Shooting small birds in flight (1 Viewer)

Roy C · May 9, 2011

I have never had much success with this so am looking for some tips. I have come the the conclusion that you have to pre-focus on a spot and then let rip with a high burst but what shutter speeds for say, birds like the blue tit. Also I guess it helps to stop the lens down a bit - would you say f8?. I have tried shooting at around 1/1600 sec and f8 but trouble is you need a very hight ISO or mega good light to acheive this. Another thing is exactly where to focus, for instance if you are using a feeder as the distance would you pre focus right on the feeder or just in front of it ? Anyone with any killer tips ?

GYRob · May 9, 2011

I had a go at this sort of thing a long time ago and found that with my mk3 and 300f2.8isL Pree focus was best .
the birds were landing on a branch then flying down to the post with food on so i focused mid way on the post wide open and about 1/4000sec iso 400 i think but the hit rate is very low .
One thing that did help was to not look through the camera /lens but watch the birds with your eyes then simply press the shutter if it looks like there going down.
Rob.

Roy C · May 9, 2011

GYRob said:
I had a go at this sort of thing a long time ago and found that with my mk3 and 300f2.8isL Pree focus was best .
the birds were landing on a branch then flying down to the post with food on so i focused mid way on the post wide open and about 1/4000sec iso 400 i think but the hit rate is very low .
One thing that did help was to not look through the camera /lens but watch the birds with your eyes then simply press the shutter if it looks like there going down.
Rob.

Some nice shots there Rob, I was thinking of mounting on a tripod and using a remote release. What sort of aperture were you using as 1/4000 at ISO 400 is not easy to acheive unless you use f2.8 or f4 which could mean not enough DOF!

GYRob · May 9, 2011

Roy C said:
Some nice shots there Rob, I was thinking of mounting on a tripod and using a remote release. What sort of aperture were you using as 1/4000 at ISO 400 is not easy to acheive unless you use f2.8 or f4 which could mean not enough DOF!

i did say wide open Roy

f 2.8 i had a lot of misses . yes a remote is good, also dont try and get to close it gives you more chance.
Rob.

D. Taylor · May 10, 2011

small birds

I have been photographing some Eastern Bluebird in flight. The small ones are the hardest to get. What is do is to set up on a point they will be going to or leaving. Most of the time it is the nesting box. I focus on the box, switch to manual the pan just past the box. I usually use manual mode, 1/2000 at f4. If the light is enough I go to f8 to get more dof. I use a Nikon D 300 S, set on continuous high to get about 7 frames per second, tripod and wired remote. The birds will always make a stop before going to the box on a predictable route. When I see them leave this perch, going or leaving the box I just hold down the shutter. The focus area only covers about 3 to 4 feet and I usually get 3 photos before the bird leaves the frame.

If i get brave and try catching other in flight, such Grackles, Crows, etc. I use continues focus and anywhere from 9 to 54 point auto focus. I try to catch them at a distance and wait for the shot I want using the shutter on continues high.

You can see some shots at http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/40197 or
www.donnyswildlife.com

Hope this helps,

Donny

Roy C · May 10, 2011

Thanks for the feedback guys :t:. It looks like I am going to need a shutter speed of at least 1/2000 sec.
The rest is what I had guessed, Manual mode, Pre focus, tripod , remote release, high burst with the aperture being as small as I can get away with. With the 7D shooting at ISO 800 is no problem and will help with the shutter speed/aperture. I am OK with the focussing as I always use the back button to focus so the wireless remote will not trigger the AF as it is linked to the shutter button. I will report back as trying it all out.

Zackiedawg · May 11, 2011

Somewhat depends on what type of 'in flight' too - for birds consistently coming to a spot to feed, and setting up for the incoming or outgoing, the prefocusing idea tends to work very well. For a random bird just buzzing around the sky, prefocus usually doesn't work at all - so switching to continuous/tracking/3D focus mode, and opening up all the focus points in the multipoint grid is usually best to allow the camera to find the subject somewhere in the grid and begin tracking. Then it just becomes a matter of practicing your aim in finding the target in the viewfinder and panning/predicting movement along with it. If using a zoom lens, I tend to zoom out a wee bit to help find the subject, then zoom in closer. With a fixed lens, I two-eye it to get on the subject before finding it in the viewfinder then letting tracking take over while my job is to just keep it somewhere in the frame.

I enjoy the challenge with fast-moving swallows, sparrows, phoebes, terns, etc that are not feeding/landing, but actively flying past. It has taken much practice to start upping the hit rate, and the hit rate still stays fairly low compared to other types of photography, but it's all the more fun when you get them.

Roy C · May 12, 2011

Zackiedawg said:
Somewhat depends on what type of 'in flight' too - for birds consistently coming to a spot to feed, and setting up for the incoming or outgoing, the prefocusing idea tends to work very well. For a random bird just buzzing around the sky, prefocus usually doesn't work at all - so switching to continuous/tracking/3D focus mode, and opening up all the focus points in the multipoint grid is usually best to allow the camera to find the subject somewhere in the grid and begin tracking. Then it just becomes a matter of practicing your aim in finding the target in the viewfinder and panning/predicting movement along with it. If using a zoom lens, I tend to zoom out a wee bit to help find the subject, then zoom in closer. With a fixed lens, I two-eye it to get on the subject before finding it in the viewfinder then letting tracking take over while my job is to just keep it somewhere in the frame.

I enjoy the challenge with fast-moving swallows, sparrows, phoebes, terns, etc that are not feeding/landing, but actively flying past. It has taken much practice to start upping the hit rate, and the hit rate still stays fairly low compared to other types of photography, but it's all the more fun when you get them.

Thanks for the feedback, I am OK with general flyers it was just the shutter speed etc. for the small fast garden birds as they come into the feeders that I was wondering about.

Chalky W · May 12, 2011

Looking forward to seeing the results, best of luck with it Roy.

Keebs · May 12, 2011

Roy C said:
would you pre focus right on the feeder or just in front of it ?

The birds visiting my garden feeders tend to stop off at a perching point on the way.
I find if I keep the same distance from both making a triangle, then they are pretty much flying at the same distance from the camera the whole route, making the focussing less of a chore.

Not sure if I've explained that very well but it makes sense to me |:$|

Roy C · May 13, 2011

Keebs said:
The birds visiting my garden feeders tend to stop off at a perching point on the way.
I find if I keep the same distance from both making a triangle, then they are pretty much flying at the same distance from the camera the whole route, making the focussing less of a chore.

Not sure if I've explained that very well but it makes sense to me |:$|

I am also not sure that I explained it either, I do set the focus roughly around the mid point between the feeder and the perch but it is the distance focus that I was wondering,as my perch and feeder is not quite perpendicular from my shooting point - what I have been doing is to try to get the average point between the two.

Keebs · May 13, 2011

Ah I see - I make myself perpendicular to the two which I think helps. It will obviously be slightly a shorter distance as you get to the midway point but I try to shoot at either the perch end or the feeder end rather than the midway point.

mr_birdman · Jun 28, 2011

Check out how Alan Murphy does it. You should find it on his blog. It certainly looks tough.

Check this image out!!!
http://alanmurphyphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Eastern-Bluebird-87.jpg

And the blog...

http://alanmurphyphotography.com/blog/

Shooting small birds in flight (1 Viewer)

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Roy C

Occasional bird snapper

GYRob

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Roy C

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GYRob

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D. Taylor

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Roy C

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Zackiedawg

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Roy C

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Chalky W

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Keebs

If I fire off enough shots, maybe just one of 'em

Roy C

Occasional bird snapper

Keebs

If I fire off enough shots, maybe just one of 'em

mr_birdman

No longer a Canon Snob.

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