Small birds, fast wings
Jan 10, 2015 17:23:20 #
I really got bored today so decided to do some playing. The first camera I grabbed was my 5D3. The next thing I grabbed was my Canon 100 to 400 mm lens. Threw some seed out the back door and sat there freezing!
Not too many birds came in but I did get a few in the trees. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get one with their wings spread while they were flying. Their wings are just moving too fast to capture. I'm posting one photo to show what I mean. The first photo is the same bird but sitting on a branch just before taking off. These photos were taken at 1/640, and 1/6 of a second apart. I also tried 1/8000 but it didn't make any difference.
Just for the heck of it I'm going to do the same thing tomorrow but using my 7D2. Instead of shooting has six frames a second it were shoot 10 frames a second, and maybe I can get lucky.
Jim D
Not too many birds came in but I did get a few in the trees. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get one with their wings spread while they were flying. Their wings are just moving too fast to capture. I'm posting one photo to show what I mean. The first photo is the same bird but sitting on a branch just before taking off. These photos were taken at 1/640, and 1/6 of a second apart. I also tried 1/8000 but it didn't make any difference.
Just for the heck of it I'm going to do the same thing tomorrow but using my 7D2. Instead of shooting has six frames a second it were shoot 10 frames a second, and maybe I can get lucky.
Jim D
Jan 10, 2015 17:36:36 #
oldtool2 wrote:
I really got bored today so decided to do some pla... (show quote)
Great shot of a Slate-colored Junco.
:thumbup:
Jan 10, 2015 17:55:40 #
Jim forgive me if I'm wrong, but it appears in the second shot nothing whatsoever was in focus. Were you in AI servo & single point or group? Maybe sharing your settings will help. Small birds in motion are tough to work with. I won't use my 5DIII in this case instead I use the 1DIV for the frame rate.
Jan 10, 2015 17:56:48 #
This was at 1/2000 ss, as the bushtit took off:
http://allenh.zenfolio.com/img/s12/v177/p441978182-3.jpg
This is a ruby-crowned kinglet, also pretty much at takeoff, at 1/800 ss:
http://allenh.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v107/p617940629-3.jpg
So it can be done, but takes luck & preparation (doesn't happen often for me, either). I'm always shooting birds in high burst shutter mode, with a 50D that's getting long in the tooth, but still suffices for me.
http://allenh.zenfolio.com/img/s12/v177/p441978182-3.jpg
This is a ruby-crowned kinglet, also pretty much at takeoff, at 1/800 ss:
http://allenh.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v107/p617940629-3.jpg
So it can be done, but takes luck & preparation (doesn't happen often for me, either). I'm always shooting birds in high burst shutter mode, with a 50D that's getting long in the tooth, but still suffices for me.
Jan 10, 2015 17:58:07 #
Haydon wrote:
Jim forgive me if I'm wrong, but it appears in the second shot nothing whatsoever was in focus. Were you in AI servo & single point or group? Maybe sharing your settings will help. Small birds in motion are tough to work with. I won't use my 5DIII in this case instead I use the 1DIV for the frame rate.
Looks to me like two of the back branches are in focus, or close to it.
Jan 10, 2015 20:20:22 #
I just looked up his EXIF data and James had the camera set to 1/6400" in both pictures. That should have been enough to freeze all motion but it didn't. So I'm guessing he wasn't focused on the bird at all. Even with ideal settings, 'pilot error' can still set in. You may have a perfectly good reason for posting the second one, James and it is your choice to do so but may I humbly ask why?
Jan 10, 2015 20:28:20 #
In our defence, (all of us who take bird pictures) trying to get a small bird in flight, incoming, is the toughest challenge of all. The DOF is so shallow that the bird may already be in front of it when the shutter is activated. Your 7D2 is better suited for it then the 5D3. Good luck.
Jan 10, 2015 20:48:05 #
I think I might have seen the problem here....
You are trying to shoot little birds with a Canon, correct?
Maybe you need something smaller.
It's always hard to hit a doorknob with a Canon. Kind of hit or miss.
And if it's a hit, it is terribly hard to find the doorknob to see if you hit it.
:idea:
:lol: ;-)
(Got your leg, pullin it...)
You are trying to shoot little birds with a Canon, correct?
Maybe you need something smaller.
It's always hard to hit a doorknob with a Canon. Kind of hit or miss.
And if it's a hit, it is terribly hard to find the doorknob to see if you hit it.
:idea:
:lol: ;-)
(Got your leg, pullin it...)
Jan 10, 2015 22:21:12 #
Thanks everyone for looking and your suggestions and comments.
I had to download the Canon software DPP in order to find my focus point on that shot. I guess I was a split-second late, the focus point is just behind the bird. As was mentioned above I'm trying to shoot a doorknob with a Canon. BIF with the bird coming to you is the hardest of all the shots. I might've caught it if I had use the 7D2 but that is the camera I had. The 7D2 fires off almost twice the number of shots in the second.
Tomorrow I'll play with the 7D2 and see if I get lucky. The shutter speeds should of done it, and hand I focused on the bird it may have caught the wings stationary.
Like I said tomorrow's another day.
Jim D
I had to download the Canon software DPP in order to find my focus point on that shot. I guess I was a split-second late, the focus point is just behind the bird. As was mentioned above I'm trying to shoot a doorknob with a Canon. BIF with the bird coming to you is the hardest of all the shots. I might've caught it if I had use the 7D2 but that is the camera I had. The 7D2 fires off almost twice the number of shots in the second.
Tomorrow I'll play with the 7D2 and see if I get lucky. The shutter speeds should of done it, and hand I focused on the bird it may have caught the wings stationary.
Like I said tomorrow's another day.
Jim D
Jan 10, 2015 22:25:55 #
Allen Hirsch wrote:
This was at 1/2000 ss, as the bushtit took off:
So it can be done, but takes luck & preparation (doesn't happen often for me, either). I'm always shooting birds in high burst shutter mode, with a 50D that's getting long in the tooth, but still suffices for me.
So it can be done, but takes luck & preparation (doesn't happen often for me, either). I'm always shooting birds in high burst shutter mode, with a 50D that's getting long in the tooth, but still suffices for me.
I know it can be done, I have done it before and have a number of photos with the BIF coming to me. But for some reason I have never been able to catch the Junco that way. But I will keep trying!
Jim D
Jan 10, 2015 22:27:08 #
Have fun and stay warm, Jim. ;)
You should see all my failed shots.
Oh wait, you can't...
I deleted them. :twisted:
You should see all my failed shots.
Oh wait, you can't...
I deleted them. :twisted:
Jan 10, 2015 22:27:46 #
Joe F.N. wrote:
I just looked up his EXIF data and James had the camera set to 1/6400" in both pictures. That should have been enough to freeze all motion but it didn't. So I'm guessing he wasn't focused on the bird at all. Even with ideal settings, 'pilot error' can still set in. You may have a perfectly good reason for posting the second one, James and it is your choice to do so but may I humbly ask why?
Only to show what I was trying to do. We all make mistakes and I made them today. Trying to figure out where I went wrong.
Jim D
Jan 10, 2015 22:29:33 #
A. J. wrote:
Great shot of a Slate-colored Junco.
:thumbup:
:thumbup:
Thank you. I find that bird to be one of the hardest to shoot because the colors blend in so well. That one turned out fairly well.
Jim D
Jan 10, 2015 22:35:24 #
SonnyE wrote:
Have fun and stay warm, Jim. ;)
You should see all my failed shots.
Oh wait, you can't...
I deleted them. :twisted:
You should see all my failed shots.
Oh wait, you can't...
I deleted them. :twisted:
So you haven't worn that key out yet either, huh? I keep trying but haven't succeeded yet. That delete key has got to be the strongest key on the keyboard.
Jim D
Jan 11, 2015 08:35:29 #
You really need to have a fast shutter speed as in these excellent shots. It helps to pan with the bird although it is usually difficult to tell when they are going to fly. If you study them long enough you get a sense of when that will happen.
Allen Hirsch wrote:
This was at 1/2000 ss, as the bushtit took off: br... (show quote)
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