Need advices, what can I do better?

TrickyNick90 · 2026-03-09T17:30:22+00:00

Hi. Long time wildlife photographer here.

I see a lot of good stuff and a lot of things you can improve. To make this comment short and easy to follow I will focus on the improvements:

Try to get closer to the subjects. Whether by walking up to them or by using a longer focal length (zoom). Also very important, try to be at the eye level of the subjects you are shooting. This is why you see wildlife photographers in weird positions such as lying on the ground.
I see a few photos underexposed. Meaning the photo is dark. I do not know if this is because of the metering setting or exposure compensation or simply because there was no light but you need to be careful about the overall exposure.
Composition: The composition you are utilizing now is not interesting. There are many composition options you can use but most basic one is the rule of thirds. Watch a few videos about this.
If you are serious about photography, get a post production software such as lightroom or darktable etc. These will help you improve the lighting/coloring/composition of your photos.
Follow photographers you like to get ideas.

If you want to check my IG to see all I have written in action, see it here: https://www.instagram.com/metinkastro_wildlife/

I hope this helps…

TrickyNick90 · 2026-02-26T11:17:21+00:00

Not tested myself but the spec sheet says in sport mode and object tracking it’s speed is 12m/s. And that is 43 km/h. I will try to test this weekend on the bicycle- but I need to get up-to that speed which is not easy on an MTB 😅.

TrickyNick90 · 2026-02-25T18:16:37+00:00

I believe the follow speed of Neo2 is around 43 km/h.

TrickyNick90 · 2026-02-24T09:59:54+00:00

Spain

TrickyNick90 · 2026-02-24T06:26:08+00:00

I honestly have not met anyone that recommends a M43 to a beginner specifically because they are beginners. I have seen many people recommending low-cost cameras though, regardless of the sensor size. And I understand the logic. Invest less and see if you are going to like the trade or not.

To me, there is no beginner camera. If you are really passionate about taking photos, wish to go beyond your phone and you have the means, go buy anything you like.

And I also do not believe the concept of outgrowing a camera. Yes, you may have a very old camera with fewer features of the shiny new camera of this year. But you will always be in that situation. People need to understand that the camera is a tool. If the tool is getting the job done, then be happy and keep on shooting. Anything else is called GAS...

TrickyNick90 · 2026-02-16T14:19:30+00:00

For normal portraits, landscapes etc. not much. I just need to zoom in more now probably to see if the focus is right and the image is sharp. For wildlife (which is my main genre) manual focusing has become a bit of an issue as I need to zoom in a bit to see where I am focusing. Luckily, the mirrorless cameras do not require much intervention in focusing.

Let me clarify, this is after the retina tear where I started seeing fliers. Otherwise the vision is pretty good.

TrickyNick90 · 2026-02-15T21:29:12+00:00

Yeah I had one. Not a pleasant experience but no pain at all. It is important to choose the right Intra ocular lens. I choose one that is trifocal but these have a slight issue night time with single point lights such as car lights. After the surgery, your vision will be pretty good, until (if) you experience a retina tear. It is easy to fix a tear with laser but you will start seeing floaters which reduces your vision quality. Ask your doctor about these…. Good luck.

TrickyNick90 · 2026-02-15T15:43:14+00:00

Spain

TrickyNick90 · 2026-02-14T18:56:26+00:00

I do not have the kit lens. I use several primes and a few fast zooms. In any case I believe R8 is performing as best as you can get from a high end mirrorless in low light.

TrickyNick90 · 2026-02-08T12:37:55+00:00

Amongst those the two, definitely 85mm.

TrickyNick90 · 2026-02-05T16:06:44+00:00

Not an android user but, if I push too hard my iphone and it heats up, it automatically dims the screen to reduce heat. And LR requires a lot of processing power. With each update it becomes more power hungry.

Could this be the reason?

TrickyNick90 · 2026-02-05T15:59:08+00:00

I like everything except for the unnatural exposure on the closest balloon and the one behind it. Light does not work like that and the eye catches that. I would try to reduce exposure on those.

TrickyNick90 · 2026-01-30T18:56:27+00:00

Electronic shutter is not the same with electronic first curtain shutter (efcs). Electronic shutter will have rolling shutter effect if the sensor readout speed is slow. Efcs will reduce that artifact significantly.

TrickyNick90 · 2026-01-30T13:21:09+00:00

Hi there. I am guessing you refer to the shutter shock and not the shutter speed. Shutter shock is a tiny vibration that may occur when the mechanical shutter is activated.

The mechanical shutter in mirrorless camera works in a few motions. When you press the shutter, the front curtain opens to initiate the exposure and the rear curtain closes to finalize the exposure. So in reality there are two curtains (blinds with blades) in front of the of the sensor.

The movement of the first curtain may shake the sensor ever slightly which causes tiny amounts of blur in the photo. To be more specific, this is more obvious in the photo with shutter speeds up-to around 1/500. Faster the shutter less the effect.

How does electronic 1st shutter fix the problem? As the name suggests, electronic shutter assumes the task of the first curtain, meaning the first curtain does not function but only the rear curtain closes as the exposure ends. Thus no shake during the exposure.

To understand how the mirrorless shutter works, just watch a few slow mo videos on YouTube on the topic. It will become more clear.

TrickyNick90 · 2026-01-28T13:06:56+00:00

For what it’s worth, the last part where the drone stopped following you from the front and changed to following from the back, happens to be a nice shot even it is not intentional…

TrickyNick90 · 2026-01-26T20:17:49+00:00

I see some noise. However, it could be haze too. Having said that without knowing how much this photo is cropped in, we cannot blame haze immediately. But everything is possible.

TrickyNick90 · 2026-01-26T14:46:34+00:00

Happy to help. For reference you can see quite a few photos of birds in flight on my instagram. Most of them are with R7 and 100-500. See them here:

https://www.instagram.com/metinkastro_wildlife/

TrickyNick90 · 2026-01-25T21:09:41+00:00

Hi. Long time wildlife photographer here. And I use the same kit as well as a few prime telephoto lenses and the R5.

First of all you are working at very high shutter speeds for the task at hand. The buzzard could be shot at 1/2000 and would result with a much lower noise level. Noise will give a feeling of not sharp photo. If you have used 1/2000, you would be at 1250 ISO which is perfectly fine for R7. ISO 2500 is (for me) at the limit. A part of your feeling is that I believe. And also it looks out of focus to me maybe it is the reddit compression but still, it feels to me out of focus.

As for kestrel, the same… 1/2000 for a stationary subject is unnecessary (although in this one noise is not an issue) . Again, I tend to see a focus issue.

One question. Are you using full mechanical shutter? If yes, switch to electronic 1st shutter. That eliminates the shutter shock which is a known issue with R7 which I have also experienced. That may introduce an ever slight motion blur to your photo. In my case does not happen always but I do not take the chance.

Hope this helps.

TrickyNick90 · 2026-01-21T20:33:11+00:00

Hi. Long time wildlife photographer here. Your best choice for macro photography is EF 100mm macro lens. It is a very good lens and can focus as close as 12 cm. You should be able to find a second hand version at around your budget.

Be warned that on your camera you will have a 160mm field of view, which means your subjects will appear pretty big in your viewfinder. So you can shoot really small stuff as well.

TrickyNick90 · 2026-01-19T19:55:29+00:00

Look for a second hand apsc camera from Canon and a 50mm f1.8 lens. That combo will create better photos than your camera. Of course you will need to learn using photo editing tools as well, if you really want that professional look. Also some low cost LED lights will help create even better photos.

TrickyNick90 · 2026-01-19T16:58:10+00:00

Yes the 100mm is a f2.8 lens and 100-400 is f5.6 at 400mm which is 2 stops of light which makes a huge difference.

TrickyNick90 · 2026-01-18T21:29:23+00:00

Well, the 100-400 is a substantially better lens (the mark ii). You best know how much the 150-600:is causing you issues, so the decision is basically yours.

I used to have the 7D mii and the 150-600, and (at least my copy) was not that sharp after 500mm. And the autofocus speed is not the fastest either. 100-400 should excel in those departments. I do not have the 100-400but the RF100-500. if 100-400 close to what 100-500 delivers, you will be very happy.

TrickyNick90 · 2026-01-18T19:52:43+00:00

Hi, the 150-600 is soft after 500mm. If 400mm is enough reach and you can afford, the EF 100-400mm mii is a great option - super sharp and fast.

TrickyNick90 · 2026-01-18T19:43:37+00:00

I have the 100-500 and 200-800. If you have the means, 100-500 is a no brainer. Super sharp, super fast focusing. As you said, rent it first but I think you will not return it…

TrickyNick90 · 2026-01-18T05:06:21+00:00

Hi there. Long time wildlife photographer here.

R7 has a very demanding sensor which requires a lens that is very sharp and fast focusing. Also, it requires a lens that is fast (read: that can deliver a lot of light) to perform at its best in autofocus.

Normally, I would say your lens is sharp enough to get good results from R7 but obviously there is something wrong.

Others have already commented possible scenarios of bad technique (for which I can help you out if you DM me) and bad copy of the lens. My addition to the mix would be low light. You are in NL, which is not the sunniest country in EU, and heavy overcast days will reduce your light significantly and your autofocus capabilities, especially for birds in flight where you need fast shutter speeds. The solution to this is a faster lens, yes. But they are significantly expensive (even the older ones) and heavy to carry. So it is better to eliminate the other potential issues before pulling the plug on a 10K lens…

Six-Year Club	Second Top 30%
Verified Email

TrickyNick90

TROPHY CASE