Some Experimentation - Opinions Wanted!

[Canon_Bob]

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?

[Jaedon]

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.

[Copy_Kot]

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.

[paulnj]

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.

[mjs1973]

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.

[Canon_Bob]

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-O.jpg

[paulnj]

I see your point.

[Loupey]

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.