Sitting on our patio and this Blue bird was just asking to get photographed. Used a Canon 60D with EF 100-400 f4.5 at a shutter speed of 500. The camera was hand held. No idea what the best settings should be since I rarely photo birds in flight because of the weight. Suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
He was definitely pestering for it. Good catch.
I know I'm opening myself up to a bunch of static from the manual camera settings fanatics but I have found for my 60D the automatic "sports" setting is ideal for birds in flight. I have had great success shooting everything from humming birds to Bald Eagles with this setting. This will also give you a fast motor drive setting so don't be surprised if you shoot two or three images every time you press the shutter. Don't worry, the film is free and you can delete the extras if you like.
Also a tripod or just resting the lens on the back of another chair can help with the weight of a long lens. I use a Sigma 18-300 with image stabilization most of the time. It is not as fast or as heavy as your 100-400 but it works well as my walk around lens.
Good photos. A higher shutter speed if you don't want the wings blurred. Try focusing on the eye of the bird. In the first photo the sharp focus is on the birdhouse and the second is much better. It just takes a lot of practice. vz
WB9DDF wrote:
I know I'm opening myself up to a bunch of static from the manual camera settings fanatics but I have found for my 60D the automatic "sports" setting is ideal for birds in flight. I have had great success shooting everything from humming birds to Bald Eagles with this setting. This will also give you a fast motor drive setting so don't be surprised if you shoot two or three images every time you press the shutter. Don't worry, the film is free and you can delete the extras if you like.
Also a tripod or just resting the lens on the back of another chair can help with the weight of a long lens. I use a Sigma 18-300 with image stabilization most of the time. It is not as fast or as heavy as your 100-400 but it works well as my walk around lens.
I know I'm opening myself up to a bunch of static ... (
show quote)
Thank you for suggesting the automatic “sports” setting. Never thought about using that setting and it will be fun to try. Never too old to learn something new. Appreciate your comment.
/George
vonzip wrote:
Good photos. A higher shutter speed if you don't want the wings blurred. Try focusing on the eye of the bird. In the first photo the sharp focus is on the birdhouse and the second is much better. It just takes a lot of practice. vz
Thanks vonzip for your comment. I picked a poor day with a storm coming in and winds up. Bird house was rocking like a ship at sea which made it tough to keep lens on target. Kind of fun at this first attempt with a bird in motion. Keep working at holding lens steady but age is rapidly catching up. 😬
/George
You are off to a good start, George. Keep it up.
kpmac wrote:
You are off to a good start, George. Keep it up.
Appreciate your looking in and nice comment.
Carolina Wings wrote:
Good job😊
Thank you Jan for your kind comment.
Mustanger wrote:
I LIKE them! Congrats!
Thanks Mustanger. Very appreciated.
phv wrote:
Wonderful captures!!!
Thanks for looking in phv.
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