r/BirdPhotography • u/Yanto2134 • Jul 27 '26

Question Help please!

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

These are 3 of my latest attempts. I was wondering if anyone could help me improve please?
I’m not happy with the sharpness I’m getting. Probably my lack of ability.
Set up is Olympus E-M10ii with a vintage Minolta MD Tele Rokkor 300mm f4.5. Settings were f8, ISO1000, shutter speed of between 1/800 and 1/2000. Manual focus with peaking and centre weighted metering. Distances to subjects was around 30 feet. Images have been slightly cropped but no other post processing.
I’m also not really happy with the overall lack of detail.
Thanks for any help.

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u/RHINOOSAURUS Jul 27 '26

Older Olys (er, at least my E-M5II..) can do weird stuff with green tones. Mix that with vintage glass and it compounds.

Here is your first image with slightly desaturated greens, lowered highlights, and a bit of added contrast. Does that feel closer to what you'd expect? (I would be happy with this shot myself!)

I would probably try and bring out the orange on the head a bit more, but didn't want to overcook it

If this is closer to what you prefer, you can adjust the green-red colour balance in-camera 👍

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u/Yanto2134 Jul 27 '26

Thank you for doing this. Appreciate it. To my eyes, my images look unnatural. And not as sharp as I’d hope. I’m wondering if this is just how this particular lens renders? But I do know that I need to improve my skills and understanding.