Telephoto bird tips and what I should expect

413x

413x

413x

Caporegime
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So I will have my sigma 120-300 over the bank holiday weekend as it's os unit is going to be repaired next week

I had a quick try hand held using shutter 1/2000

The shots weren't really good to my eyes
I would say the birds today were about 30ft away minimum
They were also small birds.. From starling to crow

I found than none really seemed sharp and a couple that were kind of sharp only seemed to be at a crop where pixellation crept in

To get good shots I guess I just need to get closer due to me currently needing to crop into the pic to far

In thinking this will more likely be my sports and zoo (etc) lens. Which to be fair is its target

It's heavy but Tbh not as bad as I was expecting. I was out for a good while today and didn't notice the weight
 
Keeping the lens steady is paramount if you want sharp shots and it's difficult with longer zoom lenses. I rarely try to take handheld shots with my 100-400mm because I want as many sharp shots as possible.

If using a tripod isn't feasible then a monopod or just leaning against a wall or post etc helps a lot.
 
Expect lots of shots of tiny specks in the sky...

Joking apart, this is sadly the reality for anyone starting out taking photographs of birds - especially the tiny nervous things that we have in this Country.

A lot of the best bird and indeed wildlife photographers spend years developing their craft - they use the same techniques as hunters except they don't use a rifle.

Dress appropriately - most creatures don't like bright colours. Wear browns, greens, greys etc. Don't wear clothing that makes a noise such as many waterproof coats which make a rustling noise as you move. Turn off your phone, you don't want that ringing or making text message received noises!

Use hedges and trees to your advantage - don't walk across the middle of a field in full view expecting birds to wait for you to get there.

To be honest if you're starting out - go to the local park and find some birds that don't mind people approaching them - although it is a cliché, Ducks can make good subjects, as do Swans.

Perhaps if you're near an RSPB reserve, National Trust property (bear in mind they own swathes of land as well as houses) or a site owned by one of the many Wildlife Trusts dotted around the Country, you could visit and see what is on offer. The RSPB have some really nice centres around the UK and are really welcoming.

A 300 mm lens is useful if the birds are reasonably near, but don't expect miracles, it isn't long enough in many cases. You will need to get nearer.
 
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so i figure i think at some point i will get a 400mm prime (anything more is stupidly expensive!).. such a shame it will have to be 5.6

the sigma 1.4TC and this will do for now and it will be a lens i keep. seems ideal for zoo and nothing that serves this range in one lens at 2.8

i know bird behaviour (i have grown up bird watching etc) and i was thinking of 'passive' birds to start with this weekend also. Its one thing just watching birds and another getting pics i have found!

hopefully when the lens is sent for repair of its OS sigma will do a general check etc service

i was hoping using 1/2000 would eliminate camera shake problems tbh
 
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For fairly static birds 1/500th can be fast enough (depending how near/far you are & whether the wind is blowing on the feathers) but BIF obviously need a much faster SS (unless you have good panning skills & still want a touch of wing-blur)

The bottom line is, 300mm is probably the absolute minimum starting point for birding, so don't expect miracles.
 
You may want to check quickly for back/front focus issues using a printed test sheet (Google). Assuming that's fine then it's probably all a question of technique. A monopod and cheap gimbal head (eg Manfrotto 393) is a good setup. Then practice! With the above setup I found it helped to dampen the end of the lens by resting my left hand on the end, and exhaling slowly as I pressed the shutter. The rest is patience and stalking and is the reason I gave up on wildlife!
 
al4x said:
so i figure i think at some point i will get a 400mm prime (anything more is stupidly expensive!).. such a shame it will have to be 5.6

the sigma 1.4TC and this will do for now and it will be a lens i keep. seems ideal for zoo and nothing that serves this range in one lens at 2.8

i know bird behaviour (i have grown up bird watching etc) and i was thinking of 'passive' birds to start with this weekend also. Its one thing just watching birds and another getting pics i have found!

hopefully when the lens is sent for repair of its OS sigma will do a general check etc service

i was hoping using 1/2000 would eliminate camera shake problems tbh
Click to expand...

Buy a 1.4xTC, that will give you 420mm at f/4.0 and that should help a lot. You could also but a 2.0x TC in addition, that will give 600mm f/5.6.

There is no prime lens or anything you can do to get longer without serous money.


I told you before,that sigma is the absolute best you can do keeping costs reasonable. The only upgrade that makes sensor is canon 500mm f/4.0 IS. Look at the price and weep. The pro birds togs will use 600mm lenses!



Next. Buy and use a decent tripod. That is only way to get crisp sharp photos with such a lens.


And Andy90 is spot on. Long lens are hard to use, need a lot of technical skills. Wildlife is hard, you need to learn lots of bushmaster skills. As Andy says, really best if you become a hunter that shoots a camera.that is what I find fun.


It can takes hours to get a good photo even when the opertunities presents itself. And if can take weeks of trying to get that opertunity
 
al4x said:
So I will have my sigma 120-300 over the bank holiday weekend as it's os unit is going to be repaired next week

I had a quick try hand held using shutter 1/2000

The shots weren't really good to my eyes
I would say the birds today were about 30ft away minimum
They were also small birds.. From starling to crow

I found than none really seemed sharp and a couple that were kind of sharp only seemed to be at a crop where pixellation crept in

To get good shots I guess I just need to get closer due to me currently needing to crop into the pic to far

In thinking this will more likely be my sports and zoo (etc) lens. Which to be fair is its target

It's heavy but Tbh not as bad as I was expecting. I was out for a good while today and didn't notice the weight
Click to expand...


Bird photography is pretty difficult - even with a 600mm lens. You have to get pretty close to get anything acceptable, which means knowing what you want and where it lives ahead of time.

Simply walking around trying to get a lucky photo I think is a waste of time, to get something good you have to do a lot of research and invest a lot of time, RSPB reserves are *OK* but they don't cater for photographers whatsoever, hides are noisy and more suited to spotting scopes with enormous focal lengths, than they are someone with a 300-600mm lens.

I've done some Owl projects out in Lincolnshire a few years ago before I moved to London, I spent 2-3 evenings a night just driving around the fens in a specific location where I knew there might be some short-eared owls, it took a lot of time and tonnes of frustration but I got some pretty good stuff:

O6PNmVr.jpg

My advice would be to think hard about what you want to do, you've spent good money on a lens - so you may as well invest the time, you might want to think about getting tuition, there are a number of very good photographers out there (Danny Green for example) who will do expert 1-2-1 tuition for a reasonable price, some of them also lease out private hides for things like kingfishers and stuff - I'd totally recommend doing some research on it, you'll get some good images pretty quickly.
 
lovely shot of the owl.yes it would be nice to get good shots of birds but like you say really specialist involving a lot of money and hard work,patience ,lying in wait for hours sometimes in the wet,glad i decided i like street :)
 
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