A good first try - you got the catchlight in the eye. However, good bird shots need to be sharp. You need to be able to see all the feather details..

The 70-200 f4 should be an excellent lens but the quality of this image is a little strange. Nothing is quite in focus, there appears to be some serious purple fringing and the bokeh (quality of the out of focus portion of the picture) is strange..

I don't own this lens but it doesn't look right. It would be worth taking some more shots with the lens and checking it out in case it is damaged.Chris R..

Chris R-UK wrote:.

A good first try - you got the catchlight in the eye. However, goodbird shots need to be sharp. You need to be able to see all thefeather details..

The 70-200 f4 should be an excellent lens but the quality of thisimage is a little strange..

I think you misread (me too at first glance, btw) - The OP is referring to a 70-210mm lens (older, discontiuned model) not the 70-200mm f/4. The exif also states that it was taken at 210mm, which confirms it's also not a typo on the OP's side..

I agree with your observations, the image is not quite sharp, however it's a hard call to say whether the focus of the lens is of, or the OP just misfocused (accidentally)..

The CA and purple fringing also struck my eye immediately. Quite intrusive.

Nothing is quite in focus, there appearsto be some serious purple fringing and the bokeh (quality of the outof focus portion of the picture) is strange..

I don't own this lens but it doesn't look right. It would be worthtaking some more shots with the lens and checking it out in case itis damaged.Chris R..

This is a pretty strange picture, I see a lot of purple fringing, but I think some of it is also actually motion blur, which I wouldn't really expect that much of at 1/800 of a second. Were the branches and bird blowing in the wind and moving around? Also, the most sharply focused area is a branch on the left side, and that's not especially sharp either..

One of my friends has this lens and has taken great wildlife pictures with it using a Canon D60, so I know it's not an inherently bad design, maybe there actually is something wrong with this copy. I would suggest stopping it down to f/5.6 (where it will be sharper) and trying some higher shutter speeds, over 1/1000 before jumping to any conclusions though. I would also use One Shot AF to ensure that focus locks where you want it. This shot looks like the camera might have been refocusing when you took it...

The composition and all should be a nice picture, but there is some blur issue..

Try some trial shots to check the lens/camera combination focus before you panic about thinking something is wrong with the equipment. Try it with the camera on a tripod or bean/bag rest at several different zoom lenths and aperatures. If the focus is good under these conditions then you or the subject had some motion. If that is the case, do some test shots with the camera hand held to work on steadiness. Experiment to determine what shutter speeds you need to get good shots at different focal lengths..

Don't be discouragedyour instincts were goodthe problem is something technical that can be worked out...

Thanks everyone for your comments..

I'm starting to think I was the problem on that particular shot, not the lens. I have taken many more photos with that lens. The purple has not reappeared, perhaps it was a combination of the light that day and my shaky hands?.

Anyway, I'm getting sharper images more often than not. I am just finding I need LOTS of practice to get the sharp pictures I am looking for when at the far end of my zoom. Also, I need to pay more attention to how the camera is set for AF. This is my first SLR that will focus for me so I am still learning about all the bells and whistles I have at my disposal. Its fun, it's frustrating, but I'm learning. I'm using my OLD tripod a bit more, and drinking less caffeine.



Thanks again...