upgraded to a 70D .. need to make sure im making the best use of it

 

<p>Hi! I'm taking agility photos this weekend and I've got a few questions. My ISO is 1600, shutter at 1/250 and F 3-4 but that's the highest I can go without it getting dark. I do not want to bump my ISO up.. and I can't go lower on that shutter speed. I shoot with AF, but I have problems with focus... what else can I do to capture these photos better... Would servo make it better? I swear I have tried it once, and did better with one shot.. but maybe I'm wrong. I can't remember what I used if it was servo or one shot for these..<br>

If I used servo.. would it have followed the dog and not made the second picture so blurry? Or should I be shooting with some other settings?<br /><br />Maybe I just have to deal with it because my F stop is so low.. but again.. I can't go higher, or my photos get darker and darker. <br /><br />What I would like to get more often.. http://imgur.com/ylkjpUi<br /><br />settings... http://imgur.com/coKkjur<br>

what I get 60% of the time http://imgur.com/qkiv6Tx</p>

 

<p>I'm not sure why you don't want to push up the ISO, I'm doing fine at 6400 and LR noise reduction with the 70D. For moving subjects, servo is usually the best choice but you need to practice and know what it's doing. Also, move the focus off the shutter button to the back button. Then you can focus separate from shooting and, this is the best point, you get the equivalent of one shot by just taking your finger off the focus button.</p>

<p>LR Noise reduction? What does that mean... Light room noise reduction? I have used a noise reducer on the first shot through photoshop which made it look much nicer.. <br /><br /> Thank you Jeff.</p>

I always, always use servo AF, especially for moving subjects.

 

By LR noise reduction Ashley is referring to Lightroom's noise reduction algorithms.

 

The 70D works well at up to ISO 3200. Various noise reduction strategies may yield different results. Noise reduction is

employed best when it strikes the balance between too much blurring and too much noise.

 

If you are shooting JPEGs -stop and which over to raw.

<p>I started shooting raw a few months ago, that's helped a ton. Good to know about how high I should go.</p>

<p>If I have a dog in a stay, lock that focus on it's face, and then have it jump over a bar..do I need to keep that back button held or do I let go while I press the shutter?</p>

<p>Can it be that you have given it too much thought? A few of your remarks and pictures ring all kind of alarm bells: you're shooting in Manual mode, use the backbutton (how is it programmed?), one shot mode for moving subjects.<br /> I'd go back to more or less auto settings. The pictures you posted don't require Manual exposure, auto should be fine. Keep ISO at 1600 or so, use P/Av/Tv in such a way that you get a shutter speed of 1/250 or so and use AI Servo. I'd choose a smaller opening, f/2.8 or f/4.0 but that's personal. Forget the back button, set the camera to AE/AF with the shutter button. Take some pictures, try several settings and work from there.<br /> Options to consider are a shorter shutter speed (through higher ISO) and the several AF options the 70D offers like grouping the AF points etc. Also shoot bursts, the 2nd or 3rd shot may be sharper than the first. Since you can't control the exact movements of the dogs it is not about keeper rates but about getting a few (very) good shots. Discard/forget the rest of them, memory space is cheap.</p>

<p>Agility photos????</p>

<p>"</p>

 

<p ><a href="/photodb/user?user_id=8261737">Ashley Dickerson</a> , Jul 06, 2014; 10:44 p.m.</p>

 

<p>I started shooting raw a few months ago, that's helped a ton. Good to know about how high I should go.</p>

 

 

 

 

<p ><a name="00cgpW"></a><a href="/photodb/user?user_id=8261737">Ashley Dickerson</a> , Jul 06, 2014; 11:37 p.m.</p>

 

<p>If I have a dog in a stay, lock that focus on it's face, and then have it jump over a bar..do I need to keep that back button held or do I let go while I press the shutter?"<br>

-----------------------------</p>

<p>I think those two posts highlight the problem. If after several months of shooting you did not have the curiosity to at least do a little experimenting (after reading the manual several times. and researching the subject.). You then conclude after all that to find people to do your work for you...in photography that simply does not work out well. Experienced people cannot give you concrete answers to overly generalized questions from people with no fundamental knowledge base. Sorry if that seems harsh, but it is true.</p>