Bird Photos

I am just starting to get into bird photography and mostly been capturing them on feeders. Still struggling with them in flight but I am sure that will come.
I am using an early 55-250mm Canon IS lens on a 70D.

Any feedback would be welcomed.

For the second bird (Jackdaw) I do realise that the eye isn't as sharp as it could be, yet I was using the centre focus point and placed it on the eye as best as I could.


Thanks,

Dunnock:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/qs81​7W

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rLHb​mN

I don't know what to tell you for sure. I am not a bird/wildlife photographer.

I am hoping to get into it this summer as i have met a few "Birders" through my local photo club.

The tips that i can think of are to keep your shutter speed up, try to shoot at 1/250s as a minimum, not just due to focal length, but due to movement of the bird.I see that you are already bumping up your ISO for this reason.
A butterfly/bird photographer that i have spoken to say that they either shoot at F/4 to F/8 (possibly due to his personal equipment), based on how much available light that there is and how much of the bird that you want in focus. When at for example 250mm, less of the bird will be in focus, so this is a time that you may want to use a smaller aperture, depending on how well or where your camera/lens focuses, though you are already at F/5.6 with that lens, so that may be fine, though as with people photography, bokeh makes for a nice image. That being said, it is better if your subject is away from the background so it is not lost in the clutter of branches in the woods.

If you find that your images are always slightly off focus from where you focus, look into calibrating your lens to your camera body (micro focus adjustment) A local camera store may adjust this for you. Foe me locally it is $25 per lens.

They do say to use burst mode and shoot a few images at a time. if in flight or movement.
If shooting them in flight using aperture priority to use exposure compensation or spot metering.
If in flight do as you would with sports and use the ai servo with zone (area) select instead of single point AF selection.

I was told a good starting lens is the Canon 100-400 F/4. You can then add a teleconverter to get more reach. The TC is debatable by many people as it can cause a softer image especially the higher the X factor that you get as well as loosing stops of light. You can only use a TC on an EF lens, not your current EF-S.

Keep in mind that there is a Bird section in the forum where you may get more help. https://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdis​play.php?f=91

#1 looks like it has motion blur and the bird is hidden with in the branches. There may be some CA (chromatic aberration) Or green fringing that can be removed PP (post Process).

Thanks Micro. When capturing the jackdaw I was using burst mode and it did help with that bird and others. It does generate a lot of photos to sort through though .

I have switched my focus to the AF button at the back instead of the shutter and have it on AI Servo but I am confused as there is also another option in the 70D's menu for enabling continuous focus. Should both of these be on or do they do completely different things?

From what I have found its not always easy getting the bird to be where you want it to be. But I am still learning.

I have been looking into the Tamron 140-600mm lens for birding and wildlife.

I did attempt to get the birds in flight but with having to use a high ISO the images came out a bit too noisey and I have never been sure how to deal with that correctly. In this example I was at ISO 3200 in order to get a shutter speed of 1/640, now that I look at it the aperture could have come down to f5.6.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rtq7​KT

You are not doing too bad. I know that isn't a strong endorsement but give yourself time to learn, when I shoot birds in flight I use a lens with mode II image stabilization and that help a lot. I also keep my ISO low and just delete blurry shots. It let's me crop in better without noise. One last thing please don't fall into the trap of over saturation. Natural is best. Keep it up!

WildernessTracker wrote in post #17498184
I am just starting to get into bird photography and mostly been capturing them on feeders. Still struggling with them in flight but I am sure that will come.
I am using an early 55-250mm Canon IS lens on a 70D.

Any feedback would be welcomed.

For the second bird (Jackdaw) I do realise that the eye isn't as sharp as it could be, yet I was using the centre focus point and placed it on the eye as best as I could.


Thanks,

Dunnock:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/qs81​7W Dunnock by andy_mcdonaldphoto, on Flickr

Jackdaw

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rLHb​mN Jackdaw by andy_mcdonaldphoto, on Flickr

for the second image, i'm not sure focus is your problem. 1/250 is not fast enough to catch bird movement even when perched, their heads and body's move lightning fast, even a perfectly timed little twitch can blur the head. Take a look at the feet and at the wire of the feeder, both seem in focus to me. The bird's head sure seems to be on about the same plane (parallel to the sensor) as the bird feeder.

You might also want to try stopping down your lens a bit, even 2/3 or one stop off max aperture can sharpen up a lens and get rid of aberrations that hurt sharpness. I would lean towards lens aberrations rather than a focus issue for that image.

for BIF you're looking at 1/1000 to 1/2000. Give it a shot at high ISO and don't pixel peep. If you get a good exposure, and don't have to crop too much, you should be able to get printable images at up to 8x10

edit: if you're not familiar with it, the first shot clearly shows chromatic aberration in the dry grass in front of the bird. Often it is not so easy to spot and just ends up as robbing high contrast areas of sharpness.

You can safely bring the density down on those quite a bit and I think they'll be much more effective once you do so. Nice little BIF there on #3.

I'm not expert, but I used to have the 55-250 (it got stolen) but found it hard to get real sharp focus. It felt a bit soft. It does a good for for the price, but I wont get it again.

There is another just starting with bird shots using a Sigma 70-200 2.8
https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=17503370

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #17504148
for the second image, i'm not sure focus is your problem. 1/250 is not fast enough to catch bird movement even when perched, their heads and body's move lightning fast, even a perfectly timed little twitch can blur the head. Take a look at the feet and at the wire of the feeder, both seem in focus to me. The bird's head sure seems to be on about the same plane (parallel to the sensor) as the bird feeder.

You might also want to try stopping down your lens a bit, even 2/3 or one stop off max aperture can sharpen up a lens and get rid of aberrations that hurt sharpness. I would lean towards lens aberrations rather than a focus issue for that image.

for BIF you're looking at 1/1000 to 1/2000. Give it a shot at high ISO and don't pixel peep. If you get a good exposure, and don't have to crop too much, you should be able to get printable images at up to 8x10

edit: if you're not familiar with it, the first shot clearly shows chromatic aberration in the dry grass in front of the bird. Often it is not so easy to spot and just ends up as robbing high contrast areas of sharpness.

The first bird was taken using a really old 75-300mm lens (no IS and noisey to focus). I can easily edit out the CA in Lightroom.
What is classed as high ISO? I have never liked going too high and if I do I end up over editing it by trying to remove the noise. I can try and let the camera pick an ISO when shooting birds in flight.

I thought 1/250 would be fine if the birds are stationary but as you say they are very fast, especially the small birds.
When you say stopping down one stop from max aperture, do you mean going from f5.6 to f8 (still not fully got my head around stops )? Usually I use the in built light meter and adjust the exposure compensation based on the scene.

J Michael wrote in post #17505092
You can safely bring the density down on those quite a bit and I think they'll be much more effective once you do so. Nice little BIF there on #3.

What do you mean by density?

no66 wrote in post #17505231
I'm not expert, but I used to have the 55-250 (it got stolen) but found it hard to get real sharp focus. It felt a bit soft. It does a good for for the price, but I wont get it again.

There is another just starting with bird shots using a Sigma 70-200 2.8
https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=17503370

I have had the 55-250 for quite a while now and got it when I was just starting out, I have only started using it for birds recently but it isn't my most used lens. However I am looking to upgrade that lens to either the 100-400mm (old version) or to the new Tamron 150-600mm. Not made up my mind yet.

WildernessTracker wrote in post #17506118
The first bird was taken using a really old 75-300mm lens (no IS and noisey to focus). I can easily edit out the CA in Lightroom.

yes, some CA can be edited out, some not so much. IMO, the jackdaw feathers around the head might be suffering from some kind of lens aberration that destroys detail in such a way that it cannot be fixed.

you were shooting at 200. If you to to 400 you could stop down to f/8 for the same exposure. If you went to 800 you could then go to 1/500 with no hit on exposure. I don't think you will see a big hit in image quality simply by increasing the ISO, it's all a balancing act though. Depending on output, and your ability to not zoom in too close on your computer monitor, ISO 1600 or 3200 can be very useable.

When you say stopping down one stop from max aperture, do you mean going from f5.6 to f8 (still not fully got my head around stops )?

yup. "Wide open" is using a lens at max aperture, "stopping down" is using it at less than maximum. By stopping down you are using a smaller portion of the lens and therefore reducing the effect of any flaws in the lens. As far as i know, this holds true for every SLR lens ever made.

However you eventually reach the point of diminishing returns as diffraction creeps in at very small apertures, f/11 and above for instance.

OP, you should check out the two example lens forums for what each of the lens you mentioned are capable of. I personally have the Tamron 150-600 and it has taken some getting used to. But I am feeling much more comfortable with it as of late.
That lens you are using, is a great starter lens, but is not very good at fast focusing, so that is going to help you back if you do try to start taking more birding type shots.
I love the diversity of different parts of the world at it relates to birds and animals. Cool seeing birds from other parts of the world for sure.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #17506449
yes, some CA can be edited out, some not so much. IMO, the jackdaw feathers around the head might be suffering from some kind of lens aberration that destroys detail in such a way that it cannot be fixed.

you were shooting at 200. If you to to 400 you could stop down to f/8 for the same exposure. If you went to 800 you could then go to 1/500 with no hit on exposure. I don't think you will see a big hit in image quality simply by increasing the ISO, it's all a balancing act though. Depending on output, and your ability to not zoom in too close on your computer monitor, ISO 1600 or 3200 can be very useable.

yup. "Wide open" is using a lens at max aperture, "stopping down" is using it at less than maximum. By stopping down you are using a smaller portion of the lens and therefore reducing the effect of any flaws in the lens. As far as i know, this holds true for every SLR lens ever made.

However you eventually reach the point of diminishing returns as diffraction creeps in at very small apertures, f/11 and above for instance.

I will give that a go next time I am out photographing birds.

Are there any tips and hints for processing higher ISO images in Lightroom? How much can you crop before you really start to notice the effect?

The third image I posted above was done at ISO 3200 and I did notice the noise when looking at the final image. I did crop that one down to about 1/4 of the original. Going up to that ISO allowed me to get a faster shutter, but still way too slow for BIF.

sirquack wrote in post #17508247
OP, you should check out the two example lens forums for what each of the lens you mentioned are capable of. I personally have the Tamron 150-600 and it has taken some getting used to. But I am feeling much more comfortable with it as of late.
That lens you are using, is a great starter lens, but is not very good at fast focusing, so that is going to help you back if you do try to start taking more birding type shots.
I love the diversity of different parts of the world at it relates to birds and animals. Cool seeing birds from other parts of the world for sure.

Thanks Sirquack......it's a difficult choice to make. I do have a crop body so the 100-400 would effectively give me 640mm. Plus the lens is smaller and quite good from what I have seen. But the Tamron is newer, can reach further and cheaper but does look bulkier.
How do you find carrying the Tamron around?
It is great seeing birds from other parts of the world, especially when you are so used to seeing the birds familiar to you and your garden.

WildernessTracker wrote in post #17506118
What do you mean by density?

I have had the 55-250 for quite a while now and got it when I was just starting out, I have only started using it for birds recently but it isn't my most used lens. However I am looking to upgrade that lens to either the 100-400mm (old version) or to the new Tamron 150-600mm. Not made up my mind yet.

Increase density means make darker. Sorry. Old school printer.

I have both the 100-400 and the 150-600. I find the 100-400 a little faster to use for birds in flight but they are both fine lenses.

If it helps you in the bulkiness issue, I have back issues, and it is a long term issue, so I have to be cautious about what I carry. I will be the first to say it is not a light lens, but I use a carry strap that hangs over one shoulder and goes to the opposite hip. I can quickly bring the camera up and get my shot and get it right back on my hip and it does not bother me after several hours of carrying it. But I am little bigger guy, so your experience may vary.
I have a crop and a FF camera, and as you mentioned the 100-400 goes out to 640, but the Tamron effectively takes you out to 960. And that is BEASTLY reach. I just have to deal with my T3i does not handle high ISO very well and at 600 the Tamron is at 6.3 and that requires either high ISO or slow shutter on day which are not as bright. But with my FF which is a monster with high ISO, I can get shots easily at wide open with fast shutter speeds. If the subject is not moving, (NOT BIRDS) you can use the VC and get really slow shutter speed. I shot a handheld, static object at 1/50th at 600MM and it was clean. That is when I KNEW I had mad the correct decision.
That and trying to convince my better half to spend more money on the Canon lens WAS NOT going to happen.

i'm not really going to get into the processing, since there are so many that have responses on that...but for setting up the bird shots...what I would do, is grab a few twigs, and branches for the birds to perch on...place them near the bird feeders this way you can grab shots of them on the branches without the feeder in the images...for instance you could probably tape a few to that pole that is there...the birds will usually come to the branches right before going to the feeders...and also try and get as close as you physically can

How would the VC on the Tamron compare to that on the older Canon 100-400?
I have the 400D (XTi) and that didn't handle high ISO too well, plus it wouldn't let you go above 1600, which was one of the main reasons I got the 70D.

I have been looking at the prices and there is about £200 - 300 difference between them. But trying to work out if its worth spending the extra money on an older lens. Looking at the pictures in the lens threads, I just find them all great images, which makes it harder.

I popped out into the garden last night and caught these fellas, this time using a much higher shutter speed. Even with the bird in flight there is still blur at 1/2000. I guess I could have gone faster but it was a quick shot and got lucky.


Thanks Dre, I have read about doing that before but this was taken at a friends place that I don't visit often, but I do have plans to set something up in my back garden like you say.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/s3ff​9P

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rKEZ​LC