Some Experimentation - Opinions Wanted!

Hey all,

I've been trying to work up an ideal DOF for close posing branches and the 100-400 at near max FL. I was seeing that any images I was getting at f/8 and faster were leaving too much of the bird OOF for my taste. So this morning, I decided to try f/11 a bit, and see how I liked the results. I had to crank the ISO a bit (ISO 1000) to accomodate, and still shot at a slower speed than I prefer (1/50). I think the DOF on the bird is good here, but I'm not sure if I like the active BG now. What do you all think?

http://canonbob.smugmug.com/photos/156962288-O.jpg

http://canonbob.smugmug.com/photos/156962319-O.jpg

I think I am even more jealous than before... oh ... you mean about the DOF .. sorry =P

I don't think this background is all that bad really. Of course the more bokeh the better usually but I find that with the bird so well in focus that the business of the BG doesn't really distract me all that much.

The bird is AWESOME!!! The b/g is too busy for me though.

I'm with Jaedon... I'm jealous! That's incredible for an ISO speed of 1000.

I think the bird looks good, but F8 would be better. I shoot my 100-400 at f7.1 at close range and F8 at close focus.

Hey Bob. I think the bird looks great in these photos. The BG isn't bad, but I would like it to be a little more OOF, but I think it adds some depth to the image. The bird really pops agains the BG and gives the image more depth than if the BG was an entire blur.

Here's one at f/8 for a point of reference. It looks nice an sharp at this size, but if you zoom in on the original, you'll see that the limited DOF at f/8 softened the beak a bit. Nothing major, but enough for me to try and experiment and correct. I do prefer the OOF BG on this version. The link to the original is below this image:

http://canonbob.smugmug.com/photos/154611239-L.jpg

http://canonbob.smugmug.com/photos/154611239-O.jpg

I see your point.

My personal preference is to really blur out the background at the sacrifice of a shallow DOF.

My reasoning is that if I can keep people from trying to guess what's in the background, the better. From a normal viewing distance, most people won't object to a subject that is not entirely in focus. And having a velvety background against which it can *pop* is icing on the cake IMO - unless I am trying to make a point of the environment.