Focus/DOF question

[clutchkiller]

Why couldn't I get the tail feathers of this duck in focus?

Shutter speed: 1/160
ISO: 640
Aperture: 11

Thanks in advance for any answers.

 

[Hideandwatch]

I sure dont know Paul, but I must say this is the best wildlife shot that I have seen from you. congrats on a great shot!
someone here should be able to tell you what you need to do.

 

[clutchkiller]

Thanks Hideandwatch, I wish I could get more hits than misses.... so I'm trying to learn the right way to do things, instead of taking a million shots and only ending up with a few good ones.

Here is one from today that I kind of like (wish I could get more like this).

 

[betelgeuse]

I think that photo is great as is. Most would not even notice.

I have just started using digital but I assume it is the same as film.

If you want to get more DOF use a smaller aperture. F11 is pretty small. ( higher number smaller aperture)
Just like fishhooks.

The potential problem is you may have to use a slower shutter speed which may blur from movement of the subject or camera shake. An image stabilized lens or tripod will help with camera shake, but not subject movement. Higer ISO will also allow you to use a faster shutter speed with the smaller aperture, but as always there is a tradeoff and you will lose some image quality.

Your camera should have a setting called aperture priority(AV) where you can select the aperture and the camera then selects a shutter speed.

Camera manuals usually give a good explanation of this. National geographic used to have a good little reference book that explained subjects like this. Do a little reading, it will go along way.

Again, I like the photo the way it is. Gives some depth.

Hope this helps, keep pulling the trigger. If you are using digital just delete. The national geographic people will shoot hundreds or even thousands of pics for one layout.

Good luck

 

[clutchkiller]

Thanks Betelgeuse, I had been shooting only in the Tv mode until recently... I just started taking pictures using Av about a week ago. Of all the things that I have had trouble understanding, the biggest is aperture.

 

[wapiti]

I agree, 1/160 is OK ss if you are shooting a lens that is like a 105mm. Digital sensors unless they are full frame are multiplied by 1.5 to get the actual lens focal length, ie a 400mm lens is like a 600 on film.

So, unless you have great technique are using a tripod or image stabilization, you'll get sharper images with faster shutter speeds, but DOF is totally dependent on aperture size.

Still great images!

I rarely shoot wildlife at smaller f-stops than f8....