The bird.....again

[Khaos]

I know, me and shots of my damn bird.

I love the feathers on this one, but I unfortunately blurred the beak. Any other comments are welcome. Brutal honesty is always welcome and preferred.

http://khaos.smugmug.com/photos/16546878-L.jpg (http://khaos.smugmug.com/photos/newexif.mg?ImageID=16546878)

[Khaos]

This one is a little better. Not as close but at least fully in focus. Brutal away please.

http://khaos.smugmug.com/photos/16546880-L.jpg (http://khaos.smugmug.com/photos/newexif.mg?ImageID=16546880)

[TristanP]

I like both. The first needs a smaller aperture to get him/her all in focus. Colors are good. The second looks to have a slight motion blur to it? Maybe it's my eyes/monitor.

[fish]

The colors are nice. Is it a focus problem or a DOF problem? :dunno

[Khaos]

Both are at 2.8.

I don't see the motion blur on 2, does anyone else? I think it may be a focus issue. Click on both for EXIF. The first has a slow shutter speed. Both have the same ISO and aperture. I think its a Canon autofocus issue occuring in the first. I'm lazy and I've been letting the camera choose shutter speed instaed of doing it myself.

[wxwax]

I think you're so close, and have such a narrow depth of field, that when your autofocus picks the neck as its focus point, the eye goes soft.

[Khaos]

I think you're so close, and have such a narrow depth of field, that when your autofocus picks the neck as its focus point, the eye goes soft.
So I should quit being a lazy ass and focus myself or bump up the aperture to 3.2?

[fish]

So I should quit being a lazy ass and focus myself or bump up the aperture to 3.2?
I don't think you're going to see a marked improvement in DOF between f2.8 and f3.2 (3.2??). My guess is that you're going to need at least f5.6. Might also want to back up a bit. And if your shutterspeed isn't fast enough, go with a tripod.