The gray and cloudy weather makes zoom photography a pain. With an apperture setting of f/5.6 and ISO 400, I am able to get a shutter speed of about 1/120 second. This is scarsely enough to get sharp pictures at 500mm. I have now identified this to be MY MAIN PROBLEM. In other words, the autofocus works great. The unclear photos are due to camera shake.

Now that the problem has been diagnosed, I may be able to come up with a solution.

1. Get a lens with image stabilizer. This is an expensive solution, but can get at least 2 f-stops, or a factor of 4 in shutter speed.

2. Get a camera with good image quality even at high ISO settings. This is another expensive solution. However, probably the best solution. My current camera can not be set to more than ISO 400 if the image noise is not going to ruin the picture. I want a 1D Mark IV. That will also solve the crappy menu system on the 1D Mark II.

3. Get a flash. Not suitable for birds in flight, or other situations that require 8.5 images per second.

4. Get a tripod. Too cumbersome.

5. Learn to stay totally still when using the camera. I am already holding the camera properly and holding my breath when I shoot, so this is going to be tough. It is free, though.

6. Wait until a sunny day. Another free solution.