I shoot manual with auto iso, but if the bird is silhouetted against a light background then I use 1.0+EV. You can get rid of shadows in post processing, but I find that reducing the darker
areas on the bird when I take the shot often gives me a better end result.
I have started to use Capture One Pro 20. The cloning tool works really well. I have managed to remove some large unwanted objects from my pics
I recently bought a 24-70 f2.8 and I am so pleased with the quality. Image quality is fantastic. You get what you pay for.
You can restrict the maximum iso value on your menu. I normally set it low then adjust upwards as conditions dictate. For wildlife action bif etc. I find auto iso is a must.
18-400 is more of a general walkabout lens. Try the Tamron 100-400. It’s light and can be calibrated to your camera for every focus length. My party used one on her D7209 on a trip to Costa Rica. I can honestly say it matched or even bettered my 80-400 on a D500.
It’s worth it. I use my 500 PF all the time.
Maybe also increase shutter speed as 1/1000 is slow for a big shot. 1/2500+ for larger slower moving birds.
I used a professional camera lens calibration company. All of my Nikon lenses needed calibration even the primes.
I have a 200-500 and an 80-400. I use the 80-400 for wildlife travel photography as it’s much lighter that the 200-500. Also consider the 300pf with a 1.4 tc or the 500 pf. I have both and never use my 200-500. As a wildcard my partner has a Tamron 100-400 that was calibrated to her css as meta. I can’t believe the image quality she gets. Every bit as good or better that the Nikon lenses and very light to carry around.
Everyone’s nightmare. I have two external drives for backup and I also save important batches of photos(foreign travel, family events etc.) to SD cards as reasonable quality cards are relatively cheap to buy. However, some people say that you do not have true backup unless you also have storage away from your house in case it burns down!
Nikkor without any question.
I’m new to post processing too. I decided to go for Capture One Pro 20. I got a one off Nikon license with a 25% discount. I find it easy to use for what I want. Lots of instructive videos on-line and I am really pleased with the results
Go Nikon rather than Tamron. The 200-500 is a great telephoto lens for the money. However, I bet that all of your big pics will be at or near 500mm so if you can then go for a 500PF then that’s the option to look at. It’s lighter has a stop better light and you can carry it all day. Haven’t touched my telephoto lenses since I got the 300 and 500 PF lenses and I use the 500pf 90+% of the time.
Not so easy for wildlife, particularly birds moving fast against a changing background. Post processing can save your shot