st louis zoo

st louis zoo · 08:23 PM

Went to the st louis zoo today....still a little early but got a few good shots....tell me what you think

Rick

daacon · 03-10-2008, 07:10 AM

Not bad Rick #1 is the best I think. The others look a little soft and overexposed a bit.

channeler · 03-10-2008, 08:42 AM

Nicely composed Rick but some do look a little soft/overexposed. Which lens were you using? 3 is an amazing image. Was the bird successful in pinching food from the ground squirrel(?) ?

Paul

Pentaxnut · 03-10-2008, 03:37 PM

Originally posted by daacon

Not bad Rick #1 is the best I think. The others look a little soft and overexposed a bit.

a few are a little soft.....I need to work on that

thanks for the comments

Rick

Pentaxnut · 03-10-2008, 03:43 PM

Originally posted by channeler

Nicely composed Rick but some do look a little soft/overexposed. Which lens were you using? 3 is an amazing image. Was the bird successful in pinching food from the ground squirrel(?) ?

Paul

I agree a few are a little soft.....was using sigma bigma.... i need to use that lens more often to get used to it...and no the bird did not win against the prairie dogs he kept his treat.....

thanks for the comments Paul

Rick

wrxwheelman · 03-10-2008, 06:21 PM

cool man, i think me and the girlfriend are going to head out there on wednesday too. 70 degrees sounds like a good time at the zoo!

**rparmar** · 03-10-2008, 06:53 PM

I think the contrast in the "softer" images can be brought out quite easily in a photo editor. However it looks like the focus is off in the last three shots -- in each case behind the natural point of interest. I think this is an auto-focus issue and some fine tuning manually might improve future shots. Go for it!

Pentaxnut · 03-10-2008, 07:34 PM

Originally posted by rparmar

I think the contrast in the "softer" images can be brought out quite easily in a photo editor. However it looks like the focus is off in the last three shots -- in each case behind the natural point of interest. I think this is an auto-focus issue and some fine tuning manually might improve future shots. Go for it!

im not sure if its a auto focus issue or operator issue.....either way i'll work on improving it..... all images are straight from camera and not processed ...i was also playing with the iso a bit......thanks for your comments

Rick

Pentaxnut · 03-10-2008, 07:41 PM

Originally posted by wrxwheelman

cool man, i think me and the girlfriend are going to head out there on wednesday too. 70 degrees sounds like a good time at the zoo!

we were there sunday about 1 and ther was'nt many people there...and alot of places were closed many animals were inside....but was still a good time

Rick

Stratman · 03-10-2008, 09:23 PM

Can't wait to get back. I was thinking about going Sunday, but just lacked the motivation, plus it was ANOTHER gloomy day, ugh !!! instead went to Faust Park off of Olive, and shot a card full o' raws for the first time. Lot's of geese there, haha

user440 · 03-11-2008, 05:45 AM

It's like a STL convention in here.... We'll be hitting the Zoo on Sat or Sun probably.

Peter Zack · 03-11-2008, 06:56 AM

Nice series and I really like the bird prairie dog shot. I had a look at the last bear shot that was a bit soft and I'd say it's a matter of shutter speed. The lens is big and heavy as you know and 1/45th hand held is just too slow to get a clean and clear shot.

Exposure Time (1 / Shutter Speed) = 1/45 second = 0.02222 second
Lens F-Number/F-Stop = 67/10 = F6.7
Exposure Program = aperture priority (3)
ISO Speed Ratings = 800
Focal Length = 23000/100 mm = 230 mm

The old rule of thumb was shoot the shutter speed = to the focal length (ie: 500mm =1/500th) SR will give you 3-4 stops but you still need to stay above 1/100th IMO with this lens at any focal length partly due to the weight. Was the light that bad for the bear? You're at a pretty high ISO and shooting wide open as well.

The goose shot (very nice BTW) shows the higher shutter speed/aperture stopped down, advantages. Very good image at ISO1600 as well. But the lens is really stopped down here a lot so the light must have been dramatically different than the bear.

Exposure Time (1 / Shutter Speed) = 1/350 second = 0.00286 second
Lens F-Number/F-Stop = 190/10 = F19
ISO Speed Ratings = 1600
Focal Length = 11500/100 mm = 115 mm

With the bear shot I might have used spot metering off the rocks in a brighter section and locked the exposure reading with a higher shutter speed and then composed the shot to fire. I bet you could have gotten 2 stops higher speed and 1 stop closed down on the aperture for a sharper image. The bigma, like almost all zooms (exception DA*'s?), doesn't perform at it's best when wide open.

Pentaxnut
	View full profile
	Contact via private message
	Find other posts by Pentaxnut
	Find threads started by Pentaxnut
	Find threads in which Pentaxnut has posted

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
People OK GO Came to St.Louis	LSPhtography	Post Your Photos!	4	04-21-2010 05:21 PM
Hello from St. Louis	stl_stadtroller	Welcomes and Introductions	4	06-11-2009 12:19 AM
A Virtual Zoo Trip - Caldwell Zoo, Tyler, TX	cputeq	Post Your Photos!	6	07-12-2008 11:09 PM
Hi from St. Louis	krs	Welcomes and Introductions	2	08-25-2007 08:46 PM
St. Louis Zoo	Stratman	Post Your Photos!	4	05-17-2007 08:45 PM

03-10-2008, 07:10 AM	#2
daacon Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Alberta,Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 20,914	Not bad Rick #1 is the best I think. The others look a little soft and overexposed a bit.

03-10-2008, 08:42 AM	#3
channeler Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Northwich Cheshire England Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,009	Nicely composed Rick but some do look a little soft/overexposed. Which lens were you using? 3 is an amazing image. Was the bird successful in pinching food from the ground squirrel(?) ? Paul

03-10-2008, 03:37 PM	#4
Pentaxnut Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: St. Peters Missouri Posts: 100 Original Poster	Originally posted by daacon Not bad Rick #1 is the best I think. The others look a little soft and overexposed a bit. a few are a little soft.....I need to work on that thanks for the comments Rick

03-10-2008, 03:43 PM	#5
Pentaxnut Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: St. Peters Missouri Posts: 100 Original Poster	Originally posted by channeler Nicely composed Rick but some do look a little soft/overexposed. Which lens were you using? 3 is an amazing image. Was the bird successful in pinching food from the ground squirrel(?) ? Paul I agree a few are a little soft.....was using sigma bigma.... i need to use that lens more often to get used to it...and no the bird did not win against the prairie dogs he kept his treat..... thanks for the comments Paul Rick

03-10-2008, 06:21 PM	#6
wrxwheelman Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: St. Louis area Posts: 39	cool man, i think me and the girlfriend are going to head out there on wednesday too. 70 degrees sounds like a good time at the zoo!

03-10-2008, 06:53 PM	#7
rparmar Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2008 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,819	I think the contrast in the "softer" images can be brought out quite easily in a photo editor. However it looks like the focus is off in the last three shots -- in each case behind the natural point of interest. I think this is an auto-focus issue and some fine tuning manually might improve future shots. Go for it!

03-10-2008, 07:34 PM	#8
Pentaxnut Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: St. Peters Missouri Posts: 100 Original Poster	Originally posted by rparmar I think the contrast in the "softer" images can be brought out quite easily in a photo editor. However it looks like the focus is off in the last three shots -- in each case behind the natural point of interest. I think this is an auto-focus issue and some fine tuning manually might improve future shots. Go for it! im not sure if its a auto focus issue or operator issue.....either way i'll work on improving it..... all images are straight from camera and not processed ...i was also playing with the iso a bit......thanks for your comments Rick

03-10-2008, 07:41 PM	#9
Pentaxnut Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: St. Peters Missouri Posts: 100 Original Poster	Originally posted by wrxwheelman cool man, i think me and the girlfriend are going to head out there on wednesday too. 70 degrees sounds like a good time at the zoo! we were there sunday about 1 and ther was'nt many people there...and alot of places were closed many animals were inside....but was still a good time Rick

03-10-2008, 09:23 PM	#10
Stratman Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: St Louis, Missouri U S A Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,464	Can't wait to get back. I was thinking about going Sunday, but just lacked the motivation, plus it was ANOTHER gloomy day, ugh !!! instead went to Faust Park off of Olive, and shot a card full o' raws for the first time. Lot's of geese there, haha

03-11-2008, 05:45 AM	#11
user440 Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: St. Louis, MO Photos: Gallery Posts: 349	It's like a STL convention in here.... We'll be hitting the Zoo on Sat or Sun probably.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

03-11-2008, 06:56 AM	#12
Peter Zack Pentaxian Moderator Emeritus Join Date: May 2007 Location: Edmonton Alberta, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 10,643	Nice series and I really like the bird prairie dog shot. I had a look at the last bear shot that was a bit soft and I'd say it's a matter of shutter speed. The lens is big and heavy as you know and 1/45th hand held is just too slow to get a clean and clear shot. Exposure Time (1 / Shutter Speed) = 1/45 second = 0.02222 second Lens F-Number/F-Stop = 67/10 = F6.7 Exposure Program = aperture priority (3) ISO Speed Ratings = 800 Focal Length = 23000/100 mm = 230 mm The old rule of thumb was shoot the shutter speed = to the focal length (ie: 500mm =1/500th) SR will give you 3-4 stops but you still need to stay above 1/100th IMO with this lens at any focal length partly due to the weight. Was the light that bad for the bear? You're at a pretty high ISO and shooting wide open as well. The goose shot (very nice BTW) shows the higher shutter speed/aperture stopped down, advantages. Very good image at ISO1600 as well. But the lens is really stopped down here a lot so the light must have been dramatically different than the bear. Exposure Time (1 / Shutter Speed) = 1/350 second = 0.00286 second Lens F-Number/F-Stop = 190/10 = F19 ISO Speed Ratings = 1600 Focal Length = 11500/100 mm = 115 mm With the bear shot I might have used spot metering off the rocks in a brighter section and locked the exposure reading with a higher shutter speed and then composed the shot to fire. I bet you could have gotten 2 stops higher speed and 1 stop closed down on the aperture for a sharper image. The bigma, like almost all zooms (exception DA*'s?), doesn't perform at it's best when wide open.