Crisp at a distance?

[dogden22]

Hi - this is a cropped section of a larger image that I snapped quickly from across the street. I love the outcome in a way, but wish it was crisper. I have an 18-55m lens on a D60, and wonder if the grainy quality is something I can address with ISO on a fast moving shot like this, or whether being able to focus in closer with a different lens would make a difference?

Your thoughts would be much appreciated!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2720/...d57d12500d.jpg

Pidgeons in Novosibirsk on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[windrider86]

Any chance you could post one of your photos here on DPS? Its much easier to critique a photo if one doesnt have to flip back and forth between pages.
Guidelines

[dogden22]

Sorry, still getting the hang of this!

[Athas_orm]

Looking at your EXIF

I think what you really want is to drop the ISO. But that will mean a slower shutter speed. (Which may not catch all the birds in flight frozen the way they are). 3200 is probably far to high an iso however. I'd try to set the ISO to 800 for this.

[dogden22]

Thanks! I'm still getting my head around ISO settings and did wonder if this might be the area to look at...that's really useful feedback - thank you!