BIF suggestions for improvement?

A red-tailed hawk has recently begun frequent fly-overs and is providing great opportunities to practice BIF.

The below images are 100% crops with only slight sharpening in post process: hand-held, 60d w/ 100-400L @ 400mm, IS on,
ISO 200, 1/1000. The first is f/6.7, the other two are f/5.6.

If you have suggestions for improving my technique & image quality, in addition to the needed practice, practice, practice, PLEASE speak up and thank you!!

These are nice captures, but I think that you need to get closer(or a longer lens) so that you don't have to crop at 100%, you're losing a lot of definition. Also your focus is a bit iffy. Are you using AI Servo AF mode?

Turn IS off, set AF mode to AI Servo. try setting your camera in TV mode to 1/800. Or if you want to keep your aperture closer to the sweet spot then set it in AV at about 8, and if keep an eye on your shutter speed, if it drops below 1/800 you can raise your ISO.

In summary you want to keep your aperture close to the sweet spot, keep your AF mode in AI servo so the camera can focus on a moving target, keep your shutter speed sufficiently high enough to freeze motion so the only variable you have left is to adjust your ISO.

I shot my first BIF about 6 months ago, this is what I have been told and from experience it seems to work, however I'm pretty new to this.

IS is actually going to want to let your camera shoot with a slower shutter speed which is exactly what you do not want, turn IS off for best results.

FYI, Red Tails are notoriously shy. Your 100-400L on a crop body should net you some decent photos but it is a tad on the short side.

Not sure of a 100-400L can be used with a teleconvertor or how much it would impact lens speed and IQ.

rrblint wrote in post #17129766
These are nice captures, but I think that you need to get closer(or a longer lens) so that you don't have to crop at 100%, you're losing a lot of definition. Also your focus is a bit iffy. Are you using AI Servo AF mode?

Thank you, Mark! I agree, the focus is very "iffy" at best, although I was using AI Servo/AF. One of the reasons I cropped at 100% was to give those of you helping me accurate examples of my results.

WhidbeyHiker wrote in post #17129771
...In summary you want to keep your aperture close to the sweet spot, keep your AF mode in AI servo so the camera can focus on a moving target, keep your shutter speed sufficiently high enough to freeze motion so the only variable you have left is to adjust your ISO....IS is actually going to want to let your camera shoot with a slower shutter speed which is exactly what you do not want, turn IS off for best results....

Great suggestions, Whidbey!! I was shooting in manual with spot metering, and next time out I will try lowering the shutter to 800 in order to reach an aperture sweet spot. That makes great sense!
I'll try turning off the IS and also try switching it to mode 2 for panning. My right hand is not the steadiest, and a lens of this size usually requires that I use IS OR a tripod. Regarding the teleconverter, if what I've read is true, I will lose auto focus with this camera/lens combo and a 1.4. Have my eye on a Tam 150-600, longer primes are out of my budget.

Mark and Whidbey, these are exactly the kinds of suggestions I was hoping for. Thanks again!!

JanetS wrote in post #17129870
Thank you, Mark! I agree, the focus is very "iffy" at best, although I was using AI Servo/AF. One of the reasons I cropped at 100% was to give those of you helping me accurate examples of my results.

Great suggestions, Whidbey!! I was shooting in manual with spot metering, and next time out I will try lowering the shutter to 800 in order to reach an aperture sweet spot. That makes great sense!
I'll try turning off the IS and also try switching it to mode 2 for panning. My right hand is not the steadiest, and a lens of this size usually requires that I use IS OR a tripod. Regarding the teleconverter, if what I've read is true, I will lose auto focus with this camera/lens combo and a 1.4. Have my eye on a Tam 150-600, longer primes are out of my budget.

Mark and Whidbey, these are exactly the kinds of suggestions I was hoping for. Thanks again!!

Wonder if a monopod would help or hinder.... May be worth a try. Especially if you get the Tamzooka.

Yep, stopping down that lens a stop or so might help out. Try the IS panning mode and a monopod my just be the ticket. Have fun, that's what it's all about.

I would turn off the IS - at those shutter speeds it won't help anyway. Also shooting at F8 will help a little. Given that those are 100% crops you really need to get much closer! I use a Canon 800mm F5.6 L IS lens and I don't think my images would have been a great deal better as you are simply too far away from the subject to get those really crisp detailed images that we all want.
Getting closer with wildlife is one of the hardest things to achieve, but it is well worth the effort for the odd time that you succeed!
I mainly shoot small birds and even with the 800mm I rarely bother to take shots beyond 15 yards or so, on larger birds, in good light, I can extend that quite a bit to maybe 40 yards or so but that's about it unless you have perfect conditions with very clean air.
Getting closer is the most difficult part of Bird photography but it is also the most rewarding (and frustrating!).

johnf3f wrote in post #17130564
I would turn off the IS - at those shutter speeds it won't help anyway. Also shooting at F8 will help a little. Given that those are 100% crops you really need to get much closer! I use a Canon 800mm F5.6 L IS lens and I don't think my images would have been a great deal better as you are simply too far away from the subject to get those really crisp detailed images that we all want.
Getting closer with wildlife is one of the hardest things to achieve, but it is well worth the effort for the odd time that you succeed!
I mainly shoot small birds and even with the 800mm I rarely bother to take shots beyond 15 yards or so, on larger birds, in good light, I can extend that quite a bit to maybe 40 yards or so but that's about it unless you have perfect conditions with very clean air.
Getting closer is the most difficult part of Bird photography but it is also the most rewarding (and frustrating!).

This ^^^, my longest lens is a 55-250. I have gotten within a few yards of eagles, depending on their moods they can be approachable. I got within 20 feet of a GBH this last weekend and posted the result but when it comes to the Kingfishers my 250 "ain't gonna get it".

WhidbeyHiker wrote in post #17132083
This ^^^, my longest lens is a 55-250. I have gotten within a few yards of eagles, depending on their moods they can be approachable. I got within 20 feet of a GBH this last weekend and posted the result but when it comes to the Kingfishers my 250 "ain't gonna get it".

PM sent.

Thank you, John for still more good advice!! I will turn off the IS, and wait until the red-tailed is closer....or turn my practice to buzzards
For the past few months I've been dealing with an injury that has severely limited my mobility, but I'm looking forward to the day, when I'm more healed and can begin bird-watching/photography in earnest. Amazing creatures they are!

You have some great suggestions thus far but I would encourage you to just practice on closer subjects if at all possible to find what are the best camera settings to use in each situation. I did a lot of practice with gulls when I first started shooting BIF's. They're easy to attract and practice on.

My style differs from most of the advice given here and I'm not saying my way is the right or wrong way for you...you have to figure that out for yourself. The most important thing is the closer the better. The higher the shutter speed the better to eliminate camera shake. I've never turned off the IS on my lens and I shoot handheld and from a tripod depending on the situation I'm in. I shoot from f/4 (wide open with my lens) to f/10.

Good luck, have fun and I hate to say it but practice is the key to mastering BIF's.

I would suggest just switching the IS mode to Mode 2; I use that one on the 100-400 a LOT and it works quite well. The most difficult thing you're dealing with is that the thing is just *too* high/far away; you're getting pretty decent results for the conditions you're shooting under.

I usually shoot the 100-400 in manual at f/5.6 or f/8 and between 1/500 and 1/1600 for birds flying; adjusting ISO for exposure adjustments.

You, really, just need to get closer; either by finding a location where they'll fly a lot lower, or throwing a 1.4x TC on there. Although, I'm not certain the 1.4 will allow AF in that combination on a 6D...I know they enabled f/8 AF in the 5DIII firmware a little while back.

From there, work on your stance and holding.
- Feet shoulder width apart, elbows tucked in at your sides for stability (if you're chicken-winging it while holding the camera up you're going to get a fair amount of jitter).
- Acquire your subject a fair distance out and begin AF; tracking by turning your entire upper torso.
- Press and hold the shutter, smoothly, don't "jab" it
- Follow through on your pan for a second after you release the shutter button

Some examples from the 100-400, when the birds were much closer. Minimal cropping needed with these; click through to Flickr for better resolution

RTH: 400mm on 7D, f/5.6, 1/1600, ISO 640

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/iVZt​Mj

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/f8Xr​Cx

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/iZUQ​Xn

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/nWSM​iS

Good advice, Duane!! I will test a variety of these suggestions, and determine what combination of techniques work best for me.

Thank you, Snyderemark for more valuable suggestions.
Your photos are also making me question the ID of my photos. Your "Osprey" and my "Red-tailed Hawk" look amazingly similar

I was fairly sure I'd ID'd it correctly based on this thread, but.....??
https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1394505

No, your ID in your thread is correct; that one is a RTH. Take a closer look at the head and the coloring of the banding on the Osprey vs the hawk; the hawk has the actual red tail-feathers that it is named for, whereas the Osprey in my shot has straight brown/white banding. Also, the head and beak are distinctly different.

Also, compare against the image just above my Osprey shot, which is also a RTH; just a darker morph than the ones you're seeing.