within "finger memory" reach and I don't even have to take my eye from the viewfinder. Great tips Jan! Thanks!
@@jan_wegener got Canon 80D plus Sigma 150-600 C. I was always frustrated that my shots were not sharp enough even shooting aperture priority mode. Only some but I thought that was just luck. Will key in aperture, ISO and shutter settings in manual mode and see how it compares. Challenging natural light in Ireland I find.
Ouch! Guilty as charged on shooting too many of my shots wide open. This has been extremely helpful and am looking forward to putting these tips into practice in the field. Some of your other videos have helped me a lot with things like extenders, back button focus and others but this one called out another tweak I need to make. Thanks so much
Thanks, Jan. I very rarely use a wide open lens and usually use f8 or 9. Quite a lot of Canon lenses are offered with differing f settings and I really struggle to understand why many photographers choose an f4 lens over an f5.6 one, for example, and pay a lot more for the wider aperture. The few really wide aperture lenses I have are those I might use indoors in low light situations. So glad I sold my Canon EOS 5d Mk4's and went mirrorless a year ago.
Great work Jan. Lots of good tips and reminders for beginners as well as seasoned photographers. I sort of get tunneled visioned into some of my shoots that I forget about a lot of things only to realize it later when my settings are off. So focused on my subject, I forget about the technical side. Keep up the great work.
23:10--Perceived sharpness is very helpful!! I've realized this before, but never been able to put a finger on exactly what was going on. Also, concerning shooting wide open vs. high ISO, I agree-stepping down and use higher ISO, until ISO 3200. I still find that my lower ISO images look sharper than higher ISO with NR applied. I've taken a few good shots up to 128000 ISO, but lower is still better.
Thanks Jan, I took these tips onboard last week at Slimbridge WWT(UK) and was amazed at the difference they made (not shooting wide open, and using higher ISO mainly).The downside now is that I have an awful lot more in focus sharp shots to go through before deciding on the best few - a great problem to have.
Very helpful video on the topic. I thought the discussion on balancing ISO, Shutter, and Aperture was very well presented. The point about color cast at the end was an eye-opener. I’ve never seen that discussed, but your example really brought home the point! Thanks.
Brillant points, Jan! 👍I really liked your comments on the color cast in the end. Lots of people do not Even see this, ut it makes a picture go from dreadful to interesting. Thanks for the video. Always enjoyable! Kind Regards, Jan
I had been trying to keep low iso and wide-open aperture until last weekend I went out locally and tried higher speeds and actually f8 not worrying about iso and wow the difference, so many sharper photos with great detail very happy this is well worth watching and go try it if you haven't already
I cannot thank you enough for finally sorting out my “soft” focused images. My kit is a 7D mkii with a 100-400 mkii and occasional 1.4ii extender. I’d tried everything but when taking shots between 250-400 I constantly lost sharpness. It was getting so frustrating as shorter zoom shots were very sharp. The solution was to remove my Hoya UV filter! It was that simple. No other “experts” blog mentioned this. Camera shop said my lens was faulty so I had the Image Stabilising Unit replaced, but problem persisted. It was all down to having the filter in front of the lens. I now have some superb images. Only issue is I’ll have to revisit some of the earlier locations. 😄 Fantastic informative video.
This is so helpful! Thank you! Especially about the ISO - I took a photography class last semester and the prof was so adamant that we needed ISO 200 and was so fixated on noise that it has always made me paranoid about the ISO lol! Can’t wait to get back out in the field and play around with ISO now!
Thank You Jan for the excellent video! I appreciate the advice on stopping down to take advantage of the lenses optimal settings. I generally fix the shutter speed and aperture and then let the ISO "float" by using Auto ISO on my 5D4. Am I giving anything up by using the Auto ISO? Many thanks for all your great videos.
You are giving up control by using auto iso. Nothing wrong with it, but the camera will decide what your exposure looks like, not you. So there could be potential issues like too bright or dark images.
@@jan_wegener I have been using auto ISO too because the weather isn't consistent in my area. There could be a difference in sunlight or darkness between pressing the shutter to take a phone and recomposing for the next one. I am still your student so I am going to try and manually control my ISO from now on. Thank you for the advice🙏🏾🙏🏾
@@jan_wegener Many cameras today are 'ISO-less' or ISO-invariant. I shoot Sony, which is 'ISO-less' within two different ISO ranges, low gain up to ISO 640 and high gain above. The result, as far as I can tell, is that the camera choosing the wrong ISO for you is easily corrected in post with no loss of image quality. The only issue is if the ISO is hovering around ISO 640 where it indeed makes a difference and you might want to force the issue. This makes the use of auto-ISO less problematic if you have that kind of camera.
@@rogerfleming1121 for me iot's not so much about the ISO itself, but the inconsistent exposures the cameras create potentially when using Auto iso vs full manual
I just want to encourage people to test their lenses and see where the true sharpness lies with their particular example. Some are great at F8, some are better at 5.6.. Test it out and find your sweet spot.
Another fantastic video Jan.. These are exceptional advices. So true that many times people just don't set the right expectation and do too much sharpening in post. Look forward to seeing more from you...Cheers.
I've noticed the same thing. My handheld shots, even with proper bracing technique, aren't as sharp as they used to be because my entire body isn't as steady as it was when I was younger.
Brilliant. Only came across your channel today. Very well and clearly presented, which meant I learnt more in less than hour than watching umpteen hours on other youtube photography channels.
Thanks, very nice video! Even though I have been photographing for some years now I always learn something new looking at your videos, color and sharpness was new for me.
Excellent content Jan. I ran a sharpness test on my tamron 150 600 G2 and found it sweet spot is 500mm at f9. F8 is acceptably sharp. Something you didn't mention is how the birds size effects the shutter speed you can yes. With larger birds, like the owls I frequently shoot, I can use a much slower shutter speed because they just don't move as fast as smaller birds, like the Fairy Wrens you get such great photos of. I routinely shoot the owls with 1/200 @ f9. That usually gives an ISO of 800 to 1000. Sharp and minimal noise.As for sharpening, like you I don't drag the sharpening slider beyond the import level of 40. I do always adjust the masking though. Frequently taking it up to 80 or 90. Lastly, being close to the subject is so important. That is probably the one thing outside of adjusting camera settings that will improve image quality. Again, thanks for posting the video Jan. I always enjoy you hearing your take on bird photography. Jack.
Hey Jan, thanks in particular for your point regarding the need for higher shutter speeds with high MP cameras. It’s not something I’ve read or heard in many other places. I discovered this partway through a trip recently and it made a big difference towards sharp BIF images with my 40 MP sensor. I pushed my shutter speeds about a stop higher than I normally would and noticed a substantial difference. Great knowledge, thanks!
Great tips Jan. I've been guilty of trying to "wing it" by shooting with too wide an aperture to try to get more blur. Best to f8nd a camera with good high iso performance.
I started bird photography with a Canon 20D. Anything over ISO400 was terrible. I learned to compromise on every other setting, shooting wide open to get the best shutter speed that I could. As I have upgraded my cameras over the years, the improvement in ISO performance has allowed me to actually use settings that I want to have rather than being forced into. I now use an R5 and it is a luxury to reach the point where I can use whatever settings I want. This has led me to exactly the same conclusions that you have. Your explanation is superb. It is like an account of my personal photographic evolution. I do have a "point 11" though. I live in an area where the sky is often cloudy. My point 11 would be the effect of lighting. Flat lighting reduces the local contrasts in the image and reduces the apparent sharpness. This is where it pays to play with the sliders on the computer and see what can be done to make the subject "pop". Thanks for your video. It's put everything into focus (pun intended!)
I once had a UV filter on an expensive lens which somehow got its glass smashed . This sparked my lens , and I was SO grateful for that . Hoya filters are good , and I have had photo exhibitions with images taken using them on Canon and Nikon lenses . I recognise that some quality is lost , but the images are still working well and clearly sharp . Each to there own ...
Great tips, Jan, the one concerning the UV filter is so obvious that it never occurred to me before. And I'll be sure to try your tracking set up as I've been struggling with that so thanks!
Well, this is probably the best video on the subject I've ever encountered. Thanks so much Jan for sharing your knowledge, it is appreciated greatly!!!! That last tip especiailly - the light bulb went off on some of my work, even with indoor sports photography
Thanks Jan. Some really good points here, many of which I've experienced and can attest to, and I used to be frightened of using high ISO, though watching your videos give me the confidence to hike up that ISO ... together with your video on noise reduction tools which also really helpd. Another VERY useful video.
When I saw your video, I had to think long and hard before I watched it. I am primarily a landscape photographer, and I occasionally shoot birds. All of the things that you brought up I have experienced. I naturally do not like to shoot wide open; that has not been a problem. I have a high megapixel DSLR (5DSR) and you answered the question of how resolution affects sharpness. It took me awhile to realize that shutter speed was the culprit for me. Plus, I had a natural aversion to high ISO as a landscape photographer. I eventually figured it out on my own. Your video is very helpful, insightful and well organized. I do not intend to go mirrorless anytime soon, especially at my age and with the investment I have in L lenses. Nevertheless, I believe your points are applicable to all of photography. As an old film photographer, I believe that plain old skill is better than relying on technology. Great job!
Yes, these tips will work most most kinds of photography. Yes, most people prefer low ISO and low shutter speed, which generally causes 90% of all problems. Btw, the L lenses work very well with the adapter, though :D
@@jan_wegener One of the reasons I stayed with film photography so long is that I knew there would be little change in technology. After converting to digital 8 years ago and amassing a nice kit of gear, the predictable sea change in technology occurred. I am going to stay with my DSLR gear for now. In fact, I bought an additional 5DSR body for cheap. I may look into a mirrorless body when Canon comes out with a 75+ megapixel camera. Years of experience has taught me that cameras are like golf clubs. “It ain’t the club; it’s the swing…” A mirrorless that has the attributes of a medium format would interest me. Until then, I will focus on skill improvement with the gear I have. In fact, when I see a good print hanging in a gallery, I can’t determine which camera the photographer used😀…
Excellent video. I think it is so effective to explain your reasoning behind why you use certain techniques and then apply them to a real life photo. Thank you.
Thankyou...i learend so much...and i also found i have used some of your tips already...intuitively...your ten tips...are well explained and i LOVE your bird images. This has helped me so much!!! Thankyou for sharing your expertise and knowledge on how to take better bird photos.....I just purchased canon r5 and the 100 to 500 lens...it is on back order...so am using my dslr lens ef 70 to 300. Other lenses too...i have learned a lot from this video...thankyou so much for your teaching style and perfection ...love your photos...bird portraits!!! Gorgeous!😀
Thank you Jan. I love your channel. You obviously speak from experience and love what you do. Your video confirms stuff I learned by trial and error and I will be trying out your ISO and Aperture advice next time I go out. This is the second time this week I am hearing that stopping down the Aperture will improve focus. Explains my inconsistency in sharpness when setting Shutter Speed priority high as possible according to my histogram. I guess the stopped down speeds are also highlighted on the histogram for a reason :) Also followed through and found out my G9 has an AF manual on how to set up Auto focus settings. I am reaching brain overload. This may take some time to figure out and set up instead of just going out and shooting at stuff.
Thanks so much for this - it is incredibly helpful. I've recently started shooting mirrorless and have had trouble unlearning all of my habits from film days. Your tips about ISO and "spray and pray" are just what I need to get into the right mindset. I totally agree that a noisy image is better than a blurry image any day, and this gives me some of the tools I need to retrain my muscle memory.
I totally agree with using high ISO to get the right shutter speed and aperture. I sometimes use H1 on 5D mark iv. Yes it is grainy, but few people zoom all the way in. I think the priority order of acceptable photos is exposure, sharpness and noise.
Nice one. Everything you said was spot-on. Slight lost in translation moment with 'extender' for 'teleconverter' (TC); 'extenders' were bare tubes (still are) for messing with the back-focal length of lens to focal plane e.g. astrophotography, mounting camera to telescope. Format. Full frame is lovely but a smaller format will get you closer to wildlife. Lugging around a lens the size and weight of a telegraph pole is not a lot of fun. Some of the latest systems offer combined lens and body stabilisation, the monster extra-long tele suddenly becomes hand-held. Which is a real eye-opener. Still needs fast shutter for birds but now we can easily pan and frame them in flight and the AF locks-on immediately because the image is not jiggling about. You touched upon light. With most other forms of photography we can wander about to get the angle of the light right but with wildlife that is not always possible, we often have to shoot back-lit. Modern cameras can fiddle with the gain curves (shadows/highlights), colours, and exposure. You probably shoot raw and this can be adjusted in post but there is a problem. For example both Olympus and Panasonic have extra information in the raw that Adobe simply does not understand, so conversion is incorrect if it can do it at all. And now they have capabilities in-camera that are beyond the ability of typical post editors to replicate. They can be converted and reprocessed in-camera but the LCD is too small for the job. The more sophisticated these cameras get, the more they do in the camera. They are becoming more like film cameras where you had to get it right first go in the camera. Set it right and let the camera do its job. Something about ISO. The base ISO is not normally the best ISO. If base ISO is 200 then optimum is probably 400. There again dual-gain sensors are making nonsense of what 'high ISO' is now. Smaller sensors produce less electronic noise because there's less room for stray electrons to swim about on. Noise reduction is about signal to noise ratio, there will be a threshold that the NR settings adjust. The default NR is usually pretty strong and may be reduced by experiment. The Sharpness control should also be considered a form of NR with edge detection, it can be counter-productive. NR, Contrast and Sharpness all fiddle with the gain. Where the gain is altered, some of these settings do operate on the raw.
Hi Jan it was a great video helped a lot. Can you give more tips and suggestions for photographing in a very low lit surroundings it would be really helpful.
Thks for interesting info. I use a lower ISO if using a tripod but must try higher ISO, 400+, for higher shutter spd if handholding. Just one point, not everyone has high end cameras/lenses so do consider the features you talk about may not be in middle to lower range cameras. Have subscribed.
With my R5 and Denoise, I'm no longer afraid of high ISO, so I usually use f/11 (only choice on the 800mm) and manual shutter speed with auto ISO. That's working well for me here in sunny Hawaii. 🌞
Great video! Thank you for helping regain some confidence in taking photos. I just recently stepped up from a T7i DSLR to the R6 and I naively thought the camera would fix my images, but the habits formed while shooting DSLR have reared their ugly heads in my R6. All the things you mentioned…shooting wide open to keep ISO low, and not realizing that I rolled the shutter speed down too slow….I’ve looked and realized it was at 1/60….never going to get a great image that way. When I see your images, that look incredible, I assume they’re similar settings, but couldn’t be further from the truth. Now, I don’t have a 600mm lens, but I do have a 70-200 2.8, so I should be able to get great closer images at 7.1 or 8 and ISO 6400 but I have to be willing and learn to trust the camera and lens and then see what I can do in post because, like you said, you can’t fix stupid…I mean blurry…lol. Thanks again for taking the time to put together this, and all the other, great videos that are really inspiring for noobies like myself.
I began my photo hobby with astrophotography and the first important lesson I learned was about noise and ISO. I thought high ISO added noise so I was always shooting at ISO 100, thinking I could always brighten underexposed images in post. But I quickly learned that increasing my ISO actually reduced noise in low light situations. What I learned was the difference between electronic read noise that comes from the increased gain of higher ISO and something called shot noise which has nothing to do with ISO but is a result of the random behavior of photons. It turns out that with modern cameras, read noise (the electronic noise added by the increased gain of higher ISO) is not nearly the issue it once was and that the vast majority of the noise we see in our images is shot noise, which comes from not collecting enough light. When it comes to noise, it is always better to increase ISO than to take an underexposed image. I was lucky enough to find some very technical information from NASA physicists who calibrate instruments used in space missions that explained the physics of shot noise, which has nothing to do with the electronics in the camera and is totally different from read noise and I did some experiments to prove to myself that increasing ISO significantly reduced the noise in my images. The real reason a lot of folks notice more noise in their images when they increase ISO is because they also increase shutter speed to compensate and so what is really happening is that they are therefore collecting less light. It is the faster shutter speed that is the real source of the noise. The noise we notice in this case is not because the ISO is "adding" (read) noise, but rather, the noise we are seeing is shot noise which is due to the fact that we are collecting less signal (light) and our signal to noise ratio, which is what really matters, gets worse. Noise is almost always about not collecting enough signal rather than applying too much gain (ISO). So the big lesson for avoiding noise is not to shoot underexposed images. Don't be scared to turn up the ISO if you need to. When it comes to noise, this is much better option than taking an underexposed image.
That Last tip is what i have been missing! That’s the great thing about Photography. We always learn and explore ! I have to go back and redo a lot of my editing! 😅 thanks Jan !
Thank you for the great advice you give in this video. Great presentation - I like that you point out some items - that after you think about it make a lot of sense. Such as a bird that is so far away - don't expect to get much from a super crop of the image.
Excellent video. You hit on multiple problems I have struggled with and suspected but had not heard verbalized by others. 1. Distance to subject and how air quality, heat distortion and cropping too much affect image sharpness. Thank you!!
This guys talks more sense than most other tutors. What his advice says to me, is that those who think sharp images can be obtained straight out of the box are living a fallacy. Technical set up and application, technique (standing, holding, breathing and rolling the shutter), and training/practice are all key to a sharp image as well as editing technique. Great video.
Best thing about this (and similar) videos is when you show your shots that aren't perfect. Usually all we see are the amazingly crisp shots (usually after processing even) and so us casual shooters with less skill and less high end gear can think there is something wrong with our gear. Good to see even those with the best gear and best skill get plenty of bad shots for various reasons.
Yes. I guess we can shape our own perception on the net by what we post, so we tend to only post the best, but that's only like 1% of what we actually shoot :)
Extra tip: move to where Jan lives with all these great bird species. Thank you for the fantastic tips, Jan. You’re an expert!
It helps, but doesn't make your photos sharper :D
Jan's accent suspects Australia but his name is Dutch. Had some nice tips in this video!
@@frits1463 Actually, to me, Jan's accent sounds more South African.
@@frits1463 Originally Germany..based in Australia now
hahahh exactly!!!!!!!
For an absolute beginner at bird photography this is a superb tutorial. All the basics which need to be considered are explained clearly. And I’m sure the impact of using them will be great. Magnificent job of simple, direct communication.
Glad it was helpful!
Well organized, thoughtful, practical, and sufficiently detailed to make a real difference. A lot of "tips" videos are so superficial that they are just useless. Not so here. Excellent job from someone who has a deep knowledge of the subject. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
This is so true.
It’s because of you that I’ve gotten better at wildlife photography
That's great to hear!
I've experienced most useful 24 minutes of a lecture, given by real expert! Thank you!
You're very welcome! :)
Where & when?
Wide open apperture is actually spot on, I usually have taken pictures with zoom lense wide open, but when comparing pictures taken with 4.0 and 8.0, the difference is huge with 8.0, crisp clear 👌
I'm happy I found your channel ☺️
I'm certainly guilty of over-cropping images, and I have noticed that that tends to increase the appearance of noise. A possible tip from astrophotography (which I have followed in the past): using faster shutter speeds may help decrease heat haze; astrophotographers need to take long exposures, which can suffer from the same kinds of atmospheric phenomenon that causes heat haze. What they do is take many shorter exposures and then stack the ones that seem less blurry.
A practical thing that has helped me is to try not to take a photo unless I can see that the bird is in focus; too often the camera will focus on a stick or leaf near the bird (even in the spot focus mode), but when I try to wait until I'm sure that the focus is on the bird, then I get better results. Sometimes I need to manually focus to achieve the right focus if there is a stick in front of the bird.
What programs do you and others recommend for noise reduction?
I use DXO Pure RAW for NR.
Yes, the more you crop the noisier images will look.
Interesting tip about heathaze. I suppose it makes sense, since the shorter exposure allows less time for the air to ruin the shot
heat haze,...ether distortion of light...
The image may still be slightly warped, like looking into a mirror that is bent. Fast shutter speed limits the "blur" caused as the warping effect changes
An excellently produced tutorial; well spoken & articulated. Thank you for all the valuable information in this video. Greatly appreciated. I'll be watching more of your teachings with eagerness.
Glad you enjoyed it! :)
You've just resume in 25 min what I've learned in 3 years of photography.I wish I knew you earlyer ! thanks ! I suscribed .
Better late than never :D
The best common sense approach to sharpness I have ever seen and presented with such calmness! Much appreciated and a lot learnt about benefits of mirrorless. Mines on order!!
Excellent advice! I resisted increasing the ISO and therefore the speed for a long time, but now I do and yes, get sharper photos.
Thanks for sharing!
One of the few UA-cam videos I have watched without skipping from beginning to end...and then went back and watched it again. Excellent.
Wow, thank you!
Hi Jan great video, what I really enjoy is not only the interesting contents but the time you take to respond each of the comments of your viewers so you show respect for your audience thanks
As long as it's manageable, it's the best way to connect and show appreciation :)
Very nice, Jan. I've learned good tips here. I'm not a professional and it's a pleasure to watch ones like you. Hugs from Brazil.....
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for the great information on this video! I removed my uv filter off my 600mm sigma lens and WOW! What a difference! I thought my camera was not good enough. I was wrong. I never knew the uv filter was so limiting! High iso noise is down a lot and my auto focus works better!
Great to hear! Sad to see so many people with these filters ruining their photos!
Thanks for this video. It really clarified a lot of the setting issues I have had. One of the best one I have watched!
TIPS for Sony users, the advice given on the "Setting the right ISO" hqve in-build function. This is the SS[A]ISO, meaning Shutter Speed when Auto ISO.
Be on Aperture mode "A", set your aperture (example f/8) put your ISO on Auto and define your ISO range (example 100 to 12800 ISO) and I recommand to setup a bouton to select your shutter speed with the SS[A]ISO (example 1/2000s).
With these setting it will setup your ISO within the range at f/8, 1/2000. If it's over your ISO range, it will dozngrade the shutter speed to match with your ISO max.
You can easily change your Aperture and Shutter Speed without using Manual mode. This avoid when change a setting to not have manually compensate with another setting for the same exposure level.
Debi Scot, thanks for the tip...to difine your ISO range, i try that greetings from the Netherlands
Tak!
Thanks!
Brilliant tips video, so many things I've battled with over the years have just been cleared up. Always been afraid of high ISO and getting focusing correct is a problem but you've just made things so much clearer for me. Thanks so much 👍
Great to hear! :)
I was also using auto ISO on my new Nikon D500 but as I get accustomed to the camera I find I can change aperture, shutter speed, EV compensation, and ISO very quickly as all controls are within "finger memory" reach and I don't even have to take my eye from the viewfinder. Great tips Jan! Thanks!
@@jan_wegener got Canon 80D plus Sigma 150-600 C. I was always frustrated that my shots were not sharp enough even shooting aperture priority mode. Only some but I thought that was just luck. Will key in aperture, ISO and shutter settings in manual mode and see how it compares. Challenging natural light in Ireland I find.
Competently explained ! Subscribed.
Awesome, thank you!
Ouch! Guilty as charged on shooting too many of my shots wide open. This has been extremely helpful and am looking forward to putting these tips into practice in the field. Some of your other videos have helped me a lot with things like extenders, back button focus and others but this one called out another tweak I need to make. Thanks so much
Thanks, Jan. I very rarely use a wide open lens and usually use f8 or 9. Quite a lot of Canon lenses are offered with differing f settings and I really struggle to understand why many photographers choose an f4 lens over an f5.6 one, for example, and pay a lot more for the wider aperture. The few really wide aperture lenses I have are those I might use indoors in low light situations. So glad I sold my Canon EOS 5d Mk4's and went mirrorless a year ago.
Great work Jan. Lots of good tips and reminders for beginners as well as seasoned photographers. I sort of get tunneled visioned into some of my shoots that I forget about a lot of things only to realize it later when my settings are off. So focused on my subject, I forget about the technical side. Keep up the great work.
Yes, that's where it's important to learn to use your camera "blindly" essentially. And always think about settings before pulling the trigger
23:10--Perceived sharpness is very helpful!! I've realized this before, but never been able to put a finger on exactly what was going on. Also, concerning shooting wide open vs. high ISO, I agree-stepping down and use higher ISO, until ISO 3200. I still find that my lower ISO images look sharper than higher ISO with NR applied. I've taken a few good shots up to 128000 ISO, but lower is still better.
Thanks Jan, I took these tips onboard last week at Slimbridge WWT(UK) and was amazed at the difference they made (not shooting wide open, and using higher ISO mainly).The downside now is that I have an awful lot more in focus sharp shots to go through before deciding on the best few - a great problem to have.
that's great to hear! I suppose it's much better than having to look at blurry images :D
Incredible info. Appreciate your time in this.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Very helpful video on the topic. I thought the discussion on balancing ISO, Shutter, and Aperture was very well presented. The point about color cast at the end was an eye-opener. I’ve never seen that discussed, but your example really brought home the point! Thanks.
Glad it was helpful! I think the casts can make a big difference
Such great advice...yes guilty of shooting wide open too much! Thanks for the great advice.
Happy I could help :)
Thanks Jan, I had never thought about colour cast affecting sharpness!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks
Thank you!
Brillant points, Jan! 👍I really liked your comments on the color cast in the end. Lots of people do not Even see this, ut it makes a picture go from dreadful to interesting.
Thanks for the video. Always enjoyable! Kind Regards, Jan
Thank you! The cast can make a huge difference!
very helpful tutorial! Learned so much!
Awesome, thank you!
Outstanding video Jan. Extremely high pixel density of some new APS-C sensors sometimes make it even the best telephoto lenses struggle in sharpness
Interesting point! Thanks :)
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION
Thank you! Teaching (and of course photographing) is in your blood. One of the best tutorials I've ever seen.
Thank you! :)
V. Helpful - will try what you have said. Thank you.
I had been trying to keep low iso and wide-open aperture until last weekend I went out locally and tried higher speeds and actually f8 not worrying about iso and wow the difference, so many sharper photos with great detail very happy this is well worth watching and go try it if you haven't already
Glad I could help! It can make such a difference, that's why I will keep talking about it until everyone has at least tried it :D
I cannot thank you enough for finally sorting out my “soft” focused images. My kit is a 7D mkii with a 100-400 mkii and occasional 1.4ii extender. I’d tried everything but when taking shots between 250-400 I constantly lost sharpness. It was getting so frustrating as shorter zoom shots were very sharp. The solution was to remove my Hoya UV filter! It was that simple. No other “experts” blog mentioned this. Camera shop said my lens was faulty so I had the Image Stabilising Unit replaced, but problem persisted. It was all down to having the filter in front of the lens. I now have some superb images. Only issue is I’ll have to revisit some of the earlier locations. 😄
Fantastic informative video.
Glad I could help! These filters should really come with a warning!
This is so helpful! Thank you! Especially about the ISO - I took a photography class last semester and the prof was so adamant that we needed ISO 200 and was so fixated on noise that it has always made me paranoid about the ISO lol! Can’t wait to get back out in the field and play around with ISO now!
Noise is literally a thing of the past :) I don't think I have used ISO 200 in 5-10 years for birds
Great video and very interesting and Helpful thanks 😊
Thank You Jan for the excellent video! I appreciate the advice on stopping down to take advantage of the lenses optimal settings. I generally fix the shutter speed and aperture and then let the ISO "float" by using Auto ISO on my 5D4. Am I giving anything up by using the Auto ISO? Many thanks for all your great videos.
You are giving up control by using auto iso. Nothing wrong with it, but the camera will decide what your exposure looks like, not you. So there could be potential issues like too bright or dark images.
@@jan_wegener I have been using auto ISO too because the weather isn't consistent in my area. There could be a difference in sunlight or darkness between pressing the shutter to take a phone and recomposing for the next one. I am still your student so I am going to try and manually control my ISO from now on. Thank you for the advice🙏🏾🙏🏾
@@dannydanquah3681 There isn't really right or wrong. If you shoot full manual you certainly have to make sure to check your settings a lot.
@@jan_wegener Many cameras today are 'ISO-less' or ISO-invariant. I shoot Sony, which is 'ISO-less' within two different ISO ranges, low gain up to ISO 640 and high gain above. The result, as far as I can tell, is that the camera choosing the wrong ISO for you is easily corrected in post with no loss of image quality. The only issue is if the ISO is hovering around ISO 640 where it indeed makes a difference and you might want to force the issue. This makes the use of auto-ISO less problematic if you have that kind of camera.
@@rogerfleming1121 for me iot's not so much about the ISO itself, but the inconsistent exposures the cameras create potentially when using Auto iso vs full manual
I just want to encourage people to test their lenses and see where the true sharpness lies with their particular example. Some are great at F8, some are better at 5.6.. Test it out and find your sweet spot.
Yes, that's always good to know. In the end it can be a trade off between peak sharpness and more DOF
Another fantastic video Jan.. These are exceptional advices. So true that many times people just don't set the right expectation and do too much sharpening in post. Look forward to seeing more from you...Cheers.
Glad it was helpful!
As I have grown older it has become evident, when "shooting" hand held, that I have to use higher shutter speeds and higher ISO's.
yes, it definitely helps
I've noticed the same thing. My handheld shots, even with proper bracing technique, aren't as sharp as they used to be because my entire body isn't as steady as it was when I was younger.
Very helpful video! You hit the issues I have been struggling with to get sharper images.
You're welcome!
You are spot on about ISO. We are not shooting Kodachrome anymore.
exactly!
Brilliant. Only came across your channel today. Very well and clearly presented, which meant I learnt more in less than hour than watching umpteen hours on other youtube photography channels.
Great to hear!
Thanks, very nice video! Even though I have been photographing for some years now I always learn something new looking at your videos, color and sharpness was new for me.
Great to hear!
Jan, I was just about to nail you on this video, then you said Tip no 1. I will go no further. Thank you for making that your first TIP
Excellent content Jan. I ran a sharpness test on my tamron 150 600 G2 and found it sweet spot is 500mm at f9. F8 is acceptably sharp. Something you didn't mention is how the birds size effects the shutter speed you can yes. With larger birds, like the owls I frequently shoot, I can use a much slower shutter speed because they just don't move as fast as smaller birds, like the Fairy Wrens you get such great photos of. I routinely shoot the owls with 1/200 @ f9. That usually gives an ISO of 800 to 1000. Sharp and minimal noise.As for sharpening, like you I don't drag the sharpening slider beyond the import level of 40. I do always adjust the masking though. Frequently taking it up to 80 or 90. Lastly, being close to the subject is so important. That is probably the one thing outside of adjusting camera settings that will improve image quality. Again, thanks for posting the video Jan. I always enjoy you hearing your take on bird photography.
Jack.
Thanks Jack!
Yes, when I used that lens F9 seemed the best, too.
Thanks Jan for a great video into Sharp vs Blur images giving as usual a clear verbal explanation to the problems!
Glad it was helpful!
No idea why i didn't find your channel before, stunning and amazing. subscribed :)
Hey Jan, thanks in particular for your point regarding the need for higher shutter speeds with high MP cameras. It’s not something I’ve read or heard in many other places. I discovered this partway through a trip recently and it made a big difference towards sharp BIF images with my 40 MP sensor. I pushed my shutter speeds about a stop higher than I normally would and noticed a substantial difference. Great knowledge, thanks!
Great to hear!
I use the Lightroom sharpening tool for every picture. I have a lot to learn and you are helping out hugely. Thank-you.
Great tips Jan. I've been guilty of trying to "wing it" by shooting with too wide an aperture to try to get more blur. Best to f8nd a camera with good high iso performance.
I started bird photography with a Canon 20D. Anything over ISO400 was terrible. I learned to compromise on every other setting, shooting wide open to get the best shutter speed that I could. As I have upgraded my cameras over the years, the improvement in ISO performance has allowed me to actually use settings that I want to have rather than being forced into. I now use an R5 and it is a luxury to reach the point where I can use whatever settings I want. This has led me to exactly the same conclusions that you have. Your explanation is superb. It is like an account of my personal photographic evolution. I do have a "point 11" though. I live in an area where the sky is often cloudy. My point 11 would be the effect of lighting. Flat lighting reduces the local contrasts in the image and reduces the apparent sharpness. This is where it pays to play with the sliders on the computer and see what can be done to make the subject "pop". Thanks for your video. It's put everything into focus (pun intended!)
So did I!
Yes for sure, I love shooting in overcast and editing is am important part in bringing those images to life
I once had a UV filter on an expensive lens which somehow got its glass smashed . This sparked my lens , and I was SO grateful for that . Hoya filters are good , and I have had photo exhibitions with images taken using them on Canon and Nikon lenses . I recognise that some quality is lost , but the images are still working well and clearly sharp . Each to there own ...
Jan is a very effective photography teacher! Thank you
Glad you think so!
Great vid Jan, nice and clear (just like your images) :-). Really appreciated the tip about colour casting.
You're very welcome
Great tips, Jan, the one concerning the UV filter is so obvious that it never occurred to me before. And I'll be sure to try your tracking set up as I've been struggling with that so thanks!
The bit on how we perceive sharpness as a result of color cast was really insightful!
Thank you Jan....very informative...love your videos...you are a great instructor ...and you have made me reflect on some of my own misconceptions....
Thank you so much!
Well, this is probably the best video on the subject I've ever encountered. Thanks so much Jan for sharing your knowledge, it is appreciated greatly!!!! That last tip especiailly - the light bulb went off on some of my work, even with indoor sports photography
Yes, the casts are very prevalent indoors and the first time I came across this issue
Thanks Jan. Some really good points here, many of which I've experienced and can attest to, and I used to be frightened of using high ISO, though watching your videos give me the confidence to hike up that ISO ... together with your video on noise reduction tools which also really helpd. Another VERY useful video.
Excellent Tips and very well explained. One of the best videos watched on capturing sharp images. THANKS A TON...
Glad it was helpful!
Bedankt
Thank you!
EXCELLENT! Not a birder but many if not all your techniques apply to the sport shooter. Thank you.
Yep :) Thank you!
One of the most useful and helpful videos I have ever seen on taking sharper images👌 Thank you very much Jan.
You're very welcome!
When I saw your video, I had to think long and hard before I watched it. I am primarily a landscape photographer, and I occasionally shoot birds. All of the things that you brought up I have experienced. I naturally do not like to shoot wide open; that has not been a problem. I have a high megapixel DSLR (5DSR) and you answered the question of how resolution affects sharpness. It took me awhile to realize that shutter speed was the culprit for me. Plus, I had a natural aversion to high ISO as a landscape photographer. I eventually figured it out on my own. Your video is very helpful, insightful and well organized. I do not intend to go mirrorless anytime soon, especially at my age and with the investment I have in L lenses. Nevertheless, I believe your points are applicable to all of photography. As an old film photographer, I believe that plain old skill is better than relying on technology. Great job!
Yes, these tips will work most most kinds of photography.
Yes, most people prefer low ISO and low shutter speed, which generally causes 90% of all problems.
Btw, the L lenses work very well with the adapter, though :D
@@jan_wegener One of the reasons I stayed with film photography so long is that I knew there would be little change in technology. After converting to digital 8 years ago and amassing a nice kit of gear, the predictable sea change in technology occurred. I am going to stay with my DSLR gear for now. In fact, I bought an additional 5DSR body for cheap. I may look into a mirrorless body when Canon comes out with a 75+ megapixel camera. Years of experience has taught me that cameras are like golf clubs. “It ain’t the club; it’s the swing…” A mirrorless that has the attributes of a medium format would interest me. Until then, I will focus on skill improvement with the gear I have. In fact, when I see a good print hanging in a gallery, I can’t determine which camera the photographer used😀…
@@esanford True, although I must say that the mirrorless technology has made life a lot easier
Thanks Jan for the helpful guidance!
Such a great video with priceless tips. Thank you so much for your hard work with youtube videoes Jan. Very much appreciated :)
Nice, nice video as always, Jan. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent video. I think it is so effective to explain your reasoning behind why you use certain techniques and then apply them to a real life photo. Thank you.
thank you for good tips, but the last one about the color cast is absolutely mind-blowing!
Glad it was helpful!
Thankyou...i learend so much...and i also found i have used some of your tips already...intuitively...your ten tips...are well explained and i LOVE your bird images. This has helped me so much!!! Thankyou for sharing your expertise and knowledge on how to take better bird photos.....I just purchased canon r5 and the 100 to 500 lens...it is on back order...so am using my dslr lens ef 70 to 300. Other lenses too...i have learned a lot from this video...thankyou so much for your teaching style and perfection ...love your photos...bird portraits!!! Gorgeous!😀
fantastic!
Excellent content. Helpful tips. The simplicity on the far side of complexity.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you Jan for your clear explanation, learned a lot again, now try it out in practice.
Wonderful!
Thank you Jan. I love your channel. You obviously speak from experience and love what you do. Your video confirms stuff I learned by trial and error and I will be trying out your ISO and Aperture advice next time I go out. This is the second time this week I am hearing that stopping down the Aperture will improve focus. Explains my inconsistency in sharpness when setting Shutter Speed priority high as possible according to my histogram. I guess the stopped down speeds are also highlighted on the histogram for a reason :) Also followed through and found out my G9 has an AF manual on how to set up Auto focus settings. I am reaching brain overload. This may take some time to figure out and set up instead of just going out and shooting at stuff.
Great to hear :)
Thanks so much for this - it is incredibly helpful. I've recently started shooting mirrorless and have had trouble unlearning all of my habits from film days. Your tips about ISO and "spray and pray" are just what I need to get into the right mindset. I totally agree that a noisy image is better than a blurry image any day, and this gives me some of the tools I need to retrain my muscle memory.
happy I could help :)
Excellent tips. Thanks for this video. Now to try and put them into practice.
You got this!
Excellent video. I can easily recognise several of my mistakes from Jan’s tips.
Glad it was helpful!
Best video I’ve seen on taking better photos of Birds. Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it
Excellent material. Excellent presentation. I will definitely sign up for the class. Simply fantastic.
Awesome, thank you!
I totally agree with using high ISO to get the right shutter speed and aperture. I sometimes use H1 on 5D mark iv. Yes it is grainy, but few people zoom all the way in. I think the priority order of acceptable photos is exposure, sharpness and noise.
Nice one. Everything you said was spot-on.
Slight lost in translation moment with 'extender' for 'teleconverter' (TC); 'extenders' were bare tubes (still are) for messing with the back-focal length of lens to focal plane e.g. astrophotography, mounting camera to telescope.
Format. Full frame is lovely but a smaller format will get you closer to wildlife. Lugging around a lens the size and weight of a telegraph pole is not a lot of fun.
Some of the latest systems offer combined lens and body stabilisation, the monster extra-long tele suddenly becomes hand-held. Which is a real eye-opener. Still needs fast shutter for birds but now we can easily pan and frame them in flight and the AF locks-on immediately because the image is not jiggling about.
You touched upon light. With most other forms of photography we can wander about to get the angle of the light right but with wildlife that is not always possible, we often have to shoot back-lit. Modern cameras can fiddle with the gain curves (shadows/highlights), colours, and exposure. You probably shoot raw and this can be adjusted in post but there is a problem. For example both Olympus and Panasonic have extra information in the raw that Adobe simply does not understand, so conversion is incorrect if it can do it at all. And now they have capabilities in-camera that are beyond the ability of typical post editors to replicate. They can be converted and reprocessed in-camera but the LCD is too small for the job. The more sophisticated these cameras get, the more they do in the camera. They are becoming more like film cameras where you had to get it right first go in the camera. Set it right and let the camera do its job.
Something about ISO. The base ISO is not normally the best ISO. If base ISO is 200 then optimum is probably 400. There again dual-gain sensors are making nonsense of what 'high ISO' is now. Smaller sensors produce less electronic noise because there's less room for stray electrons to swim about on. Noise reduction is about signal to noise ratio, there will be a threshold that the NR settings adjust. The default NR is usually pretty strong and may be reduced by experiment. The Sharpness control should also be considered a form of NR with edge detection, it can be counter-productive. NR, Contrast and Sharpness all fiddle with the gain. Where the gain is altered, some of these settings do operate on the raw.
Hi Jan it was a great video helped a lot.
Can you give more tips and suggestions for photographing in a very low lit surroundings it would be really helpful.
A very useful video and thanks for your advise. I certainly recognised some areas I can improve on with these recomendations.
Glad it was helpful!
Thks for interesting info. I use a lower ISO if using a tripod but must try higher ISO, 400+, for higher shutter spd if handholding. Just one point, not everyone has high end cameras/lenses so do consider the features you talk about may not be in middle to lower range cameras. Have subscribed.
With my R5 and Denoise, I'm no longer afraid of high ISO, so I usually use f/11 (only choice on the 800mm) and manual shutter speed with auto ISO. That's working well for me here in sunny Hawaii. 🌞
Yes, with F11 wide open you will need a good bit of higher ISO
Thanks for an informative video where all elements are included!!
Glad it was helpful!
Great video! Thank you for helping regain some confidence in taking photos. I just recently stepped up from a T7i DSLR to the R6 and I naively thought the camera would fix my images, but the habits formed while shooting DSLR have reared their ugly heads in my R6. All the things you mentioned…shooting wide open to keep ISO low, and not realizing that I rolled the shutter speed down too slow….I’ve looked and realized it was at 1/60….never going to get a great image that way. When I see your images, that look incredible, I assume they’re similar settings, but couldn’t be further from the truth. Now, I don’t have a 600mm lens, but I do have a 70-200 2.8, so I should be able to get great closer images at 7.1 or 8 and ISO 6400 but I have to be willing and learn to trust the camera and lens and then see what I can do in post because, like you said, you can’t fix stupid…I mean blurry…lol. Thanks again for taking the time to put together this, and all the other, great videos that are really inspiring for noobies like myself.
I began my photo hobby with astrophotography and the first important lesson I learned was about noise and ISO. I thought high ISO added noise so I was always shooting at ISO 100, thinking I could always brighten underexposed images in post. But I quickly learned that increasing my ISO actually reduced noise in low light situations. What I learned was the difference between electronic read noise that comes from the increased gain of higher ISO and something called shot noise which has nothing to do with ISO but is a result of the random behavior of photons. It turns out that with modern cameras, read noise (the electronic noise added by the increased gain of higher ISO) is not nearly the issue it once was and that the vast majority of the noise we see in our images is shot noise, which comes from not collecting enough light. When it comes to noise, it is always better to increase ISO than to take an underexposed image. I was lucky enough to find some very technical information from NASA physicists who calibrate instruments used in space missions that explained the physics of shot noise, which has nothing to do with the electronics in the camera and is totally different from read noise and I did some experiments to prove to myself that increasing ISO significantly reduced the noise in my images. The real reason a lot of folks notice more noise in their images when they increase ISO is because they also increase shutter speed to compensate and so what is really happening is that they are therefore collecting less light. It is the faster shutter speed that is the real source of the noise. The noise we notice in this case is not because the ISO is "adding" (read) noise, but rather, the noise we are seeing is shot noise which is due to the fact that we are collecting less signal (light) and our signal to noise ratio, which is what really matters, gets worse. Noise is almost always about not collecting enough signal rather than applying too much gain (ISO). So the big lesson for avoiding noise is not to shoot underexposed images. Don't be scared to turn up the ISO if you need to. When it comes to noise, this is much better option than taking an underexposed image.
Big help in terms of the color not being right sometimes making it not appear sharp. Your demonstration of that was a major eye opener
Yes, it's something most people don't realise, but has a big impact
So many amazing tips. Respect for what you are doing Jan. You are changing the game for so many of us.
Thank you so much!
That Last tip is what i have been missing! That’s the great thing about Photography. We always learn and explore ! I have to go back and redo a lot of my editing! 😅 thanks Jan !
I feel like I have to re-edit my images every 6 months haha! We constantly learn and things change with new software
@@scottritchie7705 deleting RAWs....nonono :D
Thank you for the great advice you give in this video. Great presentation - I like that you point out some items - that after you think about it make a lot of sense. Such as a bird that is so far away - don't expect to get much from a super crop of the image.
Glad it was helpful!
Next time I get out I will try to put what you shared to use. Such as a lighter background shows less noise. @@jan_wegener
Excellent Review.... as usual. Thank you!
Excellent video. You hit on multiple problems I have struggled with and suspected but had not heard verbalized by others. 1. Distance to subject and how air quality, heat distortion and cropping too much affect image sharpness. Thank you!!
Glad it was helpful!