It's kinda odd to hear that having an slr is giving you worse images. I'd probably keep the lowest f-stop you can being out in the woods with less light, and use as high of an iso that you can to use a shutter of about 1/250. This will still give you a bit of motion in your shots. I don't think freezing them is always best, but you'd want to go to 1/500 at least if you.