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Photographing birds in flight (1 Viewer)

Tiger1

Well-known member
I use a Nikon D5100. I have Nikon 18-200, 70-300 and Tamron 150-600.
My shots of birds in flight are a complete disaster.
On local advice I have tried centre spot focusing and other options but nothing seems to work.
What focusing spots do the experts use?. Many of the flight shots on the forum are superb but how they do it is a mystery. Any advice appreciated.

Alex
 
Alex, I'm using the Tammy 150-600 too on a Nikon D7100 and going through a rather steep learning curve myself. Unfortunately the light here has been rather dull toward the end of winter and air quality poor, so lots of haze etc. I can say that I regard my results thus far as lackluster. Part of the problem is that they are just so far away (100m+), and even using the D7100's 1.3x in-camera crop the subjects are tiny. Tiny and blurred! I have now bumped ISO up to 800, but am still only getting around 1/400th sec in a deep gorge.

As far as I can tell my shaking is causing the focus point to drift off the subject and then it seems difficult to regain precisely correct focus. I am using AF-C and either 3d tracking or 51 point focus handheld with a sling and VC on, since I am likely to have a small songbird or similar pop up 5-10m behind me in between waiting for the falcons to do circuits. In both modes the focus point indicator seems to leap around all over the place and not necessarily stay on the bird.

I also wonder how the focusing works and what I need to do in a series of shots. I am using JPEG'S only so that I can blaze away at will, and focus acquisition is through a half depressed shutter button. I will be as interested as you to hear from those who have got it down pat.


Chosun :gh:
 
Hi Tiger. For exposure I tend to use spot or centre weighted. Focusing mode is normally Al Servo using the back button method. Focus point is the centre point. I find having multiple focus points a problem. One thing you will need to practice is your panning skills, bit like shooting.
 
On a D5100, try using AF-C mode and 11-point dynamic autofocus. For flight shots, I usually shoot in manual mode, with auto ISO enabled, which lets me control the aperture and shutter speed. I monitor the ISO, and adjust shutter speed or occasionally aperture accordingly. I generally keep shutter speeds above 1/1000s at a minimum, and 1/1600s if possible. Don't be afraid of going to ISO 3200 on a D5100; better to have a somewhat grainy but in-focus and non-blurred shot than a complete miss. Hope this helps.
 
I use a Nikon D5100. I have Nikon 18-200, 70-300 and Tamron 150-600.
My shots of birds in flight are a complete disaster.
On local advice I have tried centre spot focusing and other options but nothing seems to work.
What focusing spots do the experts use?. Many of the flight shots on the forum are superb but how they do it is a mystery. Any advice appreciated.

Alex

Alex,
It's easy for us to comment if we can see what results you are getting. Everyone has different expectations and different conditions.
I'm going out in thunderstorms and heavy rain today so I wouldn't bother taking a zoom lens as they don't perform well in these conditions.
My go-to lens is the Nikon 300/4 afs + 1.4x .
Most of the better bird in flight shots are taken with fixed tele lenses .
Zoom lenses need better light. My Nikon 80-400 mm zoom did much better in Botswana in clear , winter light than it does in Hong Kong in hazy/hot summer light.
Neil.
 
Alex, I'm using the Tammy 150-600 too on a Nikon D7100 and going through a rather steep learning curve myself. Unfortunately the light here has been rather dull toward the end of winter and air quality poor, so lots of haze etc. I can say that I regard my results thus far as lackluster. Part of the problem is that they are just so far away (100m+), and even using the D7100's 1.3x in-camera crop the subjects are tiny. Tiny and blurred! I have now bumped ISO up to 800, but am still only getting around 1/400th sec in a deep gorge.

As far as I can tell my shaking is causing the focus point to drift off the subject and then it seems difficult to regain precisely correct focus. I am using AF-C and either 3d tracking or 51 point focus handheld with a sling and VC on, since I am likely to have a small songbird or similar pop up 5-10m behind me in between waiting for the falcons to do circuits. In both modes the focus point indicator seems to leap around all over the place and not necessarily stay on the bird.

I also wonder how the focusing works and what I need to do in a series of shots. I am using JPEG'S only so that I can blaze away at will, and focus acquisition is through a half depressed shutter button. I will be as interested as you to hear from those who have got it down pat.

Chosun :gh:

Chosun. At 100m you are shooting for ID shots only - even with big prime teles. Most super BIF shots you see will have been taken much closer ... and that's what you need to do, get closer (this will also help enormously in subject acquisition) !

+1 to Neil's comment above re. quality of light. Primes are much better (faster AF and larger apertures) than most zooms though I haven't used the Tamron 150-600mm. AF will be faster on more powerful cameras too (D3s, D4, D4s) but they are far more expensive of course so it depends what is important to you and how far you are willing to go to get it.

+10 to Flanken's settings above. They are the same as those I use on D600(ex), D800(ex), D800(E) and D3s.
 
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Many thanks everyone, I will experiment. I don't post my attempts at flight shots--photos of a large blurred objects not really interesting.

Alex
 
Alex, I'm using the Tammy 150-600 too on a Nikon D7100 and going through a rather steep learning curve myself. Unfortunately the light here has been rather dull toward the end of winter and air quality poor, so lots of haze etc. I can say that I regard my results thus far as lackluster. Part of the problem is that they are just so far away (100m+), and even using the D7100's 1.3x in-camera crop the subjects are tiny. Tiny and blurred! I have now bumped ISO up to 800, but am still only getting around 1/400th sec in a deep gorge.

As far as I can tell my shaking is causing the focus point to drift off the subject and then it seems difficult to regain precisely correct focus. I am using AF-C and either 3d tracking or 51 point focus handheld with a sling and VC on, since I am likely to have a small songbird or similar pop up 5-10m behind me in between waiting for the falcons to do circuits. In both modes the focus point indicator seems to leap around all over the place and not necessarily stay on the bird.

I also wonder how the focusing works and what I need to do in a series of shots. I am using JPEG'S only so that I can blaze away at will, and focus acquisition is through a half depressed shutter button. I will be as interested as you to hear from those who have got it down pat.


Chosun :gh:

Chosun,
shooting birds in flight is difficult and takes a lot pf practice. Shooting birds at a distance has one set of problems which are backgrounds stealing the focus and the final picture is poor due to the distance. Shooting birds much closer gives much better pictures but the problem is that birds move so fast relative to our camera.
Just to talk of birds up close. The D7100 and the Tamron are fine especially if the limiter is on. single or 9 point is good. The key to birds in flight is being able to raise your camera to your eye and point at the birds so that it is in the viewfinder as quickly as possible. If too slow you miss the bird. If nearly fast enough yo get a b*m of bird shot. Clay pigeon shooters have the same problem. The answer. Hours of practice (gulls and pigeons are good). Once you can get onto a bird in one fluid movement you will then have a second to place the focus point on the bird and let the camera track it in for a few moments until firing the shutter.
Good luck. It took me a year or two and I still could be better.
 
I use a Nikon D5100. I have Nikon 18-200, 70-300 and Tamron 150-600.
My shots of birds in flight are a complete disaster.
On local advice I have tried centre spot focusing and other options but nothing seems to work.
What focusing spots do the experts use?. Many of the flight shots on the forum are superb but how they do it is a mystery. Any advice appreciated.

Alex

Alex,
birds in flight with a D5100 is tricky especially with a 70-300 lens as if you miss focus it racks right one way the back. The spot is big so prefocus at a distance that the bird is likely to be and try and get the centre point on the bird for a second before firing, Also for birds against the sky AFA is actually quite good and may get better keepers than you. See also my advice to Chosun.
 
Chosun. At 100m you are shooting for ID shots only - even with big prime teles. Most super BIF shots you see will have been taken much closer ... and that's what you need to do, get closer (this will also help enormously in subject acquisition) !

+1 to Neil's comment above re. quality of light. Primes are much better (faster AF and larger apertures) than most zooms though I haven't used the Tamron 150-600mm. AF will be faster on more powerful cameras too (D3s, D4, D4s) but they are far more expensive of course so it depends what is important to you and how far you are willing to go to get it.

+10 to Flanken's settings above. They are the same as those I use on D600(ex), D800(ex), D800(E) and D3s.

Frogfish - thanks for the tips. Comforting to know that others struggle at those distances too no matter what the rig or experience. It's nigh on impossible to get closer to the falcons due to the location. If they do come under that 100m mark it's when swooping through the gorge at high speed, sometimes on a descent from out of the blue. The trouble is that if I have ISO set to give me ~ 1/1500th - 2000th of a second shutter speed up in the blue, then when they drop into the gorge I'm down to ~ 1/250th -400th sec, and this is not quick enough. I am also shooting against the light which adds it's own problems. Setting higher ISO's seems? to adversely affect focus acquisition? even noticeable on stationary flitting targets? Is this common?

Using 51pts the AF area covers the whole width of the 1.3x crop frame, which is handy for picking things up - it's usually only the Centre one light up anyways. 3D tracking likewise tends to hang around the center.

I think the difficulty I am having though, is that I'm not entirely sure that I am ever in focus?? I think this is the crux of the problem and is a technique issue, and how to best make use of the system's abilities ???? Any advice /experience greatly accepted.


Chosun :gh:
 
Chosun,
shooting birds in flight is difficult and takes a lot pf practice. Shooting birds at a distance has one set of problems which are backgrounds stealing the focus and the final picture is poor due to the distance. Shooting birds much closer gives much better pictures but the problem is that birds move so fast relative to our camera.
Just to talk of birds up close. The D7100 and the Tamron are fine especially if the limiter is on. single or 9 point is good. The key to birds in flight is being able to raise your camera to your eye and point at the birds so that it is in the viewfinder as quickly as possible. If too slow you miss the bird. If nearly fast enough yo get a b*m of bird shot. Clay pigeon shooters have the same problem. The answer. Hours of practice (gulls and pigeons are good). Once you can get onto a bird in one fluid movement you will then have a second to place the focus point on the bird and let the camera track it in for a few moments until firing the shutter.
Good luck. It took me a year or two and I still could be better.

Thanks Rich. The sort of BIF I am mostly shooting is raptors - Falcons, and more leisurely Eagles, Harriers, and Kites etc. along with the odd Parrot that crosses my path. Up against the blue yonder background is not an issue, but down in the gorge, yes, it can be difficult. Most of the time I am more or less locked onto to the general target focus area, but as I said above in my response to Frogfish, I am not entirely sure that I am ever truly in focus or tracking properly. I tend to depress the shutter button almost instantaneously but wonder if I am truly in precise focus or if the system can keep up with a rapidly flying Falcon? It's that "few moments" part that has me a bit discombobulated ....

My panning is not too bad (the sling helps a lot), but if I am lucky enough to have a Falcon scream close nearby overhead, then they are virtually impossible to respond to - plenty of shots of blue sky!

Again any advice on acquiring and maintaining focus greatly appreciated. Ditto for settings. Also does higher ISO blunt AF performance? Thanks.


Chosun :gh:
 
Believe it or not I learned how to photograph birds in flight in the army (NOT hunting birds!). Find the bird with your eyes and keep them on the bird while you raise your camera up. After some practice the bird will be right in the middle of your view finder. Try the move using a fixed object at first until you're comfortable with it. Follow the bird with your whole body and keep your arms close to your body to reduce shake.
I shoot aperture priority, AF-C focus, center-weighted exposure and my Sigma 150-500 stopped down to f8 to sharpen up the long end (probably a good idea for the Tamron as well). In flight shots I've taken using this combo can be found here:
https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=BIF&user_id=18276798@N07&sort=date-posted-desc
Good shooting!
DJ
 
Another tip: Go to www.flickr.com and search for birds in flight or BIF. Most of the post on the website will let you interrogate the EXIF file so you can see what settings they used and it will even tell you the lens used and the focal length used in the photo. You might be surprised that most of the photos were shot at 300 - 400mm.
 
its easy to explain but hard to explain properly ,i use centre point only for focus and as d.j says learn to follow your target as if your firing a shotgun or rifle ,i do feel that more than half the problem is with the equipment a d5100 being to slow to a/f and a d7100 to sensitive at times .i switched to canon last year and initially had the same sort of problems with a 60d and 7d ,i now use a 1dmk3 and its like a extension of my body even getting things like swifts ,swallows and kingfishers in flight .
but your stuck with your equipment so the only other thing to change is your technique ,learn to anticipate the bird so your ready before it moves ,learn to get closer i.e improve your field skills ,use camouflage where appropriate ,use food to bring them closer to you .its a long learning curve i estimate 5 years or more but it eventually falls into place .and btw i know a few guys that have over £15,000 worth of cameras and lenses and still can't turn out a good shot so your not alone.

my flickr link is below i don't hide exif data etc so you can work out how its done fairly easily
 
Thanks Rich. The sort of BIF I am mostly shooting is raptors - Falcons, and more leisurely Eagles, Harriers, and Kites etc. along with the odd Parrot that crosses my path. Up against the blue yonder background is not an issue, but down in the gorge, yes, it can be difficult. Most of the time I am more or less locked onto to the general target focus area, but as I said above in my response to Frogfish, I am not entirely sure that I am ever truly in focus or tracking properly. I tend to depress the shutter button almost instantaneously but wonder if I am truly in precise focus or if the system can keep up with a rapidly flying Falcon? It's that "few moments" part that has me a bit discombobulated ....

My panning is not too bad (the sling helps a lot), but if I am lucky enough to have a Falcon scream close nearby overhead, then they are virtually impossible to respond to - plenty of shots of blue sky!

Again any advice on acquiring and maintaining focus greatly appreciated. Ditto for settings. Also does higher ISO blunt AF performance? Thanks.


Chosun :gh:

Chosun, what you are asking in reference to a snapshot of a falcon is a big ask with all but the fastest camera lens combo's (D7100 &80-400afsg, D810 and D4s) and even then there are a lot of misses if you can't get onto the bird quickly and that just takes practice. With your camera AFC 9 point is imo the most reliable at finding the bird and focussing unless you are dead eye with single point which is quicker. If birds do give enough warning, acquire the bird while it is far away and then track it in. This will improve the cameras focus accuracy no end. Keep practising.
 
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