Help with Telephoto Lens

[Raul]

So I bought a new telephoto lens (quite excited!), but I need to learn how to use it well. Its the Canon EF 70-300 f4-5.6 IS USM.

I took some shots today and they seem okay. I used auto mode and Sports mode.

So photography gurus, please step in and help me out with this lens! Thanks!

 

[fastflyinaccord]

What questions do you have? Can we see the photos you took? I shoot with a 55-200 at the races all the time and it works perfectly for the situation

 

[Raul]

Should I use AF or MF? is using automodes such as AV/Sports a good idea? The only pic I am satisfied with is the squirrel pic. Others needed a lot of sharpening. However it was cloudy this afternoon and the light wasn't the best. Maybe that's why the pics were too soft?

I saw the reviews of this lens in POTN and the pics were amazing. I need to learn how to take amazing pics like those.

OK enough talk, here are the pics:

Only pic 11 was slightly cropped.

 

[fastflyinaccord]

Honestly, these pics are really good haha. Focusing modes are up to you and change based on what you're shooting.

The squirrel pic is great! The others are good, but the color and everything should be expected. You are shooting white/gray birds with a grayish background...There is no color (other than the blue band on the wings of those ducks) that really should be standing out. If you took those pictures in a month or two when the trees are blooming and it was sunny, you'd like them a lot more probably

 

[Raul]

Thanks! I guess I will wait till the outside becomes nicer and it will time for me to shoot again

 

[Dinzdale40]

these pics look good for starting out to me. are you using a tripod? do you know the general rule of shutter speed relating to focal length, ie if you want a sharp handheld shot at 300mm you need at least 1/300th of a shutter speed and so on?

 

[Raul]

these pics look good for starting out to me. are you using a tripod? do you know the general rule of shutter speed relating to focal length, ie if you want a sharp handheld shot at 300mm you need at least 1/300th of a shutter speed and so on?

No tripod, just hand held. Umm no, I don't think I know that rule...I guess time to do some reading...

 

[Dinzdale40]

Your lens has IS, so it isn't a hard fast rule, but at least keep it in mind as a starting point and your keeper rate should go up.

 

[98ExAccordwv]

The photos look good though. The squirrel picture especially.
Shooting in the auto modes is okay at first, but you should eventually get to where you're setting the camera up yourself. Check out improvephotography.com they have a couple good articles to get you a basic understanding of ISO, Aperture, Shutter speed; which will help you use the manual modes on your camera.
There a plenty of sites out there for reading up on photography, that is just one I've found and have used.

 

[Raul]

thanks, I will definitely check it out.