Lots of food for thought -thanks.
One thing I pick up here, I think, is to try for a bit more depth of field for sharper focus. Centre-weighted focusing can lead to too small an area of the photo being sharp - is this correct? (leaving aside any camera movement blur for the moment) Hence suggestions to narrow the aperture slightly.

These two seem better - the bird was closer for a start and there was a handy fence to lean on for a steadier camera. I'd be grateful again for technical comments on the camera settings.
Pheasant1
[IMG]http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/jvs49/IMGP0573resize.jpg[/IMG]
Pheasant2
[IMG]http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/jvs49/IMGP0578resize.jpg[/IMG]
thanks,

Thanks to everyone, esp davex for your very gentle "bit optimistic" comment - I can hear the disbelief in that phrase that anyone would do what I did! However, I didn't deliberately set the shutter speed at 1/15 - I'm not that familiar/confident about the camera settings and am still trying to work out why the speed was so slow. I read somewhere about trying the different programme settings one at a time to see the difference between them, but am maybe a bit impatient! I have lots of photos I'm happy with from my earlier cameras, but have a lot to learn about using one with the flexibility of the K-7. The aperture/shutter speed/ISO relationship is obviously pretty fundamental, but takes a lot of experimenting/experience to be confident about, I think. Also hard to tell just how good the shake reduction is, though I take the point about tripods/fixed objects for steadiness.
Early days!

Thanks for all the above. I've managed to sort out a Photobucket account and used it to post a couple of photos, which seems to have worked as it should, so fingers crossed! I'll try one or two landscape shots next and look forward (well, sort of..) to any comments!

Thanks for getting me started!

All comments gratefully received! The kestrel is a crop from a shot that was pretty sharp full-size. The robin I thought should have been sharp but isn't and I'm not sure why. I know I haven't got the hang of manipulating the camera settings, so perhaps someone could point me in the right direction. Thanks!

kestrel
[IMG]http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/jvs49/IMGP0678crop4-1.jpg[/IMG]

robin
[IMG]http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i479/jvs49/IMGP0693resized-1.jpg[/IMG]

Thanks for the responses and encouragement - I'm happy with criticism if it helps me take better pics. I've read the bit about posting photos but at present don't have any already on the web. I have Picasa installed on my computer - how does that compare with Photobucket? Is there some reason that Photobucket gets the mention, or is it just a convenient example?
I have a few photos from Fairburn Ings last w/end, my first real outing with the Pentax. When I sort out the web hosting thing, I'll post some of the ones that didn't work as well as the odd ones that did!
I'd certainly be interested in going over to Fairburn. Potteric Carr is one of my favourite spots, esp for dragonflies in the summer.
Thanks again for the welcome!

Hi all,

Getting really interested in photography while knowing very little to be honest. Think I have a bit of an eye for landscapes and people pics and really want to capture wildlife, esp birds when I go out birding.
Just graduated from a bridge superzoom to a K-7 with a DA 55-300 lens and saving for a DA* 300 prime, so not in the Bigma league.
Moving birds are causing me all sorts of focus problems with my new gear - suspect shutter speeds too slow.

I'd be really grateful for any tips on settings for the kit I have at the moment to get well-focused bird shots.

Thanks,