Birds of a Feather

[Stagecoach]

Very impressive Colin, I can't even capture a stationary one decently

Grahame

[Colin Southern]

Very nice shots! Sorry to hijack the thread but...I have not done very much with BIF in the past and what I have done is not great. However, I went out today with the new 500 f4 IS II and had a go at some hawks and such. As expected, it was very challenging, partially because of the narrow angle of view in the 500 (x1.6 crop sensor) and partially because the hawk kept banking and moving erratically. Most shots were flops, a few were surprisingly good and decently sharp. Would have liked the bird to be closer, but some have it about 1/4 of the frame so not too bad. With more practice I suspect I will master it. I tried the 500+1.4tc...a flying bird through a 700mm x 1.6 crop is not easy to get in the viewfinder!!! When I did, the AF struggled to the point of being useless, but I guess the light was a bit low.

Will edit some and post up sometime soon.

Excellent work on these!

Thanks Matt,

To be honest, I suspect that the EF200-400 + 1.4x may turn out to be the better BIF lens for this very reason. With my 70-200 (on FF camera) it was a piece of cake; I'd just leave the lens at 70mm and then zoom in to 200mm with a flick of my thumb. Starting at 200mm would have been quite a bit harder though - anyone who can nail it at 500mm on a CF camera is a legend!

[Colin Southern]

Very impressive Colin, I can't even capture a stationary one decently

Grahame

Thanks Grahame,

I just got lucky

[deetheturk]

Great images Colin,especially considering the crop.

[Colin Southern]

Great images Colin,especially considering the crop.

Thanks David,

I must try the 2x converter on the 70-200 for BIF when I get a chance.

[Rita]

Great shots Colin. I went exploring yesterday and found a great spot for birds. Did my first attempt at bif but the light wasn't good so I will return another day. Seeing shots like these, and others on cic keep me inspired

[ajsmith]

Nice shots and thanks for posting your settings.

[GeorgeM]

Good stuff, Colin! I like #1 and #3 in particular.

[Colin Southern]

Great shots Colin. I went exploring yesterday and found a great spot for birds. Did my first attempt at bif but the light wasn't good so I will return another day. Seeing shots like these, and others on cic keep me inspired

Thanks Rita,

If the lights behind me or the bird flies towards the light (so it's side on) I'll hit the button, but as soon as I start shooting into the light I give up.

[Colin Southern]

Nice shots and thanks for posting your settings.

No worries Ali. Usually bit BIF shots several things are pretty close to being maxed out (shutter speed, focal length, AF performance etc).

[Colin Southern]

Good stuff, Colin! I like #1 and #3 in particular.

Thanks George,

I think 1 & 5 are my favourites.

[Bobobird]

We knew you would come round one day.

Excellent shots but then you would not be posting if they were not.

About reach - believe me at the angle you were shooting these gulls, you might have got 2 or maybe 3 shots off before the shakes take over. When that starts I at least begin to lose confidence and the harder I try the worse it gets.

Matt - you shoot off a tripod right?

[rpcrowe]

Great images and super post processing...

I usually don't shoot birds because I really don't have the patience. However, my son-in-law has just purchased a 34-foot (~10.36 meters) boat and we plan to do a lot of fishing in the coming year. I have not taken my camera on public fishing boats because of security. I would not want to leave my camera unattended below deck because of possible theft and leaving it above deck is also insecure. However, I can easily stow the camera gear in the cabin of my son-in-law's boat, secure from theft and salt spray.

There are always great opportunities to shoot gulls and pelicans on a fishing trip; especially when returning from the fishing grounds and cleaning the fish and throwing the waste over the fantail. The gulls tend to hover just a few feet above and aft of the stern while they are "fishing" for the remains of the cleaned fish. My 70-200mm should be just about perfect for this. However with the freedom of storing the gear in a safe and dry place, I could easily carry my 70-200mm and my 300mm f/4L IS lens + 1.4x TC on a pair of cameras...

[Colin Southern]

We knew you would come round one day.

Excellent shots but then you would not be posting if they were not.

About reach - believe me at the angle you were shooting these gulls, you might have got 2 or maybe 3 shots off before the shakes take over. When that starts I at least begin to lose confidence and the harder I try the worse it gets.

Matt - you shoot off a tripod right?

Thanks Bobo.

Perhaps we're getting to a stage where we need computerised tracking systems -- perhaps we can adopt something from what the military use for intercepting missiles!

[Colin Southern]

Great images and super post processing...

I usually don't shoot birds because I really don't have the patience. However, my son-in-law has just purchased a 34-foot (~10.36 meters) boat and we plan to do a lot of fishing in the coming year. I have not taken my camera on public fishing boats because of security. I would not want to leave my camera unattended below deck because of possible theft and leaving it above deck is also insecure. However, I can easily stow the camera gear in the cabin of my son-in-law's boat, secure from theft and salt spray.

There are always great opportunities to shoot gulls and pelicans on a fishing trip; especially when returning from the fishing grounds and cleaning the fish and throwing the waste over the fantail. The gulls tend to hover just a few feet above and aft of the stern while they are "fishing" for the remains of the cleaned fish. My 70-200mm should be just about perfect for this. However with the freedom of storing the gear in a safe and dry place, I could easily carry my 70-200mm and my 300mm f/4L IS lens + 1.4x TC on a pair of cameras...

Thanks Richard,

Yes - 70-200 would be perfect in a CF camera with the birds in that location. You might like to wear a raincoat & hood though ...

[FlyingSquirrel]

Matt - you shoot off a tripod right?

I am trying various things out as I am learning wildlife photography and learning the 500. I have the tripod and wimberley head which are amazing for the 500. Makes things much easier, especially when waiting for something to happen. Problem is, every time you move positions, you have to reset up the tripod and level it (adjust the legs individually to get the bubble centered) otherwise all the shots are crooked. Then there is HH the lens. I am in decent enough shape and strong enough that I can HH this lens for short periods (depends what I was doing just prior to shooting with it, e.g. did I just hike up a hill, or was I sitting down eating a snack). In between passes I will lean the lens up over my chest and shoulder, keeping my left hand on the lens foot. This gives the arms a rest, then when a bird comes by again I will heave the rig in front of me and give it another go.

I tried some BIF yesterday as noted before. The further away the bird was, the easier it was to use the gimbal. The closer the bird was, the more difficult it was to use the gimbal and by comparison the easier it was to HH the lens.

OH, just writing all of this out made me think of an idea. Why don't I rest the lens on the gimbal head between HH passes? I can just hold the rig up and let it rest on the gimbal cradle, just to take the weight off the arms....I will just need to make sure not to forget it isn't clamped down and let go

[Colin Southern]

Problem is, every time you move positions, you have to reset up the tripod and level it (adjust the legs individually to get the bubble centered) otherwise all the shots are crooked.

Couple of thoughts ...

1. Can you attach the gimbal to a ball head - and then just adjust the ball?

2. If they're BIF shots it probably doesn't matter too much if it's crooked; usually there's plenty of room to rotate in PP.

If in doubt, send the lens over to me and I'll see if I can figure it out for you. Might take a while, but I'll keep working on it even if it takes years (I'm good like that!).

[FlyingSquirrel]

Couple of thoughts ...

1. Can you attach the gimbal to a ball head - and then just adjust the ball?

2. If they're BIF shots it probably doesn't matter too much if it's crooked; usually there's plenty of room to rotate in PP.

If in doubt, send the lens over to me and I'll see if I can figure it out for you. Might take a while, but I'll keep working on it even if it takes years (I'm good like that!).

1. You could, but I wouldn't trust it. And better would be a leveling base for the tripod.

2. Yeah BIF is less critical to be level than a landscape / land animal shot. I prefer to have level shots for BIF anyway though, if possible.

Thanks for the generous offer to take my lens off my hands for a while so you can test out the setup

[Colin Southern]

1. You could, but I wouldn't trust it.

I would!

[Bobobird]

The idea of resting the gear on a tripod has crossed my mind many times. The biggest problem is that one extra piece of gear needs to be carried around.

For example I was out yesterday in the snow and ice and no way would it be possible to carry both without losing balance. I have now resigned to the fact that this combo must be used HH. The lifting arm must be allowed to train itself.