Sony 200-600 lens Question

[rgarven]

Friends,

I have a question about this long telephone lens. I haven't got to use it much, but I took it out to a local bird sanctuary and shot a bunch of photos and some came out nice. My question is; after I snapped a picture the final result was a lot darker than what I saw in the view finder. Do I have something wrong in the settings? I was shooting in M at 1000s of a second. 600mm, f6.3, ISO 125, Sony A7IV, no teleconverter, etc.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Rob

 

[Unframed Dave]

That's a very low iso for wildlife photography.

 

[rgarven]

That's a very low iso for wildlife photography.

Dave,

Even though I've been an amateur photographer for many years, I still don't know what I'm doing. That's why I'm here. HAA I've been shooting in manual to expand my knowledge. It was bright day at the beach sanctuary. My A7IV seems like it has lots of noise, (I wish I would haven gotten the A7RIV) so that is why I shoot with the low ISO.

I took hundreds of photos change the settings around a lot, but I was looking through the viewfinder. It would look perfect and then I'd snap a picture and then the final result would be a lot darker.. I don't think I have any of the settings on weird and it does not happen when I use my other 24 to 105 lens.

Rob

 

[Unframed Dave]

Your other lenses are not as light demanding as the 200-600 at the 600 end.

Wildlife photography demands light and proximity. There's no getting round that, although software helps.

Generally what you see in the viewfinder will be representative of what you see in the image, so I struggle with that part.

I would however need a lot of light to turn the iso down that low for long telephoto shots. Have you tried turning the histogram on and seeing what it shows?

Other than that, try a few shots of something static at iso 125 and then compare it to the same shot at 800. See what that tells you?

Personally, I do everything wrong. I don't shoot in manual for wildlife, most will use shutter priority with auto iso (defined range). I use aperture priority and adjust the iso to get the shutter speed that I want. Within limits, I try not to go beyond 2000 iso.

If you were closer, I'd be happy to spend a bit of time with you, but I think that may be impractical.

I don't think there are any bad cameras these days, so persevere!

 

[THXGEEK]

I use Shutter or Aperture priority for virtually all of my wildlife photos. I'll use Manual mode for static shots (macro or street/landscape) or feeble attempts at astrophotography. I do not fear high ISO values or graininess - software can usually fix most of this.

I have learned to not even attempt 'birds in motion' shots in the late afternoon shade with my longer lenses. With any luck, they'll find a nice perch and wait for me to catch up...

 

[iamdlewis]

You should probably just use auto ISO and memory settings for in-flight and in-tree. I find settings the ISO range to have a base of 400 is good for in-flight and though I use a higher base for in-tree 400 would work there as well.

 

[Chris 3754]

I used the same setup, a7iv with Sony 200-600, and did not have this problem. Grain was never a problem until I got to 1000 ISO, and is still something that is easily fixed in post, so don't be afraid to bump up the ISO as Dave said above. Here are some guesses as to what the viewfinder seems brighter than playback:
1. Are you shooting through the viewfinder and looking at the pictures on the screen? There can be a display difference between the two. I tend to use the viewfinder exclusively and keep the screen closed unless I am making menu adjustments. However, I am a bit old school, coming up on film cameras, which only had a viewfinder. Also, your viewfinder and computer screen in post are two different monitors, so what may look bright in the VF may not look as bright on your computer. I have found that after post what looks like a good exposure to me tends to be a bit dark if I send it to my iPhone. The histogram is the common denominator between them all so you may need to do some mental calibration and know that your viewfinder is always going to be a bit brighter. You just may need to compensate for this or see step two below and lower the viewfinder brightness so it better matches where you review your photos.
2. Check your viewfinder brightness level, I have found that Manual +1 works for me. Menu-Setup-Finder/Monitor-Viewfinder Bright
3. Check your display quality, I use Standard. Menu-Setup-Finder/Monitor-Display Quality
4. Check your Finder Frame Rate, I use High. Menu-Setup-Finder/Monitor-Finder Frame Rate

Let me know if this helps, I am curious about what is causing your issue.