I was always wondering how people shoot swallows in flight. It turned out not that hard if you have a bunch of swallows 
Just pick any swallow from far away and start tracking. Press the shutter when it's close enough. I tried both 600mm and 400mm lenses, and the 400mm makes the job much, much easier due to a wider FoV. A red-dot reflex sight may help to deal with a longer lens but not for swallows because of their fast/erratic nature. Shutter speed of 1/6400s works fine, and if light is good I'd go with 1/8000s. All high ISO noise can be later removed in post.
After a few hours of shooting my back started hurting and I decided to put my camera on a tripod + gimbal, and my success rate dropped to zero.
These creatures are fast and I think the only efficient way to track them is to handheld your camera.
Sycamore Creek Recreation Area, Ashland City, Tennessee
Just pick any swallow from far away and start tracking. Press the shutter when it's close enough. I tried both 600mm and 400mm lenses, and the 400mm makes the job much, much easier due to a wider FoV. A red-dot reflex sight may help to deal with a longer lens but not for swallows because of their fast/erratic nature. Shutter speed of 1/6400s works fine, and if light is good I'd go with 1/8000s. All high ISO noise can be later removed in post.
After a few hours of shooting my back started hurting and I decided to put my camera on a tripod + gimbal, and my success rate dropped to zero.
These creatures are fast and I think the only efficient way to track them is to handheld your camera.
Sycamore Creek Recreation Area, Ashland City, Tennessee
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