Bird Photography help

[hickybank]

I am fairly new to DSLR photography, I have just purchased a Canon 550 D with a tamron 18-270mm lens.

Although the lens is perhaps not intended for bird photography I do get Buzzards & harriers flying low over where I live.

What would be the best setting for birds in flight with this set up.

The picture here is about as good as I can get, any chance I could improve it with a different setting, this picture is also cropped somewhat

The picture was taken at 1/320 F 8
ISO 800 auto focus.

Thanks

[dlambert]

I think you're pretty close to optimal right now. Your ISO setting gives you the ability to shoot at a reasonably-fast shutter speed. I believe you could probably open your aperture a bit, but you may give up some sharpness with that lens. I'd try shooting in shutter-priority mode at 1/320 or 1/400 and maybe drop the ISO to 400 and see if that makes any difference. I think you'll see the lens get a little softer, but you should have slightly less noise, too. Shooting on a well-lit day might help, too, though you'll end up with harsher light. All-in-all, I think you're very close. In order to do a lot better than that, I'm afraid you'll probably have to upgrade your lens.

[hickybank]

Thanks David,
I will play about with that.

Another question would be

What is the best setting for focusing, this was on auto which struggles to keep up with the movement

I am wondering if Sports or AI Servo would be better

Thanks

[inkista]

Or, conversely, upgrade your birding skills so you can get closer. I've learned to walk canyon ridges, rather than be down in the canyons, since raptors tend to ride thermals along them. And cars make great hides.

The fact remains, however, that birds are shy, and rarely like you to get close enough to get a good shot, unless you're using 400mm or longer glass. Most birders consider 400mm to be the minimum length you need, and shooting with my EF 400mm f/5.6L USM regularly, I can tell you, it's often still not long enough and will still require cropping the frame.

You've got the basics down, though--stopping down to f/8 helps on the sharpness front, and getting your shutter speed up high enough is definitely key. I would actually say stay at iso 800, but I'm not noise-phobic.

Tracking the bird and making sure through the viewfinder that you've got focus locked on the bird before you take the shot are definitely the big skills. I've generally found when I'm after BiF, that it really helps to shoot with both eyes open, so that I can draw a bead on the bird as soon as possible, and that gives the AF system time to catch up. Using a Servo AF mode is also helpful. I also like to use back-button autofocus, with the * button set to start AF, rather than lock it, but that can be a matter of individual taste.

But as dlambert stated, you may be running into the limits of your gear, and you may not be able to get better shots without a better lens.

[RichardTaylor]

+1 inkista's comments re getting close and long lenses.

For focussing I use AI servo with centre focus point only active.
I try to pick up the bird early and partially depress the shutter button whilst still tracking the bird to give it a chance to lock on before firing a short burst..

[hickybank]

Thanks everyone for your comments, they are really helpful & I will put them into practice
Regards
Terry

[Glenn72]

Looks similar to the Lesser Kestrel that I shot a few weeks ago with my 450d and 400mm Tokina RMC lens that was reconditioned and converted from FD to EOS for around 200 GBP.



Even with 400mm lens I still had to crop quite heavily but the results are acceptable for what I paid for the lens.

An older used lens is a good way to find out if you want to pay more later on to get better quality with a Canon L lens and also will also force you to use manual settings.

[hickybank]

Originally Posted by Glenn72

Looks similar to the Lesser Kestrel that I shot a few weeks ago with my 450d and 400mm Tokina RMC lens that was reconditioned and converted from FD to EOS for around 200 GBP.

Hi Glenn, what setting did you take that on please.

terry

[inkista]

If you follow the image link to Flickr, and click on the name of the camera in the "This photo was taken..." information (if it's listed), will give you the EXIF information. In this case:

iso 800, 1/2500s. Since it's an adapted lens, the focal length and aperture information are likely to be pre-programmed/fake.

As I said, I'd recommend staying at 800. I often find I'm at 800 or 1600 when I'm shooting birds with my 400/5.6L, and I live in sunny Southern California:


Dec. 11, 7:23am. Canon 50D. EF 400mm f/5.6L USM. iso 800, f/5.6, 1/640s.
White-Tailed Kite. Elanus leucurus, juvenile.

[ravncat]

Inkista, Just to clarify, you`re talking about minimum of a 400mm lens on a crop body?