Male Chaffinch... at last he made an appearance...

[theMusicMan]

... and I just so happened to have my camera ready...

Male Chaffinch appeared at long last close to my feeders. I have seen several young 'uns and the female, but the more colourful male hadn't until this morning, made an appearance, at least not when I was sat at my desk!

These are lovely birds, and they really like the peanuts scattered on the ground.

[andym]

Re: Male Chaffinch... at last he made an appearance...

Very nice.One of your best to date in my opinion.

[theMusicMan]

Re: Male Chaffinch... at last he made an appearance...

Very nice.One of your best to date in my opinion.

What a nice thing to say, thanks Andy, much appreciated... as ever. Thank you.
One thing about this image is that I did no PP in PhotoShop apart from the addition of a border (via an action) and a USM for web of 33. All of the processing for this image was done in Lightroom.

[andym]

Re: Male Chaffinch... at last he made an appearance...

Your welcome.I think what makes this is the focus is just in the right place ie the eye.

[theMusicMan]

Re: Male Chaffinch... at last he made an appearance...

Your welcome.I think what makes this is the focus is just in the right place ie the eye.

I totally agree, and the funny thing is that I have been experimenting with AF on the E-3, and currently have the diamond AF set, with CF, and C AF lock on - and seem to be getting sharper images with these settings.

[andym]

Re: Male Chaffinch... at last he made an appearance...

I totally agree, and the funny thing is that I have been experimenting with AF on the E-3, and currently have the diamond AF set, with CF, and C AF lock on - and seem to be getting sharper images with these settings.

John

I use center point small but have the E3 set to manual focus and the FN button set to AF and the shutter to AEL.That way there is no way once the camera is focused it will change unless I touch the FN button or acidentally touch the focus ring..I can the tweek the focus manually if I need to.
I seem to get better results this way.
Its not good for fast bursts if you want to focus between pictures.For that I have AF normal on my mode 1 and the AEL button set to my mode.

[PeterD]

Re: Male Chaffinch... at last he made an appearance...

John,

What a lovely shot and I agree with all Andy has said. The interesting thing is the lack of PP. It goes to show how good the camera can perform and how the flexibilty of the settings can create awful images in some hands but superb images in the practised hands (your shot included in the latter).

PeterD

[PeterD]

Re: Male Chaffinch... at last he made an appearance...

John

I use center point small but have the E3 set to manual focus and the FN button set to AF and the shutter to AEL.That way there is no way once the camera is focused it will change unless I touch the FN button or acidentally touch the focus ring..I can the tweek the focus manually if I need to.
I seem to get better results this way.
Its not good for fast bursts if you want to focus between pictures.For that I have AF normal on my mode 1 and the AEL button set to my mode.

Thanks for the tips Andy. I shall have to see how this affects my shooting as I have not yet set up the Fn and used the MF setting.
One of the big problems I have had was the focus hunting whilst shooting birds in bushes. This may well solve this particular problem.

PeterD

[PeterD]

Re: Male Chaffinch... at last he made an appearance...

Thanks for the tips Andy. I shall have to see how this affects my shooting as I have not yet set up the Fn and used the MF setting.
One of the big problems I have had was the focus hunting whilst shooting birds in bushes. This may well solve this particular problem.

PeterD

Andy,

The Fn button only has the option for MF. Or am I missing something?

Thanks

PeterD

[Graham_of_Rainham]

Re: Male Chaffinch... at last he made an appearance...

Hi,
Is that the 70-300 again? Whatever it's another cracking shot.

I'm spending a fortune on nuts and all I get is Sparrows

[PeterD]

Re: Male Chaffinch... at last he made an appearance...

Hi,
Is that the 70-300 again? Whatever it's another cracking shot.

I'm spending a fortune on nuts and all I get is Sparrows

Graham,

Sorry if I am taking you too seriously about the bird food you are offerring but try mixed seed. Its more likely to attract a wider range of birds.

PeterD

[andym]

Re: Male Chaffinch... at last he made an appearance...

Andy,

The Fn button only has the option for MF. Or am I missing something?

Thanks

PeterD

Peter

Go to wrench 1 in the menu,go to button dial,go to wrench B AEL/AFL,select MF and set to mode 3.
Then in Tab in the last option set the AEL-Fn button swap to on.

Now set the camera to manual focus ,you should now be able to auto focus with the Fn button and the shutter should AEL with a half push and release with a full push.
You can now if you wish set the the Fn function to what ever you wish but if fact this will now be the AEL/AFL button you are setting.
.

Hope this helps.

[theMusicMan]

Re: Male Chaffinch... at last he made an appearance...

Hi,
Is that the 70-300 again? Whatever it's another cracking shot.

I'm spending a fortune on nuts and all I get is Sparrows

Hey Graham

Yep, it's my trusty 70-300mm lens. We seem to be getting along quite well at the moment.