Steve'sDigicams

amybl85 · Oct 26, 2006, 11:26 PM

This was my first attempt at photographing birds with my new Z612. I used no cropping or digital zoom for this, I love that 12x optical zoom! I realize there's a bit of noise in the background, I was shooting on a typical dark Washington day. But that's not what I'm most concerned with. I'm wondering how you prevent "blue-eye" when shooting birds! Red-eye settings don't do any good for blue-eye! :roll: Probably wait for a sunny day, huh? Those will be rare here for the next 6 months! :-) Any suggestions or tips would be appreciated!

kashka · Oct 27, 2006, 6:04 AM

What a couple cuties!...the 'dees are my favorite...sorry I have no advice on the blue eye..lol..but I am sure someone will come along and share their expertise...:-)

bill2468 · Oct 27, 2006, 6:12 AM

What is possibly reflecting off their eyes behind you. :?

BiLL

:|

Boily · Oct 27, 2006, 6:38 AM

Yes, its better when its really sunny outside, you will get sharper pictures !!

The lighting is important, you can also use a tripod to get better results !

This is the best I could do with your picture...(you can still see some noise in the background)

domang · Oct 27, 2006, 8:37 AM

The eye reflection from the flash may be unavoidable. What you could try is to not center the subject (the birds).With the camera, and so the flash, focused to the side of the birds, the reflection may be lessened.

IMO, the trick to small birds is to get them close. At a distance you are using but a few hundred thousand of your six million pixels on your subject, thebirds. And at 12X zoom your aperture is stuck at 4.8. With less zoom the aperture will open to 4.0 or maybe 3.5 to let in more light. Using a tele lens would change the equation.

Below is a recent pic from a Z612. The lack of shadow tell there were clouds overhead. Zoom is 12X, aperture is 4.8, shutter is 1/40 and the ISO is 100. The pic is cropped. Iprobably gave the pic some light sharpening and contrast adjustment using Photofiltre. Not the best possible picture but it should make the point.

File: - C:\Documents and Settings\Compaq_Owner\My Documents\My Pictures\101506-3\100_5564a.jpg

Make - EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY
Model - KODAK Z612 ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA
Orientation - Top left
XResolution - 230
YResolution - 230
ResolutionUnit - Inch
YCbCrPositioning - Centered
ExifOffset - 504
ExposureTime - 1/40 seconds
FNumber - 4.80
ExposureProgram - Normal program
ISOSpeedRatings - 100
ExifVersion - 0221
DateTimeOriginal - 2006:10:15 16:15:10
DateTimeDigitized - 2006:10:15 16:15:10
ComponentsConfiguration - YCbCr
ShutterSpeedValue - 1/40 seconds
ApertureValue - F 4.76
ExposureBiasValue - -0.33
MaxApertureValue - F 4.76
MeteringMode - Center weighted average
LightSource - Auto
Flash - Not fired, compulsory flash mode
FocalLength - 70.20 mm
FlashPixVersion - 0100
ColorSpace - sRGB
ExifImageWidth - 0
ExifImageHeight - 0
InteroperabilityOffset - 11148
ExposureIndex - 100
SensingMethod - One-chip color area sensor
FileSource - Other
SceneType - Other
CustomRendered - Normal process
ExposureMode - Auto
WhiteBalance - Auto
DigitalZoomRatio - 0.00 x
FocalLengthIn35mmFilm - 420 mm
SceneCaptureType - Standard
GainControl - Low gain up
Contrast - Normal
Saturation - Normal
Sharpness - Normal
SubjectDistanceRange - Unknown

Maker Note (Vendor): -

amybl85 · Oct 27, 2006, 10:27 PM

Thanks kashka, chickadees are my favorites too. They're so cute and friendly.

I don't think there was anything behind me that could have been reflecting, but that was a good suggestion, Bill.

Boily, thanks for the editing.

domang, that's not the best possible picture, huh? It sure looks superb to me! :-) Thanks so much for all your helpful tips!

Oct 27, 2006, 6:38 AM	#4
Boily Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 3,704	Yes, its better when its really sunny outside, you will get sharper pictures !! The lighting is important, you can also use a tripod to get better results ! This is the best I could do with your picture...(you can still see some noise in the background) Attached Images

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Oct 26, 2006, 11:26 PM	#1
amybl85 Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 10	This was my first attempt at photographing birds with my new Z612. I used no cropping or digital zoom for this, I love that 12x optical zoom! I realize there's a bit of noise in the background, I was shooting on a typical dark Washington day. But that's not what I'm most concerned with. I'm wondering how you prevent "blue-eye" when shooting birds! Red-eye settings don't do any good for blue-eye! :roll: Probably wait for a sunny day, huh? Those will be rare here for the next 6 months! :-) Any suggestions or tips would be appreciated!

Oct 27, 2006, 6:04 AM	#2
kashka Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Minnedosa Manitoba Posts: 1,159	What a couple cuties!...the 'dees are my favorite...sorry I have no advice on the blue eye..lol..but I am sure someone will come along and share their expertise...:-)

Oct 27, 2006, 6:12 AM	#3
bill2468 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,936	What is possibly reflecting off their eyes behind you. :? BiLL :\|

Oct 27, 2006, 8:37 AM	#5
domang Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 742	The eye reflection from the flash may be unavoidable. What you could try is to not center the subject (the birds).With the camera, and so the flash, focused to the side of the birds, the reflection may be lessened. IMO, the trick to small birds is to get them close. At a distance you are using but a few hundred thousand of your six million pixels on your subject, thebirds. And at 12X zoom your aperture is stuck at 4.8. With less zoom the aperture will open to 4.0 or maybe 3.5 to let in more light. Using a tele lens would change the equation. Below is a recent pic from a Z612. The lack of shadow tell there were clouds overhead. Zoom is 12X, aperture is 4.8, shutter is 1/40 and the ISO is 100. The pic is cropped. Iprobably gave the pic some light sharpening and contrast adjustment using Photofiltre. Not the best possible picture but it should make the point. File: - C:\Documents and Settings\Compaq_Owner\My Documents\My Pictures\101506-3\100_5564a.jpg Make - EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY Model - KODAK Z612 ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA Orientation - Top left XResolution - 230 YResolution - 230 ResolutionUnit - Inch YCbCrPositioning - Centered ExifOffset - 504 ExposureTime - 1/40 seconds FNumber - 4.80 ExposureProgram - Normal program ISOSpeedRatings - 100 ExifVersion - 0221 DateTimeOriginal - 2006:10:15 16:15:10 DateTimeDigitized - 2006:10:15 16:15:10 ComponentsConfiguration - YCbCr ShutterSpeedValue - 1/40 seconds ApertureValue - F 4.76 ExposureBiasValue - -0.33 MaxApertureValue - F 4.76 MeteringMode - Center weighted average LightSource - Auto Flash - Not fired, compulsory flash mode FocalLength - 70.20 mm FlashPixVersion - 0100 ColorSpace - sRGB ExifImageWidth - 0 ExifImageHeight - 0 InteroperabilityOffset - 11148 ExposureIndex - 100 SensingMethod - One-chip color area sensor FileSource - Other SceneType - Other CustomRendered - Normal process ExposureMode - Auto WhiteBalance - Auto DigitalZoomRatio - 0.00 x FocalLengthIn35mmFilm - 420 mm SceneCaptureType - Standard GainControl - Low gain up Contrast - Normal Saturation - Normal Sharpness - Normal SubjectDistanceRange - Unknown Maker Note (Vendor): -

Oct 27, 2006, 10:27 PM	#6
amybl85 Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 10	Thanks kashka, chickadees are my favorites too. They're so cute and friendly. I don't think there was anything behind me that could have been reflecting, but that was a good suggestion, Bill. Boily, thanks for the editing. domang, that's not the best possible picture, huh? It sure looks superb to me! :-) Thanks so much for all your helpful tips!