My new Nikon 70-300mm lens

[mardy46]

I was so surprised when the photo worked on the earlier post, I forgot to put any details with the photo. I did crop, to lose some trees on the waters edge.
It was shot in Auto , which was ISO 220, 300mm Focal length, F/5.6, 1/500s,
I am getting more used to the lens now, still deleting lots of photos.
I try manual,, but am having problems with settings. I read all about settings etc, but when out actually taking a photo it never works the way I thought. Hence I end up using Auto. I will keep trying, it will work for me eventually.
mardy46

[OsmosisStudios]

the lens is less than stellar at f/5.6 (wide open), especially at longer focal lengths and farther focusing distances. I have some great shots with it at f/5.6, but most are at f/8.

You've got a bit of leeway, especially with the D5000: try upping your ISO another stop or two (400-800) and stopping the aperture down to f/8. Your photo is also underexposed, so you may want to up the iSO 2 stops and just stop it down 1 (1/500, 800iso, f/8)

Last but not least: tracking a moving target is something that takes practice: were you panning with the birds? That can affect sharpness significantly.

[mardy46]

Thank you OsmosisStudios for your comments. Something I would really love to do with my photography, is to go out in the field with someone who has a good knowledge of photograpy/ lenses etc and show me what to do. Until that happens I will keep practising, trial and error.
Í was just following the Pelicans and clicking as I went, maybe that is panning, I dont know. The reason I went for auto, was I had no time to think about settings, they took off suddenly.
Back to the camera for more practice, I need more time. Work tends to interfere.

mardy46